tweet asking about an issue that still resounds today. his question is about how many people were fathered by u.s. gis in vietnam. how are they treated 45 years after the u.s. departure? >> you could be featured during our next live program. onn the conversation facebook at facebook.com/c-span history or on twitter @cspanhistory. cities tour staff recently visited several sites in springfield, missouri showcased in -- showcasing its history. in 1861, union and confederate troops spot the battle of wilson's creek near springfield. learn more about springfield all weekend on american history tv.

nra nationalthe sporting museum at bass pro shops in springfield, missouri. the largest firearms related venue in the country. there are about 1000 firearms on display here at the museum. overall, the nra museums system has custody and takes care of almost 10,000 firearms. the theme of the museum is hunting, conservation and freedom. visitors are going to see the evolution of firearms in terms of their use in hunting. they will also learn the story of conservation in america and for that aspect, we focus on our theodore roosevelt conservation gallery. theodore roosevelt was considered the grandfather of the american conservation movement. a very active hunter and sportsmen but also a very

vigorous conservationist, responsible for founding the national park system. and one of the folks who began the concept of conservation of wildlife. a theme throughout the museum and the other nra museums is the role of firearms in american life from the earliest days up through today. how they have been an integral part of the founding and expansion and growth of this country and how they have just been a part of american life throughout history. we try to focus on that here. whenever we can put a face with a firearm, a gun that has been owned or used by a historical figure, we'd like to do that. we like to show firearms in the context they have been used. we are fortunate to have a number of guns that have been owned by presidents and their close associates and we will take a look at some of those right now. we will start out with the most recent one.

this is a winchester model 21 shotgun. they are very elegant and popular and a well-made shotgun. you get a clue to the owner of this one when you look at the underside and easy see the five stars there of a five-star general and you see the initials d.d.e. this was a gun presented to dwight david eisenhower and was one of his favorite guns. there is a fun story about this gun in our museum. our senior curator, phil fryer, in his early days at the museum was standing near this exhibit and he watched a gentleman come up and stand in front of the case looking at it. the guy looked like a secret service agent out of central casting. he would look one way and then another and he stood there for several minutes. finally, phil asked if there was anything he could tell him about the gun. and the man said no, but i could

tell you about this gun. i had that gun in my hand the first in my hand the first and the last day on his job. he had been a secret service agent. his first day on the presidential detail, eisenhower was meeting with a foreign dignitaries who he wanted to take out hunting. the agents went into the gun room and the head agent told everyone to grab a shotgun because they were going hunting. the other agents left this one here and the kid said, that is a good-looking shotgun. and his boss said, that is ike's gun. and the president said that the kid had a good eye and he should take it. he had it hunting the first down the job on the presidential detail. on the last day on the job, mimi eisenhower asked him to get the gun and take it out to the car. she had him drive her to nra headquarters and take the gun in and present it to the nra museums. this gun has a lot of presidential history. and it has a little bit of nra history with it too.

this is an elegant 20 gauge shotgun. our next shotgun is a big, heavy, large shotgun. folks know colt as a maker of classic revolvers in the 1880's. at the same time, they were also making double-barreled shotguns. this is one of their big hammer less shotguns popular in 12 gauge which is still heavy. and 10 gauge which is even bigger. this one is an eight gauge which is bigger still and it is the thateight gauge shotgun colt ever made and they made it for one of america's largest presidents, grover cleveland. a big, heavy, massive gun. cleveland was a large man and the only person ever to be elected for two non-sequential terms as american president. theodore roosevelt was probably

our shooting-est president. he was an avid hunter. he had a remarkable military career as leader of roosevelt's rough riders in the spanish-american war. the first u.s. volunteer cavalry. he was a congressional medal of honor recipient. first thing he did when he left office was organize and go on a very large hunting safari to africa where he collected specimens of wild game that are still on exhibit at the smithsonian today. this is one of theodore roosevelt's big heavy hunting rifles. in africa, it is a tradition for heavy, dangerous game to use a very powerful double rifle. you want a powerful shot and you want a very reliable second shot. and the double barreled rifle gave you that. folks are familiar with double-barreled shotguns but not so many are familiar with double-barreled rifles.

this particular rifle was prepared specifically for roosevelt. it has the presidential seal engraved on the breach. and of course, roosevelt was famous for the bull moose party and there is a bull moose engraved on the side plate of this gun. this was not one of roosevelt's african safari rifles. he received this after his african safari but it is a beautifully made gun that he did own and it was typical of the big game double rifles of the era. roosevelt also had, he was an early adopter of the semiautomatic pistol. this is a little fn, fabrique national, pistol and beautifully engraved with excellent scrollwork.

this was a pistol that roosevelt kept in his nightstand. his nightstand gun. and it is also one that mrs. and it is also one that mrs. roosevelt taught the grandkids to shoot with off the porch at sagamore hill. and we are very glad to have it in the museum. it is a beautiful, beautiful example. this smith & wesson new model number three was ordered by theodore roosevelt in 1898. he picked it up or received it from smith & wesson immediately before leaving new york to go to san antonio to train the rough riders. again, it is factory engraved. it has unusual target combat sites. these are not the typical fixed sites for this gun nor the adjustable target sites. they are a durable sturdy site that could be adjusted to the individual load. we think we know what roosevelt had in mind for this gun.

he did not want it chambered for the standard round for this gun, a 44 russian. he wanted it chambered for the u.s. military service round, the 38 colts. we believe he wanted to take this gun to cuba with him. it was not the gun he wound up using in cuba with the rough riders. instead, he used the revolver from the sunken battleship maine. we have a couple of revolvers from associates of theodore roosevelt. a very close friend and associate of roosevelt was senator henry cabot lodge. this was his gun. it was passed down in his family. the family member that it came from said that he only knew of one time it had been fired in anger and that was when the cat

was using their garden for a sandbox. i do not know if it was effective or not but that was the family lore with this gun. another close associate of theodore roosevelt was general leonard wood. would was roosevelt's commander in the rough riders. he went on to a remarkable career. he was a medical doctor. he was an early coach of a college team. he was a military governor in the philippines after he commanded in cuba during the spanish-american war. and a serious contender for the presidential nomination of the republican party. this gun is a big smith & wesson 44 double action that belonged to general leonard wood. a top break with automatic extraction. and a very effective revolver.

leonard wood was one of the first people to have brain surgery and survive. and his brain today is in the possession of the smithsonian institution. leonard wood has a strong connection to this area in that fort leonard wood is a major army installation in missouri. a number of american servicemen and women have gone through basic training at fort leonard wood. we hope that visitors gain an appreciation for the role that firearms have played in american history. we hope they enjoy themselves. we hope they get to see has -- they get to see historic guns they might not have seen. we hope they enjoy the hollywood guns that we display, those that have been moved in movies as a big part of our culture. we are wanting education and enjoyment and entertainment along with that.

tour stappes recently traveled to springfield, missouri to learn about its rich history. learn more about springfield and other stops on our tour on c-span/cities tour. you're watching american history tv all weekend every weekend on c-span3. >> tonight on c-span's q&a. >> i propose action now before it is too late. i say again and again and again that i propose it for our own american self interest. hendrik hank meyer with his book the man in the middle of the american century. himself in opposition when fdr is elected and the democrats take the majority in the senate. he is in opposition for the next

dozen years. that means that to get anything done, which often meant resisting some of franklin roosevelt's initiatives, there needed to be a coalition. he needed to reach across the aisle. "q&a" tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span. >> next on lectures in history, i was state university professor teaches a class on food during the great depression. she describes the way families try to stretch their money and food supply, often while gardening, buying cheap ingredients, and eating the same thing over and over. her class is about 50 minutes. prof. riney-kehrberg: greetings everybody. ourre going to be starting discussion of the great depression. what we are going to