unbelievable amount of stress. easterny night at 9:00 on book tv. next, as the centennial of america's april 1917 entry into world war i approaches, winston churchill historian talks about the british statesman's military career. he discusses his decision to leave parliament and joined the british army at the commanding officer. this presentation was part of a two-day symposium hosted by the national world war i museum and memorial in kansas city, missouri. >> lee pollock is the executive director and trustee of the international churchill society. he has spoken about the extraordinary life and times of the late prime minister to

audience throughout the united states, canada, and britain. this evening,on we are looking forward to his presentation with our young friends group over whiskey and cigars. if you are not a member of our young friends group, you should consider that. this morning, this is about churchill's political transformation and how it shaped the kind of leader he would become. please welcome lee pollock. [applause] laura, as one cubs fan to another, thank you for that nice

introduction. hold on just one second. i think someone picked up my notes from here. [laughter] hold on a second. >> [inaudible] >> if anyone -- there we go. like winston churchill, i spin the best part of my life -- i spent the best part of my life preparing my next and previous remarks -- extemporaneous remarks. i am delighted to be back here at the national world war i museum. this is my fifth visit and it just gets better and better. years from now, you will celebrate the 100th anniversary of your collection. i trust you will have a blowout

party. winston churchill is planning to attend and he is looking for a lot of champagne. i have been to a number of great history museums around the world and this one is stupendous. churchill manages to pop up almost everywhere in the first half of the 20th century and this is the third time he has done that here in kansas city, a place which incidentally, he never managed to visit. two years ago, we brought a captivating speaker to the museum who talk to you about winston churchill, the rise of german power, and the outbreak of the first world war. last year, professor chris bell gave a fascinating presentation entitled churchill and the dardanelles. he was kind enough to add a

subtitle, it was not all churchill's fault. [laughter] by the way, chris will be publishing a full-length book on this subject in may. it will be well worth reading. i would like to begin this account of winston churchill and the first world war at the end, not the beginning, and on a personal note. at the 11th hour on the 11th day in the 11th month of 1918, the guns of war fell silent across europe. the greatest conflict the world had ever known was over leaving 20 million dead in its wake. a 12-year-old boy was playing in the street near his home in the middle class neighborhood of berlin. berlin had not been polarized. it's great monuments, palaces,

homes and neighborhoods were intact. germany had not been conquered and on the western front, its army still stood on allied soil. seeds -- the 12-year-old had not seen its father -- his father serving in belgium for three years. he raced home to his mother in tears crying as loud as he could the terrible news. lost, the war is lost. that boy was my father and two decades later, it's enemy was his homeland. through the grace of britain he could leave germany as a refugee and find his freedom. on that same day, 500 miles away in london, a different scene unfolded as prime minister david

lloyd george presided over a celebratory meeting of his cabinet. only two ministers sat around the table to celebrate the victory. one was the 55-year-old prime minister himself known as the .elsh wizard in december 1916, he replaced the prime ministers. much of the blame for the stalemate and slaughter of the -- withws of the war victory at last, lloyd george was a national hero. the other men at the table from that first group of ministers was winston leonard spencer churchill, age 43. if you've had been asleep the previous four years and happened

upon that meeting, you might've assumed churchill had served in office the entire time starting as first lord of the admiralty and ending as minister of munitions. nothing could be further from the truth and the story of winston churchill and the first 1916,war, especially in is one of rise and fall, dramatic this is the tubes, hope and glory, -- dramatic vicissitudes, hope and glory. winston churchill was born here in november 1874. soldierestined to be a and a man of war. it was in his blood and that was because of his ancestor, this alongohn churchill, who

with wellington, stands among one of the greatest military figures. he defeated the continental tyrant of his day, louis the 14th of france and saved europe from the domination of a single power. two centuries later, winston biography.rote a he followed his ancestors example, this time in a life or death struggle with germany and a new tyrant, atul fidler. adolph hitler. was young winston was an indifferent student, excelling in some subjects but faring poorly in others.

always ready i am to learn but i do not always like being taught. candidate forood oxford or cambridge. the infantry was considered the more prestigious and rigorous branch of the army but he settled for the dashing cavalry. he began -- became an excellent horseman. in the years after sandhurst, churchill pursued action and adventure in british colonial wars around the world as a serving officer and as a journalist and war correspondent. always in the corner of his eye was a career in politics any hungered for fame on the battlefield and the adulation of what we would called -- of what we would call today a celebrity journalist.

he had his first experience in actual battle. while not a target himself, he was exposed to real combat and bullets flew just over his head. he later quipped, there was nothing so exhilarating in life as to be shot at without result. book aboutine recent churchill's time in cuba. winston churchill found more action and adventure in far-flung parts of the empire. stationed in india in 1897, he participated in a punitive .xpedition against tribesmen some descendents are still fighting the british and the americans. today, they are called the taliban. the product of that expedition was churchill's first book which was dedicated to his commanding

officer, a man with the improbable but wonderfully .ickensian name in 1898, churchill took part in another expedition, this time to wipe off a sudanese religious leader. on september 2, 18 98, churchill took part in one of the last cavalry charges of the british empire and the combat was serious. accountame a book, an that was published in 1899. the original is hacked has been out of print for over a century. -- the original has been out of print for over a century.

finally, during a war in south africa, churchill found the true thing he had been seeking. writing on an armored train -- riding on an armored train, he was captured, escaped a month later. he remained in south africa for six months, finally returned to 1900.d in july of he was elected to parliament two weeks later. that was the beginning of an illustrious political career. .is books kept on coming there is a wonderful new book by your local kansas city and about churchill's time in south

africa. politics's ascent in was breathtakingly rapid. after switching from the conservative to the liberal party, he entered the cabinet as president of the board of trade in 1908. two years later, he became home secretary. in 1911, he was the first lord of the admiralty, the civilian had of the royal navy. with the naval arms race underway with germany and the prospect of a continental land for growing, churchill was a air.h of sharfresh he also liked his medals. energythis change and

did not sit well with some of the top brass. accused of destroying the traditions of the royal navy, churchill replied, traditions, what traditions? he later denied having said that but added, i wish i had. [laughter] he was already thinking strategically about the coming war. he told the committee of imperial defense to expect a powerful german invasion of belgium and france that might come close to overwhelming its defenders. as the first month of the war progressed, both sides settled into brutal trench warfare. while churchill had prepared the royal navy well, the anticipated engagement with the german high seas fleet was deferred and the enemy ships stayed at their

bases. toll onubmarines took a merchant shipping. winston churchill was a man of action and he longed for a decisive stroke that would change the balance of power and break this down mate. he thought that shooting barb dwyer on the western front -- barb wire on the western front was no path to victory. campaign against germany's ally, the turkish ottoman empire, that would force the dardanelles and continue on to istanbul. a successful campaign what support russia, bring undecided states -- baltic states into the war. it all went terribly wrong. on naval assault that began february 19 failed and the

ground invasion sputtered. casualties soared. by the time it was over a year later, britain had lost 73,000 dead and wounded. australia and new zealand, 36,000. over 250,000 but inflicted a humiliating and costly defeat of the british empire. these are some of the french soldiers and their turkish opponents. they were not christians, they were not educated, but they were great fighters. the erratic jackie fisher famously wrote to churchill, damn the dardanelles. they will be our graves. churchill maintained the campaign was justified and had a reasonable chance of success.

devoted wife later told his biographer, he thought he was finished. i thought he would die of grief. churchill's downfall. will a prime minister coalition with conservatives -- will a coalition with conservatives. that plus the ongoing failure in turkey doomed the first lord. news of7, he broke the the new government to churchill, asking, what are we to do for you? the answer was to make him chancellor, a cabinet position but one with no responsibility or power.

churchill's cousin called it a bone on which there is little meat. .hurchill lasted six months for the rest of 1915, winston churchill dude and brooded -- stewed and brooded. he took up painting, which became a famous and lifelong pastime. he told his friend, there is more blood and paint upon the sands. hands.-- upon these he sat for a powerful portrait. in the national portrait gallery in london. looking for redemption, churchill asked to go consult with local commanders. the trip never happened. he wrote a moving letter to be

given to clementine in the event of his death. the last words are especially moving. if there is anywhere else i shall be on the lookout for you. meanwhile, look forward, feel free, rejoice in life, chairs the children, guard my memory. god bless you and goodbye -- winston. he sent his letter of resignation saying, i'm an officer and i place myself unreservedly at the disposal of the military authority observing .hat my regimen he made a farewell speech in the house of commons three days later criticizing his opponent. it was not especially well received.

on the broader future of the war, he was positive. there is no reason to be discouraged about the progress of the war. we are passing through a bad time. it will probably be worse before it is better. it will be better if we persevere, i have no doubt. on the morning of november 15, 1915, winston churchill, having reentered the army, crossed the english channel. -- while himself churchill was now a full-time soldier, he was no ordinary major. the night of his arrival in france, he dined with sir john french, the commander of the british expeditionary force. he accepted fringes offer to lead a brigade -- french's offer to lead a brigade. he was replaced in just a month

by a new commander. churchill's enthusiasm for command was obvious, it had been many years since he had served at the combat level. on-the-job training was clearly required. churchill might've been keen but his reception was tepid. the battalion commander told him, you're coming was not a matter in which we were given any choice. he reported to clementina in a letter. he noted that horrendous conditions of the trenches, strewn with garbage. he reported racks danced aboutlr to the accompaniment of rifle fire and machine guns. expectedhis, churchill

his creature comforts and asked her to send him a pair of waiting boots, a sheepskin sleeping bag, and assorted foodstuff. i wonder if he was going to meet those all in a single meal. winston churchill was a study and soon understood the construction of trenches, how to supply and maintain forward positions, and how to command a battalion under the strains of four. -- strains of war. danger was not far away. on november 26, churchill was called away to a meeting. he walked the three miles to the point where a staff car was supposed to pick them up. the car never appeared and churchill slogged back to the

trenches. a german shell has scored a direct hit leaving the man he had left behind. clementine, a hand had been stretched out to move me in the nick of time. churchill had anticipated his brigade command by the beginning of december but politics in london frustrated his expectations, especially after french was replaced by haig. that was just a quarter of the number of men churchill excepted and on new year's day -- just a churchill the men expected. especiallyan appropriate choice.

the unit churchill took over was worn and battered after sustaining heavy casualties. and thenderstrength loss of officers meant the remainder were young and inexperienced. the men regarded churchill as a political payment and his reception was not helped when he arrived with former personal supplies and was officially allowed. this was churchill's private bathtub complete with a boiler for heating water. [laughter] that was a luxury denied to enlisted men. he was sometimes -- he would sometimes take two or three baths a day. that happened -- that habit continued all his life.

churchill's initial attempt at command were wobbly and he did not endear himself to his new men when he told them, i am now your commanding officer. those who support me, i will look after. those who go against me, i will break. churchill quickly proved his worth as a capable officer who genuinely cared about his men. he enhanced their training and weapons, encouraged his superiors to replenish the battalion's depleted ranks and secured them new helmets and better rations. he organized football matches and other diversions, including meal races and pillow fights -- mule races and pillow fights. he practiced what he preached.

churchill was a benevolent commander, forgiving of lesser infractions by men who had been bloodied a few months before. he was criticized by his brigade commander for his lack of enforcing discipline. three weeks after his arrival, the unit returned to the trenches, covering over 1000 yards you're a belgian village. -- near a belgian village. it was a no man's land of death and destruction. bunk in thed not trenches but his headquarters was 500 yards behind. in the trenches, german artillery bombardment was

consistent. there were even rumors, unfounded, that the germans knew churchill's position and directed their fire accordingly. satirized hims accordingly. for the next three months, the battalion rotated every 60's from the frontline to support trenches and then to the reserve. three times a day, churchill walked the length of the line taking two hours to wait through the mud. he endured enemy bombardment in a very cold belgian winter. his courage was exemplary and when his men flinched at the sound of enemy fire, his response was, it is no damn use ducking. the bullet has gone a long way past you by now.

sometimeschurchill ventured into no man's land. on one such visit, german machine gun fire forced him and his companions to dive for cover. a bright light followed them and churchill snapped, put out that bloody light. he sheepishly realized he had been sitting on his own flashlight. [laughter] danger.s plenty of on february 10, while churchill watched from a reserve position, german fire wrecked a picturesque village. heavy fire forced him to give up his headquarters and when he returned, he found his office have been demolished. on march 26, a shell landed 20 yards from where he stood. german'sfebruary, the

direct hit on his command post and a piece of shrapnel wrapped into the flashlight he was carrying. he had the nose of the shell turned into a souvenir and shipped home. he found time to indulge his growing passion for painting which he had taken up with the encouragement of his sister-in-law. the front provided good subjects. this image, for example. and another. churchill was also a subject for other painters. artist and churchill's friend added this one. -- whenhill arrived churchill arrived, the german army was 10 miles away. its numbers included a who hadold corporal

enlisted in 1914. and soldier was a loner unwilling to join join in their drinking. he would accompany them on the train to lilles, that unless there was a concert to see, he broke surround with sketches of his sketchbook where he also was an amateur artist. almost 10 years before in his native austria, he aspired to a professional career but had been twice rejected either vienna academy. he eat out a meager existence -- eked out a major -- meager existence. that man drifted to munich, and the war saved him. he later wrote and give him a purpose of life. here is a sample of his art, a sketch of a village scene entitled shoulder.

you may have your own opinion, but i think it is stilted, unemotional and colorless, product of a persona whose life would be increasingly devoid of humanity. winston churchill was world-famous. the german, unknown. 17 years later, he would be absolute ruler of his country. his name was adolf hitler. if winston churchill could have seen into the future he would have directed the heaviest british fire on that bavarian regiment. perhaps a direct hit would have saved the 15 million people who would have perished in the next world war, and that is all the screen time that kille -- hitler gets. as the war went on in 1916, winston churchill pondered his political future if he had one. he was still the future, and he took to weeks to leave -- two

weeks to leave what he thought was an important speech in london. and inexplicably remembered jackie fisher to the admirable chief. -- admiralty. churchill's progress for quick comeback were dashed. his days on the front were numbered, and he remained determined to return to parliament where he thought he could do more good than in the mud of the trenches. on his return to flanders, he was reviewed for undue leniency with his men. annoyed by the accusations, he refuted it by showing disciplinary problems had dropped to under his leadership. events brought into his active duty. a possible promotion to command a brigade failed to appear, and at the end of april, churchill

learned that the depleted sixth battalion would be consolidated with the seventh and command given to another more senior kernel rather than him. he requested he be relieved to be allowed to "attend to my elementary and public duties which have become more burdensome." i have served for five months at the front, always in the front lines. certainly without discredit. discharging our views and difficult -- arduous and difficult duties to the satisfaction of my superiors and the advantage of my officers and men. while churchill's battalion did not engage in any offensive or major german attacks in his 100 days of command, there was a steady stream of casualties. the 700 man unit lost 15 dead and 123 wounded during that time

, a casualty rate of almost 20%. on may 6, churchill give a farewell luncheon for his officers, and the next day, the entire battalion went for inspection before their commander, who traveled 100 kilometers to the channel and a boat home. the verdict on churchill tenure was clear, and said -- stood in powerful contrast to the skepticism that had greeted his arrival two months earlier. one of his colleagues, this captain, later wrote, i am firmly convinced that no more popular officer ever commanded troops. as a soldier he was hard-working, persevering, and thorough. he loved soldiering. lay very near his heart. we came to realize it firsthand, his transcendent ability. it continued. churchill left behind men who will always be partisans and

admirers and were proud of having served in the great war under the leadership of one who is beyond question a great man. on may 16, churchill's former -- formally relinquished the rank and returned as a major in the human tree -- human -- yeomantry. i would argue it had a powerful impact for two reasons. it was the longest period of time in which he lived in close proximity to ordinary people. churchill was a child of soldlege and frankly cost -- coddled by his family and friends. that brought him a deeper understanding both conscious and subconscious of the hopes and fears, needs and wants, and the day to day lives of the people of britain. second, it was his first

experience in modern war. he had fought of course before, but rather than being part of a military command, he had been a war correspondent as much as a soldier. the trenches were different, and the mechanized industrial mass warfare of 1914 to 1918 was unlike anything he had previously experienced. he now understood that the war of the 20th century was very different from those of the 19th. while his relations with the officers he commanded in the ,ext war were not always smooth he sometimes meddled, interfered, and micromanaged, i think he became a better military leader because of this experience. after his return to london, churchill spoke actively in parliament and looked for a new cap to power. -- path to power. he continued to promote new technology especially the tank which was used in force the

following year. he also stood up for the men he had met in the trenches, asking for meaningful declarations for ordinary soldiers. he now understood them and noted in a july commons debate, i do not believe the people in this country have any comprehension of what the men in the trenches and those who are engaged in battle are doing or what they are suffering. but old ghosts still haunted him. in an early debate after his return, he was interrupted by an irish nationalist mp who cried ? t what about the dardanelles it was a refrain churchill heard for many years after. later in the year, churchill was asked if he was considering a return to active duty. his reply was measured. as time there he said was costly excursion. had he remained at lancaster instead, and shot my mouth and

drawn my salary, i should today be one of the principal personages in the direction of affairs. but that was wishful thinking on his part. churchill hoped that andrew bonner and lloyd george would replace after that summer and he might regain the admiralty or moved to the administration. but after the lord kitchener died, he was left out again. he spent most of his time preparing defensive action for the dardanelles commission which held its first hearings in august. in december, the government finally fell and was replaced by lloyd george and coalition. lloyd george considered including churchill, but when he asked the tory leader bonar law, is torture will -- churchill more dangerous for you or against, the response was i would rather have him against us anytime. winston churchill was simply not regarded as a trustworthy

colleague. when trejo -- when churchill celebrated new year at atlanta palace, he knew his return to power was delayed, as he wrote to jackie fisher, our common enemies are all-powerful today, and friendship counts less for nothing. i am simply existing. ultimately these prospects turned. the dardanelles report that in march 1970 resolved -- a dissolved him of the full blame of the failed expedition. there was plenty of blame to go around. in may, a further thought appeared, and churchill was sent across the channel to the a's iseh french force -- to lia with french forces. but surprisingly, he was a vigorous minister and spent considerable time in france and flanders meeting both french and

british commanders to ascertain their armament needs. and in january 19, he visited his old position. he wrote everything has been torn to pieces and the shelling remains at all time. the british line has only moved forward about a mile, and all of my old farms are mere heaps of brick and smoldering sandbags. when the armistice finally came, he focused on reconstruction, but he wondered about the future. years later, he recalled thinking of the time, is this the end? is it to be merely a chapter in a cruel and senseless story? with our children bleed and gas again in foreign lands, or will there be new reconciliation? churchill went on to serve multiple offices in the 1920's,

the air ministry, secretary of state for war, then his father's old position, chancellor of the extra -- exchequer. to next decade from 1929 1939 became his wilderness years. he sounded a cluttering -- clarion call against nazi germany and the proposal of the armament. and dramatically in 1939, he returned to the admiralty, the very office he had held almost 25 years before. some of the same maps were hanging on the walls. it was said that a signal went out to british ships around the world, winston is back. let me end with one more anecdote about the amazing life of winston churchill. at 6:00 p.m. on may 10, 1940, churchill was summoned to

buckingham palace and received the commission of king george to form a new government and serve as prime minister. he had at last reached what is really called the greasy pole of politics at the top. ironically churchill and the king did not know each other very well, and the monarch would have preferred the former secretary, lord halifax, for the job. the new premised to then returned home accompanied by his bodyguard, walter thompson. it was unusually quiet, and thompson attempted to break the silence by congratulating his boss, but noting the great challenge that faced the new leader added, i only wish it had come to you in better times. i hope it is not too late. churchill brooded for a moment and said, god alone knows how great it is. i hope it is not too late. i am very much afraid that it

is, but i can only do my best. but by the churchill -- the time churchill slept at 3:00 in the morning, his mood had lightened considerably. he later wrote in one of the most famous passages of his war memoirs, i was conscious of a profound sense of relief, for a last i had the authority to give direction over the whole scene. i felt as though i was walking this destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial. i was sure i would not fail. fortunately for the world, winston churchill did not fail. one reason for that was the lessons he learned in 1916 from parliament. thank you. [applause]

>> we would welcome your questions. at either microphone. lee pollack we will take questions about churchill and others. there are by the way some excellent books about this time period. a few have come out recently, one by this man called churchill in the trenches. and the other man i mentioned in my talk wrote a full book in the 1920's. it has been republished with a ord byd by his -- forew his grandson. there are great books about churchill as a military leader. >> this is less of a question than more of a statement. i think it is odd, i don't believe the british navy has ever named a ship after winston

churchill, but the american navy has named two. lee pollack: i have been on the uss winston churchill, which is a missile destroyer. there is not a winston churchill poundthing except the note. the royal navy is not what it used to be. it has no aircraft carriers but is >> building one. there are quite a few. there is that queen elizabeth and the prince of wales. lee pollack: this is something churchill tried to reconcile. there is a fine ship, and there is a full-time royal navy officer stationed on that ship rotates through, you'll -- only u.s. navy ship with a foreign officer on it. it is in norfolk and goes around the world. the men are very proud to carry

churchill's name. motherton churchill's had a american, and he strong relationship and rapport with the americans in the second world war. sign or opinion or anything expressed by churchill with regard to america and the first world war? lee pollack: when he was minister of munitions, he was in liaison with americans so much, the munitions he could get were coming from the u.s. there was a famous incident at a dinner in london in 1918, franklin roosevelt, then undersecretary of the navy, came to visit. he had a conversation with churchill. they meet in 1941 at the atlantic charter conference.

apparently at the time for a few days before when the subject of , theodorecame up roosevelt have not liked him, and franklin roosevelt wrote to joe kennedy when kennedy was the ambassador in london, i have never liked winston churchill. i met him at a dinner in london in 1918, and he acted like a stinker. when they finally met on board one of the ships often newfoundland, churchill said to roosevelt, we have finally met. he had forgotten completely he met roosevelt in 1918. churchill was a world-famous person and roosevelt was an up-and-coming junior member of the government, and the next four years, the relationship changed. churchill was proud of his american mother and ancestry. he famously spoke to congress december 26 1941 20 arrived in

washington after pearl harbor, and his line was, if my father had been american and my mother british instead of the other way around, i might have gotten here on my own. so in future life, he was asked by people on the train that brought him to missouri with harry truman in 1946, he mentioned if he was born again, if you would like to be a citizen again, he said what is that, he said united states where a man has unlimited potential. there is a talk next month with winston churchill american hero. he was more of a hero to us for various reasons that he is in britain. >> your last question will come from this side. >> thank you very much for your enlightening question on the best person in the last century. churchill so much in his early years was in cuba, india and south africa, throwing himself

in the way of harm to sort of gain adventure and live up to his potential. dog,e period of the black the demoralizing humiliation yet to endure -- he had to endure, i always think of this, there was something about going to your roots. i always thought there was something suicidal about that as well, like if i survive this, fine. i would sort of regain my prestige. but if i take a bullet, i am fine with that. you think there is anything to that? lee pollack: i think there is a little bit of that. the whole question, you talk about the black dog depression, which sounds ominous today but was a common phrase in victorian language -- i don't think churchill was depressed in a clinical sense the way you would analyze it today.

he had moods and had things to be moody about when he lost the admiralty, he thought that was the end of his career and should have been, but he pushed his way back. did he go to the front with some premonition of what would happen ? i don't think suicidal is the thing, but he was physically a very brave man. he looked for bullets instead of avoiding them. then you go forward to june 5, 1944, he is insistent he will go with the landing forces on d-day, and everyone in the government thinks he is mad and ridiculous. they finally have to getting george vi to write him a letter to say dear winston, thank you, but i would not be happy if something happened to you. he wanted to be part of the action and thrust himself into the action any age, any time of his life. >> we will take one more question. withe question in 1916

what churchill would have taken with him to downing street in may 1940, he was highly critical of the british offensive on the somme, and remained so in the 20's, the hague. i remind her -- i wonder if that didn't stay with him in 1940 and also explain some of his more audacious strategies that he came up with. lee pollack: i think that is a fair comment. he was always coming up with some innovative strategies. the soft underbelly of europe, the campaigns he proposed in the mediterranean. and he was certainly more than roosevelt very anxious about the invasion of france. there is a whole dialogue about whether that might have happened in 19 43. churchill was afraid it would

fail, or even 1942. there is a thread that goes from these experiences in the first world war both at high levels of leadership as well as at the his responseames in the second world war. you see that in the discussions about the landing, second front, and so forth. churchill was someone who is stubborn as all get out, but he did learn things over time, sometimes even admitting them. there was a connection between his experience in the first war and who he was in the second. >> thank you. please thank me -- join me in thanking lee pollack. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] announcer 1: interested in american history tv?

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areas, that can lead to an unbelievable amount of upheaval and stress in their own lives. announcer 1: afterwards, sunday night on "book tv, go to the website for the complete schedule. c-span's studentcam video documentary competition is underway. students across the country are sharing their experience through twitter. ♪ it is not too late to enter. our deadline is january 20, 2017. tell us what is the most urgent issue for the new president and congress to address and 2017. our competition is open to all middle school and high school students grades six through 12 with $100,000 awarded in cash prizes. the grand prize of $5,000 will go to the student or teenager with the best entry, and the

remaining cash money will be rewarded and shared between 150 students and 53 teachers. for more information and the contest rules, go to the website studentcam.org. all weekend long, "american history tv" is joining the charter spectrum and cox communications cable partners to showcase the history of san diego, california. to learn more about the cities on the current tour, go to c-span.org/citiestour. we continue with a look at san diego. we are standing in our gallery that talks about the border region in san diego between us and mexico. entitled the border, a line that divides, and he is a photography exhibit.

we wanted to draw on resources we have, so most of the resources are from the collection, but we opted to do something timely and relevant. this is important to people on either side of the border. one of the busiest land border crossings, 20 elliott crossed in 2014 -- million crossed in 2014. people spend hours every day trying to get across. the borderlines are hours long in cars, and is not a quick or easy thing for people to do, it is something they want to get across. hidalgoty of guadalupe was signed in 1948. the process took several years. it is just under 2000 mile-long border, and they needed to check that route with the technology they had available to them at the day, no planes or cars, hiking was really -- with really heavy surveying equipment, going across the desert expanse trying

to mark out the border. when it was first drawn, there was no established crossing. they had several different monuments that would demarcate visually the space between mexico and the united states, but they have considered building other infrastructure to monitor crossings. you start to see that in response to the mexican revolution that was a pretty violent situation south of the border, and americans became fearful weather for a good cause or not of its piling into their own country. you see people become more aware of needing to patrol the border. same thing on mexican side, they became concerned about gung ho american westerners. see thefirst or to border infrastructure in 1911, there is a picture's exhibit of this barbie wire fence, that is the first time you see a physical boundary put up in the city or region between these countries. -- san ysidro region between

these two countries. after you see that beginning of the buildup of 1911, infrastructure increases further in the 1920's. the prohibition, the san diego have easy access to alcohol south of the border. alcohol, gambling, racetracks and bullfighting were available south of the border, and americans took advantage of that. mexicans were coming north for opportunities. you start to see an increase in the amount of infrastructure that is to happen to cross the border. buildings are being created specifically to checkpoint people, process passports, look at how people are crossing the border. in putting together the exhibit, we wanted to a knowledge border crossings as a political tool in something that happens around the world. people constantly control who is crossing over and allowed to enter the country. we have two maps to illustrate

our point. one talks about how immigrants who lived in the world, people can see what segment of the population is from elsewhere. the other is a historic map, so it looks further back to look at the nationality of immigrants that are migrating to the u.s. the quantity of them and the percentage of the total pool who are coming from different regions of the world. you can look at where people are coming over time. it is wild based on policies the u.s. had in place yet given times. this is a popular exhibit despite its small size. people enjoy looking at historic photographs. they can put themselves in the same position as people in the photographs. it makes a small -- strong impact to be able to identify location and feel part of that story. we are hopefully going to start a discussion. --indicate registration immigration across borders is

still very much a part of today's life and countries situations. we have something where we ask people to consider a time when they have crossed the border somewhere just to reflect on what kind of process they went through. maybe the process is different in other parts of the world. maybe it is fantastic to see your family again, just to have a section on a line, essentially an invisible grexit this weekend we're featuring the history of san diego california. learn more about san diego and the other stops in our city's and c-span.org/cities tour. you are watching american history tv all weekend every weekend on c-span3.