they know that they're moving somewhere beyond hippie and yuppie. they also are intrigued by the idea that they are not the first generation of hippies and yuppies. you can look back at abraham lincoln's transcendentals or franklin roosevelt's missionaries, and you see much the same life path. and they're intrigued by the notion that, when they're old, they'll become what we call "gray champions." brian: time's up. william strauss and neil howe, co-authors of this book, "the history of america's future, 1584-2069." "generations" is the name of the book. thank you both for joining us. neil: thank you. william: thank you, brian. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> interested in american history tv? visit c-span.org. you can see our schedule, preview upcoming programs, and watch archival films and more. american history tv at c-span.org/history. on april 2, 1917, jeanette

rankin of montana was sworn in as though a first woman elected to the u.s. congress to you to mark the centennial, here is a brief look at her life and career. congress of women in begins with jeanette rankin, who is elected into the house from montana. the house for to years before women have the right to vote nationally. in a way, she is really a bridge from the suffrage movement to women obtaining full political rights. in a national women's suffrage organization. she helped women get the right to vote, not only in montana but a couple of states west in mississippi. in 196, she is elected to one of two district.

she is a pacifist. she is sworn into the house on april 2, 1917. the house has come into extraordinary session because the president that night, woodrow wilson, delivers a message to congress asking for a declaration of war against germany, the u.s. entry into world war i. rankin, when that vote is held, is one of a group of 50 members who votes against u.s. intervention in world war i. she served a term in the house p she was on the women's suffrage committee. she was ont public lands committee, which was an important assignment for a woman from montana with so much of the lands being held by the federal government. a term in they house and she tries to run for senate.

she does not get the republican nomination but she runs as an independent. it is an appeal battle. she gets about 1/5 of the votes -- it's an uphill battle. then she goes back to private life. involved in women's rights issues, a driving force behind the shepherd towner infancy act which the house passes in 192 1. she's also involved in international peace organizations. runsforward to 1940, she for congress again, and she runs on a platform to keep the u.s. out of the war in europe. on decemberced 8.1941, with a tremendous vote. this is the day after pearl harbor. has come to the house, and addressed a joint session of

congress. president roosevelt: yesterday, december 7, 1941, a date w hich will live in infamy. >> the senate goes back to which chamber and very quickly, unanimously passes a war resolution and the house begins debating, and the house members know that jeannette rankin is a pacifist and she is going to vote her conscience. so, we have some oral histories of people who are in the chamber who recall members going up to rankin and asking her to vote present. don't vote no. but she votes her conscience and is the lone vote against u.s. entry into world war ii with a declaration of war against japan. that effectively ended her political career. she goes into private life, and, but she's a force in the

anti-war movement really for another couple decades. but remarkable career. >> in 2004, we commissioned a new portrait of jeannette rankin. she was a person who is so important in the history and expansion of right and representation in congress. so, when we commissioned it, we wanted to show what it was like to come into congress as the first woman when women do not have the right to vote nationally. 1917, when is 1916- she enters congress, there is a lot of newspaper coverage. because she is a woman, it is a novelty, there is a lot of coverage about what she is wearing. we know exactly what she was wearing. the portrait shows her in that navy blue dress. we know she was wearing a big hat. we know exactly what "the washington post" said. the portrait has are holding "the washington post." one of the things that is most interesting is she is wearing that hat and she is placed in a

portrait just outside the chamber doors. if we were to enter into that space, she was about to turn to her right and enter the chamber. at which point, she would take off her hat, because hats were not warned in a chamber, even though there was much discussion, as a woman, should she wear a hat, because that is formal attire. or is she not a woman a member of congress and she should not wear it. they decide she is a member of congress more than heard gender. so, she takes it up. all of these things we wanted to put in the portrait, as well as the sense of the fact that she was in the house, but much more creature of her other interests as well, pacifism, suffrage. all of the issues that were important to her. it is a somewhat lonely spot to inin, to be the only woman

taking the stance of conscience that put her at odds with other people. afterwards, rhode island senator whitehouse examines how government is "amined -- in his book captured, the corporate infiltration of american democracy." he is interviewed by eric lipton. >> when you have one corporate front group that has $700 laston plus in the election and threatening, planning to spend $400 million in the next election, and the midterms, that is just a huge footprint. and there is a lot more going on behind it. the second piece of that has been kind of bringing home the long term effort of the republican party to put so-called business friendly judges in the courts. so, that the courts have become increasingly hostile to regular folks and increasingly

interested in protecting corporations. >> watch afterwords tonight at 9:00 eastern on book tv. 9 > >> all weekend, american history tv is featuring chico, california. c-span cities tour staff recently visited sites showcasing this history. general john bidwell founded the city in 1860. the town of 92,000 residents is now home to california state university. learn more on american history tv all weekend. prof. dizard: we're standing at a place that holds profound significance for the indigenous people here in this part of what we now call butte county. these people regard this very place as the particular locati