>> you're watching american history tv every weekend on c-span 3. weeknights this month we're featuring american history tv programs as a preview of what's available every weekend on c-span 3 lonnie is the first african american and historian to serve as secretary at the smithsonian institution. thursday night his discussion with documentary filmmaker, can, burns about the complexities of telling americas story. watch thursday beginning at eight eastern. and enjoy american history tv every weekend, on c-span 3. >> the return nixon presidential library and museum became a stage for historical interpreters portraying

presidents washington, lincoln, coolidge, and both roosevelts. next on american history tv's the presidency. we hear them give individual remarks before gathering around a gab -- the return nixon foundation hosted this event and provided the video. i would like to share some things about my life that you

might not know, but for eight and a half years i was commander and chief of the continental army. and then the army of the united states of america. eight and a half years. i was so glad to get back to my beloved mount vernon. and then they came and asked me to be president the constitutional convention in 1787. for four months in very hot, humid philadelphia, i chaired the constitutional convention. and on september the 27th of 1787, it was over. and now they come to mount vernon, and they say general,

you have been unanimously elected president of the united states, all 69 electoral votes. we would like you to come to new york for the inauguration. that was in april, the 14th, of 1789. two days later, i left mount vernon. i wrote to henry knox, my good friend, and i said i am like a culprit. heading for the police of execution. the last thing that i want to do is to leave my peaceful abode, and go into a ocean of difficulties. believe me. i knew it would be a ocean of

difficulties. but martha was very upset, she said if you are going to be president, you go on, but i have to get the kids ready. and it is going to take a few months for me to get to new york. i arrived by myself to new york on april 24th. i was to be integrated april the 30th. i had a lot of the unfair and a lot of good things happening. you know that in new york city, almost every window had a silhouette of me, with a candle behind it? almost every window in the entire city. the night before the inauguration, and the night of the integration.

when april the 30th came, i was not integrated in this uniform. however, i used this uniform many times during the presidency. we were about to come out to the podium, the federal hall, and justice livingston, the highest ranking traditional person in america at the time, was going to administer the oath of office. and when i realized there was no bible, immediately i told them to find the bible, to go over to the masonic temple which was right next door, and to get the bible that i need to

take an oath on the sacred word. the oath was very short, of course. but when i got to the end, i said that i will do everything in my power to preserve and protect, and defend the constitution of the united states. i added the word, so help me god and in the ritual of the masonic order, of which i was a very high person, i stooped and kissed the bible. now the day before, congress made resolution that following the oath of office, all of

congress, the supreme court will join the president and the vice president and special services at st. paul's chapel, five blocks away. the reason it was at st. paul's chapel is in 1789, it was the only public building still standing that was not destroyed during the invasion of new york by the british. we had carriages prepared to convey all of congress down to see polls. however, the price of the crowd was so great, more than 10,000 people, we could not get the carriages through, so people stood aside and i and congress walked the five blocks for two

hours, we prayed and that place. i told reverend bravo, i want no service, this is a petitioning service, a time of prayer for this new government and this wonderful united states of america and we prayed freelance beyond the river that we know not of. do you know that i understand that just 20 years ago, another invasion of manhattan brought back about almost equal destruction where thousands of lives were taken, one block from st. paul chapel. yet, on one stained glass

window in that chapel was destroyed. the important thing is that that sacred ground is still sacred and so is the united states of america that many people in many forces that want to destroy our constitution and our way of life, we cannot allow that ever to happen. thank you for joining me on presidents'day, i hope you've enjoyed some of the experiences that i had being the first president because i walked on trodden paths. you too are walking into the future, many of you on uncharted lands.

>> how do, my name is abraham lincoln, i am your 16th president of these great united states. i am standing before you to proclaim that as the president, i have taken the solemn oath to uphold our constitution, our bill of rights and our declaration of independence of which i was sworn to do. i believe that in contemplation of uterus football ever disclosed to should, the union of the state is perpetual. it is my duty to preserve, protect and defend this country against all aggressors, foreign and domestic. my intent is a free and prosperous people in a free and prosperous -- prosperous inland. now, these are my standards.

these are the rules that are governed by as president of the united states, but they have been challenged recently so, it is not the first time since our founding fathers, there have been disagreements on how this country should be run. and we've, up to this time, pretty much come up with compromises according to court because of henry clay, we have had the compromise of 1820, we had the tariff compromise of 1833 and now the compromise of 1850. and pretty much, we have been able to have this balance of government between the north and south. but, now, that little giant, stephen douglas has proposed

the chances nebraska act with that popular sovereignty will decide if he territory becoming a state will be free or slave. this has boiled over into the presidency, i am honored to be the candidate for the newly formed a republican party for the presidency, but with my nomination, the south has said, we are done. even though many times, as i spoke before them, i stressed that i will not change any of their ways of life, any of their peculiar institutions, in fact, it is not in my power to do so. when i was nominated and elected in november, the south side they had had enough. and within the time of the four months between being elected and being in office, starting

with south carolina, seven states decided to secede from the union, can they do that? can they just get up and walk out? in my opinion, they can't do that. but with president, who still in office, i have to wait. even though he is a southern sympathizer, he agrees that secession is wrong, but if he feels that he is powerless to do anything about it. and while i wait in springfield, illinois, having to entertain all kinds of well-wishers, all kinds of office seekers and returning hundreds and hundreds of letters, i am also receiving many death threats. these come letter form and they stress that if i were to enter washington, who will be my last days. i cannot let this bother me.

if i were to live in fear every day, how could i get any work done? so i bundle them up in the string and just tuck them away. so here i wait. there are threats of me being on the train going into washington, as a pass through baltimore, that my life is threatened when leaving one train, entering another train. do i listen to them? do i listen to pinkerton when he tells me that it is inevitable? i must say, i did traveled the night before my schedule and i did sneak into washington, i regret it now but i felt it was the right thing to do at the time. so here we are. the day of my inauguration. there are sharpshooters at the tops of buildings, there are artillery down at the base. are we expecting and this

assassination? of rebellion? i certainly hope not. though the day has gone well, and we are on tour first weeks as president of the united states, but i pretty much had to walk into washington had a crop. the south has succeeded seven states with many more ready to secede. i have been asked by the north to send troops down. i profess that i will not be the aggressor, i will not fire the first shot. but the south has taken over nearly 100 forts, her armaments, supplies. to be let this go on? this has to stop somewhere. in the middle of charleston bay in south carolina, fort sumner stands at the ready to protect this great country. we still occupy that fort has

general anderson, he's running out of supplies, he is asking for support, he wants to do to do it or do i let them surrender? to me, this is the point of no return. we are standing our ground here. but sadly, on april 12th, 4:30 in the morning, the cannon started firing on fort sumter. at 7:30, general anderson return to fire. this was the beginning of the war. i had asked for 75,000 militia from the individual states to squelch through this rebellion. i hope that it doesn't last much longer than a month. but the war has come.

>> good afternoon! i am delighted to be here with you, and presidents'day as is my good friend here, holly. i know there is quite a bit to see out here in the gardens, isn't there? well, ladies and gentlemen, one of the most important topics i'd like to speak to you today about is environmental-ism and conservation. of course, many of the presidents of our wonderful united states have been concerned about our footprint on the environment. but, no greater ally has existed in the oval office than myself, theodore roosevelt. you see, as president, i had a strong take when it came to preserving the resources that our country greatly utilizes. as a young man and the north dakota badlands, i have

realized there was a strong decimation of bison, hell, big corn cheap. we have to protect these animals, protect the wonderful glorious heritage that we've been given in this country, isn't that right already? well, as president, i founded the united states forest service and utilized by power in the executive position to save over 230 million acres of public land. i also established 51 federal bird reserves, isn't that right away? well, of course conservation is not only about preserving, it's also about discovery. discovery of course in my time had to have been done in the field. that's why you'll find, when learning about myself, there are quite a few expeditions that i was famous for. of course, my african hunting trip, pointing with the smithsonian and our 1913

expedition to the south american amazon rain forest. of course, where several specimen were brought back and quite an adventure was undertaken. this is my good friend amelia, she is a red tail boa, one of the very many snakes we documented in the amazon during the 1913, 1914 expedition. now, amelia is at the largest snake we documented, of course the largest was the green on a condo. the one we encountered of course with 16 feet long and over 240 pounds, merely is not quite that big. now, the roosevelt expedition that i spoke about, of course, was one of the many attempts to try and understand how not only species like amelia, but as well as man interact with ecosystems undocumented to man. if we reduce our footprint, we can preserve specimens like amelia and of course, the ecosystems that she resides in.

we want to leave the world a greater place then we found it for those that follow after us. now remember, keep your feet on the ground and your head in the stores, you'll go far. >> president calvin coolidge here at your disposal. i was president of the united states from 1923 until 1929. i inherited the office from warranty harden who died suddenly in california of a heart attack, we believe, or was it a brain hemorrhage? we'll find out later from the autopsy reports. now, the budget was very much part of my administration. i had entered office within the larger budget and what had left with. it was much smaller when i had

gone in 1929. i had also increased the spending of the average american that have gone up 30% production, then it went up 70% in the 1920s under my administration. 98% of everyone who is working paid absolutely no income tax, by the time 1927 had rolled around a lot had happened by that time. as you know, lindbergh had flown across the atlantic, for the first time, now we were one world. however getting back to the economy, i would like to say that i had actually lowered taxes on the rich from 50% to 30%, and increase the revenue at the same time, three times over what it was before.

how did i do this? production had gone up 70%. remember. there were many accomplishments i had done during my tenure in office, one of them was the pact, which tried to reduce the battleships, we are very, very important at this time, and we wanted to limit the power of the battleships for five nation so that war wouldn't be as dominant as it was. but the pact said that we would not use war as a instrument of national policy ever again. however, this was a good principle to lay down at this time, and hopefully in the future it will be a good principle. now i want to go to a interesting anecdote.

in 1924, i had signed the indian citizenship act, indians would be citizens of bennett states. then you may not have known, that they were considered members of sovereignty shuns within the boundaries of the united states, meaning of course that now, under the citizenship act that could be citizens and vote, and have all of the rights and privileges of american citizens. however, many of the states did not follow suit. and that is a ongoing struggle as you know. so as a gesture of goodwill, 1927 i went to the -- nation, and there i was awarded a indian father beyond, which

is awarded to me by the daughter, of the chief of the nations. i spent my whole summer there at the lakota nation with my family, and vacation there, i must say i was very well rewarded. many partitions of mine have not necessarily been documented as well, you may have heard rather but i said that the business of americas business. which they did say. i would like to add that the idea of my american people is idealism. there's one thing that i would like to emphasize. but you cannot minimize evil, unless you have overcome it with good. that the natural rights of the american citizen must be

implemented with the institutions of law, as i have also said that one person put law in the majority. so i would like to leave you with this one thought. that as american citizens, the idea of government is for the betterment of the american people. and to secure their natural rights, and also to minimize the influence of the wealthy class, and perhaps to minimize them to the extreme. let's just say that we want to do as much as we can for those who are less fortunate than we are. thank you. i remain calvin coolidge. >> a few weeks ago we created a

nationwide organization to create a cure for polio. name the march of dimes. i have asked all americans especially children to whom this dreaded disease strikes the hardest, to send their loose change to the white house. i'm happy to report that thousands of you have mailed cards and letters each containing a dime to the white house here in washington. during the past few days, bags of mail have been coming, and yesterday between 40 and 50,000 pieces of mail have arrived at the white house. today even a greater number. i can't tell you four we can only estimate the actual count by counting the mailbags them selves. in all of the envelopes are dimes, quarters, and even dollar bills, from grown-ups and children. mostly from children who want

to help other children get well. it is glorious to be associated with work like this. i know with your support we will parted a cure for this tragedies. godless you for all of your help. hello there. i would like you tell you the story of the march of dimes, -- for the first half of the 20th century parents today rebel of summer. those were the warnings, probably with strike without warning, most of the victims were children and young children. many would recover. but those who did not could face temporary or temporary paralysis, or even death. i was one of those rare cases. i was stricken with polio when i was 39. after a long and painful illness, i was told that i

would never walk, unassisted again. months of therapy followed, i was fitted with leg braces and i was able to stand with the aid of crutches and cain. but when i was in private, i had to rely on a small wheelchair that i had designed using a old kitchen chair and bicycle wheels so it would allow me to navigate around the narrow doorways of my home. it was then that i decided to dedicate myself to finding new treatments in a cure for polio. it was then that i heard about a rundown resort in warm springs, georgia, whose therapeutic minimal water could help those with -- at warm springs my therapist told me that by walking with leg braces i could take short steps. i could buy swiveling my torso, and grasping a small person with my left hand, i holding a

came with my red could walk. warm springs needed assistance and so in 1926 i purchased it. my former law partner, and if you like minded friends, created the georgia warm springs foundation, and for many years, war warm springs was the only set facility devoted to polio patients. then i return to public life. first has a two term governor of new york. then in 1932 as president of the united states. warm springs foundation continue to raise money. and then in 1938, it became the march of dimes. we asked american citizens to send their dimes to president roosevelt at the white house. and it was a smashing success. that first year we reached 1.8 million dollars. i would like to read you a short excerpts the new york times about the history of the march of dimes.

the organization focused on the rehabilitation of victims of polio. and supported the work of jonathan and others who led the development of polio vaccines. regrettably, i did not live to see a vaccine. but on april 12th, 1955, the tenth anniversary to the day of my passing, the march of dimes announced the successful research of dr. salt vaccine. millions of people would be vaccinated, and polio would virtually disappear from the earth. now many of you are probably wondering how a man of my day was handicap, whatever become president. in my day, handicapped people were shunned. they were an object of pity to be embarrassed, or locked away in the sanatoriums or darkened back bedrooms. and of course, there was no access recommendations for those with disabilities. that would not come until 70

years later with the passage of the americans with disability act, which was signed, i might add, by a republican president. when i was president, i didn't want to be pitied. i wanted to be known as the president who happen to have a disability, and not the disabled president. so i went to great lengths to show that i should be identified as a individual, and not by my disability. of course i went to certain lengths to convince the people that i was capable. so i would not allow myself to be shown in a wheelchair, or helped in and out of automobiles. when i spoke before large crowds, special ramps were built to allow me to walk assisted, i never once publicly acknowledged my disability, with one exception. that was my final state of the

union address in 1945, which i gave seated. and i said to the congress at the time, i hope you will parted might posture of sitting, but i think you all realize it is not easy for me to carry around ten pounds of steel on the bottom of my legs. i was your president for 12 long years. a time of great national crisis, the great depression, and the second world war. and i think that i can say that i am pretty pleased with how things turned out. but i much -- must confess that it was the march of dimes which give me the greatest personal satisfaction. oh, and one more thing. after my passing, the congress honored me by placing my image on the dime. not so much as a reminder of me. but a reminder of the millions of americans who sent their dimes to president roosevelt at

the white house to help and polio. and i can think of no greater example of the true generosity and the unique american spirit. don bless you all. >> good morning. my name is marine none. it is a honor and privilege for me to be here today to portray a lifetime longtime friend, first lady, pat nixon. i was fortunate to know her my entire life. my mother, -- met at would year california and as you know pat married a wonderful, handsome, young

attorney and became pat nixon. my mother helene and pat remain the closest of friends until they both died in the year of 1993. so again, i was so fortunate to have known her. and pat and dick, as i called him, and the two daughters, trisha and julie were just wonderful. we enjoyed some degree temps with them outside of the public eye. pat nixon said about herself, i'm a ordinary woman and i have had extraordinary circumstances and opportunities. you know what? she was really, really humble, because she was as comfortable as meeting people that you read about in history books, as she was about engaging in a conversation at a grocery store. so it is just a honor and privilege for me to portray her. and very fitting today to portray mrs. nixon and to be among our five most notable presidents of the united states. thank you so much for being here today.

president washington. president lincoln. president theodore roosevelt, president calvin coolidge, and president roosevelt, i have moments of sitting here is really true, thank you so, so much for being here today. i would like to go first of all welcome, president washington. it's a honor and a privilege to meet you. so the first question that i have for you is as the first president of our nation, i would like to ask you why did you decide to elect a president instead of naming a king? >> i said one king george is enough. and i frankly didn't even want to be president. the last thing that i ever wanted to be was king. it might interest you to know that before i was inaugurated, the senate passed a resolution that my title should be his

highness george washington, president of the united states, and defender of its people. i finally put an end to that and said, it's mister president. >> as most of us are aware, the president takes the oath of office during his inauguration. so where did the first inauguration take place? >> well, washington d.c. was then known as a federal city and the seat of government was new york. and when i became president, i had to borrow 600 dollars because i was land rich, cash poor to go to new york to be inaugurated on the 30th of march in 1789. martha was so upset that i was giving more time to this

country. she said you go, i will come with the children when i'm ready and have them ready. she came in june, i went in march. >> that is really interesting. i had no knowledge of the saddle. so historically, over a dozen of our nations presidents have serious during times and military conflict at home or abroad, and general washington served as acting commander in chief of the continental army, but not all of us are aware of president theodore roosevelt's disservice overseas. so, president roosevelt, what was your involvement in the spanish american war? >> well, the spanish american war is when we consider one of america's tiny wars. you, see during the spanish american war, i volunteered and coordinated the first volunteer

cavalry. when we came to be known as roosevelt rough riders. i was a ragtag mix of new york socialites, harvard graduates and western cowboys that i had mentoring my time in the west in the dakota badlands and further into arizona. we participated in the assault on the santiago heights, as well as capitol hill and sandhill. which was quite the undertaking. now, i served as a lieutenant colonel and i was made bona fide colonel before the assault. it was a war that many historians would consider to be an active american aggression or imperialism. but like president washington said during his term, the only way to see preserve the pieces to be ready for war. >> very interesting. yes. so, while both president theodore roosevelt and president george washington

served in instances of combat, both president lincoln and president franklin navigated conflict at home and abroad as president, it tasks. so, president lincoln, before we discuss your role in the war between the states, can you define for us what it means one as the seeds from the union and in european union, when did the civil war actually start? >> oh my. the word secede is an interesting word. i am a strong constitutionalist, as i'm sure everyone here is. and the words you see it is not in our constitution. so to me, this was an insurrection, this was rebellion. the states in my opinion were still part of the union and there was my duty to bring them back to the union. so i would not say that they

succeeded. i would say necessarily that they went as far as treasonous because they really didn't want to take over the whole united states, they just wanted to be left alone. but according to my constitution, our constitution, i cannot allow that to happen. and what was the second question? >> where did the civil war actually start? >> there is even some controversy about that. before i became president, seven states have decided to secede from the union. and i was sitting in springfield and i really couldn't do much about it. when i was sworn in, in march, all of this hit me at once. and this time period between september and march, at the southern state has succeeded were taking over forts, armaments, depots and we were pretty much just letting them walk in and chase our soldiers out.

well, it had to come to an end somewhere. i did not want to be the aggressor, because i felt that that was not our position, we were to defend the united states, not conquer them. and as the newly-elected president, when the issue of fort sumter came up, it was in the charleston bay and south carolina, they had even petitioned mean to turn it over to them and i could not allow this to happen. that wouldn't be a very strong president, right off the bat. and and southern carolina and the confederacy, if they were to back down, that would make them weak, so it pretty much came to a head there. so sadly, on april 12th, around 4:30 in the morning, general beauregard of the confederate states had decided that he had had enough, so he fired on the fort.

our general anderson, who was there at the fort, held back until about 7:30 and i believe, as soon as he fired that first shot, it was no longer rebellion, it was a civil war. so i would say at 7:30 in the morning on april 12th was the beginning of the civil war. >> thank you so much. thank you. so, president franklin, welcome, you serve the commander-in-chief during world war ii and what's considered the largest military conflict globally. can you talk about your relationships with foreign leaders, united under a common cause? >> yes, and thank you for having us here today. my relationship with the foreign leaders was in many ways much like my relationship with the congress. it was political. we had to find common ground, and we were unified in against

fascism against europe and in the far east. but my allies, which were great britain and the soviet union and the united states, we are high different ideas of how to run different governments, so that took a bit of tricky navigation. and of course, my relationship winston churchill was very good and i often thought of him as a brother in some cases. we have a common background and as a matter of fact, we found out later that we were eight cousins several times removed. winston's mother was american. general stalin or marshall stalin was a bit of a safer, he was paranoid, he was convinced that we were going to sign a separate peace with germany, and so there was a bit of business. so we did have differences, we had differences with great britain. they wanted to keep their empire. and as you, know america was a british colony had one time and we were not interested in that. with that being said, the main

issue was to fight fascism and to come out with a peaceful world and a good and lasting peace. >> thank. you thank you for working so hard to do this. president washington, so while the people of the nation would've ask more of you, why did you choose to only served two terms as president? >> i want to my good friend, henry not when i was heading for new york. i said, i'm like a con predict going to his execution. i'm leaving the -- of mount vernon to an ocean of difficulties. and i david event will boost.

and then i had the second. and the only reason i gave in for a second administration was second term was because of the french revolution. i was really concerned about what was going on in europe, wanted to keep america out of the entanglements with europe. so i allowed myself to be reelected again put knew that i was the cincinnati's. i was the one that was like the great general roman who after winning great battles when home to his farm and this is why i wanted to do. i went back home, i didn't want any more part of government. >> and you held. true >> i'll true, yes!

>> president coolidge, good morning and welcome. you are given credit for a booming economy at home, i know crises abroad in 1924. would you say that the state of the union's economy after only a year and a half of your administration was the reason that you are reelected? >> well, as i was vice president under harding, who hide died suddenly in august, 1923, the economy was starting to improve slightly. however, my policies really did not begin to be effective until months later after i was elected in 1924. after of course, assuming office. however, i believe that my policies were at a time when

america was eager for great prosperity and the purchasing of great commodities and goods were available and electricity on airplanes, automobiles and radio, these were all really new technologies and people were eager for a new age and i was quite flattered to be featured on many newsroom films at the time and theaters. so, i would say that in the country was eager and for a lowering of taxes in the wearing of spending at the same time, so i would say that contributed to the great prosperity that we had. >> thank you so much. lowering taxes, yes. so, president franklin roosevelt, you are elected to

four consecutive terms as president. so how are you allowed to do so and final question, are there term live midst of the president's tenure? >> thank you. . in 1939, which was one year before the presidential election in 1940, germany invaded poland in the second world war began in europe. we were in the process of building up our defenses and frankly, i was not looking forward to a third term, i was going to take a leave from general washington's book, to return to my moment high park. and so, i left that up to the democratic national convention. i said to them, if you want to draft me, i'll run, but i'd rather go home. well, they drafted me. and i accepted. i might add that 1944, i came to run for my fourth term and i think the american people and

their wisdom realized, it's never a good idea to change a horse in midstream. now, as far as prohibitions, at the time i was present, there were no constitution prohibitions against something more than two trans, that was a tradition began by general washington, there were attempts in 1880, ulysses grant thought about running for a third term as president, although he did not receive the nomination, that wants to james garfield. and my cousin theodore took four years off and attempted to run for a third term in 1912, unsuccessfully, i might add. that all changed in 1947 when congress decided that two terms should be codify it and the constitution. and after that process, going through this they gratification in 1951 became the 22nd amendment. presidents are now limited to only two terms. >> thank you. so, over the course of nearly

250 years, several attempts on the president's lives have been made. some successful and some not. had these attacks successfully prevailed or failed, this nation could have seen history unfold a little differently than i did. so president lincoln, had you survived the attack at the theater, and you were allowed to carry on your plans for reconstruction, how would you have hailed the nation? >> during the war, and now a year and a half before it actually ended, we were already thinking of reconstruction. we had come up with the proclamation of amnesty and reconstruction and the high points of that where that we would have full pardon to those who were in rebellion, the states that wanted to --

and oath of allegiance to the united states. and that they would also have to start plans to deal with the former sleeved peoples to bring them back into society. to bring them into society. so those are the plans that we have third way before the end of the war. you said something about ford's theater. is there something that i should know? that would be hard to talk about. something happened to you that night. stay away from the theater. >> i will have to ask mary about that. she's very strong willed. you don't say no to marry.

>> you invited general brand to go as well. didn't you? we'll find out. she didn't go. you asked her to go where we bring this up? under the progressive bull moose party, you are attacked in milwaukee wisconsin on october the 14th, 1912, can you please tell us about that event when i was in my third administration, third term as

president, i was shot within vibe but distance, i was sitting in a automobile, preparing for a speech i'm going to give that 7 pm, john, 8:36-year-old resident in milwaukee followed my movements in the city, he was known to be a mental patient, this gets a frantic, and he decided that progressivism was something that the country did not need. he liked the more literal take of the democrats than the republicans. so while a diva few remarks to the crowd, he walked up to the automobile and fired. luckily i of course was carrying a glasses case. now glasses case are a little bit different these days. this one was made of steel. now the glasses case that i was wearing or had on my person stopped the bullet almost entirely from piercing the skin. it lodged itself into one of my

ribs but i was not taken to the hospital. i stood and gave the speech that was going to give that evening from the automobile. 60 pages. >> 60? >> 60 pages. of course that was the time when speeches were long winded. he was arrested. and i of course sought medical treatment the day after, doctors advised it was a little bit late, the glasses case of course something that was displaced but at my place of residence. like i said then and will say today, it takes more than that to kill a bull moose. [laughs] [laughs] [laughs] that's great. that's wonderful. thank you very much. president roosevelt, one could say that you separate from an

attack of a different kind, can you elaborate on how your plus caused by polio limited your presidency and what was your relationship with the press that it was a heavily guarded secret. nobody knew about it? >> i like to think that it did limit me at all. i could not walk unassisted. i needed a cane. in private, i used a realtor to get around. i did not allow that to limit me on what i want to do. i think it is rather interesting that when i was depicted in cartoons and newspapers including republican ones, i was shown chopping wood, jumping over fences, in one broadway play i was depicted as -- my disability, polio, was not a huge secret. i had just run for vice president in 1920 when i had come down with polio in august

of 1921. my slow recovery was covered by all of the major newspapers of the day, i was a public figure. i don't think people understood the extent of my disability and when i decided to run for president i want to be a president who happened to have a disability, and not a disable president. so disability in those days made people uncomfortable. people felt pity for the disabled. some would even score. i want to considerable lengths not to show my disability. i wouldn't allow myself to be photographed in a wheelchair. and when i spoke, and i had to walk i had special ramps so that i could walk assisted to those. i want to point out that 100 years ago when i was stricken with polio it was a completely different world.

and now, i'm delighted that changes have been made, especially 30 years ago with the passage of americans with disabilities act, which has made access for disabled people so much easier. i just wanted to point out that the governor of texas, greg abbott, who has been in a wheelchair since 1984, and tammy duckworth, who's a iraqi war veteran who lost both of her legs in that war is now the governor of illinois, it goes to show if you are determined you can accomplish anything. >> thank you. beautifully said. ben, going back to you, here you are shot, the show goes on. 60 pages, you did not let anything to tell you. i can see the resilience for all of you. the show goes on, literally. great. president washington, back to you again, can you recall any instances of interaction between the native tribes and

the newly formed united states early on in our nation's history? >> oh yes. oh yes. if you had the privilege of reading the state of the union addresses that i gave, the first one did not mention the native americans, but all the rest of them in the first five minutes of the state of the union, i shared the situation as it was on the front here. i shared the situation as it was with treaties, but i could make, but congress did not follow through. now we had several things. i loved the native americans. they were my guides. they saved my life during the french and indian war i tried to get the general to use only indian guides on our battle.

but he said i am a englishman. i will not take the savages. those were his words. i love the native americans. and when i became president i said that we want to do everything that we can to make every inhabitant of this great country secure, and dwell in peace. that is also my advantage for the native americans. we have two problems on the major frontier. one, the native americans who did not want to abide by the sovereign nation. and the other was the english speaking, who did not want to

abide. so in 1794, in august, there were two great events on the front here. one, i had to reconstitute the army, but anthony wayne, general, with 3500 troops to put they own an indian uprising, which he did. but in the same month, i secured militia. 22,000 from four states. and i dressed up in my uniform. that hangs in the smithsonian today. and i rode out to look at the troops. they saw commander and chief

coming. there was not y%none shot fired that was the whiskey rebellion. they refused to pay taxes on the whiskey. in the same month of the same year of the second administration. so yes i had some problems. but we tried to resolve the best way we could. >> sounds like you are working very hard to do this as well. >> it is always on my mind. always. >> thank you very much. president coolidge, speaking of relationships, you had unprecedented relationships with the native americans across the american frontier. how would you say that the individual states reacted to your relationships with the native americans, and you are helping them achieve citizenship for indigenous populations? >> that is a very complicated

question because there have often been a situation between the states and the federal government, which was actually written into the constitution as a system of checks and balances. some have seen it. at the time of the 14th amendment was ratified by congress in 1865, the native americans, called indians in9nfd those days, we're specifically determined to be not citizens, because they were living on reservations, or sovereign nations as we recognize them. and if they did not pay taxes, they were not citizens. the indian citizenship act of 1924 had rectify that situation. and stipulated that all native americans or indians would become united states citizens.

however we have a tenth amendment of the constitution, which states that the state did have certain leeway to interpret certain federal laws, which is a large problem one way or another. so it wasn't until about 30 years later that finally in the federal courts, determined that the seventh amendment, finally three states remaining which was denying the voting rights to native americans would be known, would be enforced that is. they would become citizens after 1957, after more time. >> thank you so much to all of you. i've learned so much myself but i've had no idea of so i really just appreciate your sharing. i have some personal questions though. right for me, not in a book,

not anything else, president link to let me start with you. why did you start to grow a beard? >> that is rather interesting. i was nominated as president in november. and i have to wait out until i was sworn in in march. a young lady, 12 years, no 11 years old from westfield, new york, had sent me a letter. she had seen a photograph of me, or it was probably a drawing that her father had brought home, and it was clean shaven and she looked at the pitcher and she said, he has kind of a long, then sat base. i bet you if he were to grow whiskers all of the ladies would like it. he would bud their husbands. vote for me. because women could not vote at the time. then he would become president of the united states.

she sent me that letter, and suggested it. i had also returned a letter back to her, and i thank her for the suggestion. she also asked if i had any daughters because she had four brothers and they could be a pain sometimes. she wanted a pen pal. i said sadly i only have sons, no daughters, i wrote do you think that at this late running of my office that if i were to change course the people would think that this is a serial solely affection for something to just get me to win the vote? i told you i would think about it. obviously i was elected. and after i was elected, i wanted to take the train into washington. i wanted to go into some of the towns to thank them for their boats. we stop that westfield, new york, i walked up the back of the caboose and i said is freestyle in the audience?

they were all astounded. grace fidel. why would you want to talk to this young lady? she was in the crowd. i stepped down. i want to it to you, but i gave her a kiss on the cheek, i said see, i grew these whiskers for you. >> what a great story. i was the first president to have whiskers in washington. i would like to say because of her she changed the face of washington. >> tell me her name again. grace? >> grace fidel. >> wow, the fact that you took the time to read her letter to correspond back to her, and asked if she were in the audience, wow, what a great story. thank you for that. coming on to president coolidge. so you are often what is referred to as the silent cow. how did you get that nickname? silent cal.

>> there's a story behind that. ironically, i gave one woman 63 speeches which at the time was a all-time record for 27 years. at the time i was regarded as the island cow, because there was a dinner at the white house. when i was seated next to dorothy parker. she made a wager, that she can make me say more than five words. i turned to her and i said you lose. [laughs] that was it. . [laughs] how do you feel about that? silent cal. >> as president of the united states it was my duty to inform and coordinate with congress and the people of the united states, and a specifically regard natural rights as being

immortalized as it were in the constitution, and that the ultimate goal of the constitution was to minimize the rights, i mean the rights of the ruling class, which i did state. and to exemplify the rights of the people. >> good for you. rather than mueller's. president franklin roosevelt, you are theme for your incredible and informative radio broadcast to the american public. what was the goal behind your implementing these incredible and very unforgettable fireside chats? >> in the beginning, first fireside chat occurred eight days into my first term. the united states was facing economic collapse. the banking system had all but

failed. and so we put through a series of problems with the congress to put banks on a holiday to shut them down for a few days while they were able to reorganize. and then to eventually add what is now known as fdic, federal deposit incorporation to guarantee those, i thought it was important that the american public should know what is going on so i went on the radio on march 12th at 10:00 eastern time on nbc. i started by saying my friends, tonight i wish to speak to you about banking. for the next 17 minutes i spoke about how our banks worked. why people needed to put money in the banks, apparently the speech was successful because within two weeks half of the people have had withdrawn their money put it back in the bank and we were able to save the banking system. contrary to popular belief in my 12 years as president i only

gave 30 or 31 far side. schatz i address the nation directly when it was something important. such as the recession in 1938, or our efforts to prepare the defenses before the second world war. i think my favorite fireside chat occurred on the night of d-day. june 4th, 1944, in which i lead the nation in prayer. it was my way of connecting with the american public as individuals. i had been told the people would gather around their radios at home, and they felt as if i was speaking directlylp■ to them. and i was. that was my intent. i should mention, i would be remiss that my wife, eleanor, actually communicated more effectively with america, she wrote a column called my day, sixties a week from 1935 until

1962. i have often felt that she was a much better communicator than i was. >> thank you about. thank you both for keeping in touch with the american people and also to pray. very, very important. thank you for that. so president washington. if you don't mind, a very personal question. can you tell us a little bit about your teeth. i have often wondered, where they actually made out of wood? no, i have a bad problem with my teeth. there are many mythical stories about my life. and one of them was thatw would crack walnuts with my teeth when i was young. [laughs] i can't imagine doing that but people have written that i have. i had a terrible problem with my teeth. when i was president i had one tooth. and everything hooked on to

that one bar on the left side of my mouth. and during my administration in the 1796 that was bold. you have heard about wooden teeth. i have four sets of dentures that are still available. this was one of them. i thought you might want to see. and maybe the general public would like to see it. it has springs. it is very uncomfortable. this is an actual, i have four, one set that i had was led. >> lead. >> i didn't wear it often, but when i did people often thought

it looked like wood in my mouth. >> may i see this again? >> the only wouldn't think that i had was when i was given a wooden hatchet, which i -- think beautiful young england cherry tree, this book, the actual first addition of the story of george washington says that i parked a tree. we don't even know if it survived. that's the original story. but today you hear that i trust the down. i had a toy hatchet. it was wooden. >> should history be listening? >> mystery should be listening. >> these are great. thank you so much. president theater roosevelt

after the loss of the 1912 election, you undertook one of the most adventurous trips of your career, the roosevelt expedition. so what was the goal of the expedition? a follow-up question would be can you tell us about the hardships injured along the way? >> it is a wonderful question. it was quite a expedition, like you said, i partnered with the smithsonian which had a interest in the species and habitats of south america. and the south american government want to put together a small party to chart a unknown extension of the amazon river. what we referred to as the river of doubt. now rob don is the name of the south american colonel who led the expedition. my coequal if you will. now it was rather simple. and a lot of people said that i took up to the south american bring forth because i was disheartened by the defeat in

the election. but 19 men put together for canoes, and trudged into the amazon rain forest. the expedition took us about six months. we traveled over 630 miles. 16 of the 19 men that went on the expedition returned. i almost lost my life to general or tropical fever. it was quite the undertaking. but quite valuable as have the species that we documented were unknown to man. americans had no idea what and anarchy anda was, or a piranha. one of the gentlemen of course lost one of his toes bathing in the amazon river. we lost several dogs tales to the product in the river. it was a remarkable journey that might son was able to undertake with me. a successful journey. but many people would say that the effects of the fever and

fatigue from the expedition, i was well over 200 pounds, which was heavy for the time, and was in my late fifties. the oldest man and expedition. rather difficult undertaking. now i will say the most interesting part of the expedition was our encounter with the green and a kaunda. the last time someone had written about it was in 1830, two different explore, the documented that it was a small comment sneak similar to what you would find in a garden. that is not quite what we encountered. >> it's big. >> the snake we encountered was 60 feet in size and weight 440 palin's. >> good heavens, oh my goodness. >> it's been documented since our exposition that the anna conduct can travel up to 32 miles an hour underwater. >> my goodness. >> we were going into unknown territory to discover all we

could and bring back as much as we could. >> you are gone for six months. >> six months. >> we steamed into brazil and went up the river, now the only reason that we survived was we made contact with a tribe unknown to anyone in the region. unknown to the world that were able to guide us down a small segment of the river that were made up of rubber trees. luckily, the local farmers maintaining and gathering crop if you will from the rubber trees understood who we were and what undertaking we just recovered from, and were able to get us back tom >> i want to thank you so much as well because in the books that i have seen that you may have documented, the prada is a very small fish. correct me if i'm wrong. >> you're not. wrong it's relatively the size of a hand, if not smaller. they are not carnivorous fish. they are not necessarily fish if you. well when they are under attack,

it's because they are in a frenzy. they are jock in just about unhinge. >> like your teeth. we found out towards the end of our expedition that we could beat with them relatively nearby if our movements stayed calm and collected. >> you wouldn't lose a toe. >> unfortunately the gentleman who lost her was the one chaplain we brought with us on the exposition. >> a little bit light footed. thank you so much. i have one last question for each of you. i will go chronologically. what do you think is your most important lasting legacy as president of the united states? what is your most important lasting legacy? i will start with the president washington. >> it was uncharted territory. it was the beginning.

i remember taking the oath of office. we had to borrow a bible from the -- next door. being a mason at the end of my oath of office i stooped and kissed the bible and said so help me god. that has been in the oath ever since. we didn't know about a cabinet. we didn't know about the army. the banking system. all of this had to be new. so we formed lots of things. but i found the best people. thomas jefferson, henry knox, james madison and others to be in my cabinet. to help me navigate these uncharted waters. >> god bless you and thank you so much. thank you 1 million times.

president lincoln's in question to you. what has been your lasting legacy as president of the united states? >> i think a lot of people would say ending or being part of ending the civil war. but i don't think that was the main because if you ended the war, the issue that was underlying the whole civil war itself, slavery could have popped its ugly head out barber on down the road. so i believe it was pushing very hard to abolish it, much of the world had already abolished slavery and to me it was a slap in the face to our declaration of independence. all men are created equal. it was discourage on our country. and i felt it had to be eliminated. fortunately, congress cast the 13th amendment, so i consider

that the high point. >> thank you so. much 1 million thanks to you as well. president roosevelt, your lasting legacy. >> that is a rather difficult question as many people recall, i was the environmental president. but i would say that my lasting legacy was on the faith in the office and the role of the president that i derived from mr. lincoln's presidency. you see, as a young man, six years old, i watched from my grandfather's new york mansion window, mr. lincoln's funeral procession proceed by and even until my final days, i was obsessed with the fact that abraham lincoln represented people. your private secretary, jon haley, who i'm assuming recall, was my secretary of state. now, before my 1905 inauguration, the evening before, john hey presented me with the ring that he wanted me to wear during my inauguration. that ring had three strands of hair collected from yourself,

the evening of the attack or the morning after. i wore that ring until the end of my days. now, when i bring out mr. lincoln in regards to my greatest legacy, would be the square deal. a square deal for every man and woman in the nation. that all of us should act, treat and respond as equals, large business, small business, national or immigrant, we are all americans. and that is the start, the turn of the century where we started to believe and fight for equality amongst the population. >> i should take a moment and just applaud all three of you before. president coolidge, what would you say you're lasting legacy? >> that will be a number of things but falling filling in my team colleague here,

theodore roosevelt. as a republican, i was in favor of women's rights, women suffrage. as the new law had just passed, i had spoken out against lynchings in the south and also had signed the indian citizenship act of 1924. but also, a packed between several nations which had announced the war as an instrument of national policy. and i believe that that has set the foundation for a future united nations. but my lasting legacy would be by 1927, 98% of all workers in the united states paid absolutely no income tax. 2%, i lowered that percentage from 30% to 50% yet tripled the

revenue from that class as well. so i would say that the prosperity and income had risen by 30%, all across the country from a time of great prosperity. >> just not enough thanks to all of you, just you really changed the course of history in the united states and asked did so much to it. so franklin roosevelt, yes. >> well, i served three times, i was elected to a fourth term. every term, there was a new crisis. the first term in office was the great depression. and establishing a safety net for the american people, such as social security. my second term was knowing that we needed to prepare for a war that was going to happen. and my third term was fighting that war. and of course, i had my own personal issue with polio and

helping to establish the washington times to fund treatments for polio and to find a cure no vaccine for polio. but i think my greatest legacy, and it's hard to imagine now, but 80 years ago, the united states and great britain and other free loving countries were surrounded by evil forces that wanted to destroy us. you know it's a little bit but like star wars with an evil empire and it's not science fiction. that was the war that we were facing in 1940, 1941. and to be able to come together with a coalition and use americas great industrial might and the strong willed of the american people as well as all free loving people to defeat the powers of fascism and tyranny and to build upon that in the united nations, dedicated to peace and prosperity. i think that was my greatest legacy. >> wonderful. there are not enough thank-yous,

there are not enough thank-yous and there's not enough knowledge. i really have just been so privilege to be here today and you have made chest huge contributions to the history of the united states. it's very fitting here on presidents'day. so, god bless you all and god bless america. and may we continue to also learn the lessons of history that you have so incredibly worked so hard. so, again goblets you all and thank you so much for being here today. >> thank you. >> thank. you >> thank. you >> you guys are awesome!

every july for the past 25 years, the gettysburg anniversary committee has hosted a civil war battle reenactment and living history village depicting camp life. next, we talk to reenactor is about victorian marriage expectations and civil war brothels. >> my name is cheryl williams and i'm portraying today at the reenactment, what it would've been like to be a victorian prostitute. at the time of the american civil war, which was at the mid smack victorian period, there were very few choices for