let them have it. >> all, i see. >> i don't know if you made -- [indiscernible] [laughter] >> i just do what i'm told. announcer: a look back at the 1992 presidential campaign of bill clinton during a visit to franklin high school in new hampshire. america -- ," world war one. >> i had landed in my captain was a new captain on that job. he said -- [indiscernible] again, it was one of those times when somebody reached out. and i was left.

went. off they it was several days later, a week or so later before i went across and rejoined my outfit. announcer: an interview with a former chief prosecutor with the united states, born to a jewish family, immigrated to america. he reflects on enlisting in the u.s. army after law school and being assigned to set up a war crimes branch to investigate nazi atrocities. watch "american history tv," all weekend, every weekend on c-span3. guitar complete schedule at c-span.org. isouncer: this year, c-span touring cities across the country, exploring american history. a look at our recent visit to sacramento, california. you are watching "american history tv," all weekend, every weekend, on c-span3.

the capital of california was not supposed to be in sacramento. actually, a little farther down the road in san jose was with the first the legislature met. itia,hey met also in ben which is close to san francisco. when they first decided to place the capital, they wanted it close to an area that people could get too quickly. sacramento had a lot going for it because of the gold rush. so we had roads and a way to get here, the sacramento river. eventually, sacramento was chosen in 1854 to be the state capital, and construction on this building started in about 1860. it took about 14 years to complete, as is the case with a lot of state capitals throughout the country. the civil war era brought a lot

of stops and starts. the capital in 1971 went through a distinctive seismic test to see if this building would stand enough quake. inre was a huge earthquake the southern california area and 1971 that turned our attention to the fact that with modernization and floors and try to make this victorian building look modern, they decided to go ahead and see it would -- see if it would withstand an earthquake. basically the bricks that were holding together the building, you could put a pencil through it. they said it was being held up by habit and gravity. one senator drew up plans in the late 1960's for a modern office space. it would take $42 million to basically take down the capital down to the ground and then about $70 million to build. that was shelved for a while,

but by then people were turning their attention to the bicentennial. and looking on to the places. so a bill introduced in the assembly in 1975 actually created the ability for us to take the money that would be used for the towers and redirected to see if we could actually save the building and make it earthquake safe, retrofit it. i miss all that it could be done, so six years and $68 million later, what we are looking at is a re-creation of what you would have seen in 1900 through 1910. we are in the assembly chamber. we are on what they call the floor of the assembly. the galleries are above us. and as with any state house, the galleries are where the public would sit and view the legislature. the idea that california is very diverse is reflected in our members.

they all sit at desks that were originally here in 1869. the first time this room was used, the desks you see were sitting here. there is sort of a story of a gentleman who immigrated here and made california has home because of the possibilities. john gruner was from germany. he came to california during the gold rush. because he was a woodworker, he actually created tools for miners -- miners. we have one on our state seal. you could put mortar through and be more efficient in finding the goal. he made those, and he eventually made beds, and his home furnishings started in sacramento and grew to be huge business, which is actually online today, believe it or not. so john created all the desks

ucp there are 80 of them with 40 in the senate, and we still use them today. our legislature since the 1960's has been full-time. prior to that, it was part-time. because of that, we had many people being able to be reelected over and over again. by the 1990's, people thought it might not be a good thing to have career politicians. so in the 1990's through a proposition, we became a state of term limits. here the assembly, after 1990, the assembly members would serve two-year terms, and they could repeat that three times, six years total. over in the senate, it was two four-year terms. and term limits were changed again. between 1990 and 2012, many attempts were made, all reported down. but in 2012, the voters decided that it legislature could serve

a total of 12 years in either house. interestingly enough, we had two really significant assembly members here in california prior to the term limits, and one of them served 15 years as speaker. the speaker of the house is elected by the members themselves. a gentleman named willie brown, who was born in texas, raised by verygle mom, became influential in politics. he was here for quite a while and served for 15 years before term limits, and had to turn out, so he -- term out, so he went on to become the mayor of san francisco. hearingas a committee room named after him. another gentleman named john burton was pro tem of the senate also has a hearing room named

after him, but it was his brother, philip, who first went from the assembly straight to congress, representing the bay area, and a number of our lawmakers have gone on to careers representing californians in the united states congress. there are some interesting things around the room itself. a portrait of abraham lincoln above the speaker's rostrum. in the senate, a portrait of george washington hangs over the leadership desk. the picture of abraham lincoln was done by an artist who sketched lincoln in person. on a number of paintings from his sketches during the civil war. abraham lincoln what, in 1900, 1910, would have been considered a significant as george washington would have been. so you had two significant

president hanging in our chambers, with the reminder that we are connected to the united states. california being so far west and not a lot in between, the idea that we would create the look of the capital with as close to what the united states capital looked like, we were the wild west for building this huge building with a dome and columns very similar in look and style to the united states capital. this is our identity. and so you see a lot of symbolism in the rooms. in fact, the green color of the assembly and the red color of the senate stemmed from what was being used at the united states capitol during that time in their house and senate. and it actually has words that goes back to british parliament. green, house of commons. red, house of lords. now we are in the senate.

and we are actually on the third floor of the capital. the third floor was a gallery. the chairs you see around you are for the people. legislative sessions are always open to the public, and at any time you are going to see either of a lot of people, a lot of schoolchildren, or a lot of nobody, depending on what is going on. a lot of bills have gone through this room that have been very controversial. of course, that is what the capital is built for. i used to tell them we are a bill making factory. a place where california representatives, legislators, would make decisions on pieces of legislation and turn them into law. 1911, you sawin some monumental bills being passed in here due to progressive era government. 1911, a lot of

legislation was favored toward special interest. the railroads were a huge special interest here in california. but a governor that was elected in 1910 brought in the progressive era politics, which meant that it was government in the service of people. creating bills and legislation that would assist people in various walks of life. in 1911, you saw compulsory education in california. you also saw an eight hour workday. you could still work six days. you couldn't go over 48 hours a week. and monumentally, the woman's suffrage bill was approved. it was passed by both the senate and the assembly, and ratified by a slim 2% of the majority in the state of california. also significant is the referendum, the initiative, and the recall. the idea that you could directly vote on something by passing the

legislative approval. in 1972, the people of california reintroduced the death penalty into california based on initiative process. at the top of the senate, right above the president pro tem desk, you see a bronze statue of a roman goddess named minerva. she was placed on california's minervaal in 1849, but represented also california becoming a state without ever being a territory. minerva, and her ancient roman story, sprung full-grown from the brain of jupiter. josie was never a baby and never a young -- so she was never a baby and never a young child. california became the 34th state without ever being a territory in 1849. to put that on a state seal not

having been a state yet, they were -- that was it. we were in either going to be a state or we will going to be an independent republic. -- we were going to be an independent republic. right now, we are in one of our historic rooms at the restoration. the first floor was turned into a first floor museum, showing people what government was like, the office culture at the turn of the century. at the turn of the last century, i might say. we are in the governor's main office. this would reflect the governor who was governor during the 1906 san francisco earthquake. the governor actually uses these office complexes up until 1950 when the east wing opened up and the governor's offices moved down there. we are seeing a lot of things reflected in the opulence of this period. heavy curtains, the woodworking on the walls to represent tools

leveler, but this was a working , but this waser a working office. it must have been an amazingly busy time when the two secretaries had to take everything, donations for the san francisco earthquake him right to the governor's office, and the best communication you had was a telephone and telegraph. we have actually a telegraph from theodore roosevelt asking how he could help. there are things that you can show people on government, on how it changes, and the things that the governor's office does. we talked a little bit about progressive era laws that were made. most significantly, women suffered, the recall and the referendum. here in the governor's office is a perfect place to talk about that. although the recall was used significantly afterward to recall people on commissions,

legislators, and things like that, it had never successfully been used to recall a governor until most recently. in 2003, governor gray davis was recalled. at the same time on the same ballot, a new governor was elected. a person well known throughout the united states, if not the world, arnold schwarzenegger. he became governor in 2004 based on a recall. gray davis was only the second governor to be recalled at that time in united states. it is not used very often to recall a governor, though attempts are made to recall governors. ronald reagan had an attempted recall. our current governor, jerry brown, when he was governor prior to this, he was in his second term of office and his dad, admin brown, who had been governor for both recalls, but were unsuccessful. preserving old buildings gives

the feeling of solidarity. the values that were valuable back down are still valuable now. the original intent of the building was still here. announcer: find out where the c-span cities tour is going next, online at c-span.org/citiestour. you are watching "american history tv," all weekend, every weekend, on c-span3. announcer: 70 years ago, an international military tribunal begin trial in germany. the defendants were charged with violating peace treaties, waging aggressive war, or comes, and crimes against humanity. on november 20 9, 1945, the film "nazi concentration and prison camps" was presented in the courtroom. she describes the documentary. >> it was a compilation that was

created to be shown as proof against the high command that was tried at the military tribunal in 1945 and 1946. it was a film that was shot by the allies -- i think -- well, no, the soviets by the allied troops. so it shows corpses, it shows the state in which they found many of the survivors. footage that many people will have seen today in different contexts, but it was one from. >> how important was it as evidence at the time? ms. swift: it was very important. not only because of the shocking and visceral nature, but also i believe it was the first or perhaps not the first but one of the first examples of film being used as evidence alongside of all the documents that they used to try these men. >> is there still value in viewing it today.

ms. swift: there is a great value in viewing it today. if you are anything of a world war ii buff, you will have seen these images before, but it is very interesting to see the narration, how it was edited together, what the allies -- you can read a lot in the film about what the allies were trying to communicate both in the courtroom and to people back home who were just then learning about these -- these horrible crimes. states will at documentaryesent a film on concentration camps. >> the slave labor camp at nordhausen liberated by the

army. it had been a depository for slaves found unfit for work in the underground plants and in other german camps and factories. american medical crews find 2000 still alive at the camps. they were discovered inside soviet barracks, where survival and death were contingent on how long human existence was possible on potato peels, one slice of bread, and the occasional bowl of liquid, which was supposedly soup. the dead quickly outnumbered the living. amid the corpses are human skeletons too weak to move. none of our medical battalions -- many of our medical battalions worked through the

day and night good but for advanced cases, there were often no cures. survivors are shown being evacuated for treatment in allied hospitals. >> all persons having business before the honorable, the supreme court of the united states, get their attention. americans, tonight, our country faces a grave danger. we are faced by the possibility that at midnight tonight, the steel industry will be shut down. therefore, i am taking two actions tonight.

first, i'm directing the secretary of commerce to take possession of the steel mills and to keep them operating. announcer: in 1952, the united states was involved in a military conflict with north korea. and at home, a dispute between the steel industry and its union had come to a head. the korean war was a hot war, and they needed steel for munitions, tanks, jeeps, for all those things that you needed in the second world war as well. if the steel industry went on on anrywide -- went industry wide strike, that would be a problem. announcer: to avoid a disruption, president harry truman seized control of the mills. and as a result, a pending strike was called off, and steel production continued; however, the steel companies disagreed

with the action and took the lawsuit all the way to the supreme court. we will examine how the court ruled in the case. and the impact on presidential powers. during our discussion, michael gerhardt, professor at university of north to lend a logical, and author of "power of precedents." and william howell, political science professor at the university of chicago and author of "the wartime president: power without persuasion." congressional checks on presidential war powers. that is coming up on the next "landmark cases," life monday at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span and c-span radio. -- c-span3, and c-span radio. what are your copy of the landmark cases companion book. -- order your copy of the landmark cases companion book.

tv"uncer: "american history is featuring c-span2 original series, "first ladies," at 8:00 p.m. eastern sunday nights. c-span produced the series in cooperation with the white house historical association. through conversations with experts, video tours, and questions from c-span's audience, we tell the stories of america's 45 first ladies. now, rosalynn carter on "first ladies." this is about 90 minutes. ♪ mrs. carter: i have learned that you can do anything you want to. they used to ask me if i thought the first lady ought to be paid. if you get paid, then i have to do what the first lady is supposed to do. but you can do anything you want to. and it's such a great soapbox.