film the pershing story on the life of the commander of the american expeditionary forces during the great war. i pay supreme tribute to our soldiers of the line. when i think of their heroism, i am filled with emotion which i am unable to express. pershing himself was decorated by nine foreign governments as well as his own country. >> watch real america today at 4:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3. this year, c-span is touring cities across the country, exploring american history. next, a look at our recent visit to flagstaff, arizona. you are wanting american history tv. all weekend every weekend on c-span3. they did a flag raising

hence then 1876 and flagstaff became the name and flagstaff has as a city been established for about 135 years. >> while in flagstaff, we took a driving tour of the city with the vacation specialist -- with the communications specialist. >> we will start with the flagstaff visitors and are, located at the historic train station which is an active train station for receiving about 80 to 100 strains -- 100 trains passing through flagstaff daily. it is off of route 66. you can start your journey right on the mother road. the early history of flagstaff started with settlers coming and their industry was lumbar. -- lumber. with those three economic

became, flagstaff really a booming town in the early history. we have full into the heart of flagstaff which is historic downtown. street our san francisco and as you can see, it is very busy with visitors looking at all the things there is to see and do from the shopping, dining, the great breweries that we have and all the historic buildings. as we go downtown, you will notice the hotel monte vista on your right. this is where some of the movie casablanca was filmed. that hollywood lore of the 1950's and 60's. some of the rooms are named after some of the stars. it is reported to be haunted. it is a fun place to go in and check out. itt brothersbabb

building. one of the early ranchers that helped establish flagstaff. >> can you talk about them for a minute and tell us who they were and what their impact is. >> they were a family that started at flagstaff by bringing that economic driver to our community. it would have been the early 1900s. still,e a working ranch active in the community and really helped bring flagstaff into its own among other families. we treasure the that brothers -- the babbitt brothers and their contribution to flagstaff. this is the historic hotel on your right. on the side of it is arizona's largest mural. it is called sound of flight. i recommend taking a long look at that mural because there is so much to see. this is our heritage square

which we have three movies on the square in the summer, a concert series, events all throughout the year. it is a great gathering spot and location. in front of us, you have two spot. two spot locomotive is a great place to have a tribute to our locomotive railroad history. >> real quick about the railroad history. what was its significance and when did it come here? late 1890's0s, because that is what established flagstaff, because people could come and go and transport the lumber. lumber orprimarily was there other commerce? >> in the early history it was lumbar. now, there are major economic drivers. technology,ence,

education and government. one of the things about science and technology that we are known for, space and astronomy. we have observatories all over the city. -- observatory discovered pluto in 1930 and that put us on the map. many things the observatories have been involved with. down south side and enter into northern arizona university. we affectionately call this nau. established as northern arizona normal school in 1899 and later known as northern arizona university as it is today. a booming and vibrant

student university. it has over 30,000 students total. that includes the satellite campuses and online students as well as the student center in town. the university has done an amazing job of keeping the character of the university. we are on the north campus. as you see the classic flagstaff architecture with the red rock and the malachite. of a university that has kept its presence. the university is a core component of flagstaff today. landmarks thatic you see when you come to flagstaff is our beautiful mountain range, the san francisco peaks.

they are comprised of the humphreys peak, the fremont prank and the -- pete -- fremont and the -- -- fremont peak and the -- peak. >> how far away is the grand canyon from here? >> the grand canyon is in our backyard essentially. -- and this isy what we recommend. you could stay in flagstaff, have breakfast in flagstaff and then drive up to the grand canyon, have lunch at the grand canyon, enjoy your hiking and biking, come back and have a wonderful dinner in flagstaff and then go stargazing. awesome day. >> sounds like it. >> our cities tour staff recently traveled to flagstaff, arizona to learn about its rich history. learn more about flagstaff and other stops on our tour at c-span.org/citiestour.

you are watching american history tv, all >> cato institute senior fellow tom palmer explores how the ideas of freedom law and liberty have changed throughout history. from 2100 bc through the american revolution. realizinguthor of freedom: libertarian theory, history, and practice. this hour and 15 minute long talk as part of an educational symposium on history and philosophy posted by the cato institute, recorded in early august in san diego. . now i have the very enjoyable task of setting up the stage for what we will be dealing with later which is mainly american history but not exclusively. through to take us