are watching american history tv. 48 hours of programming every weekend on c-span3. follow us on twitter at c-span history for information on our schedule and to keep up with latest history news. >> we are in rochester minnesota, also known as midcity. we take you to the mayo clinic to learn about its pending -- founding and its role in the community today. >> mayo clinic is an american institution. it is at the heart of our country in many respects. it is the world's first and largest private multispecialty group practice. that is a big, formal term. it means it is specialists working together in a highly organized way, devoting a whole range of unique, diverse talents for the sole purpose of serving

each individual patient. it is a model that the mayo family developed with the franciscan sisters that has expanded and grown to other medical centers and has welcomed patients from all over the world for more than 150 years. this is heritage hall, the museum of mayo clinic that was established with a gift from john and lillian matthews. they are patients of mayo clinic and they had a unique vision. they said we want to add more voices to the choir and tell the great stories of mayo through contemporary museum exhibits, designs, films and products like that. today, we are going to explore the history of and more importantly the living legacy of mayo clinic. every patient has a history. the first thing you do when you see a doctor is you give your history as a patient. what your illnesses are, your health status and emily background. that history informs the care that you received today with the

hope of a healthier future. just as you, as a patient, have a history, so does an organization. mayo clinic has a history and our history is a living dynamic part of who we are. it informs who we are today. wesets the stage for where are going in the future. you will see as you travel around mayo clinic in heritage hall and on our other historic displays that history is present with us. people talk about it in an immediate sense. i will show you and my colleagues will show you some fun and interesting things that bring that to life. a lot of people wonder how a very large, prominent medical center ever got started in a small, remote town like rochester, minnesota. it is an amazing combination of factors. mayo is a family name. born nearm mayo was manchester, england in 1819. he grew up in the industrial revolution. he developed a strong, social

conscience of giving back to others. he sought a better future for himself and came to america in the 1840's. he worked his way west. in indiana, he married louise abigail wright and she was his business partner. had wonderful teamwork coming together to serve patients. malaria was common in indiana at that time. dr. mayo sought a healthier climate. he came here as a patient seeking a healthier future. in the to minnesota territory days. he worked a number of cities around the state forms and different things. in 1864, he opened a practice and moved his family to rochester when the lincoln was an examining doctor during the civil war. his role was to see which young men were fit for military duty. we were one of the newest states in the nation. his job was to see who was fit for service. the family stayed here because

miss mayo said we are not moving anymore. abraham lincoln bought us -- brought us here and missus mayo kept us here. had sons who grew up in medicine like farm boys on a farm. they would serve his patients with dad. they absorbed his ideals and his values and it was natural that they were going into medicine as their time came. the mayo family had been here since the 1860's. it was the summer of 1883 and dr. mayo was the senior position in town. his eldest son had just graduated medical school that spring. charlie was still a high school student proper -- a high school preparatory student at home. -- cyclone comes. hale heard a terrible, devastating storm hit the city. dr. mayo and his sons were in charge of helping the survivors.

they needed nurses. most women had families to look at. when seeking help, dr. mayo went down the street to the academy of our lady of lorde, founded by the franciscan sisters. the mother superior center sisters to be his nurses. they worked in a dance hall i and in makeshift facilities. not long after the disaster, mother alfred came to dr. mayo with a true vision. she said we, the franciscans, will build a hospital for the city if you and your sons will staff it. .r. mayo resisted hospitals are expensive, risky, he was elderly. it is a small town, we can do this. mother alfred persisted that with faith, hope and energy, it will succeed. so, they shook hands. dr. mayo and mother alfred. no legal contract, a bond of trust. st. mary's hospital opened in

1889. men and women did not work together as affectional counterparts at that time. dr. mayo was a man, a man of science. he admired charles darwin. faith.alfred, a woman of they found common ground in serving patients. theou get this, you get all rest. you have different people, different skills and different points of view but they come together for the common purpose. each one brought something unique to the equation. louise raised their family right here in rochester, in this house, which is literally across the street from where we are right now. they made a momentous decision when the brothers were quite young. they decided they would mortgage this house and with that mortgage funding, purchase a microscope to help care for dr. mayo's patients.

the mayo boys were young. eight, nine or four or five years old. two of them. they were member their parents' sacrifice. they grew up knowing medicine was a true calling. and to work together in a cooperative manner. ,ast-forward to win the mayo's and we see william and charles as adults, they were arguably the most successful doctors in america by the early 1920's. remembering their parents sacrifice and the example of the franciscan sisters, the brothers and their wives donated the land, building and equipment and the majority of their life savings to transform mayo from a private partnership into a not-for-profit organization. mayo clinic is here today because of their sacrifice and their generosity.

we have talked about the origins of mayo clinic at heritage hall. it is really worthwhile to visit the palmer building with my colleagues to get a feeling for how the clinic grew and flourished. now, we are standing in this historical suite which is located in the palmer building. last the suite where the offices of dr. will and charlie mayo are located along with the board of governors room. this space is used as a museum today. our patients and visitors are able to learn more about our history. how the males practiced medicine was much different than it is today. was the physician who would go out into the country and get on his buggy and horse and take it out to the farm and visit the patients. surgeries were performed on kitchen tables, not in hospitals or operating room settings. instruments and medicine were .ery crude an

what you are looking at are some medicines that were carried in a positions bag. there are not many to select from. not a lot known about what would cure different ailments. this is what was had and prescribed to patients. they administered one dose and hoped it would work. this buts practiced they realized they needed larger space. they opted to rent some space in downtown rochester. here are some of the different locations they rented. a newlyc temple was built building. they rented space on the second floor for our patients to be seen there. they worked in the sonic temple until 1914. this building represents the very first mayo clinic that was built by the mayo family.

housed in practice in medicine. needed to have others join the practice. william often quoted no one is big enough to be independent of others. they realized early on that they needed to hire other individuals with other talents and interests to provide the best care for our patients. dr. will and charlie were surgeons but they knew they needed people working in the laboratories. the x-ray department and all other aspects of medicine to provide the best care for our patients. so here you will see the clinic being built. it started in 1912 with the construction. and in 1914, it opened. it was five floors. it housed all the different specialties. we were anticipating about 14,000 patients to arrive on an annual basis. 26,000 were coming to rochester

for care. we quickly outgrew this space and ended up building the next building that we will be talking about which is the plumber it wasg, currently but the second mayo clinic. this is 15 floors. it encompassed all of the departments that the patients would need to be seen in. and it was an integrated group practice. here is a model of an examining room that would have been in the 1914 mayo clinic building. it is very similar to our exam rooms today. you will see a couch where the patient or family member sits. physician'se, a desk, a scale and a sink. clerk floors were in the 1914 mayo clinic buildings. it provided less stress so you

could stand for longer periods of time. also in the clinical practice, they realized that the exam used needinstruments to be cleaned. cover over the betting needed to be changed frequently. antiseptic techniques were developed in england and they had seen it practiced over there in their travels. they brought those practices back to mayo clinic. will's standing in dr. last offices. this would be used during his administered of years, so 1928 is when he would have moved into this area. you will see his desk. he loved the truth and sought to know it. dr. will is described as the businessman, administrator tight. he sometimes was known to be more stern but had a great sense

of humor. and he married his high school sweetheart. her photo is on the bookcase. damon, name was patty she was the daughter of a local jeweler. they had five children but only two lived past infancy. two daughters, carrie and pb. both of the daughters were prominent -- married prominent male surgeons. the daughters did not go into medicine. in 1928, when dr. will moved into this office, he was no longer practicing as a surgeon however he was very involved in the mayo clinic. administratively. he sat on the board of governors until 1935 when he stepped down and let the younger individuals take over running the clinic. and he still was infinitely involved, knowing that patients were being taken care of.

is my favorite room we are standing in at the moment. it is the board of governors room. it was started because dr. will and dr. charlie in 1915 started the proceedings to set up the mayo clinic as a nonprofit organization. that involved setting up the board and we are still run by a board today. this is the board room. thehonors and awards on wall are four dr. will and dr. charlie from all over the world. they traveled all over the world and brought back the best practices to the mayo clinic. what they would do is go and travel for several months each spring and fall. one always stayed back at mayo to tend to business. they would present and visit at other hospitals and became known to other physicians. dr. will felt that jealousy amongst the medical profession would be a detriment and sharing knowledge was critical for the

profession. you can tell by their honors and awards that they were well respected by their peers. dr. will was asked to give an address at a medical college for the graduating class in 1910. and that is when he articulated that the needs of the patient come first. which is our primary value here at mayo clinic. all we do is for our patients. realized you needed education and research to be able to provide that great care for our patients. we still practiced with that in our four thoughts. education, we have five schools at mayo clinic. we have many research labs so that we can advance medicine and science. is history of mayo clinic interwoven with the history of rochester. the city has grown and expanded right along with mayo clinic to provide different services and amenities for our patients just

like mayo clinic has. >> we are in a place of heritage hall called the treasure gallery. we have a number of copies -- ubbies that present different facets of their contribution to society. over here is an iconic artifact. it is a baseball signed by lou gehrig, the great new york yankees ballplayer when he was a patient here in 1939. the black-and-white photo shows this to garrick as a patient. -- lou garrick as a patient. back.e he gave batting lessons and pitching clinics and worked out with the american legion team. bob asked lou gehrig to sign his lucky ball and he did sign the ball on his birthday in june of 1939, the day he was diagnosed with als. he signed the ball for bob and bob kept the ball for 75 years.

the color photo serves -- shows bob as an elderly man still treasuring the baseball. bob sold the baseball to andy. andy bought the ball for the sole purpose that he and his daughter, taylor, who we see in the porter -- photo, would give it to mayo clinic to inspire our patients. you have generosity across many withations coming together this one baseball signed by a great american athlete. the nobelreplica of prize that mayo clinic received in 1950. two mayo staff members, dr. edward kendall, a laboratory scientist and dr. philip hinch worked together on the invention and clinical use of cortisone. a drug many of us know now. they received a nobel prize, a classic example of a bridge from discovering something in a lab

to applying it for the care of patients. the word came to mayo clinic by a text message, not the way you would get a text message on your phone but by a western union telegram announcing that. in their so team based philosophy that they used part of their prize money for the nobel award and gave it to their laboratory and clinical assistance. one of their assistance was a franciscan sitter -- sister. she could not accept the financial recognition so they found a way to deal with that. they said that is fine, we will send you on a trip to europe and you can meet the pope. they always found ways to contribute and get back to others. other artifacts, and early telephone. we have always loved technology at mayo clinic. dr. william warren mayo had the first telephone in this region. it connected his farmhouse with his office. ,he idea of patient convenience

you could walk into the local area and called dr. mayo at his home. this was transformative, disruptive technology at that time. the local newspaper had to print an article, how to place a telephone call. it was so new to people that they did not know what to do. assured that your voice and dr. mayo's voice would be as clear a mile apart as if you are in the same room. you would talk into this and listen for that and various things. it was a new way of communicating for your medical care. 1919, when the mayo family's brothers and wives made the decision to donate the assets and life savings to our non- profit mission, here is the document they signed and the ink they used. this deed of gift is a legal document but it is kind of a

statement of their philosophy. if you go through the terminology of the therefore's and all of that, there is a couple of powerful sentences that stand out. one of them, they wrote the ultimate purpose of the clinic, past, present, and future must be measured by its contributions to the good of humanity. they did not say cure this disease or open this lab or run this program. they said serve humanity. examples, on the eve of world war ii, mayo began working in aviation. planes could fly higher but crews were crashing because they were blacking out at the high levels, not having sufficient oxygen. crews were getting killed. mayo understood circulation. he began working in top-secret ways during the war years.

developed pressurized chambers to keep the blood pressure up, allowing the pilot and crew to remain conscious while they flew at higher altitudes. we developed a high altitude oxygen mask and several other innovations of arrow medicine. this invention is still used in aviation today. it helped launch the jet age and the space travel, which has roots in the mayo's aviation research. we charged the government one dollar eight year for the -- a year for the wartime services. the knowledge of blood circulation opened up the era of open-heart surgery. you see a large photograph of the early part long -- heart-long bypass machine. there was a doctor who developed a heart-lung bypass surgery. they would give oxygen to keep the patient alive.

and fournt survived passed away. he abandoned it and could not go on. mayo thought there was some merit in dr. gibbons' te chnology. they reengineered his machine to create what is now called the heart-lung bypass machine. if you know anybody who has had open heart surgery or a heart transplant, it began with a machine just like this. our first patient at mayo clinic, linda stout, she was a five-year-old girl from this market, north dakota. she was dying of a heart defect. she had a short time to live. her parents brought her here with no other hope. her life was saved in a machine just like this. that is her sixth birthday party a few months after her operation. she lived a wonderful life. i have interviewed her a number

of times. clinicame back to mayo on the 50th anniversary of her heart surgery as a guest of honor at a surgical congress. look what she gave us. getgave us her autographed well cards that her mother had saved for her. we tell our new employees when they come here on their tour, behind every invention at the mayo clinic, there is always a linda. , she has herraphs world famous surgeon's autographed. she has the cleaning lady's polygraph -- autographed. . you see her scrawl of her name. she had these good people all around her. she tells the story. i remember she described it vividly. she was young, five years old.

the night before surgery, what she remembers are these tall, young men in white jackets. they got on their knees and talked to her eye to eye. they said tomorrow, you will fall asleep but when you wake up, you will feel a lot better. no idea howad nervous they must have been because i was their first patient. >> medicine is undergoing vast changes. even in my career, i have seen tremendous advances in medicine and the pace is only accelerating. as we see the dynamic potential for what medicine can do, we come back to the unchanging things. this year in and yank of enduring values and dynamic

innovation. mayo isory of male -- this firm foundation. it empowers us to go forward. we have to understand the history and value it and interpret it for every generation. that will keep us grounded. it will give us the ability to go forward and the future is very exciting. >> rochester, minnesota is one of many cities we have toward to explore the american story. to watch more of our visit to rochester and other cities across the country, go to c-span.org/cities tour. you are watching american history tv, all weekend, every weekend on c-span3. >> the complete guide to congress is now available. it has lots of details about the house and senate for the current session of congress.

contact and bio information about every senator and representative. plus, information about congressional committees. state governors and the cabinet. the 2019 congressional directory is a hand based spiral-bound guide. order your copy from the c-span online store for $18.95. >> this weekend on real america, democracy at work in rural puerto rico. a 1942 u.s. agricultural department film depicting the islands history. here is a preview. symbolizedtructure 43rto rico's progress during years under the american flag. it gives the island a new and vital importance. of which itszation peaceloving people are toperating patriotically

thwart the spread of totalitarian tyranny. and thus to oppose -- the economic structure of puerto rico rests on a highly specialized agricultural system based on external trade relations. , a source ofking income. 1940, 90% was sugar. large sugarcane interests occupied the coastal plains. most of the farming population has been driven to the hills. other crops are coffee and tobacco.

bardi --a large variety of other vegetables are grown for domestic come sumption -- consumption. necessary -- the serpas rose in the markets. nearly 2 million people living on an island 100 miles long by 40 miles wide with less than 4000 square miles and most of these folks depended on sugarcane for a livelihood. less than one acre of land per person. four acres for a family of five. a country that must live on agriculture. all of them must work. men, women, boys, girls. the puerto rican farm will manifest independence worthy of

the highest praise. ♪ by means of hard work and diligent management and the help of his family, he manages to grow on 22 acres, 75% of the food needed for his household. no eight hour day. but supreme satisfaction and ♪ son of a countryside of extraordinary beauty, a linda blue skies and majestic green mountains and magnificent for people who

work hard enough live here. filmncer: watch the entire sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern on real america. you're watching american history tv. next on lectures in history, tulane university professor karissa haugeberg teaches a class about the legal history of abortion in the united states from the 1840's through 2016. she discusses laws in the late 19th century that originally criminalized abortion as well as roe v. wade and the court cases and legislation that followed that landmark decision. her class is about one hour and 15 minutes. prof. haugeberg: we are nearing the end of this semester. today's lecture gives us a good way to bring together a lot of the themes we have been studying all semester. today al