coupons. they were all within a few yards of the assembly line. more and more the special needs of women workers were realized and met. oh yes, there was another girl, her reason for entering war work -- >> why did i take a defense job? it's a funny question. i never thought of that before. do you have to have a reason? we're in a jam, aren't we? i'm sorry but you'll have to excuse me, i'm too busy to answer damn fool questions like that. >> somehow that answer pleased us. no sudden emotional burst sent this young woman into war work. no loss of a loved one. no temporary economic embarrassment. no mere yearning for excitement or novelty. democracy is in a jam. there are millions like her. there will have to be. 18 million women aren't enough. as more men are called for military service, their places

must be taken by women. we're forced to face casualties at the front, but never again as during 1943 can one woman quit without two being hired. there's no time to be spent in the constant training of new replacements. without the help of additional thousands of women, we cannot build the mountains of materiel consumed in global invasion. we cannot make good the millions of manhours and womanhours that are lost in a fleeting second of smoke and flame. as long as the nazi cancer exists anywhere in the world, this is also a woman's war. to be waged so that no woman shall ever again clutch a starved baby to her breast. so that no woman anywhere shall ever be the slave of a fascist state that makes her no more than a brood mare. that is why the women of america like the men at their side must

flock toward jobs and stick to those jobs until that day when an end has come to the devastation of the earth. when men again may safely go down to the sea. that day when peace has come once more to all lands. especially to the land at whose gate stands the finest warrior, the greatest woman of them all. ♪ friday, a conference on defense innovation. defense secretary ashton carter takes part in the event hosted by the center for strategic and international studies. live coverage at 8:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span3. and later, a look at the reconnecting justice program which provides education and training for prisoners. the center for law and social policy holds a briefing with state and federal correctional

education administrators. that's live at noon eastern also here on c-span3. >> on election day, november 8th, the nation decides our next president and which party controls the house and senate. stay with c-span for coverage of the presidential race, including campaign stops with hillary clinton, donald trump, and their surrogates. and follow key house and senate races with our coverage of their candidate debates and speeches. c-span, where history unfolds daily. this weekend on "american history tv" on c-span3, saturday morning from 9:00 eastern till just after noon -- >> should the british empire and its commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, this was their finest hour. >> we're live for the 33rd

international churchill conference in washington, d.c. focusing on the former british prime minister's friends and contemporaries. speakers include british historian andrew roberts, author of "masters and commanders: how four titans won the war in the west, 1941-1945." and later on saturday a later o texas general land office commissioner george p. bush. state senator jose menendez. and musician phil collins talk about the spanish mission, the alamo at the 2016 texas tribune festival in austin. >> the memories of have of my it presses of that time was this group of people were going and they knew they were going to die but they went. or they were there. crockett went. there was something very norm and very romantic. i've learnt that it wasn't quite as black and white. and that's one of the things i think would be good in this day and age, that we put it into

context. >> then sunday evening at 6:00 on "american artifacts." >> macarthur's up front. you notice he's not wearing a weapon. he would often lead attacks carrying nothing but that riding crop that you see in his left hand. and the men looked at this and realized, hey, if the colonel -- later the brigadier -- if the colonel can take it, well, i can take it too. >> we visit the macarthur memorial in norfolk, virginia, to learn about the early life of douglas macarthur, who commanded allied forces in the pacific during world war ii. and at 8:00 -- >> the great leaders also serve as conscience in chief. with the highest level of integrity. with their moral compass locked on true north so that we can always count on them to do the right thing when times get tough or when no one is looking. >> author talmadge boston explains his ten commandments for presidential leadership. what they are, and provides examples of presidents who excelled at each one.

for our complete american history tv schedule, go to cspan.org. next, "reel america" features the 1945 film directed about frank capra titled "why we fight: war comes to america." it chronicles the world events that pulled the u.s. into world war ii. the film was intended to educate americans on the war effort and to refute nazi and japanese propaganda.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

>> in the jungles of new guinea. on the barren shores of the allusions. in the tropic heat of the pacific islands. in the subzero cold of the skies over germany. in burma. and iceland. the philippines. and iran. france. in china. and italy. americans fighting. fighting over an area extending seven-eighths of the way around the world. men from the green hills of new england.

the sun-baked plains of the middle west. the cotton fields of the south. the close-packed streets of manhattan. chicago. the teeming factories of detroit. los angeles. the endless stretching distances of the southwest. men from the hills and from the plains. from the villages and from the cities. bookkeepers. soldiers. mechanics. college students. rich man. poor man. beggar man. thief. doctor. lawyer. merchant. chief. now veteran fighting men. yet two years ago, many had never fired a gun or seen the ocean or been off the ground. americans. fighting for their country while half a world away from it. fighting for their country. and for more than their country. fighting for an idea. the idea bigger than the

country. without the idea, the country might have remained only a wilderness. without the country, the idea might have remained only a dream. ♪ over this ocean, 1607, jamestown. 1620, plymouth rock. here was america. the sea, the sky. the virgin continent. we came in search of freedom, facing unknown dangers rather than bend the knee or bow to tyranny. out of the native oak and pine we built a house. a church. a watchtower. we cleared a field. and there grew up a colony of free citizens. we carved new states out of the

green wilderness. virginia. massachusetts. rhode island. carolina. then came the first test in the defense of that liberty. 1775, lexington. our leaders spoke our deepest needs. colonists are by the law of nature free-born, as indeed all men are. it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and to institute new government. these are the times that try men's souls. but as for me, give me liberty or give me death. in the midst of battle, it happened. the idea grew. the idea took form. something new was expressed by men. a new and revolutionary doctrine. the greatest creative force in human relations. all men are created equal.

all men are entitled to the blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. that's the goal we set for ourselves. defeat meant hanging. victory meant a world in which americans ruled themselves. 1777, valley forge. we fought and froze, suffered and died. for what? for the future freedom of all americans. a few of us doubted and despa despaired. most of us prayed and endured all. 1781. yorktown. now we were a free, independent nation. the new idea had won its first test. now to pass it on to future americans. the constitution, the sacred charter of we, the people. the blood and sweat of we, the people. the life, liberty, and happiness of we, the people.

the people were to rule. not some of the people. not the best people or the worst. not the rich people or the poor. but we, the people. all the people. ♪ in this brotherhood, america was born. one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. it began as 13 states along the atlantic seaboard. we pushed across the alleghenys, the ohio river, the mississippi. the last far range of the distant rockies. we carried freedom with us. no aristocratic classes here. no kings. no nobles or princes. no state church. no courts. no parasites. no divine right of man to rule man. here, humanity was making a clean, fresh start from scratch.

behind us we left new states. chips off the old blocks welded together by freedom. ♪ my country 'tis of thee sweet land of liberty ♪ ♪ of thee i sing ♪ land where my fathers died ♪ land of the pilgrims' pride ♪ from every mountainside let freedom ring ♪ >> until finally we were one nation. a land of hope and opportunity that had arisen out of a skeptical world. a light was shining. freedom's light. from every country and every clime, mensah that light and turned their faces toward it. give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me. i lift my lamp beside the golden door. as strange esto one another, we came and built a country. and the country built us into americans. the sweat of the men of all nations was poured out to build the new. the sweat of our first settlers, the english, the scotch, the dutch. building the workshop of new england. of the italian in the sulfur mines of louisiana. of the frenchman and the swiss in the vineyards of california and new york state. of the dane, the norwegian, the swede, seeding the good earth to make the midwest bloom with grain. of the welsh. of the negro harvesting cotton in the hot southern son. of the spaniard.

the first to roam the great southwest. of the mexican in the oil fields of texas and on the ranches of new mexico. of the greek and the portuguese harvesting the crop the ocean yield. of the german with his technical skill. of the hungarian and the russian. of the irish, the slav, and the chinese working side by side. the sweat of americans and a great nation was built. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> yes, the sweat of the men of

all nations built america. and the blood. for the blood of americans has been freely shed. five types in our history have we withstood the challenge to the idea that made our nation. the idea of equality for all men. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. the idea that made us the people we are. let's take a look at ourselves before we went into this war. >> well, first of all, we're a working people. on the late. at a work bench. at a desk. we're an inventive people. the lightning rod. cotton gin. the telegraph. the blessed anesthesia. the rotary printing press. telephone. electric welding. the incandescent lamp. the submarine. steam turbine. the motor-driven airplane. the x-ray tube.

the gyroscope compass. the sewing machine. television. all these and countless more bear witness to our inventiveness. and this inventiveness and enterprise, plus our hard-won democratic ideal of the greatest good for the greatest number, created for the average man the highest standard of living in the world. 32.5 million registered automobiles, two-thirds of all the automobiles there are in the entire world. we demand the highest standards in sanitation, purity of food, medical care. our hospitals are models for the world to copy. we want the best for the average man, woman, or child. particularly child. we have reduced the hazard of being born. from then on we protect, foster, and generally spoil the majority of our children.

but it doesn't seem to hurt them much. they go to school. all kinds of schools. the kindergartens, public schools, private schools, trade schools, high schools, 25,000 high schools. and to college. in the last war, 20% of all men in the armed forces had been to high school or college. in this war, 63%. we're a great two weeks' vacation people. we hunt. and we fish. up north, down south, back east, out west. when the season opens, we hunt and fish. we're a sports-loving people.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> and we're probably the travelingest nation in all history. we love to go places. we have the cars. we have the roads. we have the scenery. we don't need passports. but sometimes we need alibis. we sleep by the road. we eat by the road. the foreigner is enchanted and amazed by what we like to put on our stomachs.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> and we're a great joining people. we join clubs. frat tenderties. unions. federations. shove a blank at us, we'll sign up. radios, we have one in the living room -- >> when you think of refreshment, think of -- >> the dining room -- ♪ ♪ >> the bedroom. the bathroom. in our cars.

>> and in case of acid independent jaegs -- >> in our hands. >> does your cigarette taste different lately? >> music. we couldn't be without it. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the press, yes, it's the biggest. but most important it's the freest on earth. over 12,000 newspapers of all shades of opinion. books on every conceivable subject. more than 6,000 different

magazines, not counting the comics. churches, we have every denomination on earth. 60 million of us regularly attend. and no one dares tell us which one to go to. we elect our own neighbors to govern us. we believe in individual enterprise and opportunity for men and women alike. we make mistakes. we see the results. we correct the mistakes. we skyrocket into false prosperities and then plummet down into false, needless depressions. but in spite of everything, we never lose our faith in the future. we believe in the future. we build for the future. >> yes, we build for the future. and the future always catches up with us. before we're done building, we've developed something new

and have to start rebuilding. that's roughly the kind of people we are. mostly easygoing. sentimental. but underneath, passionately dedicated to the ideal our forefathers passed on to us. the liberty and dignity of man. we've made great material progress. but spiritually we're still in the frontier days. yet deep down within us, there's a great yearning for peace and goodwill toward men. somehow we feel that if men turn their minds toward the fields of peace as they have toward the fields of transportation, communication, or aviation, wars would soon be as old-fashioned as the horse and buggy days. we hate war. we know that in war it's the common man who does the paying, the suffering, the dying. we bend over backwards to avoid it. but let our freedoms be endan r endangered and we'll pay and

suffer and fight to the last man. that is the american. that is the way of living for which we fight today. why? is that fight necessary? did we want war? in 1917, before most of you fighting men were born, our fathers fought the first world war to make the world safe for democracy. for the common man. they fought a good fight and won it. there was to be no more war in their time or their children's time. faithful to our treaty obligations, we destroyed much of our naval tonnage. our army went on a reducing diet until it became little more than a skeleton. for us, war was to be outlawed. for us, europe was far away. and as for asia, well, that was

really out of this world. where everything looked like it was torn from the "national geographic." yet in this remote spot in asia, in 1931, while most of you were playing ball in the sand lots, this war started. without warping, japan invaded manchuria. once again, men who were peaceful became the slaves of men who were violent. in washington, d.c., our secretary of state made a most vigorous protest. the american government does not intend to recognize any situation, treaty, or agreement which may be brought about by means of aggression. but we, the people, hadn't much time to think about manchuria. we were wrestling with the worst depression in our history. some of us were out of jobs.

some of us stood in bread lines. some of us suffered homemade aggression. some of us were choked with dust. some of us had no place to go. two years later in 1933, while most of you were graduating from high school, we read that a funny little man called hitler had come into powner in germany. ♪ we heard that a thing called the nazi party had taken over. ♪ "today we rule germany, tomorrow the world."

what kind of talk was that? it must be only hot air. 1935, about the time you had your first date, we read that strutting mussolini had attacked far-off ethiopia. ♪ the disease seemed to be spreading. so congress assembled to insulate us against the growing friction of war. >> we want no war. we'll have no war, saving defense of our own people or our own army. >> toward this end, our chosen representatives passed the neutrality act. no nation at war could buy manufactured arms or munitions from the united states. 1936.

when you were running around in jalopies, we were disturbed by news from spain. in our newsreels we saw german and italian air forces and armies fighting in spain and wondered what they were doing there. for the first time we saw great cities squashed flat, civilians bombed and killed. ♪ in november 1936, the american institute of public opinion, known as the gallup poll, asked

a representative cross section of american people, if another war develops in europe, should america take part again? no. 95%. we, the people, had spoken. 19 out of 20 of us said, include us out. to further insulate ourselves we added a cash and carry amendment to the neutrality act. not only wouldn't we sell munitions, but we wouldn't sell anything at all. not even a spool of thread. unless warring powers sent their own ships and paid cash on the line. in 1937, the press services received a flash from asia. ♪

yes, the japs were turning asia into a slaughterhouse. but for us, asia was still far away. in september 1937, the gallup poll asked us, in the present fight between japan and china are your sympathies with either side? we answered, with china, 43%. with japan, 2%. undecided, 55%. we hadn't made up our minds about china. our neutrality act barred sales of armaments only to nations at war. the japanese had not declared war so we went right on selling scrap iron and aviation gasoline to japan. in march 1938, hitler had not declared war either but his goose-stepping army suddenly smashed in and occupied all the soil of austria.

six months later, hitler and his stooge met the anxious democracies at munich. hitler promised peace in our time if britain and france would give him that part of czechoslovakia known as the sudetenland. britain and france give him that part of czechoslovakia, hoping to avert war. now we had his word. peace in our time. at home, we began to hear strange headlines. >> extra, extra! fbi captures -- >> we sat in our theaters, unbelieving, as motion pictures exposed nazi espionage in america. >> as germans we know if america is to be free we must destroy the chain that ties the whole misery of american politics together, and that chain is the

united states constitution! >> seig h. il! >> could these things really be? yes, these subversive acts were happening in real life every day. germans organized for the purpose of detry stroying us marched under our very noses. ♪ ♪ >> i pledge on the bible allegiance to the flag of the united states of america as a republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> in our press, we read the news from abroad. nazis were spending millions arming germany to the teeth.

question read that the tokyo diet was appropriating tremendous sums, converting japan into one vast munitions plant. we watched these supposedly poor, have-not nations spend huge sums for armament and we wonders why. arrogantly, they told us why. they had declared war on us long before the shooting started. >> we have actually been at war since the day when we lifted the flag of our revolution against the democratic world." "the germans are a noble and unique race to whom the earth was given by the grace of god."

"the world must come to look up to our emperor as the great ruler of all nations." >> when the people of these three nations elected to follow their lead eers, death incorporated, they organized to smash personal freedom, equality of man, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, organized to smash the very principles which made us the people we are. so, in december 1938, when the gallup poll asked us, should the united states increase the strength of its army, navy, and air force, we answered yes. 85%. it was time to look to our defense. >> gentlemen, this is the

military committee of the united states house of representatives meeting for the purpose of considering national defense. >> the navy is asking for an increase of 25% in authorized naval tonnage in view of the grave international situation. >> congress reflecting the voice of the people appropriated the largest sum for military use ever voted during peace in american history. we didn't dream that a few years later it would look like peanuts. on march 14th, 1939, adolf hitler broke the pledge he made at munich. he took over all the rest of czechoslovakia. there would be no more peace in our time. april 7th, 1939. as we here in america observed good friday -- ♪

>> mussolini invades albania! >> the picture was becoming clear. the conquering forces of violence would being set loose in the world. where would they stop? in a last desperate effort to avert a world war, president roosevelt sent messages to hitler and mussolini asking their promise to respect the independence of 30 free countries. to adolf hitler this message was a huge joke, as he repeated the names to a year iing ratsteig. >> liechtenstein, lux sen burg, roma romania, yugoslavia, iraq, iran,

palestine -- >> this was the only answer the president received. >> seig heil! >> on september the 1st, 1939, the nazi army smashed into poland. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> england and france had a treaty with poland. would they act now? at home, we listened in suspense. >> adolf hitler's all-out attack

on poland makes the long, dreaded european war a certainty. prime minister chamberlain of great britain gave the nazi dictator a zero hour for withdrawing his troops from poland. that zero hour ends now. at this time, we transfer you to london for an important announcement by the british prime minister. >> up to the very last, it would have been quite possible to have arranged a peaceful and honorable settlement between germany and poland. but hitler would not have it. a situation in which no word given by germany's ruler could be trusted and no people or country could feel itself safe had become intolerable. now may god bless you all, and may he defend the right. for it is evil things that we will be fighting against. and against them, i am certain that the right will prevail. >> six hours after great britain

declared war on nazi germany, the republic of france followed. all france is in a maelstrom of activity. the sparring is endless. world war ii has begun. >> at home we were asked, what country do you consider responsible for causing this war? germany, 82%. we americans had no doubt who started it. also, we began to fear that this war was going to concern us. president roosevelt called a special session of congress to reconsider the embargo against selling munitions. >> i have asked the congress to reassemble in extraordinary session in order that it may consider and act on changes in our neutrality laws. >> the men of congress wrestled with their beliefs in our futures. they debated and they argued. >> the arms embargo is far too

great a security to american peace to permit its surrender without a last-ditch fight. >> the embargo act as it now stands is one-sided and works entirely to the advantage of one side. therefore, the embargo act should be modified. >> we, the people, also debated and argued whether we should sell arms and munitions. when the question was put to us, we had an answer. should we change the neutrality act so we can sell war supplies? yes, 57%. shortly after, our representatives changed the neutrality act. we lifted the embargo on arms and munitions. now we would sell, if purchasers would pay and take the stuff away in their own ships. american ships were still barred from combat zones. meanwhile, on the other side of the globe.

japan was busy trying to bomb, shoot, and terrorize the chinese into submission. we began to realize that if japan conquered 400 million chinese, she might become so strong as to run us right out of the pacific. you will remember that two years earlier, in september 1937, when we were asked, in the present fight between japan and china, are your sympathies with either side? only 43% were with china. most of us were undecided. in june 1939, when we were asked the same question, 74% said we were with china. now our minds were made up. when we loaded our scrap iron on japanese ships, our citizens protested. let mr. acheson, assistant

secretary of state, tell us the inside of the story. >> so until the middle of 1940, the restriction of exports to japan took the form of moral embargoes of airplanes and during the course munitions. then congress passed the export control act. and increasing cut-offs of scrap iron, aviation gasoline, and other strategic items followed. exports were curtailed to the limit which those responsible for our defense were willing to risk. it was a fearful responsibility. on one side was the possibility, in fact the probability that one day these materials might be used against us. on the other side was the possibility, in fact the probability, that to cut them off would provoke an attack which we were not then prepared to resist. finally, in the summer of 1941, as it became clear that japan was turning her back upon every

possibility of reconciliation and adjustment and was determined upon her great gamble of conquest, all exports ceased. >> on april 9th, 1940, the leaders of nazi germany shifted their war machine into high gear. they overran into denmark. they smashed into norway. on may the 10th, 1940, think blitzed into holland and belgium. >> the nazis are marching ahead at the fastest speed a conquering army has moved in all history. all roads in france are choked with slow-moving masses of refugees. nazi dive bombers are strafing thousands of helpless women and children. >> good evening. tonight it seems clearly apparent that the first great phase of the war in the west has been won by germany. the army of french and british has made a valiant battle in its effort to retreat to dunkirk where there is some slight

chance that some part of it will be evacuated. >> adolf hitler's mechanized horses are racing toward paris as french resistance collapses. >> on this 10th day of june, 1940, the hand that held the dagger has struck it into the back of its neighbor. >> this is william l. shirer speaking from the forest of campania where hitler today is handing his armistice terms to france. it is 3:15 p.m. adolf hitler strides slowly toward the little clearing. i can see his face. his grave, solemn, yet brimming with revenge. off to one side is a large statue of marshal fose. hitler does not appear to see it. now we see the french walking down the avenue, led by general

hunsinger. hitler and the other german leaders rise as the french enter. this whole ceremony is over in a quarter of an hour. ♪ the last time i saw paris her heart was warm and gay ♪ ♪ i heard the laughter of her heart in every street cafe ♪ ♪ the last time i saw paris her trees were dressed for spring ♪ ♪ and lovers walked beneath those trees and birds found songs to sing ♪ ♪ i dodged the same old taxi cabs that i had dodged for years ♪ ♪ the chorus of the squeaky horse was music to my ears ♪ ♪ the last time i saw paris her

heart was warm and gay ♪ ♪ no matter how they change her i remember that way ♪ >> conquering armies now stood on the shores of the atlantic. >> fire! >> the danger was suddenly close. countries conquered by the nazis had possessions outside of europe. some of these possessions are in america. would the nazis demand the french neighbor units of martinique? would the nazis move into the dutch oil fields? would the nazis seize the french

naval base of macaw? already in brazil there were over.