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tv   American History TV  CSPAN  August 1, 2015 5:00pm-5:11pm EDT

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the commission itself is composed of 17 public members appointed by the president. a congressional eight congressional members, for each from the house and in it, and 11 members who are secretaries of various agency. the charter is broad, its responsibility is great. the bicentennial is to be more than a ceremonial occasion. the way we as a nation choose to celebrate the 200th anniversary will have an imp airing on what we learn from it, and on the inspiration we draw from it. the bicentennial commission plans to emphasize the continuing effort to achieve the fulfillment of the ideals and ideas of the revolution as stated in the declaration of independence in the constitution , to inventory the progress of the last two centuries, and to state the un-goals, new and old.
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some of this work will be solemn. some will be festive because the 200 day of our country should be at once a joyous celebration and a solemn rededication. members of the american bicentennial commission and representatives from various states gathered at the white house at the invitation of president nixon. they heard him charge them with the responsibility to not just move forward in reaching for material goals, but to move forward also in the realm of the american spirit as we enter century three of american life. the president said -- >> as all of you know, we are gathered in this historic house for an opportunity that comes to a people once in a century -- the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the united states, which will take place in
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1976. we are starting to plan now. we have representatives not only from the federal government that from most of the states of the nation here, to plan for the celebration. i would like to speak to that subject very briefly, to speak to it in perhaps a way that most of you would not have thought of , would not have thought of because traditionally when we think of this kind of celebration, we think of the nation's past and we glory in that past, as we should, but we think of the nation's present and consider the problems we must deal with. this celebration i would hope would look to america's future. look to the year 1976 and set for ourselves goals for that year, 1976, which we can achieve . in the space of seven years, we can achieve great goals so that
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when 1976 comes, we can look over those 200 years with even greater pride than we did 100 years ago. i refer to the early days of this country, to the time that this nation was founded, and to the words that were spoken by those who at the time of the declaration of independence thought of the mission of america, what america could mean to the world. one of them said that we act not just for ourselves but for all mankind. you know, we hear that today and think that was perhaps a very appropriate statement to make because history has justified that kind of optimism. in setting forth goals, i can tell you that this administration is thinking in terms that are tremendously
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exciting. in the field of hunger, it will be possible by the year 1976 to abolish hunger in the united states of america. it will be possible in the year 1976 to make enormous progress in the field of housing, in the field of transportation, and all the areas that are tremendously important to every american family and also our room -- also are respected around the world. to those who come here from the states and from the federal government, let us that for our goal in 1976 not just moving forward in all these material areas, but to move forward in the realm of the american spirit. i know this sounds perhaps too illusory, too uncertain for us possibly to capture, but it is
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there. we must put our minds to it. we must put our hearts to it. that brings me now to those from the states. america is 50 states. america is big cities and small cities and small towns. it is all the homes and all the hopes of 200 million people. that is why we want this celebration to be national. it must go directly to the people and derived its strength from the people. we want people all over this land to sense the greatness of this moment, to participate in it, to help us all discover what that great spirit is. so i would charge this commission to move forward. move forward yes, in reaching the great material goals of which we know we are capable. that's the easiest part of the job. that recognizing that the best bet, best clothes, best housed
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people in the world, the strongest people in the world the richest nation in the world still will not deserve to be the hope of the world unless it has that splendid spirit, the lift of a driving dream which meant so much to the world in 1776 and for 200 years since that time. i would conclude simply by saying that by that year, 1976 the world will be at peace. by that year 1976, america we trust will find the understanding that we perhaps do not have in many quarters today, but above everything else, i would trust in that year 1976 that more americans can look back with pride and look to the future with hope -- hope that the opportunity that everyone in
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this room has had is something that is a realizable dream that can be achieved for anyone who has the good fortune to be born in this country or anyone who has the good fortune to come to this country. [applause] ♪ >> the bicentennial commission sees the 200th birthday of the united states as an opportunity to assess under the principles on which the country was founded, to measure life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, today and for tomorrow, to expand the frontiers for individual fulfillment, to balance the rights and responsibilities inherent in freedom and to celebrate the joys that life and liberty provide and with these to take renewed pride in the
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continuing american revolution. the american revolution bicentennial commission -- asking you what you or your organization would like to do to help make the bicentennial a great national success. right to the american revolution bicentennial commission box 1976 , washington, d.c. narrator: this week and on the c-span networks, politics, books, and american history. tonight at 8:00 eastern, a discussion on illegal immigrants and the enforcement of arizona's immigration law. sunday evening at 6:30, new jersey governor and republican presidential candidate chris christie on national security. on c-span2 tonight at 10:00
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eastern, the growing national debt and restructuring entitlement programs as a solution. sunday afternoon at 3:00, islamic extremism. on american history tv on c-span3, sunday morning, we commemorate the anniversary of the 1965 voting rights act. the conversation includes phone conversations between lyndon johnson and his aides and congressional members about strategy on how to enact and enforce the law and lbj's 1955 speech at the u.s. capitol and the signing of the bill. also this weekend tonight at 7:10, the university of california at berkeley history professor looks at the history of gun production in europe and how arms trading contributed to american victory during the revolution.
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get our complete get jewel at www.c-span.org -- our complete schedule at www.c-span.org. >> next, author in french historian dominique fracois explores the role of women during world war ii. he argues women were a vital support of the successes of the war by participating in women's armed forces organizations and manufacturing force of lies. the kansas city public library hosted this event. -- manufacturing war supplies. >> i'm pleased to welcome our speaker, dominique fracois, back to the american heartland. dominique was in abilene as we commemorated the 70th anniversary of the d-day invasion. he is a renowned military historian. he has published 16 books, many on the battles of normandy. he is currently working on the 17th book, he tells me, about

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