scratched the surface and how much spectrum we put out in this liberal way. the great majority of the airwaves that are highly liable for communication are still squandered. they are allocated to things set aside 50, 60 years ago. theratechnologies are gone. the applications are moved, but we are blocking the amazing stuff that awaits. we need to come up with better mechanisms. a lot of my book talks about things regulators can do to unleash even more of a we already have shown can come in without the micromanagement of the federal communications commission in washington. >> watch the communicators, monday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2. >> our tour of presidential homes continues as we stay in the virginia countryside with a visit to james monroe's highland. close to his friend jefferson's monticello, the fifth president

lives here from 1793 until his death in 1831. >> i call it a presidential cold case. there were always questions about this house. architects look at the little house and say that does not really look like a wing of a president's house. it has formal similarities to other dependency buildings from other plantations. the questions were lingering. when i got here, there were answers to questions i asked, but i did not quite fully understand. maybe it is just a willingness to say that i don't understand that. because maybe it is perfectly clear but i just don't understand it. actually saying i don't understand that, let's look further. we are standing now in the

center of the spot where james monroe's original main house stood. this is where we discovered the well preserved foundations just below ground surface. we have covered it back up while we are not excavating. that is how we preserve an archaeological site. we laid these pavers down on the ground surface to get a sense of the footprint of the house. it was laid specifically over the places that we have excavated and have identified the walls. we have also speculated they are in between those spots. this is the outline of the 1799 monroe house. we see some of the walls that we indicated are marked by these service flagstones so you can really get a sense of the relationship of this house to the smaller 1818 guesthouse that is behind the 1870's house. we have excavated a couple dozen

squares around here. both interior and exterior. we dug around here last fall. the grass has not quite grown back yet. eventually, our research will uncover this area and also the yard. because our work on the yard will be able to tell us a lot of the activities that were happening here and we will get the house orientation. we don't yet know whether the main entrance was on this face for the southern face. we certainly will be able to determine that. there is a smaller wing to the west that is probably more service oriented. it held a kitchen cellar. we think. the cellar itself we have not excavated. we are really eager to get into that can open it up. we will have great discoveries there. we have really good evidence of burning. we think the house was destroyed

by fire sometime between the mid 1830's and early 1850's. we have not yet found contemporary newspaper account of the destruction, which is somewhat surprising. i know that any day someone will come up to me and have discovered the missing newspaper account. that will happen, i am sure. we found a chimney base. we found burned planks, the archaeological small finds are numerous. lots of nails, some of which seem to have come from thomas jefferson's monticello. there is good documentary of corroborating that. lots of ceramics and wine bottles which are the container of the day. before plastic bottles, glass, wine type bottles were used over and over again for all types of liquid storage and transport.

lots of those. some ceramics, which is interesting. that will tell us what the monroes were eating off of, the dishes they used. it is always an exciting moment to see the consumer choices they made. the house continues behind me here and probably goes under the 1870's house that belongs to the massey family. it continues probably 20 feet or so underneath the house. that was probably severely impacted by the construction in the 1870's. otherwise, the part of the house that is not covered by that is really well preserved. it is an archaeological treasure that i am really eager to get into. james monroe is an interesting character. he is maybe the most popular president of his time, and one that is least known today.

we have a great challenge and create opportunity to share his story. james monroe purchased the property in 1793. when he was away, he was minister to france during the 1790's. his good friend and mentor thomas jefferson and his other friend james madison were both involved in setting up the plantation prior to his moving here in 1799. james monroe and his wife moved here late in the year in 1799. james monroe, unlike the other local presidents, did not grow up in this area. monroe himself is from west moreland county out east. he was born in 1758 and moved here from fredericksburg where he settled with his young wife just after their marriage. first they lived at a property that is now on the grounds of the university of virginia. we call it monroe hill.

this property became available and he saw it as being closer to jefferson, being a larger tract of land and hopefully more productive. he purchased the property in 1793 and moved in 1799. by the late 1810's, he had his property oak hill in loudoun county. that was closer to washington. he wants down more frequently. during monroe's presidency, when he came here he very likely traveled with his wife. sometimes his elder daughter also accompanied him. her husband, george hay, was an important person to monroe. a confidant and secretary sometimes. so, there were certainly enslaved people during monroe's lifetime. he claimed ownership of about 250 souls. that is cumulative, not at one time.

the enslaved workforce varied in a number based on what was happening with both of the lavrov properties. -- monroe properties. that is important to recognize is that monroe's legacy is physically fairly diffuse. this is the one that is open to the public. he spent time in fredericksburg and new york city. of course, he was born in the eastern part of the state in westmoreland county. during the main portion of his public career, here highland was his home. this represents his ministries abroad where he was twice minister to france and england and briefly to spain. it also represents his time as secretary of state. he was prior to that he was a four term governor when that was allowed. he was elected to four individual one-year terms. he was secretary of state and eventually a wildly popular

two-term president. monroe was -- seems to be an easy man. they say he was able to put men and women at ease in social situations. i think he enjoyed dinner table conversation. parlor conversations. really was kind. people say he had a great sense of humor. we see that in people's accounts of monroe. he seems to poke fun at himself and others. james monroe went to campbelltown academy, which was a good school. it was in westmoreland county. it really prepared colonial young men for a real professional life. john marshall was at least briefly one of his classmates. after both of his parents died by the time he was 16, his maternal uncle, joseph jones, who was his first real mentor and role model, sent james monroe to william and mary, where he studied for about two years.

i like in particular a story about monroe's start there. he should have been well prepared and well regarded school. he got there and found he was really deficient in one of more of the subjects and was not quite ready and was kind of disappointed. i like the fact that he went home and revised or study really hard over the summer and really worked hard to get where he thought he should be. when he came back his professors were impressed. he really then made the cut and was where he should have been. i think that is a central piece to understanding james monroe. here at highland, we have always understood that the standing house is not the entire monro -- monroe main house. we thought it was a part of the main house, or a remnant wing.

we know that from documentary sources in particular. insurance documents, three of them that show sketches of two wings but together. when i started here in 2012, i really sought to understand the history of the property itself. the wing that is no longer here, we should be able to find traces of it underground and i was not really satisfied with the sense that it is there and we have not found. we kept looking and eventually excavated all the way around the main house. it was in the front of the 1870's house that we found a deposit of archaeological debris. we needed to open up larger excavations. really figure out where was the building that contributed that

debris. we were very lucky to find well preserved archaeological foundations there. the structures on the property today come from the different phases of occupation. the monroe period buildings behind me, the presidential guesthouse was built for him when he was president. in 1818, and he was coming here as president, he needed more space. i think when you travel as president, you have more people visiting you, you need more accommodation for people to come with you or to you when you are president. the 1818 guesthouse is one part. that has a small one room white piece added to the eastern part, and then that connects to this large building, this taller yellow building that was from the 1870's. this little white piece is from

the 1850's. we see circular saw marks all through the frame and that gives us a good date. that is corroborated by archery dating. the main 1850's for that room. we have an overseer's house as well that was original to the property and a smokehouse. , otherwise, we have later monroe buildings and reproduction buildings or reconstructions of buildings that were here historically. we do know the names and occupations of cumulatively 250 people that were enslaved as part of monroe's lifetime owning. there was a variety of course. one of the things that we really appreciate is getting to know people's names and their specific occupations. for example, in september 6, 1818, letter that james monroe wrote to george hay, he talks about building this house,

building the presidential guesthouse. he mentioned one by name and the other by occupation of two enslavement that does enslaved men that did work. he speaks of a carpenter. we think that man was peter mallory. you see his name in other places. he also mentioned a man named george who may have been another carpenter or another craftsman. knowing that these two were the people in charge of building the house we still have standing really brings a richness to our understanding of the property and its history. we see people and the roles they play, the connections or not the monroe family who ultimately saw them as labor, but in certain instances seen these enslaved people with whom they did share things.

-- share space. it is a complex story and we do know some. not enough. we're still working. the discoveries we have made are not only an opportunity to re-examine the site, which is essential and very exciting, but also an example to study james monroe himself. we are excited to look back at what we that what we understood about monroe. our research is ongoing. we continue to read and to do archaeology. our two projects are the larger landscape, including the slave quarters that we may have discovered in the field, and what we want to do now is really raise the funds for the big phase the excavation that , will take place over the course of a year or years. have it open for a month or two at a time so we can really look in and see the whole house open

and really get into those sellers -- cellars. that would be crucial archaeologically to open those up and see food stuff was in the cellar when house was destroyed. we think the house was destroyed after james monroe left. all indications are that it would have been between the 1830's to 1850's. of course monroe was gone by then. he was deceased. we want to open that up. the cellars will be able to tell us in closer detail when the house was destroyed. we will be able to tell the finishes of the house, the plaster, maybe types of woodwork and hardware. including the nails. we have a long season of archaeological excavation ahead of us. we are in the development phase because we need the resources to be able to open that and keep it open for a good period of time.

our best days are still ahead of us. we look forward to the time when archaeology is a daily occurrence here. that is what people can see when they come. this and otherh programs on the history of communities across the country citiestour.rg/ this is american history tv only on c-span3. >> the c-span bus has arrived by boat in hawaii for the 30 night stop of the 50 capitals tour. we are on the island of the law who, visiting honolulu without over spectrum cable partners. >> we are excited to have c-span

in hawaii. spiritlly in the aloha where we can share the history and culture. this is a great opportunity. welcome antelope. loha.d a >> hair and it's impressive bus going all over our nation. i know c-span will enjoy the beauty, the sunshine in the state.f the 50th i'm sure c-span will witness and feel the aloha spirit as it embarks on the discovery of hawaii. i, governor, and lieutenant governor of the state of hawaii do hereby proclaim august 15-22, 2018 as c-span week in hawaii. congratulations. >> watch more of her visit to

hawaii on hawaii weekend, october 6 and seven on c-span.org, or listen on the free c-span radio app. presidency, the annual harry truman legacy symposium focuses on russia and the cold war. analysts talk about the 33rd president's relationship with british from mr. winston churchill, the u.s. position in berlin, and the origins of nato, which researcher may considered a signature accomplishment. the harry truman the white house and harry truman foundation both in key west florida cohosted the event. this is the first of two parts. it is about two hours. >> well, thank you, and thank you all for being with us this morning. thank you for inviting me. it's my second trip to the little white house and it's very good to be back here in key