[applause] announcer: that was a portion of a panel discussion on the history of terrorism. you can see the whole program on our website, www.c-span.org /history. this is american history tv on c-span 3. >> i am a history buff. i do enjoy seeing the fabric of our country and how things just how they work, how they are made. history tv, itn gives you that perspective. .> i'm a c-span fan >> each week american history america" provide archival films that bring

perspective to today's public affairs issues. president kennedy stumbled across the united states, making 11 stops between pennsylvania and california. he highlighted conservation of natural resources for future generations. this half hour interior department film was produced by the naval photographic center. greatness today rests in part on this good piece of geography that is the united states. but what is important is what the people of america do with it. >> this document, produced prior to the death of president kennedy, spans a continent on the days between september 24 and 28, 1963.

its message is eloquently expressed in the concern of a nation's leader for the resources of the earth and water or of the human spirit that are the indestructible fabric of these united states. pres. kennedy: i have come upon a journey of the united states to talk about the conservation of our resources. i was reminded when i read my itinerary of a poem by steven vincent canetti called "american names."

snakes and -- snakeskin title, mining claims. deadwood. >> the names were las vegas, whiskeytown, and tacoma. salt lake city, great falls, and billings. laramie and cheyenne. grand forks and duluth and ashland. ♪ for the beginning, a dedication ceremony at milford, pennsylvania. , thelace is great towers ancestral home of gifford conservationist and first chief of the forest service. built by his father james, the property now is given to the forest service by the pinchot family. president kennedy arrives to dedicate the property as a national center for national resource education.

the property, an 83-year-old french mansion and its 100 acres of ground, is presented by dr. gifford pinchot, son of the conservationist. president kennedy describes as a trainedot scientist, gift administrator, articulate publicist, and governor of pennsylvania. but as a man who would prefer to be remembered as a forrester and conservationist. for milford, a flight of 1000 miles to duluth.

by helicopter over the apostle islands barrier over lake superior, for a lander at ashland, wisconsin. to the welcoming throng at the ashton airport, president kennedy announces the convening of a conference to study the water pollution problem in the area. the scene is, to conserve our resources now for those who come after us. the same night, the fieldhouse of the university of minnesota at duluth. the president addresses the land and people conference for the northern great lakes region, relating our national responsibilities to the problem of the world community. a short flight over fertile farmland to the university of north dakota at grand forks.

president kennedy receives an honorary degree, and urges students to participate in the burdens of responsible citizenship. after 600 air miles and a plane change at cheyenne, a landing and a warm greeting at laramie, wyoming. an answer to a presidential question. yes, the boy scout oath is still the same.

remarks at the university of wyoming fieldhouse in laramie. billings, montana. the crowd at the airport is 33,000.d a town of only a drive through western scenery to the yellowstone county fairgrounds at billings.

president kennedy spoke of the complexity of a world in the midst of great changes, and of the need for each citizen to and helpnd the present lay the foundations for a peaceful and prosperous future. there is noy: action which any of us can take in washington that gives us greater confidence in the future of this country than to leave our city of washington and come west to wyoming, montana, that ania, and recognize great writer from my own state of massachusetts said, eastward i go. only by force. westward i go free.

i walked towards montana. i express my thanks to all of you. and i'm confident that when the the of national effort in 1960's is written, when a judgment is rendered, whether this generation of america took those steps at home and abroad to make it possible for those who came after us to live in greater security and prosperity, i am confident that history will write that in the 1960's we did our part to maintain our country and make it more beautiful. thank you. [applause]

announcer: an overnight stop at grant tatum national park, jackson hole, wyoming. the park, nearly 500 square miles, offers living quarters, a wildlife range where elk and bison can be observed in close quarters, and some of the country's most awesome scenery. arrival of the presidential plane and great falls, montana, and a reception full of local

color. en route to his speaking engagement, president kenny with for a brief visit senator mike mansfield of montana.

in the memorial stadium of great falls high school, the president describes the united states as a keystone in the arch of freedom, an ornament to the cause of freedom all around the globe. we must worry about this country of ours, he says, develop its natural resources, and its human resources. if the united states were to falter, the whole world would move towards the communist bloc. ♪ the president arrives at theord, washington, where world's largest nuclear reactor for peaceful purposes is under construction. he participates in the groundbreaking for the hanford steam plant. steamusly wasted reactor

will produce an amount of electricity equal to that of a major band. kennedy cites this as an example of developing new resources, as compared to the conservation of existing ones. tom hanford, southward salt lake city, where the president will extend his message on conservation to include the responsibilities thrust upon the united states by the pressure of world events. he will deliver his message at the mormon tabernacle in salt lake city, an institution universally known for the music

of its great choir. ♪ hallelujah glory, glory, hallelujah

hallelujah, marching on glory, glory, hallelujah glory, glory, hallelujah

glory, glory, hallelujah on ♪ uth is marching ♪

♪ glory, glory, hallelujah glory, glory, hallelujah hallelujahy, on truth is marching glory, glory, hallelujah hallelujahy, glory, glory, hallelujah ♪n ♪ruth is marching

announcer: three stops remained on the presidential conservation tour. tacoma, washington, where the enthusiasm of a large crowd threatened to carry away police barriers at cheney stadium.

president kenny says, the great movements in this country, the intellectual and social activity, took place in those periods when we look to long range to the future. the assignment in the 1960's is to produce men and women with a sense of public responsibility, the public duty.

whiskeytown, california. the president dedicates the whiskeytown band, the last of four that comprise the trinity river project.

las vegas, nevada, where president kennedy speaks at the convention center. here are some of the remarks he made at las vegas and at other places on his tour. pres. kennedy: i came on this trip to see the united states. and i can assure you there is nothing more encouraging for any of us who work in washington than to have the chance to fly across this united states, and drive through it, and see what a great country it is, and come to understand somewhat better how

this country has been able for so many years to carry so many burdens in so many parts of the world. the primary reason of my trip was conservation. i include in conservation first are human resources, and then our natural resources. you know how much of the atlantic coast is available for public use and purposes? 92% of the whole atlantic coast. the figures are the same for the pacific. unless we now before it's too late take these areas of the country, which offer the maximum for recreation for all of our people, unless we set them aside now, it will be too late. there isn't very much that you can do today that will materially alter your life in

in next 3 or 4 years conservation. but you can build for the future, you can build for the 1970's, as those ahead of us built for us this great dam and lake i flew over today. the task of propelling a third the of conservation in united states following that of theodore roosevelt and franklin theevelt is to make science servant of conservation, and to devise new programs of land stewardship that will enable us to preserve this green environment which means so much to all of us. this country has great particular emphasis from its beginning, from the time of the massachusetts bay colony, on educating our children.

most importantly, because we realize that the free democratic system of government, which places more burdens on the individual than any other system, must depend in its final analysis upon an informed citizen. weight in the united states in the 1960's to have 8 willmillion boys or girls drop out of school before they have finished it, come into the labor market unprepared at the very time when machines are taking the place of men and women. i think we have to insist that our children be educated to the limit. not just in your state or in massachusetts, but all over the united states. adams,jefferson and john who developed the northwest ordinance which put so much emphasis on education -- thomas jefferson once said that any

nation which expected to be ignorant and free hopes for what never was and what never will be. thise we can conserve resource. this country has become rich because nature was good to us, and because the people who came were also among the most vigorous. basic resources were used carefully and economically, and because of the wise work done by theodore roosevelt and others, significant progress was made in conserving these resources. unless we make the proper decision today on how we shall use our water and our air and our land and our ocean, unless we make the comparable effort, and effort comparable is what theodore roosevelt and others are goingars ago, we to waste it. today's conservation movements embrace discipline unknown in

the past. it must marshal our best technological resources. it must concern itself with , with the physics and chemistry of water, as well as tba. with the economic and engineering factors, as well as the preservation of all the scenic treasures. our task is to increase our understanding of our environment, to a point -- appoint it, enjoy it, and preserve it. and above all, maintain a living balance between man's actions and nature's reactions. for this nation's great is an elastic and productive as our ingenuity can make it. our national assets belong to all of us.

children who are born in the east grow up in the west, born in the west and grow up in the east, and we will find by concentrating our energy on our national resources of conserving but not merely conserving, and saving, but by developing and improving them. the united states will be richer and stronger. we can fulfill our responsibilities to those who depend upon us. ♪ >> ♪ for purple mountain majesty above the fruited plain america america theehed his grace on thy good with brotherhood

sea ♪ a to shining this is still a beautiful continent. but we want america the beautiful to be left for those who come after us. the late poet once remarked, what makes a nation in the beginning is a good piece of geography. our greatness today rests in part on this good piece of geography that is the united states. what is important is what the people of america do with it. ♪

♪ >> the supreme court is vested with this outsized amount of power. with that power comes great responsibility. the idea the you have individuals sitting on the court unfettered for 35 years just doesn't pass the smell test in a modern democracy. ght, the changes he would like to see at the supreme court, including opening up oral

andments to cameras requiring justices to adhere to the same code of ethics that other federal judges follow. court decisions affect all americans. all americans are aware of the third branch of government and in the last 10, 15 years the branch of government has become so powerful. the idea that issues on voting and marriage and health care and and women's rights, pregnancy discrimination -- i can go on and on. maybe 20, 30 years ago, congress and the executive branch would get together and figure out a compromise. that doesn't really happen anymore. the buck stops with the supreme court in a way that i feel has not happened before in our history. the court is making impactful decisions in our lives. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span's "q&a." >>