>> for this year's student cam documentary contest, students are telling us the issue they want the presidential candidates to discuss, and we're hearing about the students as they produce their video. hano,s a treat from andrew eighth grade social studies teacher in winston sallem, north carolina. congressman bob goodlap tweeted help with their student cam project this afternoon in roanoke, good luck. students in arizona tweeted more of our day at the capital. state again arizona representative john vines and senator clark for the tour, and pagle, social studies teacher tweeted interviewing jay our student for cam project about school bullying. $100,000 in prizes with a grand prize of $5,000. deadline is january 20, 2016, and the winners will be announced on march 9.

information, visit our web site, c-span.org. >> all weekend, american history v is featuring hartford, connecticut. samuel clemmons, commonly known hartfordtwain, lived in while writing the "adventures of "adventures and the of huckleberry fin." learn more about hartford all weekend here on american history tv. main branch of the hartford public library right outside the hartford history center. right now, we have an exhibit up life of freedom the venture smith, because we're 250th ating the anniversary of venture regaining hartford is the 1760 where venture

read.learned to invalid 0th, it seems to have it here in the state capital. what we're looking at here is the cover of this great auto bio graphy written by venture smith in 1798. and this is the family copy from at yale university. this is the earliest known african-american literary voice, and it's one of the great master literature.merican venture started his life in west africa near what is today lake uandara.a place called venture's people were known as herders. his father was the king or the chief of thisiary, which is a fairly wealthy place. they had a lot of goals there. venture was being raised to ecome the ruler of his people,

so by age 10 or 11, he had extensive education. and then an army comes in, captures them, and one of the earing moments in venture's life is watching his father be tortured to death trying to find the gold and wealth of his people. venture from his ome, as i say, about 11, and from him over 1,000 miles the interior of west africa down to the gold coast where he's put and he will ultimate ly rode out. venture was bought by one of the officers officers. this gives you a sense of what a worth.being could be he was bought for four gallons calico, nd a piece of

and transformed from being a commodity to to a be bought, sold and traded to the great horrors of the atlantic slave trade. this rhode island slave ship omabu and heads back, and sails across the atlanta to barbados, the eastern most of the british sugar plantation islands. one ofthat time in 1739, the very richest places on the venture he earth, ortunately is being raised by robinson mumford to become his steward or man servant. so at this point, he's already on the ship being given some education.

once the ship makes it back to newport, rhode n island, venture, this 11-year-old, is put with the ister of his owner to learn english, to learn how to be a man servant, how to live in the olonial culture, and he spends a year or so there, and then is island where r's 1740-41 ave from about to the end of 1754, owned by the mumfords. while on fishers island, venture marries his wife, meg. nothing about her except this wonderful phrase, i married her for love. as soon as venture gets married, all of a sudden, the quest for freedom really comes alive, and hat's why this whole story of his life is always about freedom.

venture desires to re-capture the freedom he had as a child growing up in africa. the mumfords sell venture to a place calledon stonington-point on the mainland. his is clearly for the next four years. venture's owner that he has the worst time with and gets on the worst. after four years there, the to a local l him broker who brings venture here hartford. and instead of selling him, he for 10 m for one year attorney and ted judge in hartford. -- daniel period edwards, this is the point where venture is obviously exposed to a sophisticated household, to a

educated man who would have read and who challenged his venture to go ome and build a future for his wife and family. so in 1760, venture gets sold to his last owner. smith, merchant, oliver who had just moved to stonington. house. just building a he buys venture, this great big strong man to build his house and the house s, that venture helps build and 1761 r smith moves into in is still standing is stonington. and night to day between e enough money 1760 when he comes to stonington in 1765. , toh has agreed to sell him

ell venture to himself for 85 pounds. as venture said, my freedom is a nothing else can equal. he bought his freedom in 1765, and that's why this year we are of this ng the 250th great event. we're in the hartford history and this is fittingly where we're telling the story of venture's success whole family and a dynasty. real anel talks about estate, which venture starts to accumulate in the spring of 17 1775. and real estate at the time of revolution blican was a symbol of freedom. more peak, venture owns than 130 acres, it's a very

large farm. he has a dry dock, a shipping work. and he's kind of the person that was brought to america as a commodity, has become a trader in commodities, and becomes very wealthy. and then in 1798 near the end of his-he actually writes this which uto bio graphy, tells us everything he did, who from., where he was and it's one of the only works talks about a birth in africa, describes it, the middle passage, and then slavery and ultimately freedom in new england. salmon river, venture made his last and most important real estate transaction. he bought a family plot in the church, gregational

which at that point was one of elite burial grounds in all of connecticut, and he had wife, and his son solomon, and his granddaughter, nd two grandchildren are all buried in the family plot. this mportant, though, is carved,re's tomb stone, and he put very some things, in memory of venture smith, an afric african, the son of a king. he was kidnapped and sold as a lave, but by his industry, he acquired money to purchase his freedom. 1805, in eptember 19, the 77th year of his age. set out to be remembered autobiography and uy the tomb stone and for his

family to have a legacy. ll of his owners who were prominent people in the 18th century have been forgotten. enture's narrative today is still in print. >> our staff recently traveled to hartford, connecticut, to learn about its rich history. learn more about hartford and the other stops on our tour at c-span.org/citiestour. you're watching american history weekend, kend, every on c-span 3. week, american history tv's real america brings you archival films that help provide context for today's public affairs issues.

>> president johnson addresses a oint session of congress to push a bill aimed at ending discrimination. it would appoint voting registrars in some instances and put an end to complicated literacy tests and other tactics. the president referred to the an american ma as tragedy and throughout the nation, even in canada, there were marches through the streets of towns and cities. in new york's harlem, more than 15,000 fight, in agonized protest. the events in selma were brought on a minister by white men. he died two days later. many feel he suffered martyrdom.

four men were held responsible for his murder. epitaph and his tribute. from sprang up overnight an obscure southern town to the newspapers. headquarters for the negro-pride right to vote. for me to lend his support the campaign. he pointed out that from selma's 300 were gros, only registered at the polls. to march,roup set out they were broken up violently by state troop andersen sheriff's deputies. dr. king led another contingent through the town.

violence. there is no the negros and civil rights workers reached the end of the bridge where a cordoned of troopers stand. they are ordered to turn back. dr. king confers with the police marchers hold their ground. he requests that they be allowed to pray. here are a few minutes of mounting tension. the request it pray is granted, and they kneel in the streets. that dr. king turned his marchers at the ehest of the white house, an arrangement that had been made to avoid confrontation that could only end in bloodshed.

the troops and deputies stand the prayers are said and the marchers go back to selma. this alabama town will go down n the history books as a turning point in the civil rights drive, from the halls of congress to the smallest hamlet, people can understand the plea that no american can have freedom and unless there is freedom and justice for all. in selma, there is a lesson to be learned. >> from 1914 to 1917 under the leadership of president woodrow wilson, the united states remained neutral as the first world war escalated throughout europe. up next, author and law professor mary gusick discusses the events behind america's entry into world war one and the mixed support from the american people. she's the author of a forth entitled going to