we were constantly being as females.ed so sometimes being underestimated is a good thing, because you can always -- you had the element of surprise. i remember a lot of my debates, where the people who i was just didn't take me seriously, until i got up there, and then it was too late. the same thing happens when you're negotiating. >> in the weeks ahead, we'll schroeder, sue kanellly, nancy johnson. sunday at histories 10 a.m. eastern on american history t.v. on c-span 3. states purchased alaska from russia in 1867 for two cents an acre. president dwight d. eisenhower signed the state act. up, we visit the

foundation to learn about one of the longest serving members of congress. >> mr. president, alaska was not a folly. it is no longer an impoverished territory. and anis a great state essential contributor to our nation's energy security and national defense. i am proud to have had a role in tos transformation, working help alaska achieve its potential. it has been and will continue to life's work. >> senator ted stephens was senator moreor over 40 years. senator stephens was involved in the seminole legislative initiatives that helped shape alaska. continuing on through the claims settlement act, the conservation and trans-alaskat, the pipeline act and numerous others that we're going to talk about today. the ted stevens foundation was

created in 2001 as a way to his service and to apply his legacy to outreach and education. foundation is primarily working on archiving and senator's papers. we're hard at work. he had over 4800 box. one of the largest congressionallal collections ever a-- congressional ever amassed in the united states. he was born in indiana. early raise inside the years by was grandparents and then in his later teenage years, moved to california and was raised by his aunt and usually. and uncle. aunt while in california, he developed a love for surfing and figuredboard was prominently in his senate office throughout his career. senatoraduation, stevens attended college in oregon for a semester but his dream was to be a member of the services.

and so -- and he would really -- wanted to be a ploit. but when he went to take the eye exam, he failed. he always tells the story about how he went back, did some research, did a bunch of eye went back and took the exam and passed. a pilot in the army, he flew the flying tigers during world war ii. the senator's journey to alaska took some twists and turns. after his military service, he onended harvard law school the g.i. pill. bill. firmgan working at a law where he represented an alaska-based client. alaska.is first tie to shortly thereafter, the senator received a job offer to be a attorney in fairbanks and moved his young family to alaska that job. from there, he was appointed to tove as an assistant secretary fred seton at the

interior, of eisenhower administration. get alaskal was to statehood. you can see this letter that was signed by the special counsel to president. this was the original pen used statehoode alaska act. this letter says, dear ted, i'm send you, enclosed with this letter, one of the pens on signing president the proclamation which affected the omission of alaska to the as - the 49th state. so alaska statehood was an issue helped define senator stevens' career. he became known as mr. alaska for his strong advocacy of statehood.ka he gained an appreciation of the importance of bringing together a diverse group in order to effect a change that they wanted

to make. in this change, it was trying to convince members of congress, states that were already part of union, that alaska statehood was beneficial to the united states. so, he brought together journalists and people normal realm to help sell that message to the american people and to congress. while serving in the alaska state legislature as a representative, the governor appointed senator stevens to the upon the deatht, of senator bob bartlett. appointed, he was one thing pressing in congress the original land claims of alaska natives in the state. prior to that, oil had been discovered. but the question established under statehood of, who owned in alaska, had never been settled. the discovery of that oil was threatened, because we couldn't

access it. calls his time working on what became the claim settlement act his trial by fire. and it was another instance of senator stevens used innovation and bipartisanship, you can a theme that see throughout his career. he worked to bring together others toives and finally resolve these claims. senator stevens realed what a familiar -- realized what a failure the reservation system 48 was and he wanted to create something where the natives had control of their destiny. both to preserve their cultural traditions but also to have an base from which they could perpetuate those cultural traditions in perpetuity. so one of the things that i wanted to show you today is that act finally passed in 1971. here is the note that the

senator received. dear ted, the president asked deliver the enclosed pen, which was the pen used to sign the alaska native claims act. warmest best wishes for the holiday season. 13the act established regional corporations. it gave them 40 million acres of and almost $1 billion from which it gave the alaska natives land andver their resources. upon passage of the native act, thettlement senator then turned his attention on how we actually get from they resources north slope of alaska to the rest of the united states. big item on the legislative agenda was the trans-alaska pipeline. actual president richard nixon signing the act, which established the trans-alaska pipeline system. and there's an interesting story this.

senator stevens introduced an house which the would block any kind of legal pipeline to the system. and they were losing the vote. and senator stevens on the floor a very impassioned statement, which actually fellow the mind of a senator, which led to a tie in presidentwhich vice spiro agnew had to break the tie. once the trans-alaska pipeline act was passed, permitting and construction immediately began on the pipeline. and that pipeline system actually transformed the state of alaska. at the time, it was the largest privately financed energy project. still a marvel ofin' of today.ion >> our bill would allow foreign fishing only after it had been americand that fishermen cannot harvest a which would not

deplete the system. the foreigners would have to pay a fee to fish and would be closely monitored. high seas, the determination of economic dislocation would be made by fishing for aow species such as salmon. that thext issue senator tackled was the problem of overfishing in u.s. waters. 70's, there were foreign fleets fishing right off the coast of alaska and decimating fisheries population. at the time, senator stevens served on the commerce committee can senator magson from the a democrat.hington, and senator stevens obviously republican. but the senator saw something this senator stevens and they decided to work together to try issues.lve the they had gone on the international stage to try and an international convention to deal with that, but that was taking quite a long time. so they developed an innovative

theram which then became magnus and stevens fisheries an management act. have the penlly signing by president jerry ford, acknowledging the passage of the fishery conservation and management act. renamed the magnus and stevens act. what it did was extended u.s. to 200 miles off the coast of the united states. fisherieseated management councils which helped manage the population to make that our fisheries remained healthy for future generations of americans. was a lifelong advocate of healthy living. school, he in high was actually a lifeguard in manhattan beach. of physical activity translated later on in life. ensureator's desire to that everyone had access to the

opportunities that sports him not only to be 9 but also of title the lead sponsor on the amateur sports act. the penn example of signed by president jimmy carter, which established the amateur sports act of 1978. it what that did is modernized the u.s. olympic committee and gave both the committee and athletes a financial basis for which to and excel. so after the amateur sports act stevenssenator recognized that there was a need to ensure that people of all abilities were able to and havete in sports that support. so he sponsored an amendment to sports act, which anduded paralympians special olympians as parts of the u.s. olympic program. ine's a photo that we have our archive of the special

2000.an of the year, in senator stevens grew up with a cousin who experienced a disability and he carried that throughout his life and wanted to make sure that people like cousin had the opportunities to succeed like everyone else does. incrediblys are important because they tell a story of senator stevens' andoach to public service how he solved issues. one of the things that senator for was hisknown ability to reach across party lines, to effectuate change. his most famous quote is to hell with politics. rights for alaska and the nation. and that's reflected here in the archive. some pulled representations of different letters. here's one. the they were working on alaska national inter-lands act, which was designating wilderness areas, alaska, heefuges in was working with a counterpart,

representative udall in the house. read the letter to you. dear ted, you're a good man. apologize for not responding to your note pof a couple -- note of a couple weeks ago. sit down and work out alaska lands compromise but it got into a channel where i must work and go through the whole markup process. i suspect we'll be working it in conference stage together. touch.eep in mo. another example of bipartisanship is senator stevens loved to bring people to alaska. i think alaska is such a vast two and a half times the size of texas. and most of our rural are only accessible by air or boat. don'tcause of that, they have running water, et cetera. so he thought it was important senators and representatives to alaska. here's actually a photo of in 1969 withens

senator ted kennedy. pilot station, alaska. and given that it was 1969, no e-mail. phone service was spotty, as were telegrams. our photo person was able to of theown the daughter post master who is in the photo and ask her the story behind photograph. the daughter relayed that at the time, they had no idea that someone was coming. and they saw two big military aircraft approaching. and everyone in the town thought the soviets were attacking them. landed andlanes obviously senator stevens and kennedy got off the plane. so that's another thing that we is to try and track down the stories behind the photographs, to give a more complete view of alaska's history and the senator's role in that. where the heart is, mr. president. if that is so, i have two homes. is right here in this

chamber. and the other is my beloved state of alaska. i must leave one to return to the other. left ther stevens 2009. in january of and we unfortunately lost him in a plane crash on august 9, 2010. the reaction at the time was disbelief. kind of beenns had a larger-than-life figure. theas the alaskan of century. people referred to him as uncle was soause he approachable, from, you know, the smallest person with an with their social security to corporations in alaska, they always speak to senator stevens directly about their issues. so his loss was deeply felt throughout the state. looking around the state of alaska, you can see the tangible that he of the things worked on. there's the fisheries. there's oil and gas. there are hospitals.

clinics. there's aviation and the airports. but i think that senator lasting legacy is in the people whose lives he touched ch one thing here at the doing isn that we're we really see those people as a legacy in action. the worke continuing that the senator began, to improve not only individuals but their communities and the state and our country. his legacy is in people who are continuing the good work of the senator. cities tour staff recently traveled to alaska to learn about its rich history. about alaska and other stops on our tour at c-span.org/cities tour.

you're watching american history t.v. weekend, every weekend, on c-span 3. t.v. oncan history espn3 is in prime time next week. starting at 8 p.m. eastern, anday night, ronald reagan the cold war, with highlights of trip toident's 1987 west berlin. tuesday night, oral histories interviews with former women members of congress, with susan molinari and pat schroeder. wednesday night, former bill clinton for and george w. bush talk about how they communicated policy ideas from the president's point view. thursday night, world war ii, films, featuring the 20-year anniversary of the movie "saving private ryan." night, the confederate icons conference, on future ofy and confederate heritage, monuments and the battle flags. history t.v. on

c-span 3. next, historians explore how the meaning and public acceptance of confederate icons have evolved since the end of the civil war. it was hosted by the shenandoah valley battlefields foundation. >> good morning. thank you for being here. the heart of the national historic district comprised of the eight counties of the shenandoah valley. we at the shenandoah valley battlefields foundation are happy to have you here. we have speakers here to talk about confederate icons. this is one of the largest one-day conferences the foundation has had.