>> this was the second of a two-part look at the national museum of american jewish history. you can watch this and all other american history >> with that power comes great responsibility and the idea that you have individuals sitting on the court for 30-35 years just doesn't pass the smell test one succumbs to a modern democracy. "q&a," changes you would like to see on the supreme court, including imposing term limits on the justices, and requiring justices to adhere to the same code of ethics other federal judges follow. >> supreme court decisions affect all americans.

all americans are aware of the third branch of government and in the last 10-15 years, the third branch of government has become so powerful. voting, health care, women's rights, pregnancy discrimination -- i could go on and on. these issues that 30 years ago, the executive branch would get together to put together a compromise or a bill, that is my happen anymore. the buck stops with the supreme court in a way that is unprecedented in our history. given that the sprinkler is making these impactful decisions, the least the public can do is press them. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span's "q&a." tv weekend, american history is featuring montgomery, alabama. the city was the site of the , whichery bus boycott

began when rosa parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus. posted by our charter communications cable partners, staff's city's tour recently visited the city. all weekend here on american history tv. >> we are in the museum of alabama, which is a unit of the alabama department of archives in history. it was founded in 19 no one. -- it was founded in 1901. we are the oldest independent history organization in the country. we are in the alabama voices exhibit, the centerpiece permanent exhibition of the museum of alabama. this exhibit opened in 2014 to help us present a new telling of the story of our state's past. the exhibit provides a nice introduction. we introduce then the european colonial powers and later, the

new united states government, who becomes both trade partners and at times, adversaries to the people who live here in alabama. we're looking here at an artifact that is extremely important to the story of changing relationships in the 18th century. was is a piece metal that cast to commemorate the signing of the treaty of new york in 1790. this is the first international treaty signed by the new united states government. six of these were presented to the party that came to new york to sign the treaty. this treaty was important for establishing a new standard and a new expectation in terms of who was going to be treating with the native american people. the treaty of new york declared quite specifically that the federal government of the new united states would be the only entity that could negotiate with the sovereign indian nation, as they were recognized at the time.

it also spelled out several other provisions that were to shape the relationship between the united states and the creek nation of that time. it is important in the history of the diplomatic relationship between the u.s. and the greek people. it is also a beautiful reminder of a promise that was made to the native american inhabitants of alabama. one of a long series of promises that would be made and subsequently broken as the united states continue to encroach on creek lands. after native americans are removed finally from this section of the southeast, we move into this section of the story. this is about the dramatic transformation of alabama from 1810'siod of the through the antebellum period. alabama became one of the wealthiest parts of the country and it's all because of the new

type of economy that was established year by the settlers coming in from georgia and the carolinas and tennessee. there is a mix of farmers who were coming in. some were small farmers. who were called the yeomen, could afford the poor quality land. there were also quite wealthy people who were coming in. the capital needed to set up plantation agriculture on the large-scale and they came to plant cotton and with them, they brought in slave african-americans that provided the labor that made this entire system work. so, that transformation of the state into a really very wealthy region in a span of a few decades depends on the introduction of this capital, the arrival of enslaved african-americans to provide the labor, and finally, this piece of technology -- the cotton gin -- that becomes one of the very important pieces in this entire system. this gin was manufactured 20 miles from here in a town called prattville, founded by daniel

pratt. he was an industrialist, a visionary really, who saw the potential to come in and set up a manufacturing operation here in the deep south. in the 1830's and gins.producing cotton his firm, and later firms that acquired his company, where in continuous operation until about 2013. this is an extremely important piece of technology that makes the entire southern economy work in the antebellum period, and even up to the mid-20th century. it is important for removing cotton seedshis firm, and laterf cotton that makes it possible to package and transport the package to either the northeast or to europe for processing and manufacturing. it is one of the very important pieces of this economic engine that drove alabama at the time. this focus on cotton production

will shape alabama socially, politically, and economically in the decades before the civil war. as "her to 1860 -- 1860, thecloser to political temperature of the entire country is going up as the north and south are divided over the future of the expansion of slavery into the western part of the united states. attgomery winds up being the center point of this debate as it is one of the early states to vote to secede from the union. invitedy in 1861, it other slaveowning states to send representatives here to montgomery to consider creating a new can enter government. this flag is related to the story of the creation of the confederacy. a pre-war flag was carried by jefferson davis when he was sworn in as the president of the new confederacy. it is also instructive in

telling us about the attitudes of the young men who were joining these military units forming all over alabama, as they were expecting civil war to break out in the coming weeks and months. this flag is from the small community in east alabama where academy forfine young men, many of whom plan to study the law and become attorneys. what you actually can read in the slogan that is painted on the flag that they proclaimed "justice and protection to each new partner, or a new firm." these were all students that were expecting to go to a war that might last two comeree months, and then home to resume their legal studies and practice law. they could not imagine what was about to happen to them and their families over the course of the next four years of war. ofare looking at a portrait roy, who served as a

secretary of war from the new confederate state. he played a significant role at the outset of the war. he and other members of the administration were operating here in montgomery and early 1861 out of the exchange hotel, which once stood at the bottom of dexter avenue. on the day that the order was sent to charleston to fire on fort sumter, walker issue that order and a runner crossed dexter avenue to the winter building where there was a cotton office and a telegraph was available. that telegram was sent from here in montgomery to charleston and those were the shots that started the war. by the summer of 1864, the union is very much trying to cut off the south industrial capacity, especially that capacity that existed in alabama. in action in mobile bay, which the admiral famously participated, was all about an effort to cut off selma, alabama and its large and you factoring facility from the rest of the

confederate military. coming upforces are from mobile bay and down from tennessee to try and destroy that manufacturing complex. of course, not long after that, the tide is beginning to turn for the confederacy. it is in it the spring of 1865 when lee makes the decision that he realizes he is not going to be able to continue to fight. veis sword belonged to a nati of montgomery, who later became one of our governors. at a time he was a major on lee's staff. and on the morning that he decided it was time to signal his willingness to surrender, he tied a towel and crossed the field and signaled lee's desire to begin negotiations. talk about this as the sword the end of the war in terms of

signaling the end of hostility. aboute are talking reconstruction, we are talking about a time when alabama is dealing with ethical decisions. how will it rebuild its economy after the civil war? how will newly emancipated african americans going to make a living? where they going to live? what is the relationship going to be to their former owners? that all combines for quite a tumultuous story is fascinating in many respects. one of my favorite pieces associated with the reconstruction story is this voter registration volume. a 1867, alabama had to adopt new state constitution to reenter the union. that summer, registrars went out all over the state registering citizens who are eligible to vote. what makes this falling special and the others like it is they were the first state records produced by alabama government that record the names of

formally enslaved african american men who are now recognized as free citizens of the state. the document, in many cases, was the first time they would have put into a public record, not just the given name, but also whatever surname they chose at the time of emancipation. it is also extremely valuable for doing african-american genealogy. it provides a very important mileposts in terms of african-american families being able to document the lineage back to 1867. the remainder of alabama voices goes on to tell about the dramatic changes that unfold in the ensuing decades of alabama's history as it becomes the most heavily industrialized state in the south, the most heavily unionized state in the south, and undergoes a whole sequence of changes leading through the turn of the 20th century and as we approach the great depression and world war ii. there is the fantastic story that goes on to the mid-20th century related to the civil rights movement and alabama's

role. championing and making it possible for african americans to realize their full civil rights as citizens of our country. we hope our visitors leave with a better appreciation of the rich tapestry that is alabama's history. there are so many fascinating stories here about people who were trying to improve their own lives. here abouttories cooperation, but also about deep conflict and we really hope they leave with a better awareness of how history has shaped the present that we work with today. staff city's tour recently traveled to montgomery, alabama to learn about its rich history. to learn more about montgomery and other stops on our tour, go to www.c-span.org/citiestour. you are watching american history tv, all weekend every weekend on c-span3.

as the director of military and veteran affairs in ohio, we have comerans into my office talking about who they want to book for. it is your civic duty to go out and vote. many things are at stake with this election. i encourage you to get out and vote for the candidate that best supports your causes and the future of this nation. >> i am here supporting bernie sanders. i feel he is one of the most important candidates in this field right now. is the best alternative to the mainstream. he has the most progressive ideas for the country. i encourage everyone to go out and support bernie, if possible. >> the most important issue that we feel is important is going to be college tuition, as well as jobs.

when college kids go to school they need to know how they are going to pay for it and afford it, as well as when they are leaving college, what their future will look like, who is trying to bring jobs back into the u.s. and things like that. so, as president of the college democrats, those are the two biggest issues. >> i was originally going to vote for bernie sanders, however because i am not that politically inclined, i ended up going with hillary because she has been in the political environment before. states been secretary of and she has already seen the inner workings of the white house and how the game goes. each week until the 2016 presidential election, american history tv brings us coverage of presidential races. 84 democratic debate in atlanta between former vice president walter mondale and john glenn of