it tells us a great amount about the roots of the chicano movement. where does that politics come from? they were directly involved in the later movement. they handed down the politics to the so-called young turks. they participated themselves as the next wave of people got underway. thank you for having me, it has been wonderful to share this with you. [applause] announcer: interested in american history tv? visit our website, www.c-span.org/history. you can see our upcoming schedule or watch a recent program.

c-span is touring cities across the country. next, a look at our recent visit to long beach, california. you are watching american history tv on c-span3. ocean crossings or transatlantic crossings were very significant if you are an esteemed character, you sailed on the queen mary. it was almost a right of passage as your legacy as an individual. rms queenoard the mary located in long beach, california. construction started in late 1929. due to the crash of the worldwide depression, the hull 534 as she was named at the time

stopped. work began again in the early 1930's to get the ship back on track. it employed thousands of -- hundreds of thousands of people. it was very important as an economic development tool. the ship was completed in 1936 and had her maiden voyage may 27. the destination was new york harbor. she sailed with just over 3500 people, combining guests with crewmembers. the crossing took just shy of five full days. she was wonderfully welcomed in new york harbor when she arrived . during the travels in crossing, this area was meant to be an entertainment destination where you could come during the day to hear music and socialize with fellow passengers. in the evening hours, the stage

would light up and there would either be movies or entertainment with live music and dancing. the room was basically all ,ooden floor, parquet flooring and they would roll the carpets up at night for dancing. one of the most notable features of the first-class main lounge, now the queen salon, is the artwork behind me. that depicts two unicorns playing or in battle. that is actually the name "unicorns in battle." it was said with the horns met, you would hear music. this room was built around the idea of entertainment, it was an .mportant art installation we are located in the original first-class dining room, now called the clean salon -- clean

salon. first-class passengers would meet to have their meals and occasionally some entertainment. , a lot of relief that indicate transportation at sea. we have a beautiful, huge chart that navigated the queen mary and queen elizabeth as they crossed the atlantic. passengers can look up and see the ship's movement in crossing during their meals. in world war ii, -- the world what -- what the war was declared, there was an agreement that the queen mary and queen elizabeth with the converted to troop carriers. their capacity and speed allows the troops to be -- the ships to be wonderful troop carriers. the ship actually helped win world war ii for the allies.

there was a conversion process that took place in 1940 that lasted well over one year to re-output -- re-outfit the queen mary. adding antiaircraft guns and navigational technology. she was an impressive force. adolf hitler put a bounty of $200,000 on the queen mary for any submarine captain who could destroy the queen mary. she was fortunate that many skilled captains navigated the ship. at one point she carried over 16,800 troops. queen mary tohe serve during world war ii and a wonderful way to make sure the troops were pop -- properly moved. in 1945, the war was declared over and the queen mary began to

-- returning the war brides back to their families or in-laws. completed, the queen mary went back to be re-outfitted back to a cruise -- an ocean liner. that effort, she was modernized and in 1947 began sailing again as a cruise line -- transatlantic crossing cruise liner. in the eight -- in the late 1950's, air travel became more popular. crossing the atlantic by ship was not as popular or affordable . it was quicker to go by air and it was less expensive. the crossings became light in terms of population that enjoyed sailing across in the queen mary and other transatlantic ships. 1965, and art was

looking to sell the queen mary. the city of long beach was interested in developing the wharf complex. they believed the queen mary would serve as a wonderful host as an entertainment venue, as a historic venue, and a half italic -- hospitable venue. she arrived in the city of long beach december 10, 1967. >> the queen mary approaches her final resting place at long beach. on board, a farewell party of 1200 passengers. overhead, a jet passes in salute . saying goodbye to the past. about it, innk 1971 when the queen mary reopened to a great visitor

crowd, she basically continues to do today what she was meant to do in the 1930's. bring people from all over the world to a one-of-a-kind asset where you make lifetime memories and hopefully lifetime of friends. these wonderful, legendary moments you can have aboard the queen mary and share with your friends and family. our cities tour staff recently traveled to long beach, california to learn about rich history. learn more about long beach and other stops at www.c-span.org /citiestour. you are watching american history tv, all weekend, every weekend on c-span3. on lectures in history, tracy mckenzie teaches a class on the

evolving aims of the union army during the civil war. here is a preview. thingsink -- one of the we have tried to identify already is that if you are an american in a northern state in the middle of the 19th century, you can oppose slavery for many reasons separate from commitment to racial equality. that might be your motive, but it need not be. we begin to talk about the recruitment of black soldiers. northern popular opinion cannot separate that from a policy pointing toward racial equality. in a certain way, this policy is more controversial, more divisive simply in emancipation itself. we could add to the list of controversial issues, i will not go into as much detail, but i will mention in the summer of 1862, the north moves to a constriction policy, meaning the

force of a draft of soldiers. they do that calling for a nine-month volunteers in the summer in the spring of 1863 been moved towards an all-encompassing draft law. payment between the ages of 20 and 45, any white male the subject to the draft. it begins to have a very significant impact on popular opinion. >> you can watch lectures in history tonight at 8:00 p.m. and midnight eastern. this is american history tv, only on c-span3. >> next, author pamela scott discusses her book "capital engineers: the u.s. army corps of engineers in the development of washington, d.c., 1790-2004." we will hear about the army corps of engineers key role in designing the capital city, including