there are a lot of great indian leaders in our history. i think leschi is right up there for standing solid, maintaining our sovereignty, and letting people know that this order will never be broken. our cities tour staff recently traveled to to,, washington to learn about its rich history. learn more about tacoma and other stops on our tour at www.c-span.org/citiestour. your watching american history tv, all weekend every weekend on c-span3. ♪ >> we are flying over washington, district of columbia, capital of the united states. we shall view this beautiful city, the pride of every

american, from the clouds and from the ground, and observing it to the best advantage. we soar over the capital, the representative office buildings and the congressional library. they hold the legislative and judicial branches of the government, enacting the laws of the land. if the plane encounters air pockets, don't be alarmed, congress may be in session. here is a close-up of the house office building, where congressman do their heavy thinking. in this structure each representative has an office in which to transact the government official business. the senate office building is just across the capitol grounds. both buildings are constructed o beautiful whitef marble and are connected to the capital by underground railways. avenue, where thomas jefferson once knew it as a marshy lane, now carrying the

nation's great through the door of the capital. this magnificent structure stands on capitol hill. the cornerstone was laid by washington himself, but the building was not fully completed until the end of the civil war. isoining the capitol grounds the impressive congressional library, where 50 miles of shells hold more than one million books and pamphlets. its outer walls present a remarkable display of sculpted art. these magnificent figures favorably compare to the masterpieces of the world. they represent true american art in its highs form, and the government has spared no pain in making this building truly beautiful. only from the air can its beauty be fully appreciated. next to the capital and the white house, this is the most popular public building in washington. who says all is not gold that

withers? this dome is coated with 23 caret gold. dickies monument, one of the newer and modern works of art. it was to commemorate the peace that marked the close of the world war. flying along pennsylvania avenue we see the classic treasury building where uncle sam keeps his pocketbook, holding millions upon millions of the nation's wealth. loveliest buildings in washington. the treasury was erected on the spot where the forceful andrew jackson, the seventh president, firmly stuck his cane upon the ground. "put it there," he ordered. and they did. to thethe famed lawn state and were building, the

country's nerve center in a time of war, occupying 500 rooms. and having them together they are two miles long. the treasures kept year include the original copies of the constitution of the united states and the declaration of independence. also the armchair in which jefferson wrote the declaration. here are the state and were building in the foreground. the treasury in the background, and between them, the white house. the home of the president was painted white in 1814 after the british had partially burned at. but it was roosevelt who gave the structure its delightfully descriptive name officially. it was the earliest building completed in washington. john adams and his wife abigail were its first occupants. nearby lies dupont circle, center of a district of magnificent homes and embassies of foreign nations.

it is a historic part of the city, known with the memory of great names. this striking building of grecian design is a government patent office. millions of inventions are kept here. here is the world's largest printing plant, the government printing office. thers of ink flow here into congressional record, and how the congress and love it. within this decaying building was committed a crime which shocked the world, here in for theater lincoln shot down on april 1960 5 -- w again in the air we fly over the mall now being actively developed into the sweep of beauty dreams by its planners a quarter of a century ago. the glorious memory of the first president. in its simple austere beauty, the washington monument, 555 feet in height, dominates the

landscape. the top affords panoramas of the hills and rivers. from the northern end of the mall, we see a list of unforgettable beauty. across the lagoon, the shaft is a tribute to another great american. the lincoln memorial is the greatest monument ever erected to the memory of one man, the great emancipator. fittingly each of the 36 states in the union when he died is represented by a pillar. busted the reconstructed land pay homage. within is the statue of lincoln. third seems to brood beside the river, which held his anguished thoughts. indeed all is quiet along the potomac. the bridge to virginia is a

memorial to francis scott key, author of the star-spangled banner, for he lived nearby. it leads to arlington where sleeps the nations warriors. arlington was the home of the gallant robert e lee, in a national shrine. it is from here that he departed to lead his cause. the amphitheater, reverent in its beauty, stands amid tall virginia cedars. decided is the memorial to its world war heroes, the tomb of the unknown soldier seen at the top. 16 miles from the city he founded, on the opposite bank of the potomac stands mount vernon, where the father of his country lived and died, and where his entombed.into -- lies the modest george washington wanted to call the capital federal city, but the young nation lovingly ignored him and

gave it his great name. whenever and wherever americans pronounce the name, they pay homage to the undying image of washington, and like the man, fe city's first been peace, irst in war, first in the hearts of his countrymen. ♪ >> next week at 8:00 be in eastern on c-span3, a civil war special featuring american history tv highlights.

on monday we are at the emerging civil war blog symposium, where we look at the great defenses of the civil war, including gettysburg, antietam, and the siege of vicksburg. tuesday we focus on civil war leadership at the longwood university civil war seminar, with talks on generals robert e lee, ulysses s grant, and confederate general john mosby. wednesday through friday we are at the gettysburg college civil war institute conference. wednesday features a lincoln scholar. on thursday speakers include -- friday we conclude the conference. american history tv's civil war special all next week beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3. during the 2016 presidential

-- aign, donald trump program to rebuild the nation's roadways, bridges and water systems. it plans to release an infrastructure plan by early autumn. up next on american history tv's yourselfica, you've the greenlight. a 1954 general motors film, encouraging citizens to improve roads and highways. depictingegins by traffic jams, unsafe roads and city congestions, then documents the results of a nationwide gm contest seeking road system ideas. infrastructure advocacy helped result in the passage of the $25 billion federal-aid highway act of 1956. this is about 25 minutes. ♪