century assumed the parliament was a protector of liberty and they did not realize americans would have a different view. americans respected parliament and, when push comes to shove, when it comes to enacting unconstitutional laws, in england, they could not have the unconstitutional law. you cannot today. there is no supreme court that says a statute is unconstitutional. the americans deviate and it takes a debate to open their eyes to the experience. the experience is 150-175 years and the colonial experience -- that is why colonial history is

important. it seems like nostalgia and it is not. it is important and it is much neglected, i must confess. [applause] host: thank you. thank all of you for coming. i want to remind you that the book is a great holiday gift. [laughter] we will see you again. thank you all for coming.

we love having you with us and we love doing this program. good night. >> you're watching american history tv. 48 hours of programming on american history every weekend on c-span3. follow us on twitter. and to keep up with the latest history news. all weekend long, american history tv is joining our comcast cable partners to showcase the history of monterey, california. to learn more, visit /citiestour.rg we continue with our look at the history of monterey.

>> welcome to monterey, situated on california's central coast. it's significant to historians and should be to all californians because it is the first place the government of mexico and ultimately the governor of california did business. the first time in american flag was raised over the state of california was right here. the reason why monterey ended up being the center of trade in northern california was the president that was set in the spanish colonial years. the first spanish expiration when they were trying to colonize the area included intain voices, including one

1602. what he was looking for on the spanish government was this .uitable for this is what they were looking for with a suitable harbor. and they missed the best one, which was san francisco. speculation was that maritime people couldn't find san francisco because of their notorious fog. so they found this harbor. very wisely, sebastian vizcaino named the harbor after the man who financed his expedition, the count of monterey of spain. right now we are inside the custom house. the goods that were being brought into monterey. all sorts of things, wagon wheels from england, vinegar's from china, brandy from france, all of these big countries were eager to trade with monterey because of this embarrassment of

riches that they had. they had tens of thousands of cow hides. literally currency during the mexican era. in fact, used so often as trade, for trade, that they were called california bank notes by sailors on trading vessels. one of those sailors was a very distinguished one, because he kept a very important journal. his name was richard henry dana junior. he referred to the highs as california bank notes. he talked in great detail, wrote descriptions of all the ports that they made along the coast about the california. they did confirm that this was the main port of entry and was the first place that they stopped. so the hides, you probably wonder why hides, what makes hides so valuable to the rest of the world. when you consider 19th-century life, think about the horse and buggy. you got checks, bids, cells,

chaps, boots, saddles, bridles, ulcerative things made -- all sorts of things made out leather. clothing. so that might be a good reason why the rest of the world wanted so much leather. they were driven by big camshaft coming down the middle of the ceiling. and hoped to that shaft, a driveshaft, there would be leather belts. a typical factory in boston or new york would have thousand miles of leather belts. that is what drove the economy in california. another thing that we might mention are the two prominent americans here that really helped drive the economy with the import/export business as they established in monterey in the 1820's and 30's. this is captain john rogers cooper and thomas oliver larkin. you see their names on some of

the cases up here. captain john robert cooper was a sea captain from boston who heard news that mexico was about to open up its port for international trade. so he sailed in with his own sailing ship and he stays with the vallejo family. you might be familiar with the town in the bay area called va llejo. he had a daughter who caught the captain's eye. it wasn't long before they married. this happened a lot here in california, where people coming in to do business with the mexican government would find a home here and intermarry with the californians who were already here. it wasn't long before captain cooper called his half-brother, thomas oliver larkin, to help him with his import/export business. with inside of a year, larkin was on his own making quite a success for him so.

these two americans living in mexican california really helped drive the mexican economy during the california-talon years. we are in the customhouse officials office. he was the person who assessed the value of all the cargo, determined what rate to charge the trading company, and he did that by examining the cargo as it came in. during the mexican era, there was a very strong sentiment among some of the imperialistic powers, that this country wasn't able to defend itself adequately and had a very shaky government. in fact, the mexican government was renowned for corruption, political disputes. there were disagreements between

the southern part of alta california, an area we call a and us now, and the northern part of alta california about who the governor should be. at one point, they shift at a governor they did not like. this political upheaval, that seemed characteristic of the region, certainly was noticed by the rest of the world. finally, it came to a point where it became obvious that almost anybody could sail in and take the area. but the thing that tilted at the last straw was the declaration of war between mexico and the united states. this is really the result or continuation of the tension in texas. that discouraged general santana for making any kind of a deal. eventually, war was declared. they got to the point in fact where tensions were so high between the two countries that the warships commissioned to guard the american trading vessels off the coast of alta california were given standing orders. that, should war break out

between mexico and the united states, you must sail into monterey and claim the territory and bring it under united states protection. that actually happened twice. the first time it happened was a mistake. a rather young suave, well-educated but somewhat hasty commander of the pacific squadron of warships had heard a rumor of war. remember, tensions were running very high. he was sailing off the coast of south america when he hears war has broken out between mexico and united states. he also knows that the french have warships offshore. he did not want monterey to follow into french hands. so he sailed into monterey very quickly and almost immediately raised the stars and stripes over the custom house right outside this building and claimed the territory for the united states. there is only one problem. war had not been declared between mexico and the united

states. so jones was faced with a dilemma and the embarrassment of having to lower the stars and stripes and apologize to the mexican government. four years later, wars eventually declared between mexico and the united states. in july of 1846, a more well seasoned, veteran and perhaps more patient commander of the pacific squadron also order to protect american trading interests was given the order to sail into monterey. but not wanting to repeat the mistake of his predecessor, he immediately goes to the american consulate. this is thomas oliver larkin. so he goes to larkin's house and the two of them confirm that war has broken out. larkin had collected several messages that had indicated that very thing. so the to them crafted a proclamation that would be read to the citizens of monterey here, right on the beach outside the custom house. from the balcony, the message was read to the citizen saying

that they were now under u.s. protection that their lives would remain unchanged. they were given 30 days to go sell it they chose to fight for their country, or they could remain here under u.s. protection. that was the proclamation. it didn't exactly work out that way for the mexicans who lost their lands over this class of cultures. if we look back at what would have been a listen to the stories of people who lived here it gives us a foundation , for where we are now and where we should be going. i think the customhouse stands as testimony to a very important casting off when you should not be forgotten. we bring thousands of school kids through this business -- this building, many learning about how to for the first time, many of them finding out the context for their own culture,

many of them latino who did not even know that this was the capital of mexican california. and if we are not here to tell them that and show them with the physical evidence and show them that we care enough about that past, then they won't have a context. they won't care. and they may be among those who think that time starts now. >> are out the weekend, american history tv is featuring monterey, california. our cities tour staff recently traveled there to learn about its rich history. learn more at www.c-span.org /citiestour. you're watching american history tv on c-span3. c-span presents landmark cases,

the boat. a kind to our -- guide to our series that explores barberry , brown versus the board of education, aranda versus education and row versus wade. cases, the book, features highlights and the impact of each case. written by tony mauro and published by c-span in cq press.on with get your copy today at /landmarkcases. >> american history is featuring c-span's original series, first lady's, influence and image,

through december 13. c-span produced a series in cooperation with the white house historical association, through conversations with experts and visits to historical sites. we tell the stories of america's 45 first ladies. on firsta bush, ladies, influence and image. this is about 90 minutes. ♪ >> i am here to voice my strong support for the courageous people of afghanistan. women and men who have suffered for years under the taliban regime. each and every one of us have the responsibility to stop the suffering caused by malaria. because every life in every land matters. and all of us can do something to help. after studying the first ladies and knowing some of them very well like my mother in law, one