and, you know, the issues that took place he were the same across the country. that is why local history is important because we are all connected and we need to learn from that. americanekend long history tv is joining our comcast cable partners to export the history of chico, california. to learn more about the cities on our current tour visit c-span.org/cities tour. 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 location where in their cosmology the creator had humans emerge into

the world. it is also alumni glenn. with the discovery of gold not too far south of here and the inability to keep that discovery secret, the news quickly spread. and the ratio of settlers to native people began to radically shift. prior to the gold rush, there would have been somewhere on the order of maybe under 5000 settlers in all of california. by 1855, that would have skyrocketed to above 50,000 settlers. and the relations were fraught. not for every group at every moment, but there was a profound sense of racism towards native peoples. the general epithet used was "digger indians."

in other words, they were regarded as sub human. because they did not have the kind of technological accoutrements that european american settlers considered standard. it's not because they were not clever enough to figure it out. because those things were irrelevant to their daily lives. they were able to go, on the coast, you know, when the tide went out -- here in this part of north central valley, the mass crops of acorns provided very important, calorie rich food source for them. wild game, deer, small animals, insects were a staple of the regular diet. and, course, fish. there were abundant salmon runs and steelhead.

in some cases, two different runs of the same species up the rivers. so, there was no need, really, to have complicated technology. the critical issue became access to subsistence resources, because, with is a huge influx of settlers, miners, and then merchants who were essentially mining the miners, selling them the equipment that they thought they needed, game the game to be -- began to be scarce. rivers were diverted and in some cases completely upended. as food sources began to disappear for native people in their traditional subsistence regime, they naturally look towards stock. one of the main industries here in this part of california as well as elsewhere, in fact, was the hide trade.

the idea was to raise a lot of cattle to sell the skins and meat. well, these cattle were critical resources for the settlers but also viewed as food sources. hungry native folks would have may be poached a cow here and there. and slowly, over the course of several months to a year and a half, between 1850 and 1852, these kinds of depredations began to rankle deeper and deeper in the white settler community and began to be punished more and more systematically, and ultimately, the rational for outright murder if not genocide of indigenous groups was held to be kind of like this, we're going to teach you a lesson.

here in butte county, the attitude was these people can't be trusted. we need to exterminate them for their own good. this is rhetoric that existed at the time. one effort to try and minimize these kinds of assault was to move california indians to reservations, what were called rancheria. in this area, the idea was to move local people 100 miles west of here on the other side of what is now the mendocino national forest in round valley. approximately 470 people and various other tribelets in the area were essentially corralled just west of chico. then marched over the course of two weeks in mid-september 1863, 100 miles to their new home, a reservation out over the

mountains in the coast range. the forced relocation of 1863 is remembered as the nome cult walk. it was the name of the reservation that was essentially created in round valley. this series of forced relocations is kind of a not very well known aspect of american history in general, and california history in particular, because, as one might imagine, it's not a pleasant chapter. it's a very brutal and violent series of events that took place between approximately 1850 and 1875, and resulted in a radically reduce population of indigenous people in california, not zeroed out by any means, but definitely dramatically reduced through sheer, outright

genocidal methods. it was about 18 years ago that folks from both -- in round valley decided to organize a memorial walk. they decided that in september they would retrace the steps their ancestors were forced to take. and so, ever since then, for the last 18 years or so, every september, folks gather in chico and take a week to walk 100 miles. a very meaningful, profound ceremony. it's regarded as a spiritually healing effort to not just commemorate the fact that their ancestors survived this arduous journey and they the descendents

are here now today, but also to think deeply about why this happened and to try and instill values of sort of mutual respect and tolerance. >> our city tour attack -- staff recently traveled to chico, california. learn more at c-span.org/cities tour. you are watching american history tv all weekend every weekend on c-span3. tonight on q&a. ,> it was everywhere in decline actions were rising up. the big strategic question that the u.s. faced was, should it support written against nasa -- nationalists, or should try to create a new order by mediating.

michael durand on his book, ike's gamble, america's rise to dominance in the middle east about the 1956 u.s. crisis and its aftermath. >> for chum to present a story of the union of aligning with nationalists, undermining the british, and taking over middle east oil. we cared about oil because it was 100% of european oil that came from there. we wanted to make sure we had friendly arab regimes. if they wouldn't align with the u.s., at least keep the soviet union out. tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span's, q and a. on april 2, 1917, jeanette was sworn intana as the first woman elected to the united states congress. to mark this and 10 here's a brief look at her life and career. >> the story of women in congress begins with jeanette

rankin, who is elected to the house in 1916 for montana. she is elected before years when women have the right to vote nationally. bridge from the to womenmovement attaining full political rights. she was active in a national women's suffrage organization. she helped movement in the right to vote in montana and states west of the mississippi. she runs in 1916, is elected to maintain us large districts. -- she isr platform wanted to the house on april 2, 1917. into ase has come special session because the president next night, woodrow delivered a message to congress asking for a declaration of war against

germany. this is the u.s. entry into world war i. held,, when that foot is is one of the groups of about 50 members. she served her term in the house. she was on the women's suffrage committee. was on the public lands committee, an important with much of the land is being held by the federal government. it was an important position. senate into run for montana, does not get the republican nomination but she runs as an independent. it's an uphill battle, but she gets a fifth of the votes. then she goes back to private life and is involved in women's rights issues, she is a driving force behind the shepherdstown are maternity, an act that the

house eventually passes. involved in international peace organizations. fast-forward to 1940, she worked for congress again, and runs on a platform to keep the united states out of the war in europe. she has faced on december 8, 1941, with a tremendous vote, the day after pearl harbor, fdr has come to the house chamber and has the joint session of congress. 7, 1941,day, december a date which will live in infamy. >> the senate goes back to its chamber and very quickly unanimously passes a war resolution.

the house begins debating, house members know that jeanette rankin is a pacifist and will vote her conscience, so we have moral histories of people in the chamber who recall members going up to reagan and asking her, don't vote no. she builds her conscience in the end and opposes the war, she is below him vote against u.s. entry into world war ii with the declaration of war against japan. that effectively ended her political career. life.es back into private she is a force in the anti-war movement for another couple decades. a remarkable career. in 2004 we commissioned a new portrait of jeanette rankin. she was a person so important in the history and expansion of rights and representation in congress. and we commissioned it we wanted to show what it was like to come

into congress is the first woman , when women can't vote nationally. because it was the 20th century, 19 16, 1917 when she is elected inventors congress, she does a lot of newspaper coverage of it. because she is a woman being a novelty, there a lot of coverage of what she is wearing. wasnow exactly what she wearing so the portrait itself chose her in that navy blue dress. we know she was wearing a big hat, we know it's what the washington post said that morning and the portrait has her holding the washington post. she is wearing that hat and is placed in the portrait just outside the timber doors. if were to enter into that space with her she was just about to turn to her right and enter the chamber, at which point she would take off her hat. hats were not born in the chamber even know there was much

discussion of as a woman, should she wear a hat is that his formal attire? or is she not a woman but a member of congress and therefore should not wear it? turns out they decided she is a member of congress more than her gender millon narrowly, so she takes it off. one thing they wanted to put in that portrait as well as a sense of the fact that she was in the a creatureuch more of her other interests as well, policy issuesrage important to her. it was a somewhat lonely spot to to beo bd only woman and taking these stamps of conscience to put her adults with other people. next on american history tv to mark the opening of the , national constitution's exhibit "american spirit: the rise and fall of prohibition," two historians with books about the era and the center's president and ceo discuss the history and politics of prohibition. the panel discusses the reasons

for the movement against alcohol abuse beginning in the 19th century and the problems with enforcing and then repealing the 18th amendment to the constitution. this program from the national constitution center in philadelphia is about 50 minutes. >> ladies and gentlemen, welcome. i am the president of this wonderful institution. the only institution in america chartered by congress to disseminate information about the u.s. constitution on a nonpartisan basis. beautiful. [applause] so great to hear those wonderful words of our inspiring mission statement here in the beautifully renovated theater.