>> asheville is also known for its rich culture including a vibrant arts district and the sounds of mountain music. >> mountain music is sort of a catchall term for the traditional music of the southern appalachian. musicld involve old-time .hich could be banjo and fiddle and people use the term to refer to the traditional music of the southern appalachian's. >> with the help of our spectrum cable partners for the next 90 minutes we will learn about this city's history. we begin our special feature was visit to the largest home in america. >> welcome to biltmore estate in ashford, north carolina.

it's a wonderful place to visit and a beautiful state -- estate. bedrooms,more than 33 65 fireplaces, incredible massive staircase. welcome and tour you through the house. it is a beautiful estate with an incredibly expansive home. it is a home with more than 33 bedrooms for guests and family, 65 fireplaces, a stair place and architectural beauty. welcome to biltmore estate in ashford, north carolina. we will head in. this house was constructed over a period of six years starting in the 1880's and finished in 1895. george vanderbilt, the owner and builder of the home envisions this as a getaway for family and friends and opened it christmas eve of 1895. he was the youngest son of william henry vanderbilt and the grandson of commodore an family had been industries across the

world. he was the youngest son and interested in intellectual pursuits. he was a book and print collector, a friend to artists and writers. george washington vanderbilt came to the ash -- to the asheville area and there were many doctors in this area for his mother. he fell in love with the landscape and to the sweeping views and began to assemble an estate. the to acquire of creating a house and gardens --began to acquire land with this vision of creating a house gardens building biltmore was he and his dog. they created this grant a state. it was for friends, family and to get away. it was his primary home. he fell in love thereafter and welcomed edith. they were married in paris, had

a four month honeymoon and came back to biltmore. ever since then it has been a family home. when the architect and george vanderbilt started working together they had a vision for a small house. something tucked away into the mountains. as their vision grew, the house grew. they traveled in france and in england, visiting chateau's and country estates. they took components from each of those. they got excited about the ideas and the possibility -- the possibilities. the house from the exterior is very much an american expression of the french renaissance. it has grand, sweeping views, framed by the architecture in itself. the deep roof lines and drama. most of the architecture is adapted from the french renaissance.

we are in the entry hall, the heart of the home. you come through these oak doors and you are struck by the size of the estate and the quality of the workmanship. there is beautiful marble, limestone, the construction is exquisite. the entry hall is the center of this home, flanked by the winter garden, a glassed in space that brings in sunlight. also these spaces radiate the library, one of the favorite rooms, a salon, the breakfast room, all sorts of spaces for entertaining. we will proceed into the banquet hall. this was a space where the vanderbilts and their guests dined every night and it was a formal affair. ladies would be in evening gowns and gentlemen in white tie and the table would be set with crystal, china, and all of that

we have in our collection. this was their main home, they were here most of the year. they had a home in paris as well, one in washington d c and one in maine. they welcomed guests here. many great writers, politicians, and they were dine at this table. it was a scene of intellectual interest and exchange and i can only imagine the conversations. if you were a guest at a pretty, a large party, -- if you are a guest at a party, you would be seated at a large party. if it was the vanderbilts and eight few friends, you would be with a smaller table by the fireplaces. a three day a fireplace provides heat and light -- a three bay fireplace provides heat and light to the room.

the architect who built the fireplaces found his way here and worked on the facade of the metropolitan museum. he worked on two walk in things based on an opera. vanderbilt was a fan of opera. these were pattered after these grand reception rooms. the most remarkable thing is a -- is the vaulted wooden ceiling that takes your breath away. only in this room, we not only have a fireplace but a ceiling that soars nearly seven stories high. surrounding that are animal trophies and other trophies and leaded glass windows.

george vanderbilt was a bachelor when he built this house. he soon welcome to dispute your bride and eat it became the heart of the estate. she was close to the workers and served as hostess, not only as hostess to the guests, but also across the entire state. we have many stories this room has ways that she supported workers across the estate. including a girl who was playing in the loft above us. she asked for a bite of food off her plate -- rather than being angry, she gave her a bite and center underway in the little girl told how much she thought that her mother must have died watching that scene. but it shows you how much this house was a home, that you could have little girls wondering up the stairs to catch a limbs of the ladies and gentlemen dying -- dining. the vanderbilts welcomed cornelio vanderbilt here -- cornelio vanderbilt. they only had one child, but she grew up her.

we are passing the breakfast room and going to the music room. the music room has a salon next to it. we are actually -- it was not finished during the vanderbilt'' time at biltmore. it was finished much later. we are in the music room. this space remained unfinished until about 1976 and it was finished by a former owner, who passed away, unfortunately, this past year. this was a space created -- it was always supposed to be a

music room. it was listed on the plans as a music room. for mysterious reasons, it was unfinished. the owner hired experts to finish the space the way you see it now in 1976. one of the most interesting things, this room housed one of biltmore's great mysteries. not only did we not know why it was not finished, but it played an important role in history. the national gallery sent many of its treasures to biltmore for safekeeping, and it's interesting how it came about. edith vanderbilt was friends with the national gallery's first director.

he had visited and learned about how the house was isolated and told to be fire safe. it registered with him. when so much of europe was being bombed and so much amazing art was being lost, he felt the national gallery's collection was at risk as well. he asked if he might send 72 pieces of art to biltmore for safekeeping. they were loaded up in crates in a snowstorm in the middle of the night and they sent them by railroad and they were housed in this room. at that point, it was opened as a museum and guests were walking by this space and had no idea that great works by teaching, rembrandt, vermeer were here. even the gilbert story portrait of george washington we all know so well. it was realized before the war was even completely done, they were not at risk. for about six years they were housed in this room and guests were walking past. there were guards on duty and dogs on duty.

in 1943 the estate closed to guests because of the lack of manpower and rations of gasoline. so the artwork was here tucked away for another year, you're in a half ends sent back in 1944. mrs. vanderbilt did not charge the gallery for that. we will wonderful letters saying that he was part of her american duty, her patriotic duty to house the artwork. it's interesting why the spaces might not have been finished. many people say that it is for financial reasons.

there were incredibly carved woodwork, exquisite metalwork. i suspect it was very common that rooms would be outputted with paneling, with other moms being dismantled. i imagine they were waiting to find just the right space and wood paneling, and they never came across it. and also the architect passed away during the final phase of the construction. we have left the music room and we are walking through the tapestry and this is based on great country houses. this is decorated with exquisite tapestry from the 1930's. these are some of the views from a set that tells the virtues of man. this is a really special cousin is one of the least formal spaces of the house. this is where the vanderbilts would have greeted their guests. -- this is a really special because it is one of the least formal spaces of the house. during the year we like to populate the space with costumes to show what it would have

looked like as well. it also has these exquisite views of the mountains and the vanderbilt estate beyond and you can just imagine the breezes in the space and how much they would have enjoyed sitting year with guests in the afternoon. another feature in this room are some of the paintings. we have many, many paintings. we passed the portrait of edith vanderbilt done by the family friend whistler. we have two spots, one above the --two spots with portraits of vanderbilt, and we have a beautiful commission of edith vanderbilt that hangs above these stores.

we will now go to a favorite place, the library. as i mentioned, the george vanderbilt was very interested in creating -- in collecting books. this was to showcase his collection. we have more than 22,000 volumes that george vanderbilt collected that are still in the collection today. so george vanderbilt was reading from a very young age. even at the age of 12, he was keeping a journal of the books he had read, which he kept the entire life -- during his entire life. they really span contemporary literature -- american, english, also french literature. the he was fascinated with history, art, horticulture. very interested in architecture.

and our collection really spans all of these topics. they are also bound. custom bound for him, and it is just magical to be in a space like this and see the love of books so clearly comes through. the room is architecturally very interesting. it is paneled with beautiful french walnut. important documents could have been tucked away. we get a lot of questions about secret panels or passages in biltmore house. unfortunately we do not have any huge underground tunnels or anything.

guests in certain suites had an area that would connect through a certain staircase and connect with an unexpected passageway behind the mantelpiece, and then they were able to go down easily from their room and go back up to their space without disturbing anyone. not only did george vanderbilt host henry james, edith wharton, who i'm sure in troy this -- enjoyed this library -- the president came to asheville to enjoy the food and the golf and everything asheville has to offer. they toured them around. and they were struck, because of course, president obama and mrs. obama are both lovers of books. mr. obama was particularly struck by a globe in our collection. you was very interested in examining the areas,

particularly in the middle east and looking at the boundaries that were in place at the turn of the century and just getting the broader worldview and spent a lot of time explaining how the structures seen on the globe at that time really impact our world situation today. i think coming to biltmore gives you an entirely different perspective on america in the 19th century. it gives you insight into this incredibly fascinating family, the vanderbilts, who were key to the growth of america, but also an insight into one family, a family that loved books, love to this calm, beautiful area. they did a lot to enhance the understanding of scientific farming and forestry in america at that time.

you just get a glimpse into another time that does not exist anywhere else. it's a really unique place in america. >> our guests, when they first arrived, they are going to feel a couple things. they will see a landscape, a layout, that does not look what they left. it has a very specific feel to it. here at biltmore, we strive as hard as we can that the guests today would experience the same design and intent that vanderbilt and olmstead and hunt laid out in the 1890's. they would come up the road, this wonderful winding road, and there were wonderful letters back and forth olmstead between and vendor built and the

the gentleman -- between olmstead and vanderbilt and the gentlemen involved -- the guest would walk through the house and come out on the windows viewing the west side, and that view -- which was the first view vanderbilt saw before he purchased in the of the property -- that view would be the culmination of that experience. i think is very interesting. that was done in the 1890's. even today, in this decade, the president, mr. obama and his wife, and friends visited the estate on vacation and they came up the approach road and they suddenly came to the house and saw everything about it, and then they walked through the house and were standing and looking out and president obama said, now this is why we came. back in the 1880's, george vanderbilt came and saw this, this wonderful view in western north carolina and he saw this view of mount his guy and the french river valley. he started purchasing land and built this home on the property

for him and his guest. the estate at one time was 4000 acres. we are now at 8000 acres. this is an english garden set here in western north carolina. it is just one part of the larger gardens, what was historically, and we still call it the home grounds. the gardens associated with the biltmore house. much of the land that vanderbilt was purchasing and looking at the time, because of its proximity to metropolitan or lived in areas of the time, much

of the land had been over forrester, had been burned over, cut over. people had taken everything from firewood to salt from some of it. people farmed on this land and it was not rich farmland at that time. so the land was not nearly as pretty as we see it now. so, a lot of vanderbilt, and a gentleman named frederick law olmstead, their plan was to rehabilitate the land and make it that hospitality based location for george vanderbilt's family and friends. olmstead was probably -- what we call the first landscape architect. mr. olmstead did not care for that term, landscape architect, but what he was looking for was the big picture.

he had come from central park in new york city. he had a vision that spanned huge acreage, and also the ability to see what he called the picturesque -- what that pretty little vignette would look like. he started landscape architecture in the united states. frederick law olmstead had worked with george vanderbilt in the past, had worked with the vanderbilt family a number of times in the past. he was the preeminent person to estate like he was at the end of his career. he did not have anything left to his he could that included forrester's is something that people do not see consciously. beautiful rolling hills.

it did not look like that when olmstead began. he part that the learn scientifically been europe, was not helped bring with george vanderbilt. as olmstead and vanderbilt were working out the bigger estate -- they understand the scientifically-managed forest would be a really big part of the estate --find this they the first manager was remembered more from the national forest service. he started his career here at biltmore. was it going to look like in 20 to years. the director of horticulture, i have one important job. the azalea garden garden, the water gardens, the italian gardens. all of this had very specific goals would experience the original design and the people we have making it all come together. that is what makes biltmore. >> this weekend american history

tv is featuring asheville, north carolina. we visited many sites showcasing its history. it's over a hundred miles inland from the atlantic coast. learn more about asheville all weekend here on american history tv. >> in april 2013i received a phone call from the wall street journal asking me very specifically about contract that was signed in 1956 which would have the u.s. supreme court take over the grove park inn in the event of national emergency or disaster. they would disband in d.c., come , takeland north carolina the grove park inn under their control and conduct business from the home court. they would compensate the grove park inn at a post determined amount. afterward they would tell us

what they were going to pay us. even today we do not have written termination of that contract and in 2013 what had happened is that a conspiracy theorist had discovered this contract and brought it to light and published it on their site. it had been seen by a friend who knew this conspiracy theorist who was also a writer for the wall street journal. all of a sudden the contract was public knowledge. the grove park inn was chosen by the federal government to bring the u.s. supreme court here in event of national disaster or emergency based on the fact that its conduct -- constructed of native granite stone which would protect them from whatever was outside the wall. also here in the mountains of north carolina we're kind of chaos and thehe hustle and bustle so this is a

good place to escape and get away. it was the vision of edwin riley grove. he was a world-renowned and the hustle and bustle so this is a good place to escape and get away. pharmacist who created something called gross tasteless chill tonic. it was quinine suspended in a liquid form with lemon and sugar flavoring to mask the taste of the quinine. it was known as the cure that kills you because it was so unbelievably unpalatable. people didn't want to take it even though it was known to ease the symptoms of malaria and prevent malaria. it was so awful that they would take their chances with malaria rather than take this. growth created a way for people to take this in a more palatable fashion. he was so successful with the tasteless chill tonic that he actually outsold coca-cola. that's how he made his fortune. was known as a place of recovery. we had 900 tuberculosis recovery beds. doctors from all over the nation came here to take care of people

with respiratory illnesses specifically because of the healthy mountain air. they believed the air would help cure you. it would widely grove >> we had a steam shovel. there was a lot of work to be done. they were very inventive. they had to cut new roads into

the mountain. they developed a truck train, two trucks changed together. they would use the horsepower to pull the construction materials up the mountain. when we opened our doors, we had 150 sleeping rooms. initially we had communal bathrooms. people did not like that too well, so individual bathrooms were put into each room. outfitted by a major force within the arts and crafts movement. we have the largest collection at the grove park inn. you will have pieces that have been here the full 105 years in your sleeping room.

it was opened to the public, but the first few years it was occupied by people of wealth from stature, and notoriety. you could not get in the door. the government leased the grove diplomats fromse austria, japan, germany. wanted to war, they know where the diplomats and their families work. they paid eight dollars a day to stay with us. they paid their own way. that was the first time we became noted by the government. soldiers towelcome treat what we now know was ptsd. this soldiers were having trouble acclimating to society. they brought them here to decompress, re-center, so they could transition between wartime and peacetime. it was during that time that mr.

willie discovered the grove park inn. he was the one that brought it to the government's attention in 1956 to enter into this contract with the u.s. supreme court. we don't know the specifics of this contract. it was kept under wraps for many years. 1956 and did in not come to light until 2013. many people knew about this contract. it was kept under wraps because in the event of an emergency, we would not want anyone to know where the supreme court was located so they could continue to conduct judicial business. hotel would bee a great place because they could bring everyone here. this would be the perfect place to continue to conduct judicial

business for the country. contract, about the whether it was valid. we do consider it valid because we have no written determination. we would acquiesce to the court's decision as to the validity of the contract. >> c-span is in asheville, north carolina. tour of the downtown area. with duane in asheville, north carolina. he will take us to some of the important african-american places in the city.

do you want to tell us what is ood tours?- >> it is designed to tell african-american stories, but also protect and rebuild these areas. >> what are some of the places we will be visiting today? >> we will start on the east side of town. ,e will go to a high school then head to the block. then the south side of town. >> do you know when african-americans first came to the area? >> there has always been an african-american presence here in the mountains. people come to town and say, where are the black people? when we got involved with doing this tour, we started studying

african-americans go back to the founding of asheville. there has always been a presence of african-americans here. there were more in the earlier days than today. >> do you know about the population and what it is today? >> not think we are around 9% currently. because ofly feel the amount of gentrification now that a lot of african-americans are moving out of the city into the counties or moving altogether. back todid you come asheville and why did you start doing these tours? >> i moved back in 2001. my mom called me and said i want you to come back, and i was like, ok. so i came back.

when i moved back, the neighborhood that my family was in was drug infested. it was like, wow. i used to come here in the summer time to relax and get out of d.c. i come back here and you are ?oing this crack thing there was a lot of craziness in the neighborhood and it forced me to take the experiences i had learned over time through my stepfather and other leaders andnd community development to take a leadership role and do things to try to make the neighborhood better. asheville is like a billion-dollar tourism place, but nobody was talking about african-american history and culture. wow, go in that business and take a portion of the profits and invest back into the

community and organizations and individuals trying to help maintain the african-american presence here. >> where are we right now? >> we are on the east side of town, the parking lot of the stevens league community center. this was stevens lee high school , the only high school for african-americans, so if you stayed 2-3 hours away, you had to catch the bus here to come every day to this one school. , closed int in 1923 1965, and tore down in 1975. what we see right there is the gym. it was built in the 1940's. and goal had a reputation was noted for accelerated academics, sports, science, you name it. it was top-notch for the african-american community. it was like the centerpiece. , it was was it a school

an arts and culture center. it was a real multipurpose building that was producing a quality student. most of the teachers here had masters degrees, some have phd's . around 1965 during the integration, they close the school. when they move the students, the black students were treated so poorly that all 200 students .alked out of the school the police said it was a riot. youth and police go to the hospital. the school was closed for a week and there was a six-month curfew, no alcohol, gun sales. two years after that, another right. two years after that, another right. several people attended the

school during that time told me it was crazy. it was gasoline to fire. they just threw us together, and it was crazy. we are headed to the block. was the placeown where african-americans could come and spend their money and have a good time. there were 60 african-american businesses here. this building in front of us is the young men's institute, built 1893 with a loan from mr. vanderbilt. people went to mr. vanderbilt while they were .uilding the biltmore estate they did not have a place for radiatio recreation.

so mr. stephens approached them about building a space for them. floor base on the first it was all businesses. up top, they had a gymnasium, swing pool, a real multipurpose building. jewel, likel stevens lee, the centerpiece of the block, and the sole purpose was recreation and economic purposes. by 1906, mr. vanderbilt said i don't want the building. you need to come up with the money to get the building. those same african-american business owners and leaders, 40 of them, pooled their money together to purchase it and it becomes community property. 1906, the integration. of the 1960's, it was a booming

damon nas destination. elders, thek to the integration was the most devastating thing, and a lot of businesses took a downturn during that integration and so did the building. theook a downturn in building was scheduled to be condemned and torn down. individuals and a group of several churches for both black and white come again pooled their money together and came together to save the building, and of course the building was saved. right now it is one of the oldest african-american culture centers of its kind in the country. see that urban renewal happening in once was the block area. what has been the impact on the african-american community because of urban renewal?

>> right here to our left is a part called triangle park. there is a nonprofit group called just folks who wanted to put a flag in the ground and try to protect that last piece of green space. it is a mural of the african-american community on the east end decide of town. 1950-1970 urban renewal was in full effect all throughout the country. 1600ow it was african-american communities over 100 years old that were affected during that time. integration,me of school desegregation, marches on washington, civil rights movement come all these things going on. renewallike urban tripped up the civil rights movement and uprooted and devastated the african-american

communities. in asheville, the urban renewal that occurred in asheville was the largest in the southeast, over 400 acres of homes and businesses was lost during that period of time, then they built public housing. once they tore down the housing and he raced the businesses, they built public housing and put people in public housing. there about to go into walker heights, one of the first public housing units built for african-americans. recently the housing authority applied for some money and got money from the city and county to redevelop the place. they are about to tear this public housing unit down and they're going to move everybody out of the public housing to other public housing units and

rebuild this and turn it into mixed income housing. houses one of the first ever in asheville, and this is an important project because there are several other public housing units in and around the city, and how this goes will tell how the rest of them go. is expected to happen to the people living here right now? are supposed to be moved out into other public housing units until the construction and the whole place will be torn they are supposed to be able to move back and it will be mixed income housing. >> how do expect this to work? what do you think will happen? >> i think it will take more people to make this happen and be successful. because we don't have a history low wealth people

right. to make justice , and let's not talk about it. let's really do something that will support everybody in the city. >> do you see the growth of potential as a positive for the african-american community here? the resources and organizations and people who want to do the right thing, but how are we connecting the dots so we are not leaving individuals and entire communities behind? beentate says we have leaving people behind since 2007 , so what are we going to do different based on that

information? we are not just going to keep in the same pattern of the past, you know? >> what do you hope that people andcome on your hood tours writer asheville with you, what is it you hope they walk away with? >> they learn some history. they learn about what is going on right now, and if they fill passionate about a particular subject we are talking about, get involved and build organizations as individuals and try to do work in our city. ,n order for our city to change there will be no one superhero, no one superhero organization. a culture, take community culture of change for it to happen. we want to keep lighting that fire around that.

>> c-span is at the cove in , talking toarolina gt graham, the daughter of billy graham. we will learn about his life and legacy as america's pastor. >> religion without a personal encounter with jesus christ will not save the soul and will not bring the peace that your soul .ongs for millions are searching for god to religion and not finding him. you have got to know christ for yourself, and when you do there is a piece, fulfillment, and life takes on a purpose and there is forgiveness of your sins and the joy unspeakable and full of glory.

>> this is daddy's official office here at the training center at the cove. office, used this as an but would meet important people here when they would come to the cove, delegations from foreign countries and things like that. he has some favorite things in here. this is probably the family's favorite picture that someone did, daddy sowing the seed of the gospel. the family has a private joke that behind their there is a man plowing, so my daddy had a brother who was a good preacher, but he stayed by the farm. he would say that is billy sowing the seeds and i am sowing maneuver -- i am the eldest daughter of ruth and billy graham.

i am tired of being introduced as the eldest and oldest, so now i say i'm the .ne they have love the longest gigi: daddy was in charlotte until the day he passed away. he felt himself a farmer's boy from charlotte. he never felt himself anything more than that. my granddaddy had a dairy farm down there, so my daddy grew up milking cows in the morning before he went to school, and when he came back from school, the same thing. when he first discovered the calling us when he went to bible

school. he accepted christ as savior when he went to an evangelist meeting as a teenager. he went to college, and then he was in tennessee at that time. you know, he got sick one day, he had the flu, he was not feeling well, and he did not really feel like he was getting what he wanted at that particular college, so he saw a brochure about a bible school in florida, and he saw palm trees, orange trees. we are alike. we both like warm weather. he asked my grandparents and they agreed, so he went to florida bible college. that is exactly what he needed, that foundation. he found his calling there, the very first place, and that he went on to wheaton college and finished his education. my mother was born in china. my grandparents were missionaries in china, so she was born there in 1920. she went to north korea for high school. back then it was across the peninsula. she went to north korea, to pyongyang. and then she went to wheaton college.

so that is where they met. daddy had been in bible school. they met at wheaton college. when they got married, they first lived in chicago, where daddy had a little church outside of chicago. they realized they would be ,raveling with youth for christ and he was kind enough to ask my mother -- if i am going to be traveling so much, where would you like to live? and she said i would like to live close to my parents. when the communists came to china, and my grandparents had to leave after 25 years of living there, they settled in the valley of north carolina. my grandfather was a surgeon and he had a practice in asheville. doctor inry beloved dr nashville, and pulling together

the little clinics that they had here, which is now mission hospital in asheville. [bells ringing] gigi: we are sitting at one of the most beautiful places in north carolina, in my opinion. the cove is a place that mother and daddy felt years ago, they had a vision of a place that people could come and study the word of god. now many adults cannot go to let's say at bible school for six months. they cannot take six month off and go to bible school, but they can come for five days to the cove for an intense bible study. so that was their vision, to bring people here to be able to study the word of god. the only book we use here at the cove is the bible. and so every teacher that comes uses the bible as their textbook. we have two hotels on the property, and then we have the main conference center. where we're sitting right now is the chapel, and my mother was very influential in a lot of what happened around here. but she loved the chapel, and

she wanted to keep it simple. she said no stained glass windows. you cannot beat what god has put outside these windows, so no stained glass windows. she also came out when they were putting the steeple on, and she was not pleased at all because it was not high enough. so she would say it is not high enough. well, mrs. graham, how high do you want the steeple? she said how high can that crane go? it kept going higher and higher and as soon as it could not get any higher, she said that will be fine. i do not know if he had a goal. he knew what he wanted to do, he wanted to serve god in whatever way that god wanted him to serve, so he began slowly. and with youth for christ all of d thaten they realize there were meetings. he also gave an invitation. i think the first time he gave an invitation, only 10 or 11

people came forward. he realized there was a gift, that god had given him a gift , that he could, at the end of a message, give an invitation for people to come forward and accept jesus christ as their savior, and they would come. when he went to california to have a meeting, they call them crusades back then, he went to california, to los angeles. . tent was set up they began like you would think of in those days, and he began to preach, and crowds began to come slowly, not very big crowds at first. and they stayed a week longer, then they were asked to stay a week longer. then after a little while, mr. hearst said to these people to go and puff graham, and that is how they got started. the only thing we can think of is god did that.

daddy did not why. i do not know if mr. hearst did that. daddy never met him. but that is what started his fame. people began to pour in and the events went on, and they lasted longer and longer. reverend graham: i am glad to tell you tonight that jesus christ, the son of god, has an answer to every burden that you carry he can forgive every sin. take every rope and chain of habit that may be binding you at this moment and stop anything that may be bothering you because of your sins. yes, jesus has the answer to life's problems. gigi: he was invited to the white house by president truman for the first time. being young and inexperienced, he went with some of his team, they met with the president. and i do not know all that was said there, but he came out and told some of the press and some of the people what had gone on in that meeting, and then he got on his knees in front of the

white house, they had a prayer and he realized he made a mistake, that that is not what you do. from then on, from president truman on, he met with every president. these are the presidents, and i think there is every president except president trump, because at that time, i did not think one was hung up that was taken at that his 95th birthday. he was not president then, but he did attend his 95th birthday, and there were pictures. one that he enjoyed talking with the dealing with the most, because they had things in common together, because spiritually and so forth, was president reagan. they had great respect for him. as i said, that he was always interested in the person, and then he was interested in the spiritual side. and president obama, that was the only one that came to our home, and that was because daddy was not well enough to go and

see him. he had invited daddy, the president was visiting here in asheville, golfing, in fact, and so he wanted daddy to go to the hotel to meet him, and that he daddy was not well enough, so the president was gracious enough to come up there. i was not in the room at the time, but i was told, there again, daddy, you could see his graciousness, but from what i understand, president obama had never met him, and he would not -- i would not say nervous, but he did not know what to expect. the very first thing that he said to him was you know, mr. president, we have some things in common. in the president said, oh really, what is that? he's at first of all, we both got our start in chicago. i started outside, and you got your start in chicago also. then he said the other thing we have in common is we both love golf. i cannot play any longer, but you do, and you love golf. so that just, you know, sort of

everybody was just at ease after that. the tension left the room, whatever tension there was, and then they had a conversation. in fact, that particular time, it ended in prayer. his relationship with the president was basically spiritual. obviously, every now and again they would try to get him involved in things in politics. if my mother happened to be at the table, she would kick him under the table to remind him to stay on focus, that his job was spiritual, not political. , evangelist known in all corners of the earth will now deliver a prayer. the reverend billy graham. graham: bless them as a team to lead america to the dawn of a new day with renewed trust in god that will lead to peace, justice, and prosperity. in the name humbly

of the prince of peace who shed his blood on the cross that men might have eternal life. gigi: a couple of times, he did get in a little bit of trouble, as people maybe have read, and he got a little bit close to president nixon. he had no idea that nixon used the language that he did on the tapes, and it was very hurtful to my daddy. he had known him for a long time, and that is why it was a big surprise to him and hurtful when all of that came out on the those tapes. he was also close to the bushes. he enjoyed their company. he went to kennebunkport several times on vacation with them and enjoyed their family. he also enjoyed president johnson. president johnson was quite a colorful character, and he was down at the ranch quite often. he was invited probably more often to those events at the

white house. reverend graham: and don't ever forget another thing -- jesus belongs to africa as much as he does to europe and asia. he was born to that part of the world that touches africa and europe and asia, and jesus was not a white man like me. nor was he has black as some of you. we don't know the color of his skin, but it must've been a dark color like the people of his day because he was a man like them. do not ever say it is a white man's religion or a black man's religion -- it is a world religion. he belongs to the world. [applause] gigi: although daddy did not consider himself a political person and try to stay out of politics as much as possible, there were certain issues. when it came to moral issues -- he consider segregation a moral issue, and he was not going to

put up with that. and so he would not have a segregated meeting, whether here in the united states or in south africa. he refused to preach at a segregated meeting. here in the united states, when they tried to have a segregated meeting, put ropes up, he went to the head usher and said what is going on here. this is not allowed. what you please take those ropes down, and the head usher said no, i cannot do that, sir, so daddy got off of the platform and took them off himself. the head usher resigned. but daddy felt very strongly. color is not an issue. god loves all people. like he said, god is not black, god is not white, he is for all people of all color. and god does not look on the outward appearance, he looks at the heart. and daddy was on "time" magazine several times. there again the family would

tease and say this is daddy and that was mother behind. it was a family joke. we never thought anything of it. some people would be all proud and collect these things. obviously people have kept some, family members and so forth, but daddy, they did not impress him so much. he was thankful. he was thankful because you got the publicity out not about him , but about the lord, and that is what he wanted. anything that could get the publicity out about god's grace and god's mercy, so as to "time" magazine or whatever, he was happy to do it. any show on television he would except for the same reason. i was invited to be daddy's date to the 75th anniversary of "time magazine." mother could not go. anybody who had been on the cover of time magazine was invited. it was very interesting group of

people. daddy of course was sitting at the president's table, and i was sitting behind him a couple of tables, but this was during president clinton's administration, and they had just found the blue dress, and so it was a very tense time for the president and his wife. and i remember, you know, thinking how difficult it must have been for the just sit there in that crowd with all that had gone on with all that, and going home in the taxi that day, i said, daddy, tell me, how do we as christians deal with things like that? and he said honey, according to the new testament, our job is to love. it is the holy spirit's job to convict and god's job to judge. this life is very short. the older i get, the more i realize how short it is. daddy was asked one time what

was the greatest surprise of his life, and he said the brevity of it. reverend graham: it has been a difficult time, but there were a few times that i thought that i was dying. i remember one night in the hospital, two nights in the hospital, i thought i was dying. and my whole life came before me. and i did not say to the lord, i am a preacher. i preached to many people. i said oh, lord, i am a sinner. i still need your forgiveness. i still need the cross. [applause] graham and i asked the : lord to give me peace in my heart, and he did, a wonderful peace that has not left me to this day. gigi: we were absolutely overwhelmed. it was extraordinarily touching. to get in -- even the drive from here, asheville to charlotte,

there were -- not hundreds. there were thousands of people lining the roads on every overpass, hanging over. we had to go down the middle of the freeway because the cars were even parked on the sides of the freeway. it was overwhelming to us. it was such a blessing to have that type of support and to realize the love that people had for daddy. most of those people have a love for daddy because there is something in their lives that was touched by something that daddy said. and usually their lives had been changed because of what god did through daddy's work. and they would come with tears streaming down her cheeks. they were on the side of the road on their knees. some held up bibles, some signs, flags. it was an overwhelming experience. and then of course to go to washington.

and have that honor of only four people being laid in honor there at the capital. i mean, we were just overwhelmed by that honor. and the honor that congress gave us and the president and vice president. pres. trump: everywhere he went, reverend graham delivered the same beautiful message, "god loves you." that was his message. "god loves you." we can only imagine the number of lives touched by the preaching and the prayers of billy graham. the hearts he changed, the sorrows he eased, and the joy he brought to so many.

the testimony is endless. today, we give thanks for this extraordinary life. and is very fitting that we do so right here in the rotunda of the united states capital, where the memory of the american people is enshrined. gigi: it was a real blessing to our family and wonderful support. more than that, we realized that god gets the honor. daddy would not wanted. i tried my best to tell him things sometimes, like "daddy, , thank you for being obedient." "no, it is all him." daddy, thank you for being available to god. nope. it is all him. he would never take any compliment. he was always giving honor to god. reverend graham: jesus would say

i am the way, the truth, and the like. then he said an interesting thing "no man comes to the , father except through me." that is the way to god, through jesus. says, "neither is there salvation through no other, neither is there a way to heaven given unto him." you know buddha said at the end of his life "i am still searching for truth." jesus is the truth. he is the light. [applause] isouncer: this year, c-span touring cities across the country. you're watching american history tv on c-span3. announcer: while in asheville, north carolina, we took a driving tour of the city with

kevin frazier. >> thank you for showing us around asheville. >> my pleasure. >> we are driving through downtown now. city.e a sense of the what should they know? is an anchor for this part of the state. the city goes back to the early frontier period. >> how early? >> 1700s. not the cowboys and wagon train frontier, but early european settlers right as the revolutionary war is coming to a close. this will ring us to pack square, a central square marked with monuments in the middle of war, he was a civil governor from asheville. it is literally the founding spot of the city in the

geographic center of the city today. >> tell me more about downtown. that is city hall. >> that is city hall and the county courthouse. they were built in the 1920's. when they were built, they were the largest in the southeast. asheville was a boom town in the ing as on its way to becom great southern city, and was spending to make that happen. by the time the stock market crashed, asheville had amassed a million, debt of $54 but it was building for the future and preparing for what was to come. it had the people and money coming in town to merit that kind of planning for the future. when the economy went bust depression,he great asheville refused to declare bankruptcy.

also, it decided to repaint those bonds. it is the only city in american history the repaid all its depression-era bonds. it had a bond burning when it celebrated finishing payments. asheville like a prehistoric insect in amber. there was no money to invest, even after world war ii. asheville was struggling. it does not have the money to invest in sidewalks and water systems and sewage systems and those basic things that allow growth. where iteven a period receives in population for a little bit, until finally things fall completely apart in the 1970's, like it does all over the country. asheville as astral left, it turned.

it said we have this historic fabric, let's not tear it down. by the mid-1980's, we see the emergence of the asheville renaissance. is an interesting time capsule in downtown. >> we were too broke to tear anything down. start as aits stopover point for folks moving livestock down to south carolina. after the civil war it becomes a tourist destination. >> is that still the biggest economic driver. >> medicine is the biggest economic driver. last year we welcome 10.7 million people, so or two times the county's population. the city has 90,000 folks in the city limits. the county brings that to 250,000.

>> i see shops, restaurants, hotels. >> asheville has a super chill vibe. part of it is an appalachian sensibility. of myer words, stay out business, i stay out of yours. >> i am from appalachia. i know how that goes. >> it is not a utopia. we have troubles like everybody else, but it is a cool, casual vibe. >> southern music. >> asheville has a great music scene. right toming up on the one of our great music venues. sees nationall acts. plays above its size when it

comes to music. any given night, 70 different live venues downtown from celtic jam sessions to full on orchestras and everything in between. >> we have toured downtown. where should we go next? >> let's go to the village the vanderbilts built at the entrance to their estate. this is the entrance to the estate. it was meant to be a grand entrance. this is a 3.5 mile approach road. was considered one of the great landscape masterpieces. over-farmed, over-tempered land that he turned into an enchanted forest. one thing everyone says is you have to go to the biltmore. tell us more about the biltmore estate. theeorge vanderbilt was

grandson of crimea's vanderbilt. he came with his mom who was suffering from malaria. you came to asheville for your health. that was the tourism base in the late 1800s, health-based tourism. they came. they were on a horseback ride and we all joke he turned to his mom and said we had such a good time that i would like to build a summer retreat, a little place. is the little place largest privately owned house in america? >> that's right. it is 4.5 acres of interior floor space. it had a house staff of 80 and 402 operate the estate. >> we are leaving biltmore village. where are we headed to next. >> this is the river arts district. you will see artists popping up here at >> murals. >> tanneries and warehouses.

it is our main river in the county. surprisingly the area where early industrial and major agricultural operations came about, the train yard and such. that is what this district has been for years. , franklyst 20 years everything moved out and there began to be some effort to rethink the district and what it could look like, and one of the key things was to turn these warehouse spaces into studio spaces that were affordable for are 400 and today there artists in this one district of town. where headed to the grove park neighborhood. medicinewas a manufacturer from st. louis. he and his wife came to asheville in 1898. they fell in love with the place.

he thought he would build another factory, but realized the real money was in hospitality, so he bought sunset mountain and decided to anchor on its western slope the grove park inn with a great view to the western range, and as the city grew up, a great view of the city as well. >> something i found interesting is that it has a great literary type. escott said gerald they there for two years. fitzgerald stayed there for two years. >> he would stay here while his wife zelda was in a mental health care unit on the other side of town. >> we are starting to see signs for the blue ridge parkway. did it begin here? nds in parkway almost edm nashville. there was a great deal politics,

the north end carolina politicians worked it to be in north carolina. it is an administration project part of the new deal during the roosevelt administration. it did not get a lot of used until after world war ii. is one of america's great scenic drives. >> what are some things people will see? stunning vistas looking across the valley that asheville citizen, as well as valleys with no environment at all. the city,een all over downtown, the arts district, blue ridge parkway, so what which are like people to know about your city? asheville isay is still an old appalachian city with an appalachian since ability, a city of the nation, a city of the arts, a city that

loves to welcome folks. there is a grittiness to it, and at the same time a true elegance as well. >> thank you for showing us around your city. >> my pleasure. ♪ >> c-span is in asheville, north carolina learning more about its history. up next, we learn more about appalachian music. ♪ a particular time when you learn songs, or here and there? >> here and there. they would sing them in the field when they had nothing to do. learned lots of songs from other people too.

>> i like to say these folks came of age, really wise, knowledgeable people, educated in the natural world, the musical world, in their own folklore, so it was something deep and wide. >> mountain music is a catchall term for the traditional is a government southern appalachian. ♪

>> it would involve old-time music, dance music, banjo, federal music, and it could also be bluegrass music. people use that term generally to refer to the traditional music of the southern appalachian spiri. >> it is this combination all woven together. all those things came together in the mountains and we had a hybrid that busted loose. i would say the banjo kicked things into gear and the late to mid 1800s, and that was a black influence from africa. a lot of blues notes on the banjo. that changes the way the music is played. that's one of the things it did. combination made this incredible come incredibly

powerful hybrid of music. ♪ atthe mountain music archive warren wilson college is part of our special collection housed in the library, and it consists of a number of items, recordings, photographs, related to music makers of this region in western north carolina. collection wasestion collected in the 1970's and 1980's. >> i was going to college in california and had fallen in love with the sound of the banjo. met ralph stanley out there and asking where i could learn this old-style. he said you need to go back to

asheville, so i left that summer in 1969 and traveled through the southern mountains from georgia to west virginia. i just fell in love with the music, the people come the place, and the culture. to me it was like stepping into a lost world. time, 1969-1973, a lot of these old-timers, all of them were born in the late 1800s, but these people were closely connected to our pioneer ancestors more than modern people, so i found it absolutely fascinating. the music was great and people were wonderful. they would give you lessons. they would play for you. you would come back the next time and build a repertoire. ♪ important for individuals to start collecting

andtain music in the 1960's 1970's. there are a variety of reasons. one is that in the 1960's you , a sort ofmusic boom explosion of interest in folk itselfand this manifests in performing groups like the kingston trio or peter, paul and mary, or bob dylan, but along with that people who were interested in folk music began exploring the origins and where the songs came from. some individuals became very fascinated with those origin stories, to the point of tracking down individuals who had originally recorded a lot of this music in the 20's and 30's, which became source recordings for these musicians in the 1960's. ♪ >> the forks at worn wilson

college decided it would be great to have a program where students could learn the instruments. just the folklore a stick aspects of it. in 1973, and we are talking 1975 when they wanted to start this program, and i was a guy from the outside. i was pretty much the only guy in town from the outside collecting music. i had contacts with all these the music,spects of ballad singers, bluegrass players, and they were all mad at each other. personind of a perfect to go in between and bring them all together and have them come out to the college and teach. ♪ >> the collection is 110 reel to

reel and cassette tapes. that was the best equipment we could find in those days. it, and thea lot of students collected a lot of it. the warren wilson college has a work program and the job is to click music from these old-timers. >> ♪ i came home the other night as drunk as i could be and i saw a horse in the stable where my horse ought to be ♪ >> there became almost a critical need to document and record these people who were at this point entering the twilight years of their lives before they passed away. hand my littleur lordy i am bound to go ♪ >> you saw an explosion of field

recordings of people going to a remote part of the country and tracking down musicians and recording them as a way to anderve their music document it for the public record before the they may pass away and it would be unavailable. ♪ >> david holt started the traditional music program here in the 1970's. i started teaching here in the 1990's. that was after he had left. he had recorded concerts in the 1970's, and these recordings were all here in the archives on reel to reel tapes, and i realize they were not accessible, even if i had a student who wanted to listen to

them. who knew what was on those things. it was not a good setup. i wanted to make them available to our students. who tooktudent in 2002 the reel to reel tapes and we them,player and digitize and he and i went through and look at what was on these and picked out appropriate cuts to add to this online resource. ♪ >> so now we have these resources and we can let students listen to them. in the case of a fiddler, they will learn the repertoire, the nuance of playing. group,case of a singing we can hear what types of psalms were popular at that point in time, but also hear the nuance in their singing styles. ♪

>> so it gives us a way to keep going where tion the actual culture bearers may not be with us any longer. shape note singing is a tradition of sacred music making unique to america. it going where originated in th really what shape note refers to is the literal shape of the notes that appear on a page. what individuals were experimenting with around 1800 were developing a system of noteation that could make it easier for people to learn to read music. in the 19th century it

became so popular as a way for individuals to learn how to sing that singing school masters would travel around the region and teach singing schools where they would actually have a class of 20, 30, 40 in the individuals in a community and everyone would for two weeks learn how to read shape note noteation. after the singing school was over, the singing school master would move on to another rural community and the community that person left would have a book and they would get together regularly and sing out of this book of shape note tunes. so you really had a for two wee learn how to read shape note bl

of shape note singing in this region. as a result there were a number of books published. north carolina the book that really took hold and stayed was called the christian harmony. and it was compiled by a gentleman named william walker who was from spartanburg, south carolina. there's a continuous christian harmony singing that's been going on here in western north carolina for over 100 years. >> the balancing tradition here goes way back to the earliest settlers who came from the british isles. some of these ballads still sung here in the mountains, you can date them back to the 1500 and 1600s in scotland and england. in the days before recorded

music this was how you passed music along. so madison county which is just rth of ashville is still has balled singers, people who have been singing the ball lads for six or seven generation. so you will find people still sinking about lords and ladies and castles even though they're in the mountains of western north carolina. >> ball ds are basically telling a story in song and there's some kind of narltive going on and usually something happens and there's some kind of moral tor story at the end. so they're important for passing along of the customs and beliefs and fears of a

culture. >> we use the mountain music archive to help us show current students the way that certain types of mountain music were performed and presented. by individuals who were really doing it a hundred years ago. and so it creates a really critical resource and a sort of window back in time. recordings offer an excellent way to hear the nuance of somebody's playing or the ornaments in someone singing that you really couldn't get otherwise. this music is important. it's american folk music and when i've traveled to other

of the world and i tell people that i play american folk music and sing american folk songs, they say what? we of the world and i tell people didn't know there was anything other than the commercialized music we get to hear from america. but every country has a folk music tradition. even though we're talking western north carolina this is american folk music. so it's important to make it, preserve it, document it, make it available because it's part of our nation's history. >> these tunes, the fiddle tunes, the old ballads, these are little bits of wisdom being passed down from other generations that it's not an a book. 's not it's something that's encapsulated in a tune. and it can't be put any other way. but there's power in that tune and there's wisdom in that tune. when you run it through your body or run it a book. it's through a whole group of people, like here, it informs them in a different

way. i think it's a lot of it's very uplifting. and i think it just makes people healthier. t's good medicine. >> our cities tour staff ashville, veled to north carolina to learn about its rich history. learn more about ashville and other stops on the tour at c-span.org/cities tour.

after two decades as a peedric nurse she began working as a ree speech advocate. jaffe an independent lit gator with experience at the supreme court including work on more than 100 cases clerked for supreme court justice clarence

thomas. watch landmark cases monday at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span join the conversation our hashtag is landmark cases. and follow us at c-span. we have resources on our website for backgrounds on each case. the landmark cases companion book, a link to the national constitution centers interactive constitution, and the landmark cases podcast at c-span.org/landmark cases. >> each week american artifacts take you to a start places and museums. in addition to the mount vernon estate, george washington owned a townhouse in the heart of nearby alexandria virginia. the current owner of the property talks about his washington connections and the archaeology of two recently discovered wells in their basement. we visit see some of the artifacts that have been uncovered.