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charles talks about his book abraham lincoln in 1864. national archives hosting this event in 2009 and provided the video. mr. flood died in 2014. >> today we gather to hear more about his latest book.

we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the 60 resident, there are a bunch -- an abundance of lectures and books goes is don abraham lincoln. we -- the author we have with us today has chosen to focus on another year of lincoln, 1864. everything bearing down on him, the war, the rapidly eroding said public support -- eroding public support for the more, and a struggle to win a second term. 1864, what happens? ulysses s grant is brought east to replace the general of the union armies. some are confederate general raid on washington sends a scare

to the union capital. lincoln himself will proceed to the front to see things from fort stevens. soon we'll valley campaign in the nation will learn more about will sheridan. all the while his working his way towards atlanta and after capturing that city will proceed on his famous march to the sea. he is facing opposition from both the copperheads and radical republicans. one of the passages that struck me, here was lincoln waging both war and peace. to talk to us more about that pivotal year of 1864, charles breslin.

flood. >> one last comment, when we go to the questions and answers, if you have questions, we have microsomes on the bottom of the stairs. utilize those. >> thank you. thank you for the introduction. i think all of you for being there. -- here. i see a fusillade your faces. -- a few familiar faces. on to express my own personal indebtedness to this institution starting back in the 1970's when i came here and found in an office that did not have walls,

a green chain-link fence and was presided over by charles taylor who was the guru of military history at this time. i'm been one of the many people indebted to the national archives. i love the question and answers. there are no dumb questions. i know that there will be questions i cannot answer and i will do the respectful thing and tell you i do not know the answer. with that i think we will take off. 1864 was the key year and lincoln's life. the year with that revealed the meaning of his life. -- here that revealed the

meaning of his life. 1864 was the most crucial year in american history. i begin my first chapter of the white house new year's day reception on january 1, 1864. a thousand people had lined up on the frozen lawns to come in and greet abraham lincoln. to give you the essence of and out of the complicated man,. as one civil eye witness account of something that occurred. the president had been standing for some time now in his acknowledgments. his eyes fell upon a couple who enter observed. a winter soldier and his family dressed mother. he made his way to where they stood, taking in each by the hand and brought many tears to

many eyes, he assured them of his interest. that alien face was the nation -- that pale, young face with the nation of his life. there's a reason why nations 200 birthdays here, this was coupled with his rock like determination to preserve the union. it physical lincoln made an enormous impression on everyone who came your hand. before dealing with 18 64 -- 8064 challenges and events, i'll introduce you to the abraham lincoln's contemporary. he could 6'4" the average union culture was 56. he walked in and ought way.

lincoln moved quickly, but he seemed to be stamping along. the harshest judgment on his experience, as body seemed to be a few skulls will enclose. -- a huge skeleton in clothes. was accused of being two-faced, lincoln replied, if i had to faces, do you think i would be wearing this winter? -- there was the man who could give his nation the gettysburg

address, and created -- and greeted people with howdy. he had a-voice. when he laughed, he pronounced chair as cheer, mr. scheer in -- mr. cheer-man. rounding out the descriptions of lincoln, they called course black hair that always looked like a birds nest. walt whitman who spent much of the war in washington. there i sometimes met.

it was this -- it was as if the earth looked at me, dumb, -- no account of lincoln could fail to announce mary todd lincoln. she was a neurotic woman. mary lincoln had a tragic life even before her husband was assassinated, but so did many women of her generation. in my book i set forth examples of behavior that led me to my largely negative assessment of her. particularly interesting of -- collection of these is a little-known work -- honest a, dishonest mary.

i -- mary todd lincoln deserves to be pitied more than center, but she behaved very badly indeed. if you but she was a compulsive soccer -- she was a compulsive shopper. not every woman of her era bought 400 pairs of gloves in three months. in 1864 here's what -- here is some of what they'd had for lincoln -- what late ahead -- wet laid -- some of what laid ahead for lincoln. lincoln had not yet promoted

ulysses s grant to be his general energy. to this point, every union leader in the army -- everyman of robert heelys powerful army was volunteering to relist for duration of war to fight on, no letter how long it might take. right after leaving this rejection and walking over to the telegraph office, lincoln read an alarming telegram. the confederate general is reportedly to move forces in virginia and west virginia. 60 miles northwest of washington. here you have both reality and symbolism. after three years of fighting,

lincoln's method union army could not capture the confederate capital of richmond while the confederate army could still threaten places northwest of washington. no confederate military or civilian leader at the remotest desire or need to try to march to new york, boston, or chicago. in a sense, the confederates had wished to win all they wanted. they wanted, a internet inveterate nation -- an independent confederate nation. they would defend the territory they had and continue to inflict charybdis -- against the union army.

if patriotic wife of a navy captain wrote a friend, we are panting for peace. here's the lineup, as will be called the large or of the income -- large core of the incumbent army. to his right, the radicals not only one of the slaves to be free, but to immediately be. all rights including the right to vote. in addition, they intended to impose varying forms of punishment for confederate military officers, this would include a ban on them ever again holding public office in a

reunited country. not without serious opposition, including an effort to become the republican nominee made by his own secretary of the treasury, lincoln became the candidate of the republican party. the 1864 campaign, rub up against adopted -- the republicans adopted the name d union party -- the union party. war democrats were ready to continue the war for the purpose of competing -- saving union.

partly to protect themselves from being seen as active pacifists, democratic party as a whole showed -- shows -- chose -- there was no other -- the weather -- there was a another important factor, the military vote. plans were made for was to be the largest vote at all time.

many were being shot at all day. no one could be sure that book to continue a war. in hindsight it is easy to say that of course lincoln was reelected when the north won the war. there were numerous times in 1864 when it did not look that way. military success or failure is linked with what would be lincoln's political success with failure. forays before the baltimore political convention that nominated lincoln to run for second term, ulysses s grant presided over the military disaster. his horses have been taking care -- terrible casualties through the battles of the wilderness. now that the largest attacks of

the wharton place virginia called cold harbor. grant had hundred 8000 men and threw them straight aptly, whose 59,000 men were well entrenched. the first hour, the first 20 minutes, -- there is some question whether the full impact reach baltimore convention. the values went on for many more weeks. at one point, fred had lost more than 40,000 men in 30 days. 60,000 men dead and wounded. these were enormous figures compared that all -- compared to all the both sides had suffered before. it had reached 90,000 men.

also, during that time, general earl lee wrote from the shenandoah valley. he led a massive rate that brought 12,000 men to the edge of washington's four occasions five miles from the white house. lincoln and mary was to force stevens. one moment the confederate's aunts came within 110 yards. loosely, lincoln wearing a stovepipe hat that made him look at -- seven feet hive climb right up onto the parapet. some confederate snipers started firing at him. miss him, but wounded an officer with the ricochet. this is the only time in american president has been under and we fire while serving in office. there are some fascinating eyewitness accounts.

the best come from the -- wrote, some of our boys told him lincoln was seen, recognized, and fired at. when lincoln was shot at, the colonel told him, get down you will. young colonel new he was shouting at his commander-in-chief. this was oliver wendell holmes junior, the future great supreme justice. as lincoln and mary left before, the president termed -- left, he looked at homes and said goodbye colonel holmes. i'm glad you know how to talk to

a civilian. . cutting into the can veterans he on the western side, he was thrown back to kennesaw mountain. that will coincide with the half true room or. in other public was increasingly confused. -- even his undivided warning. -- based on speculation involved in new york city indicated fears that the north financial structure might collapse. the public credit was at its lowest in the treasury was running out of money for a war -- it dropped to a new wartime

level of $.47. there were nonetheless -- they were doing that on the theory that land would still have value even if the democrats were elected. to underline that, a dollar bill using security of a special type. the idea was they were worried that even a dollar might become worthless. on august 23, lincoln -- the demonstrated heat -- his belief that you lose the election. the members of his cabinet assembled funding meetings, they found that without knowing what it says on the back of it folded

over heels document. what they could not seal what he was asking them to endorse sight unseen was this statement, this morning, it seems exceedingly unlikely that this administration will be reelected and it will be my duty to cooperate with the president-elect. basically he was pledging himself and his cabinet to make an orderly transition. and anybody told you that 1864, union victory was in the back, i respectfully turn them toward lincoln's own belief. he thinks i don't know and going

to be beaten? what i do, badly beaten. a week after lincoln said that, sherman sent a telegram north that red -- everything change. there was. bringing hope that sony and the north have lost. even the most ardent confederates saw this is the norm's strategic victory that the union had one. atlanta, dead center in would have been confederate territory. there were so my weeks until the election, but everything began to go lincoln's way. he was reelected with an electoral landslide. in the military vote, he

triumphed by three. -- 3 million. in atlanta, the state percent for sherman's march to see, and on christmas day 1864, lincoln written and other children from sherman, i would present to you the city of savannah and 25,000 bales of cotton. as 1864 ended, the war was at last winding down. 30 more weeks robert the was surrendered. 17 days after that, lease west point classmate josephine johnson, sharon scott. between those two strangers,

john wilkes booth assassinated lincoln in washington on april 14 eight 65. at the end of my book, out ahead of those events, my detailed treatment ends where it can with the white house new year's day perception of 1865, a year after my opening scene. here again is the essential lincoln. the ultimate politician that nevertheless transcended the local strike, the indispensable man who appeared in our nations compulsive hour, the resident figure that cruise blank is destiny -- that proves -- is destiny. as he came to the door, she recognized gosper who had lost a leg and hobbling forward on riches as he made his way to the

east room. she had been his nurse when he was brought in with his lead shot off. they greeted each other and join the wind of others that the waited in the room. from where he stood, lincoln salt gossamer. he took thousand verse hand and what has, a voice of forgettable said, god bless you my boy. as they left, i would lose another legs for a man like that. that's what we celebrate have been as our fellow american. thank you very much.

[applause] >> now treaty questions and answers. i am eager. i have letters that were written to my great-grandfather. >> house to house that she was worried in baltimore. can you give me some context to that? i didn't realize -- only that no one knew where he going --. >> nobody knew where he had gone.

i can't give you any -- speculation there were a lot of confederate visors, so a plausible place -- there have been elaborate thing to try to smuggle him down. i have no special information. >> one of the what is that when the union army first reached petersburg, we still have the memory of cold harbor, but petersburg is virtually undefended. the union army marches in, richard falls within a week, so what with the 1864 campaign had

been my if the war was over weeks before the election was held. >> is a very good questions, but i'm not very since the war would have been over it have fallen. by the time richard finally fell, a year later, -- the confederates have been greatly defeated -- depleted, i'm not at all sure you perhaps in petersburg will return would've brought about. >> please, somebody.

>> in the research i had found that he was friends with stevens before he became president. >> alexander stephens was a small man, he arrived with many coat and scars, -- coats and scars and lincoln good-naturedly said, i've never seen so big a husk for such a small colonel.

it was a very social and civilized conversation. it became clear that jefferson davis was not there and back -- ritual is not going to give way. he wanted the confederacy to be an independent nation and he was not prepared to give up on slavery. then a very short time, dave -- it was not a negotiating room because that was days lincoln was not prepared to do. lincoln had the idea that may be for $400 million to see if he could drive the confederacy and and by the slaves. when he floated that front of his cabinet, they said no.

excellent question. i will take you back more to that particular time in congress, and social look at in 1864. one an important term in congress, to lace them 1850. good question. anybody else. >> mr. flood. would you mind elaborating on lincoln's plan for reconstruction ended johnson really followed those. >> i think i'd rather go to a very broad strokes give you the spirit rather than the details because am not sure of it really worked on nuts and bulls to the extent. he had already been trying to bring states back into the union as their territory fell. he wanted the country -- and not

with ever to be considered at the confederacy was actually out of the union. he wanted -- these states were in rebellion, but he never talked about confederacy as a separate nation. it was trying to bring them back into what he called their proper, practical relations. we would down to richmond, i'm not -- who am i to say what his state of mind was. you and down to richmond and -- he went down to richmond and into the confederate white house and sat down in the chair at the desk of jefferson davis and there was a moment of i am here and you are fleeing.

he said to the general who was in charge of richmond, union general -- the union general charge. he was talking about the people of richmond and prisoners who had been caught let them up easy, general. i think it would have been able to make that stick because he would've had it prestige in the reelected and would have had a mandate totally unlike that of andrew johnson. i think that is about all i could say on that. the -- this is where my big surprises. i did not realize that he had this vision, a very strong, well

articulated, and marked up by pass legislation. for the postwar unified united states. he had been a lawyer for the only central railroad for the war. it always was thinking in terms of the westward expansion of the non-states. he had an act to encourage immigration, he dovetailed that with the homestead act. what you had was advertising informed entries, come to the united states, settle on 100 ixia acres -- 100 and 60 acres -- 160 acres. immigrants came here and most of

them settled west of the mississippi, according to an. also, walked into that was the moral act which created the land rat colleges, many of our famous universities were created also, at least on paper at that time. yet a tremendous vision for the nation's future. he even said to good friend of his, he would like to go see california after the war. you wanted to live out there. he wondered what his sons to go and try out. -- try it out. i've taken your question and ran with it. the other thing i like to talk about in terms of the biggest the prize i got, every morning he was in washington, which was almost every morning of the war, he set aside 3-4 hours for

anybody who wanted to see him. one person, maybe a couple of people, and mother and wife of -- pleading for clemency for a man -- a union soldier convicted of deserved -- desertion. every kind of thing. nobody asked what he wanted to see the president about. you took your place and in due course were shown into cv present a couple of things came out of this. it soldier came in and said, however covers enough to be let out of the house thomas as they

will be. i'm hungry. healthy. 14 then the room, leak is a messenger on his way saying see this again. did that, -- he did that. i think the word got out that a real human being with him there, somebody care and he also answered and had three secretaries who were involved, and anybody who is deemed worthy at all received an answer. a man wrote him a letter to address the -- you are got out

there and i think that had a lot to do with. he strengthened unions find that way but it was not governing by the whole, it was getting in touch with real citizens and hearing their problems in seeing what he do about visual good, but i think the effect was greater. >> aching to form the also the year -- 1864 was also the year lincoln's dumps invite -- his

vice president to get a new one. why did he do that? >> excellent question. he had more impressive credentials. in any case, he figured out that what he needed. he was a republican from illinois. very late comer to the republican party, but that would be the ticket. campbell came in -- he did say

that the emancipation proclamation with the great act of the age. lincoln wanted to send other signals.. andrew johnson, one senator from the south that threw in with the union. . you're going to have a reunited country and won't have a president from the north and a vice president from this out was symbolic. it definitely entered into his

calculations. another thing to be said about that, here is lincoln in his less saintly die. he sent people to his convention to represent his interests, but his two closest associates, one thought lincoln really wanted hamlin again, and one thought he wanted johnson. interestingly enough, the federal marshal of washington who also acted as lincoln's bodyguard was sent over there and claimed lincoln gave him a piece of paper and said don't use them to you have to until the last minute saying he prefer andrew johnson.

he said that the convention decide. it wasn't for the convention to decide. until she quite a lot about lincoln and how we -- how he operated. >> [indiscernible] >> i'm sorry, i heard the wonderful. >> [indiscernible] >> line method of selecting subjects has been -- was influenced a bit. 1961 -- 1861 -- what was interesting to me was at that time already there. 10,000 books in english on row 41.

by isolating august 1914, she started with the assassination of art duke ferdinand. by the end of the month guns are booming. i said to myself this is not -- this is a really great thing. by isolating part of the story you have something valuable in itself several years later i did a book -- the four worst american military disasters of the american revolution, the thesis being look at all of this, but here's the spirit of finally enabled the rebels to avail.

nothing isolated the last five years of his life but what was washington college, read a washington lee after his death. quite differently how this would've happened. then i came down to granite sherman, which was interesting because that idea had been sitting there for that time, nobody had picked up on it. if it was a friendship. grant term, the friendship, they were friends. certainly one was superior to the other, but they were friends it was a partnership. i don't think he had ever been properly pulled out of the civil war and shown for its -- immense significance. which brings me to lincoln. at the end of granite sherman, i can't looking at lincoln and i

never been much of a me tinman, wright kept thinking this huge figure was there, but i said, don't do that. this is like climbing mount everest. -- this will go through his life in 1860. again, i don't inc. it is smoke and mirrors. thus the long way of telling you how i arrived at that. beatty of something like a euro 75, there is your story. that's a great deal of logical -- the letters, newspaper events. i'd also like to say, i had nearly including -- obituaries in today's new york times, but i

said, i would rather start discovering my own -- i should have stayed away from the fees. alluded to get all the bits and pieces. see a lot of different lincoln's from contemporaries for the bozos published in 1995. that's how it all happen. >> anybody else? >> i thank you very much. you have been very attentive. >> this is american history tv, featuring events, interviews, archival film, and visit to college classrooms, museums, and other historic places. exploring our nation's past every weekend.

>> i said in america have no greater improbable and to in this in a way that -- which will bring that day. hope in which we can have a world order in which people can live together in eat-in friendship. i do not criticize those who

disagree with me on the conduct of our peace negotiations, and i do not ask a limited patience from a people whose hopes for peace until often been raised in the cooling -- of the past four years. i try to present the facts about the -- being with complete honesty and i shall continue to do so. tonight, all i ask is you consider these facts. on ask is that you can -- we have a piece we can be proud of. to see the american people united behind a generous and reasonable peace offering. >> follow us for more this day in history clips and post.

on lectures in history, virginia taylor teaches a class about blank in history. >> if they were obsessing -- assessing the situation objectively, they would see they had arrived -- which they weren't, they would see they had arrived at a range of a territory of well-connected people and this was on the fringe of a wet very well-connected continent. for the english, this is an extraordinary opportunity as well as an extraordinary danger because they are at the farthest fringe of what their empire can reach.

while it might seem like the whole purpose is to keep people out, what archaeologists have discovered is evident that james fort in the areas around it trade hubs. archaeologists have found native american retalix made by nader -- native american women who were trading with food inside of them or actually cooking inside of james fort. this provides the context for how native american women like pocahontas and native american children got to know the settlers that came was through the trait in foodstuffs. the be things that copper

kettles, which was a is will material. the powhatan's formed alliances through traded goods and gifted good. hughes seen with a white dog gifted to him. even later into a few years, he poured wine for a diplomatic discussion. he understands that gifted good are part of the ways form from ship -- form friendship. english begin to flood the market of these luxury goods copper.

part of health date controlled who have power wizardry out about the goods. here's this copper, it is harder to control who gets what kinds of goods and therefore will kind of wealth and power. >> learn more to lie at 8 p.m. eastern here on history tv. >> american history on stand three. every weekend. funding comes from these television companies and more.

>> she argues that human right to poverty are directly connected and human rights around the world necessary to eradicate global poverty. we reported this in 2009 california. in 55 minutes jeffrey ritchie tells a story of creel revolt. -- creole revolt.

the greatest and greatest challenges not just to the organization, but the very idea. of human rights with the onset of the global war on