couples, buried side-by-side in a church. >> the church of the presidents. >> the two memorials with flags are the two graves of the presidents themselves. we invite you to put that on your list as you do historical touring. something you have done a lot of. we have one more call left, this is william from winston-salem, north carolina. seeing a fewmber years ago, believe it was david mccullough, talking about the adams women and the strength of them. their inner strength. he mentioned something about one of them having had the breast in theand had surgery days before anesthesia. >> i am going to jump in because our time is short. that is abigail adams daughter who had breast cancer and a mastectomy in the days before

anesthesia. >> 1813. >> she eventually succumbed to the disease. >> yes. all ofly want to bring these conversations back. go. what should louisa catherine ?dams be remembered for ,> she is a fascinating figure the interest in her should be every bit as much as for her mother-in-law. she is a woman who saw more of the governments of the world than most women of that day. in london, berlin, st. petersburg, washington. she truly experiences and reflects on these experiences through her letters and diaries and memoirs in a way that ring a richness to our understanding of the. she lived in -- of the period she lived in.

>> and a life of tragedy. she lived through extraordinary events. crossed paths with remarkable historical figures. it was in the life where she suffered loss after loss. presidency turned out to be, in many ways, disappointing. that is not the note on which the story ends. there is real inspiration there for all of us. >> thank you, as always for your expertise. amanda, nice to meet you and thank you for helping us learn more about louisa catherine adams through your extensive work on her papers. thanks to you for being with us and the white house historical association for their help in producing this series. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013]

♪ during her husband's presidential campaign in 1828, rachel jackson was called and husband'sby her political opponents. although he won the election, she died of an apparent heart attack before he took office. -- effect the extent of her death on his presidency.

and the scandal that led to her dismissal. in the second part, the emergence of dolly madison and washington politics. in jellico singleton introducing her to her future husband, martin van buren. first ladies, influence and image, live, next monday at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span and c- span three. also on c-span radio and c- span.org. our website has more about the first ladies, including a special section, welcome to the white house. that chronicles life in the executive mansion during the tenure of the first ladies. edition of the book "first ladies of the united states of america."

and thoughts from michelle obama on the role of first lady throughout history. now available for the discounted plus shipping. c-span.org/products. >> c-span, created by america's cable companies in 1979. brought to you as a public service by your television provider. next here on c-span, republican national committee chairman) this talk about the future of the -- reince priebus talks about the future of the gop. then, sarah palin at the conservative political action conference. after that, more of our first ladies series. riebus least a report

monday on changing the gop. needs tos the party do a better job attracting minorities, women and younger voters. and the -- change the conception that they are the party of the rich. [applause] >> i appreciate that introduction. thank you for the introduction of in welcoming us to the press club. i know most of you came for eggs and coffee but thank you for staying for the speech. i want to recognize our co-chair sharon day and our treasurer tony day.-- tony parker. most of you and most of all, i

want to think and how grateful i am to this opportunity project. their work cut brings us here -- their work brings us here today. i want to introduce them this morning. henry barber of mississippi, glenn mccall of south carolina, sally bradshaw, and former white house press secretary ari fleischer. when republicans lost in november, it was a wake-up call. in response, i initiated the most public and most, free handson if post election review of any national party.

we wanted an assessment of that is frank, thorough, and transparent. we had to be honest with ourselves and with our voters. we wanted to build our party. we want to do it with bolder strokes to show that we're up to the challenge and that we are done with business as usual. last week i received the opportunities project report and there to under 19 recommendations. there is no one reason we lost. our message was week. we were not conclusive. we were behind and assets and digital. our primary process and needed improvements.

there is no one solution. there is a long list of them. today i am going to focus primarily on the five most important areas where we think we need to take immediate, substantive actions, the demographic partners, campaign mechanics, technology, and the primary process. i want to point out that the recommendations are not limited to those five areas are even to the rnc. they can all learn something from this report. each of them is going to have a role to play. we are in the campaign business. our task will be to reach out to the most voters and build the best infrastructure ever.

the policy aspects are most valuable for candidates. voters of all races and backgrounds need to understand that our policies offer a chance for a brighter future. the report offered some specific areas where republicans fell short. the are some ways the voters have been turned off. it highlighted republican innovation among our governors that have won over a new voters. it provides no ideas for the way r the way- new ideas fo forward. our candidates should take those

recommendations to heart just as i have a. groups also have a valuable role to play. the rnc will always be the leader in campaign mechanics. friends and allies should take it capabilities that can supplement our efforts in certain areas, voter registration, research, and digital training, and more. we will work in sure that the sum is greater than the parts. the lion's share of the work falls upon the rnc. if there's one message i want you to take away, i know we have problems. we are implementing the solutions fix them. the project leaders have received feedback from over 50,000 people. this is the culmination of three months of crisscrossing and eagerly awaited these results. last week i saw the white smoke

coming from the chimney. then i knew that it was time for the report. not at this time for them to get to work. i want to walk with you through some of the immediate actions that we're going to take in response to their analysis. first, messaging. to be clear, our principles are sound. our principles are not old rusty thoughts in some book. freedom and opportunity are ever fresh revolutionary ideas. they are the road map to a new interconnected world. the report knows that the way we

communicate our principles is not resonating widely enough. focus groups describe our party as narrow minded, out of touch, and "stuffy old men. the perception that we are the party of the rich unfortunately continues to grow. that is frustrating. we care about every voter. we are the party of growth and opportunity. we want families that are strong, children that are well educated. we want to lift people up from poverty, to put the american dream in reached for everybody. our party cannot hire our way forward. it must inspire our way forward. we will do a better job of connecting with people to our principles, showing how we can help every american climbed the economic ladder.

knowing parents want the best for their children we will champion school choice and solutions to lowering the cost of health care. instead of arithmetic our focus should be on what helps families thrive. we don't want to fix the debt because a balanced budget looks nice, we want to do it because it will keep money in people's pockets and create more jobs for those who have lost hope. the report minces no words in telling us that we have to be more inclusive. i agree. our 80 percent friend is not our 20 percent enemy. we can be true to our principles without being disrespectful of those who don't agree with a hundred percent of them. finding common ground with voters will be a top priority.

so first, we're going to learn what works on the state level and apply it nationally. for example, when a conservative like steve pearce in new mexico wins in a predominantly latino district, we need to glean the lessons of his approach. second, in order to combat misperceptions, we will premiere an aggressive marketing campaign across the country, especially in communities we haven't been to in a long time, about what it means to be a republican. third, we will establish regular focus groups and listening sessions, to ensure we are on target in our communications. we will regularly share our findings, as well as polling results, with our candidates, allies, state parties, and elected leaders. because it all goes back to what our moms used to tell us, it's not just what we say, it's how we say it.

the promise of opportunity will be our message, and a spirit of optimism will infuse everything we do. messaging certainly overlaps with the next action area, demographic partners. now, i didn't need a report to tell me that we have to make up ground with minority groups, with women, and with young voters. specifically for youth voters, the report outlines the need to promote forward-looking, positive policy proposals. they write that more time most be spent communicating with young voters where they get their information. the report also highlights the real urgency of connecting with minority communities. by 2050, we'll be a majority- minority country, and in both 2008 and 2012, president obama won a combined 80 percent of the votes of all minority groups. the rnc cannot and will not write off any demographic, community, or region of this country.

so here are some actions we're taking, one, establish senior level advisory councils for hispanic, african american, and asian americans that will serve as working groups to share best practices and have a constant dialogue in each community. two, establish swearing-in citizenship teams to introduce new citizens to the gop after naturalization ceremonies. first impressions count. three, at the recommendation of the project, talk regularly and openly with groups with which we've had minimal contact in the past. lulac. the urban league. the naacp. naleo. la raza. four, work with state parties and sister committees to build a

recruitment program for minority candidates. the report underscores the need for greater recruitment. five, hire communications staff to promote the minority leaders in our party and bolster our messaging efforts in publications that appeal to ethnic minority groups. six, develop an aggressive marketing campaign to expand our footprint on college campuses, with an especially strong focus on historically black colleges and universities. in addition, create an ongoing dialogue with campus leaders. seven, appoint a youth liaison to work with college republicans, young republicans, and teenage republicans to provide them with additional tools to take the party's message to their peers. eight, go beyond traditional news media in promoting our message, including pop culture news outlets. we have to stop divorcing

ourselves from american culture. and maybe that means i get to sit down with the ladies of the [laughter] nine, work with state parties, sister committees, and the co- chair to proactively recruit women candidates for offices at all levels. ten, work to increase the visibility of gop women. now, i want to deliberately underscore that those items are not even close to enough. so, for the first time ever, we are going to overhaul our campaign mechanics structure to fully integrate our demographic engagement strategy. for too long, our demographic inclusion efforts have been separate from on-the-ground political activities. no more.

to accomplish this, we're launching a new national field program designed to engage minority groups and communities at the local level. we will take our message to civic centers and community events, where people live, work and worship. this new approach will be diverse, year-round, community- based, and dedicated to person- to-person engagement. by may 1st, we will hire national political directors for hispanic, asian-pacific, and african american voters. we will task each director to build a team to educate each community on the history and principles of the republican party and identify supporters. this will be a bottom-up approach, and we'll have a network of hundreds of paid people across america from the community level up to the

national level dedicated to minority, youth, and women inclusion. we will conduct a pilot program in targeted urban markets to test and refine these engagement efforts. this is a new way of doing things and should demonstrate the depth of our commitment to engaging all demographic groups. it will complement and be fully integrated with our entire on- the-ground operation, which will be modeled on the same bottom-up approach, community directors that report to regional directors that report to states directors who in turn report to the national directors. some individuals will be focused on targeted 2014 races, others on laying the groundwork for 2016. these staff will be in place by the end of the summer. we've never put this many paid boots on the ground this early in an off year. we've also never been this dedicated to working at the community level to win minority votes household to household. and i am approving an initial ten million dollar budget toward

this work for this year. for the 2013 and 2014 campaigns, we'll deploy revamped voter contact and early vote strategies. further, we will work to strengthen our state parties to take a leading role in our new field program. i'm hiring a full-time state party director who will report directly to me in addition to the political director. the future of all 50 state parties and territorial parties will be their top priority. there will be full coordination between the rnc and state parties on early planning for the 2013 and '14 cycles, with a focus on organization, data collection, and testing for digital fundraising.

to help states with their added responsibilities, we will reinstitute the field finance program, allowing states to be more financially self- sustaining. we will also network with organizations that are part of the liberty movement, evangelical movement, and the tea party to strengthen our ties and mobilize volunteers. to find new voters, the rnc will invest in a mobile voter registration program. and we will encourage our friends and allies to significantly invest in voter registration as well. in surveys for the report, respondents expressed a desire for more training for candidates, volunteers, and operatives. they especially want greater training in data and analytics. so by may 1, we will completely overhaul our political education department, developing new curriculum that includes data, digital and ad-buying. they'll make new resources available electronically, not just to those who come to our d.

c. classroom we're committing significant resources to these endeavors, so i want to be sure we're getting real results for our money. therefore, i will insist on implementing standards and quarterly benchmarks for state parties and for staff to measure success in areas ranging from registration to fundraising. and we'll need quality metrics to gauge whether our strategy is working. which brings me to the topic of data and technology. throughout this process both the co-chairs and i have heard a great deal about the quality of our data and how that affects our ability to target and persuade voters. numerous voices emphasized how we must move to integrate new sources of data and expand access to that data beyond the rnc. overhauling our data infrastructure won't happen overnight. but we will move to invest more resources into data collection

and management, and we will integrate data into everything we do. we will lead by example because we want every campaign, group, and committee to make data a priority. therefore, as recommended, we're hiring a new chief digital and technology officer who will build out and oversee three important and distinct teams, data, digital, and technology. those teams will work together to integrate their respective areas throughout the rnc and provide a data-driven focus for the rest of the organization. and they will be the new center of gravity within the organization. second, we are working on an open data platform, where vendors, campaigns, and party organizations can build data-

driven apps using a common api. think of it like apple and the app store. they can access our data and then provide user-friendly products that will empower technology-driven voter contact. this is the first time a party committee has taken on such a task. over and over, our co-chairs heard of the need for an environment of intellectual curiosity that encourages innovation. so, third, i want to hold hackathons in tech-savvy cities like san francisco, austin, denver, and new york, to forge relationships with developers and stay on the cutting edge. fourth, once our new operation is up and running, we will embark on a data and digital road show to demonstrate what campaigns and state parties can do to enhance their own operations. the report recommended getting early buy-in from all partners.

fifth, we will upgrade gop. com as a platform, redesigning it to better utilize social media and serve an increasingly mobile audience. sixth, we're setting up an rnc field office in the san francisco area. as we learned with visits to silicon valley and conversations with top tech firms, many of the best minds are on the other side of the country. having an office there will make it easier for technologists to join our efforts, and it can serve as a hub for our data and digital political training. by doing all this, we will enter 2014 and 2016 with a completely revitalized approach to campaign mechanics and technology. so finally, let's discuss what we'll do to improve the presidential primary process. in 2008 and 2012, the debates multiplied and were out of the control of the rnc.

this cycle there were 20 total debates, the first, eight months before the iowa caucuses. the report contrasts this with 1980, when there were six debates and 1988, when there were seven. i agree with the co-chairs when they say, debates are vital to the primary process. but they must respect the candidates' time and help our eventual nominee. so with an eye toward the recommendations, the rnc will create a system that sets earlier guidelines for a more rational number of debates. we will take a leading role in organizing the debates?and will work with state parties and our

rules committee to ensure balance in every aspect. the report finds it advantageous to move quickly into the general election phase of the campaign, allowing the nominee to spend general election money sooner. to facilitate that, they recommend an earlier convention. so no more august conventions. our convention planning commission will be tasked with finding the optimal date, in addition to improving financing, security, logistics, site selection, and the overall program. we will also take additional steps to make the primary process shorter. everything i'm announcing today costs money. i've already talked to our donors about much of it. raising money isn't always the easiest task, but i can report great excitement on their part.

they are supportive of these big changes and clear goals, and i want to ensure we're spending their money wisely. so we'll foster competition among vendors and providers to get the best and brightest talent on our side. this is just the beginning of an unprecedented effort. the learning process doesn't stop today. this is day one. we're going to continue the listening sessions and we're to keep making adjustments. in the last two years, we've overcome some pretty tough challenges at the r.n.c -- rebuilding a broken committee, raising the money needed to serve our nominee was just the beginning. we'll bring the same spirit to meeting the challenges of the coming years. today, we mark a fresh beginning. it's about winning elections, but more importantly it's

because we believe america deserves better than what we have today. better than a big, bloated federal government and the same old one-size-fits-all bureaucracy. better education. better healthcare. better opportunities. there are americans who still need jobs. families who deserve more take-home pay. students who must have great schools. so many of them support democrats simply because we haven't done a good enough job offering them our alternative. we haven't been in their towns, their cities, their neighborhoods. but we're going to be. the rnc can't do it alone. so i ask my fellow republicans to think about what you can

do and commit to building our party together. and to anyone listening online, i want to hear from you. join me in a twitter q-and-a at 1:00 p.m.n eastern. just tweet @reince with the hashtag "opportunity." to those who have left the party, let me say this, we want to earn your trust again. to those who have yet to join us, we welcome you with open arms. there's more that unites us than you know. my job is to make that clear. and that's the purpose of the plans i've announced today. with that, i'm now happy to take questions from all of you here. no hashtag required.

>> do you think most important change for the g.o.p. is to talk in a more voter friendly way about the issues while keeping the same positions the top issues or do you think there's a need to shift basic positions on some of the issues? >> i think i answered that in the speech. >> i think our policies are sound. but i think that in many ways that we communicate can be a real problem. what we need to do is understand what i just said did 80/20 rule. decent people can disagree on issues. i don't agree with my wife on 100% of the issues but that doesn't mean we don't have a marriage.

i think woo we have to have a welcoming party. have to say we don't have to agree on every single issue. it's a welcoming attitude that we need to have in our party. had biologically stupid things that were said in election that make it more difficult for us to make that case. i think we have to do a better job of making sure people understand the issues. but it is not about altering our principles. about the way we communicate and the way we welcome people into the our party. >> what do you think about karl find strongative to g.o.p. candidates and avoid statements have led to their defeat? do you think that's a good idea? >> you know, we've had i don't know how many groups that are outside groups -- 527's, that

have been in the business of trying to pick winners in primaries. i appreciate first amendment. i think any person in america that wants to file for a 527 or they want to organize a group to help a particular candidates should be able to do it. i am not against it. as far as the rnc is concerned, we do not pick winners and losers in primaries. it's just not something that we fact, it's, in barred. it is a business we are not in. not our prerogative to tell other people what they do as far ast exercise their first amendment right to get involved. >> if you could create the ideal presidential candidates for your next election cycle based on and appeal that

polling shows the elect rot wants, what would this candidate look like? are there popular personalities that could take part from to create a composite? >> we have great candidates that we all know are probably looking already at 2016. that but i think we know that's happening. if you look at the youth and our party like nikki haley and marco and paul ryan and scott walker and many others i.i'm on got to keep going but you get the idea. we have great hispanic leaders like ryan sandoval and ted cruz and others. i think we have done a real lousy job sometimes of bragging about the success that we have had. so i think when it comes to youth and diversity we've made great strides. i think we'll have a lot of options in 2016. >> as you hope to reach out to the african-american community, what are your thoughts on ensuring every vote counts? rights?es of voting >> we're not going to bore you

with the details in the consent decree in the republican national committee. but we believe that we need to make it easy to vote in hard to cheat. i think that can capture we believe in as a party. it should be easy for anyone to hard to cheat. that is something we have endeavored to do. as a national party, we do have some restrictions on ballot through theyou know new jersey consent decree. cpac lastn about a week where a panel on african-american voters a shouting match with at least one activist saying -- hard to read the question -- talking about voters systematically disenfranchised. given that backdrop and the

party, how do you plan to overcome those challenges? >> for one thing you have to show up. if going to get the order, you have to ask for the fail. basic, which is why we're launching this unprecedented bring in -- i'm not talking about hiring two or atee people down the hallway the r.n.c. we're talking about hiring hundreds of pay people across the country this year to meet the case in minority communities across america. one of the things that i found that is just the reality is that when we walked into the rnc and we were $25 million in the hole, we had a hard time making our first payroll. we walked into this. there were debates on the all throughout the

spring. one of the stories i hadn't told about, for quite a while when we walked into the r.n.c., both credit cards of the r.n.c. suspended, this was before i walked in. just think about this for a second. you have one of two of the biggest national political parties in the world that has both credit cards suspended. luckily, and is a blessing i did not have a balance on my credit and i used and we took a lot of expenses on and of our card. the republican national committee paying its outside expenses in that way. we had about 80 to 100 employees in 2011. barack obama had hundreds -- hundreds and hundreds through the entire 2011 time. while we were playing footsie,

debating each other, the other employing00 of people, spending millions and millions werellars, while we debating and digging out of debt that should tell you everything you need to know about ground game and mechanics and how did you get behind. that tells you a lot. this is something new for our party. we're going to be doing voter engagement at a granular community level starting now. 2013. that's new. i think that's big and that's bold. in spite of the army's r.n.c. make inroadsing to into communities of color, there are some people with the areblican message they saying unwelcome if not offensive positions to communities of color.

what's your strategy to make interest andage of welcome to the r.n.c. staffers be outey're going to espousing will be making its way communities they're targeting and not subsumed by comments by republican or mediavative leaning personalities and others? >> first of all, i think our blessing. is a i think the attitude of 80/20 and that everyone on the team, you'recan, conservative, welcome in the door. that attitude goes for everybody. it takes a team to build a national party. one of the things -- i keep this.back to if you have unscripted moments that are problematic in the campaign, and clearly there were a few, if you do not have a serious granular presence in

communities to help explain, to help educate,to well, then, you have sort of a and those moments end up taking a life of their own. i think it takes communication. i think it takes a press shop shop and research shop to always be communicating with our friend and allies. one am not in the business of throwing anyone under the bus. i welcome everyone into our party no matter what spectrum wherever they're at in the conservative bandwidth, they're appreciative.'re 2016 republican presidential nominee have to speak spanish? >> i do not think so. listen. it is a tremendous benefit. it is a tremendous asset to be able to have. so i do not think it is necessary but it is a bonus.

arguably two of the biggest voting block, fiscally homosexuals and women but the g.o.p. has atmingly turned up its nose gays and comes across as missoganistic. how the rein in the anti-gay and anti-women sentiment? >> i think senator portman made last week but i think it's about being decent. it is about dignity and respect. nobody deserves to have their dignity diminished. people do not deserve to be disrespected. i think there isn't anyone in room, republican, democrat, in the middle, that doesn't think that rob portman, for is a good conservative republican. he is. we know that. at the same time, i also defend rand paul and what he did in asking a legitimate question

of the president that was not answered. i think the attitude of being open and welcoming in our party goes for both situations. i think it is going to take discipline. i think that party leaders have to constantly remind everybody that we cannot build the party subtraction.nd we can only build it by addition and multiplication. we get that. that will be our endeavor. >> does the rnc support the decision to come out for same-sex marriage? >> it is his decision. it's his decision. it's not a matter whether i support his decision. i support him doing what he wants to do as an elected as an american. if that's his opinion, i support that opinion. >> what about financial support? will his opinion affect his financial support from the rnc? >> not at all.

he will be supported. >> the republican party has been fragmented over the past the years few which has hurt them in the elections. will the strategies you talked today help with that fragmentation? if so, how? what challenges do you see in bringing the party back from fragmented. >> i do not know if it is fragmentation. we do not have a monopoly on diverse opinion in our party. i am sure the democrats have groups that do not always agree with each other. we watch debates every day on television between democrats and republicans. this is common healthy debate. i go back to the same issue. it takes leadership. i think it takes people that are willing to be big and bold. it is a matter of having leaders

in the party that do not want to waste the time of other party leaders. certainly don't want to waste anyone's time. i do not want to waste my wife or my kids time by going through the motions. that is why we are moving very quickly to start implementing some of these sessions. we'll have some things want to do.hat he we want to build this party. we want to win election. we also want to do without compromising our principles. that is what we're committed to. >> do you endorse the electoral splitting electoral votes in blue states, limiting voter days and/or requiring proof of citizenship or photo i.d. for registration? >> i do support a voter identification. it is pretty reasonable. it is an 80% issue. i used to say when you rent a movie from blockbuster but i guess you do not do that anymore. you need an id for anything.

go into any building in manhattan and you need and id. proving who you are and where you live is not too much to ask. that's number one. i think this is important. i also think it protects everyone's 14th amendment right to one person, one vote. the rest of the question? splitting the electoral -- i was something else in there. it is a state issue. i have said that repeatedly. i know that states are looking at it. i think it is interesting. interesting.was you all think it is interesting enough to but the question on a piece of paper. doesn't mean i'm writing anything or endorsing anything. i said it is interesting. that is about as far as i think i'm going to go on that. >> you've said the r.n.c. won't in primaries but from a practical standpoint

don't the party need to make general election quality candidates need to rise top?e what actions could you take with regard to the electability issue? >> you encourage people and you find people and you meet people way that indicate they want to run and you set that person up with the appropriate have ato talk to but we very strict rule in our party. you may know about it. rule 11.ed it really does restrict the ability, which i think is a good thing, of the national party for most part getting involved in state party decisions. let me contrast that with you for second. the state chairman of of wisconsin, our party endorsed scott walker and ron johnson. scott walker was challenged by the former congressman named

mark newman he was endorsed by a lot of people. some national people. our party endorsed scott walker. partythe chairman of that and i was fully on board with that endorsement. but that was my decision and our party's decision and ultimately the delegates that showed up for the endorsement decision in state of wisconsin. we spent a lot of time and a lot of energy and effort making sure that scott walker and ron johnson won that primary. that was our decision. i would not have appreciated the national party coming in and telling the state of wisconsin i do not know about scott walker i think we will go with mark neumann. that is ridiculous. and that is the point. it is not that we want to handcuff ourself it is just not practical. it is not right. >> governors have gone on to be some of the most significant republican presidents in the last century -- nixon, reagan, bush.

is the party doing enough to support the rising star governors once they get past the endorsement process? >> that is the plan for 2013 and 2014. i know our state parties do a lot of work. the rga does. we have a different party, too. 15 or 20 years ago or maybe more there wasn't an nrcc. there wasn't 10, 20 different 527's.r pacs and we have a big group of organizations involved in anding republicans conservatives elected. my job is to put together not only the best infrastructure and data and mechanics but we have our primary system that needs to be looked at and i think overall messaging. for the most are there are lots of players out there that are doing a lot of this work. the rnc has to play a role. promoting governors.

they're the innovators. they are balancing budgets. getting things done. they are leading the way. and we are going to be involved. but there is a lot of different groups that are involved in this same activity. >> how will you keep democrats from picking their preferred candidates byate eliminating stronger republican candidates? they cite nevada and missouri as examples. >> picking candidates is a state party function. there are a lot of groups out there that are picking winners and losers. it is not our business. it's not something i'm going to get involved. d.n.c.s is that the isn't picking winners and losers anyway. we hear democrats and that they do this or they do this, tell me who "they" is. because "they," at least in our of times innocent the groupsbut different

side.work on their >> you just spent the last hour or so giving us your playbooks very publicly. both teams keep their playbooks close at hand. are you concerned democrats will take the republican playbook and themselves? >> these are things, people want bold and i think it is true. this is an unprecedented thing for national party to put their cards on the table face up. but this is what we're willing to do to build our party. i think it was necessary. i think people wanted the report real. they wanted it to be honest and maybe ad to be raw and few pieces of china needed to be broken but i think this is what our party needed and we're going to get to work in implementing recommendations. >> falling up on your comments about when you first started in r.n.c.,nces of the

questioner asks, you talked about using personal resources on tracke r.n.c. back or personal credit to be reimbursed. overallmparison to the millions, it wasn't a ton, but it was there. >> but it was a big deal. are you saying that former the partyteele ruined or at least the r.n.c. financially? >> i'm not going to go there. numbers speak for themselves. >> we're here at the national press club so this questioner who identify with the republican party seem to mainstreamrsion to media. why the disdain for the concept of a free press written in the constitution? >> hey, i'm here before the national press club on a very our party.ay for i understand the value and ipreciate the free press and also will tell you that i feel part i have most

been treated very fairly, that i have been -- the press has been good t to to us in our working relationship. i don't have any disdain for the just tell youll that i put the burden on our to reach out to beyond our sometimes in the press and go further. i appreciate everybody in this the press that's here and giving us an opportunity to get our message out. meanwhile outur in many regards without the free press so i don't want you to think that i don't appreciate it but i also understand that we have to be sharp and we have to reach out to many people that maybe we done a good enough job in reaching out to. >> we talked about the the republicanf party, real or perceived. i think we all know there's media, as well, in terms of content as well as

what viewers and readers choose to consume. is that a problem? does it make it harder for of either party to reach across the aisle like you're trying to do with republicans? >> what's the question? fragment egg, does it make it harder for you to reach the new voters you would to reach? >> i don't think so. i just think we have to be more dedicated. i guess i don't understand exactly the question but i think answersanswer probably that question which is to be i think more dedicated, reaching out to diverse groups of reporters and not just staying comfort zone but i think for the most part we've done that. effortsook at my own and the efforts of our press shop at the r.n.c., i don't think a lot of you believed that we haven't done a very comprehensive job in reaching doing everything that we

can every day to connect and if better, obviously, us.se contact >> we are almost out of time but before i ask the last question, of housekeeping matters to take care of. i'd like to remind you of our upcoming luncheon speakers. on march 20, we have cathy calvin, president and c.e.o. of the united nations foundation. she will discuss the public charity's work in supporting the mission and programs of the united nations. roberth 26, we have johnson, chairman of r.l.j. companies incorporated. we have john h. noseworthy, medical doctor and mayodent and c.e.o. of the issues facinging the healthcare industry. i would like to present our with the traditional mug.nal press club coffee

thank you. >> thank you, everybody, appreciate it. [applause] like to thank our audience for coming today and nationalto thank the press club staff including its andnalism institute broadcasting for organizing today's event and we have one final question. your man tous about put republicans into office. it's very detailed, many pages long. what's your plan to get the packers to bring home the super season?phy next >> boy, that's a tough one. i'm a huge packer fan say as long as we get to play the bears, the lionss and the detroit twice a year, we've got a pretty good avenue to the super bowl. i appreciate all of you, you've continue obviouslyreer and and

in being here but i know we have of work to do as a nash party and i want to know that every day we're going to try to and the mission for the day to build up and rebuild our national party to compete in years andouple of obviously again in 2016. that's our goal and that's our mission and that's what today's about. it's the beginning, it's not the end and hopefully we're going to again soon. thank you, bye. [applause] like to remind our you can learn more on website and if you'd like to get a copy of today's program, check at www.website www.press.org. thank you. adjourned. [captions performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> coming up on the next "washington journal,"

newressman steve pierce of strategy.cusses bloomen-our of oregon joins us. a to the're joined by er.t, meredith shin services financial committee hears tuesday from the head of the federal housing finance agency. edward dimarco testifies on the federal housing market and fannie mae and freddie mac. live tuesday 10:00 a.m. eastern c-span 3. >> the winners have been year's students cam documentary competition on

the theme, your message to the president. grand prize winner is josh stokes from daniel hand high school. shimp won first prize for the economy. and a group won first prize for their documentary on public transportation. watch the winning documentaries c-span. >> former alaska governor and presidential candidate atah palin spoke saturday the conservative political action conference. this is a half hour.

know, i am notu remotely cool enough to be sarah but i couldn't resist coming out here for a brief about my say a word friend, governor sarah palin. mainstream media wants us to shut up. the mainstream media wants accept defeat.o the mainstream media wants us to timid and hide in the corner. media isainstream absolutely convinced that women conservatives. and if they are, they especially big guns andreally

hunt grizzly bears and moose. you, that's why governor sarah palin drives the mainstream media bat crap crazy. it shakes up their entire world and you know what, she can winner. in early andumped paul.ted rand rubio.ported marco tim scott.ed supported pat toomey. supported nikki haley.

and this last election cycle three republicans who won new seats -- deb fisher, jeff blake and myself. she supported all three of us. let me tell you something. i would not be in the u.s. forte today if it were not governor sarah palin. she is fearless, she is she is courageous mama grizzly. i give you, governor sarah palin! just a pretty face ♪

>> thank you so much and thank you so much. you. the senator is the keynote speaker and he would lower himself to do an introduction wasilla.key mom from i am so honored. cruz.you, senator oh, america, send more like ted cruz, please. we need them! littleming from alaska's center state of texas, ted cruz, like a good texan, he comes to wire andchews barbed sits out rust. that's what we need. was just thinking how much i like texans. with ourt mess around second amendment rights!

all this stuff coming lately from the white house to take away the good guy's freedom and the right to protect ourselves with the most naive notion that the bad guys who ignore the laws, that all of a sudden they're going to follow new laws. guys, no.bout the bad it's all about the lead. it's like that chunk of metal that's likee, saying that fork made me fat. and background checks. guess to learn more about a person's thinking and moreiation and intentions, background checks. mr. president, should have yours. with [cheers and applause]

is great to be back at cpac. i'm so happy to be here and it coming home even though it is only my second time here but kind of feel like i'm hang of it. i can spot the liberal media write their annual conservative in crisis stories. here?ny of you guys are raise your hands, come on, raise your hands. proud. you're loud. we're used to it. not ashamed toe raise it high, don't worry, we never dream of making you wait outside on the party bus. it is an honor to be here. we can come together, folks, for an adult conversation about the country and heaven knows we need this. for ourof what passes national conversations these but.is anything

remember "no drama beap." if only. now it's all drama obama. comingt have leadership out of washington. television.ity accept it's really bad reality tv and the american out a long time ago. entertainment tv is a good what's going on in d.c. because more than ever put-on.eels like a every event feels calculated to every speechow, feels like a con. washington politicians, too many parties, have a bad habit of focusing on the process of politics instead of purpose of politics which is to lead and to serve. even our guys in the g.o.p., too often have a habit of reading stage directions

especially these days. they're being too scripted, too calculated. about rebuilding the party. middleut rebuilding the class! they talk about rebranding the of restoring the trust of the american people. now, we can't just ignore, lost a bigt we just election. two. came in second out of second position on the dog sled where the view never changes and the view ain't pretty. we need to figure out, then, our do next? will we as we go about that, as we talk to one another and listen to what the speakers have to say,

let's be clear about one thing. rebrand ahere to party. we're here to rebuild a country! [applause] we're not here to dedicate pointses to new talking coming from d.c. we're not here to put a fresh rhetorical paint on our party. oure not here to abandon principles in a contest of government giveaways. a game we'll never, ever win. we're here to restore america theatrics.t is the rest is sound and fury, it's just making noise and that sums job president obama does today. now, he's considered a good politician, which is like saying was a goodff salesman. the difference being the using our money.

you know, i spend most of my time in fly-over country, the ofrt of theheart land america and i have news for the permanent political class in washington. while they're busy working about their own political future, here. are bad out nearly 8% unemployment rate capture how bad things are. even the dismal rate announced of .1% economic growth, that doesn't tell the story of the pain americans feel. our president fancies himself as the champion of the middle class. he came on scene, even those lucky enough to have more forey're working less. the median income of families $5,000 sincever and even as we work longer longer hours and job creators are being punished. punishing thees job creators create more jobs?

costs nearly $100 to fuel up your truck. it costs tens of thousands of send your child to college. diaperse of a case of today, i just -- these prices, impacts on the american family budget and while americans,class while we're breaking their budgets, the democrat controlled anate refuses to paddle budget. that was how many years ago that they did? many trillions in debt ok, article one,ion of section 9, clause seven of our u.s. constitution. no budget for four years! no budget for four years is not just bureaucratic bungling. refusing to pass a budget is refusing to declare

what it intends to do with the money.s barack obama promised the most transparent administration ever. lied! obama, you [cheers and applause] a direct correlation between the senate stubbornly pass the budget and the senate selfishly agreeing to go ahead and spend our children grandchildren's money. no budget is no leadership and get time for america to more outraged about this. never before have our challenges been so big and our leader so small.

here lastwe were year, the words on everyone's heartnd the wish in your was for barack to pack her up nobel and wrap the the clubs and the high tops and to chicago. the election came and went but never stopped. at a time when our country is leadership, we get, instead, a permanent campaign. but here's the thing. the goodake risks for of our country. campaigners make promises they keep. leader reach across political differences. campaigners double down on those differences. to bring americans together to confront our campaigners, they seek to divide and to conquer and to orchestrate crisis after after crisis to exploit.

we admitted, you won. accept it. step away from the teleprompter and do your job. [cheers and applause] political class is in permanent campaign mode. here?re do we go from one of my idols, lady margaret thatcher, she offered this advice after her party lost at the polls. she told fellow conservatives not to get lost in abstract eye shaded green

accounting. mrs. thatcher advised conservatives to focus their first and foremost on the people. she said, "look at every problem not fromgrass roots, the top looking down." cautioned conservatives not to go wobbly on their hardys to which i offer a amen, sister! we could use a leader like thatcher today! it.just think about at a time when washington is so 10erful that seven of the highest income counties in the country ring the city, allow to imagine leadership that deems to understand us little god,e, us clinging to our our guns, our constitution and roots.ss actuallyeadership that takes seriously the idea of government of the people, by the people, for the people.

imagine leadership that knows to ensureoritize national security and to stop waste.ent that's leadership that would guiding light, its great north star, our u.s. constitution. no accident that are "wets opening words the people. and while we're dreaming, leadership that respects the second amendment to the constitution. the majority of americans want this. any wonder there is such awe run on guns and ammo for ofistmas presents a couple months ago considering politicians' attack on the second amendment? what todd have seen got me for christmas. exciting.asn't that it's a metal rack, a case for to put on the back

of a four-wheeler and then i had putet something for him to in the gun case, right. he's got theound rifle, i got the rack. applause]d bloomberg's not around. our big gulp's safe. we're cool. with lowical ice cubes in it, i hope that's ok. was in it?u think

yeah, you young college whoblicans, especially you went greek, i am so proud of you of you.l college republicans, there on so bold, youere -- all right, you guys keep your courage up and my only piece of advice because i'm a advicey only piece of for young college republicans, is you got to be thinking sam not drinking sam adams. joke.at's just a i don't want to now hear from the c.e.o. of some brewery of an anti-beer-ite. it was a joke. up your good keep work, though. seriously, though, friends, when when we see life

snuffed out through violence, evil acts, imagine leadership doesn't seek to exploit such tragedy. imagine leadership that seeks real solutions to the violence, not cheap political games. that would be leadership worthy of its name. leadership worthy of the words "we the people" creating government of, by, for the people. also means ending the poisonous practice of treating americans of different social, ethnic, religious groups, as different electorates to be with different promises. if we truly believe the words of founding document, the declaration of independence, changingworld assertion that yes all men are created equal, then there are no hispanic issues or african-american issues or issues.

issues!e only american [cheers and applause] now, cpac, in order to be effective, though, in order to have any power to change things for the better, as conservatives, we must leave no american behind and we must ofre our powerful message freedom and liberty to all who may, even those disagree on some issues, because inre is solid common ground fighting against government overreach and for independence withhose who may disagree us on some issues, they're not our sistershey're and our brothers, they're our neighbors, they're our friends.

it's imperative to reach out and to share, share that conservative message of liberty and less government and lower and individual responsibility. auto time we all stop preaching let's grow! and america already has one party pitting groupsat and we'ree another never going to win a contest of identity politics. we shouldn't even try. if "believe in america" is more than a catchy campaign slogan, believe ine to america's exceptionalism and her greatest achievement, that no one is guaranteed success but everyone is guaranteed an equal opportunity at success! [cheers and applause]

the greatest lie that the that moreell is government is the way to realize this guarantee. simple reason why washington, d.c. is an island of mired iny in a nation near recession. whenever government expands, it's the well connected who benefit. the more government intrudes into our lives and our pickssses, the more it 56 winners and losers. the more crony capitalists win, rest of us lose. whether it's green energy or ore obama phones prophylactics, if you don't have in d.c. orobbyists campaign contribution check, you're not at the table, you're menu. [applause] if mrs. thatcher were with us today, she would remind us,

there's a big difference between and pro freeiness market. on this there can be no mistake conservatives stand. it's time for we the people to aeak up the cronyism and put stake through the heart of too all.o fail once and for these resources rich states likeacax, my home state. read your constitution, alaskans, realize that the god hasresources created for man's use, they're not owned by the big conglomerates and monopolies, they're owned by the people. so don't letn them them own you. you have a right for those forurces to be developed our use. now, ending the top-down approach of d.c. also means changing our top-down political process. monthst election is 20

away. that was the time to furlough out theultants and tune pollsters, send the focus groups home and toss the political if we truly know what we believe, we don't need to tell us.s [applause] know the truly seek to hearts and minds of the american substitutere is no for going out and asking them, with realof them world experience, actually hardrsations with actually working americans and that goes for finding candidates, as well. creating a government by, for the people. it means looking to our communities, our pat's, service businesses, tea party rallies and city halls for willing to lead.

do you know someone who's judgment you snrust someone who doesn't just preach common sense but actually lives it? encourage her or him to run for office. are you mad at hell and think that you have a better way? run yourselves, don't let the big consultants, the big money big bad media scare you off. invalidate you. don't let them invalidate you more realo doubt have world practical experience with family and real world -- that's than those in the political bubble who try to tell you who's worthy and what a just their bill. is last thing we need washington, d.c. vetting our candidates. [applause] these experts who keep losing

elections, you keep getting rehired, raked in million dollars, if they feel that about who gets to run should bucky, they up or stay in the truck. buck up and run. can head onts tok -- they can head on back the great lone star state and put their name on some ballots sake i hope they give themselves a discount on services.ulting friends, you have heard a lot of different voices offering a lot of different ideas the past few days. i am just humbled, i am so grateful to be one of them. i have been so blessed to spend so much of these past years to know even more of america not from the top-down looking out heart and this i know. there is more wisdom, more character, more grit and common

soldiers and the moms and the teachers and the laborers and firemen and and you students and the cowboys and other americans that i've met look at way than will the cocktail in parties that power across the river. [applause] and if they, we, the people, the guys, we have one message to send to washington, i'm sure this -- get over yourself, it's not about you. it's about families struggling a million dollars in college tuition. it's about americans working for less. small businesses not

day to the next what taxes, what regs, what new government mandates we'll be giving up next and citizens hardd to give up more earned money and more independence and power all in for broken promises from a rigged system. it's about a grave concern about a president claiming power to home evernes to kill and whatever without accountable but no power to open up the house for the school kids to get to visit over spring break! [applause] it's about concern over a president that would prioritize able to afford to keep the white house open for those $250nts but to send million in our weapons to the muslim brotherhood.

priority. america, you deserve better than that. theeserve better than people who call themselves our leaders but we won't get it unless we're ready to fight and this is one fight that is worth it. have faith in we the people, if we teach america's foundation of work ethic and development of our natural resources, if we believe in the charters of freedom that guide us, if we trust in the promise that binds us, if we know the providential hand made america exceptional and respect the innocent life he creates, then we will save our movement and then with hard work, humility and the of our loving god, we will save our country! cpac, and god bless the united states of america! [cheers and applause] >> coming up next, c-span's andt ladies, influence

image, features elizabeth monroe. [captions performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> elizabeth monroe was a true partner in her husband's career. they were a love story and absolutely devoted to each other. elizabeth monroe had a well- developed sense of style and image. this is a woman who knew how to carry herself with great elegance. >> it is called the era of good feeling.

>> this is a woman who spoke french. >> very great beauty. she received is seldom anything in the white house. she hated it. >> dignity, civility. those are the words that come to mind. >> elizabeth monroe served as first lady from 1817 to 1825 as a time known as the era of good feeling. coming up were hurt life and not -- coming up, we will explore her life and what were not always happy times inside the white house for this woman born into a well-to-do new york family. she married james monroe at the age of 17 and traveled new york extensively with him. she brought with her to the white house a certain french sensibility. welcome to c-span and the white house historical association's

"first ladies." look at the life of elizabeth monroe. let me introduce two guests. daniel preston and richard norton smith. gentlemen, welcome. the last program was dolley madison. formeally used the social -- forum to advance her husband's political agenda. what was elizabeth monroe's approach to the white house? >> she and dolley madison were great friends. they were at a very different temperaments. dolley madison was social by nature and was happy to get in her carriage and go visit all day long. elizabeth monroe wanted to stay

home with her family. she was devoted to her daughter, her grandchildren, and, at the white house, that is what she really enjoyed and that is what she wanted to do. she wanted to be with her family. she did not like a large crowds. like large crowds. she was very uncomfortable at the large receptions the president had. she was very charming in smaller groups. when there was a small circle of friends together, everyone praised her charm, her affability, per conversation, -- her conversation, said she sparkled. just a very different type of person. >> explain washington in this time and how important social was to political. >> it is interesting. these years were known as the era of good feelings. you could probably take issue

with that in the second term. by that point, we were supposed -- close to be a one-party state. close to being a one-party state as any time in american history. the old federalist party had died off. there was a standoff that most americans were willing to consider a victory. we had established once and for all our independence, and it was a time of actually great boom in the country, a physical expansion, and a number of states came into the union during monroe's day. veryngton city remained a raw, incomplete place with dirt roads. monroe ways, elizabeth suffers for her strength. they are both seen as somehow alien.

she was born in this country. see had her blossoming overseas, and france especially. the munroe's became famous for -- the monroes became famous theyhe freshness in which -- for the frenchness in which they approached life in the white house. and you can see it in the furniture they bought and the food they serve. there was also an element that took exception to a first lady who somehow did not seem quite american enough. >> let's take a look at statistics about america in 1820. it is a booming country, with a population of 9.6 million. 23 states. growth since the 1810 census. slaves in the population numbered 16%. the largest cities, new york

city, philadelphia, and baltimore. boston fell off the list. >> there were only three roads in 1800 over the appalachian mountains. during the monroe years, you have the canal being dug in new york that will transform the economy. you have the road under construction from the capital to what is now west virginia. we had a whole debate going on about internal improvements and what the role of the federal government should be and all that. this is a country poised for economic take off. much like eisenhower presided -- over a period of peace and prosperity,. >> as you work your way, how much evidence is there about elizabeth monroe? >> there is not a lot. based upon what her elder

daughter reported, at some point after he left the presidency, monroe burned all personal correspondence. there is one letter that survives that is written by elisabeth. there is one letter from james to her that survived. what baffles me and drives me nuts is there is only one letter she wrote to somebody else. she had extensive correspondence with her sister and friends and these letters do not seem to be anywhere. i do not understand why not. it seems like somebody would have kept some of these. consequently, having firsthand evidence of what she thought about things, we do not have. there are letters monroe wrote to his daughters, to his two sons and laws, to his political advisers, that talk about family matters.

he wrote letters home talking about meeting mrs. monroe, other women in washington recorded in their diaries. there is a fair amount about her. we do not have really anything from her point of view, which is very maddening. wewhat we know from what have about her relationship with her husband? >> they were devoted. ofy were apart for a couple months here and there. throughout their 44-year marriage. usually, they were together. there is a wonderful letter. samuel from new york road his wife. wrote his wife. he had been at a dinner at the white house when jefferson was president and it was right before monroe left to go to france to negotiate what became of the louisiana purchase. louisianathe

purchase. he wrote, monroe has a fine feeling. he cannot stand to be from his wife, so he is taking her with him. that was pretty much their attitude. he was devoted to family, as well. that is really what they wanted to do. if they had their choice of how they would spend their time, it would be with their family. >> this program is interactive. we invite your phone calls. you can reach us at -- let me turn to a facebook poster. "we have heard elizabeth monroe did not like being first lady."

>> she did not like the public park. -- parts of it,. . she married james monroe when she was a member of the continental congress. through their entire adult life, he was in one public office or the other. she was very much used to him being a public figure, being the governor of virginia, being abroad as a minister of the united states serving as secretary of state. to go to the white house was not anything that unusual. it was not anything unexpected. people had talked about monroe being president four years. -- for years. it was assumed sooner or later it would happen. as far as what the public thought about her, i do not know. we know what people in washington thought about her and people who visited washington. and that is a very small universe. there were 200 members of the house of representatives, about

50 senators. ofre were at a handful cabinet member of the supreme -- dignitaries,w local people. -- court, a few foreign dignitaries, local people. the washington social circle was maybe 500 people. that was the world of social washington. it is a very small group of people. that is who met her and reflected her. reflected on her. people did not know her. if monroe was president, he did -- when monroe was president, he did two tours around the country and they were phenomenal because no one ever saw the president. no one ever heard the president talk. we cannot go through a day, hardly. you have to be sealed up to go through a day without hearing the president's voice or to see an image of him. a man in massachusetts wrote in

1870 that for the first time, he had seen a picture, an image of president monroe. james madison gave three speeches during his presidency. thomas jefferson gave two. people never saw the president or heard the president. there really is not a public perception. it is a good question. but it is a different time. >> the white house was burned by the british and the madisons had to leave while it was being constructed. the monroes moved back in. how important was this symbolically? >> even by then, the white house had become america's house. itsof the reasons why occupants have been targeted

often for criticism, much of it -- fair, it is because it is we all think it is our house. mrs. monroe would be criticized for an alleged obsession for fashion. she paid up to $1,500. for her gown. she painted her face, applying ruche. as silly as it sounds now, it takes us back almost to a debate at the very beginning about what kind of nation this would be. >> it really reflects to this day the monroe administration, the blue room at the white house. we will show you this clip next. [video clip]

♪ >> if i could go back to one time in the white house, i would probably go back to the monroe period. the united states began to come to life. monroe thought the era of good feeling would last forever. political parties would dissolve. i think that would be the period i would like to listen to what was going on. furnishing the house, james monroe and his wife were into everything. everything. he spent a lot of money bringing these things, such as these

costs, from france. from france.ks, many of the things he acquired are still in use. >> when you see our earliest things, many of them are in the blue room. we have the wonderful chairs and sofas in the room. they were acquired by president monroe from france. congress in 1826 passed a law saying the furniture in the white house must be american manufactured if applicable. this room is much more of a period room. it is really a place where the monroe's would feel the most comfortable. they would walk in and say, i

understand this room, a furniture we brought. this is wallpaper of our vintage. >> it sounds like speaking french might have been as controversial then as today. >> yes. it goes back to the beginning of washington and the first presidency of trying to balance the new republican standards, simplicity and openness, but at the same time somehow maintaining a dignity and a majesty for the national government. how do you be open but at the same time present the country as being something special, particularly for visitors? for them, the white house became the tool for doing that. the monroe was praise.

-- monroe was praised. people who met him always commented on what a plain, straightforward person he was. then you look at how he furnished the white house. it is very different. monroe very much understood the importance of symbolism. it was to present the united states in a fashion that, majesty is the best word. you do it in the president's house. >> not only majestic. the monroes actually befriended [indiscernible] when they lived in paris. the president originally ordered 50 pieces of mahogany furniture.

he was told by the french that mahogany was not appropriate. this is what he got in its place. >> here is a tweet. "did the monroes face any lingering problems in the white burning?"to the what state of repair was it in when they got there? >> it was not ready in march of 1870 when monroe became president. they lived in another house for several months. on june, monroe left washington and went on a four-month tour and his family went back to virginia. --returned to the present's president's house and at that point, it was ready for occupancy. they began moving furniture in. the furniture they ordered was not ready. he used his own personal furniture. they borrowed furniture from

elsewhere. it was a haphazard way to furnish the house. some of the rooms were still empty. the house was in pretty good shape. it was not like it was when the adams moved in. fairly good shape. there was not furniture for it. >> i will take a call. virginia. you are on. >> hi. i had understood that elizabeth monroe suffered from poor health. i do not know if it is true or what she had. i was wondering if that affected her ability to be so social when that was

so much a part of the politics vs. dolley madison. is there any information about how she was able to function socially with poor health? >> that is a great question. that is part of why she was an almost invisible first lady. she had serious health problems. she had excruciating headaches. it was thought she suffered from arthritis. there were a number of people who believed she may have had a late onset epilepsy, the falling diseased, at that point. disease,as the falling at that point. that is something that would have been kept a secret from the public. none of the byproducts of her -- one of the byproducts of her

poor health, she also had stand in her place her daughter. , eliza. it is her daughter who is responsible for a number of these actions blamed on her mother. it gave off an aura of snobbery. house wedding of the president's daughter took place. eliza took over preparations. it was she who said, this is a family affair. you talk about those 500 or 600 people. and number of them thought they should have been invited to the wedding. for the historical reputation, we have access to that, but we do not have her side of the story. >> to make connections, during her second term, somebody was beginning to fill in the social gap of washington and using the network to campaign for president. adams.that was

network toe campaign for presidency. >> the adams were much more socially oriented. they had weekly suarez of various sizes. the monroes did not go. they felt it was improper for the president to attend these sorts of private functions, particularly in his second term, when there was a scramble for the presidency, including his cabinet members. he wrote a letter to his attorney general about something and at the end, he said, i hope you will come visit us in virginia. you are always welcome.

>> it feels very modern. >> what happens is we have a one-party state. we now have the politics -- a second term was be set from the beginning with this shocking 1824. jockeying for >> up next in texas, what is your question? >> going back to a former series, what was president monroe's relationship with his vice president and was the vice the vice o was president? >> it was the most obscure vice president in american history. that says something. wartimeins had been a governor of new york and was chosen as a running mate because he had been a strong supporter of the madison administration during the war. also, the new yorkers were unhappy with the lock of -- luck that virginia had on the presidency and the vice president was chosen for

political reasons. tompkins was horribly in debt as governor. he was responsible for borrowing a lot of money. it literally drove him to drink. he became heavily alcoholic to the point he could not preside over the senate. they were friends. by 1821, he was totally incapacitated and he died shortly after his term as vice president. he may have been more prominent on the national scene had he lived longer. >> on twitter -- >> it is a great question.

there are a lot of americans who are french sympathizers in their politics. from the early days, europe was at work, and there were lots of -- was at war, and there were lots of americans remembering the assistance during the revolution who sympathize with the french revolution. one of the great stories, we should probably ground the time they spent in france. >> we would do that next. -- we will do that next. >> then i will save this story. >> why do we not move on to that? after a call from mark in los angeles. you are on the air. >> please tell us about her relationship with the lafayettes. and how she saved someone from from themrs. lafayette guillotine. >> be careful with this. >> why were they in france? >> they were in france in the

mid 1790's. james had been appointed the u.s. minister to france. they arrived to paris a week after pierre had been guillotined. it was the height of the reign of terror. lafayette had been forced to flee france for not supporting the more radical elements of the revolution. his life was not able to leave. -- his wife was not able to leave. she and her mother and other family members were arrested and imprisoned. a mother was executed. -- her mother was executed./ morris, who had been minister before monroe, had tried to get her out of prison. morris was not popular with the french government at all, since he had condemned the revolution and said he supported the monarchy. when the monroes came, they staged a very dramatic event to draw attention to elizabeth

monroe. excuse me, to madame lafayette. they hired a very expensive carriage. elizabeth monroe just herself in herressed herself best and went to prison, asked to see here, they did not know -- to see her. they did not know what to do. they wanted to see who this person was coming in his carriage. carriage. it was the wife of the american minister. she met with madame lafayette. basically made her case a public one. she was released a couple of months later. it pretty much kept her from going to the guillotine and did lead to her release. the monroes enabled her to go to austria and joined her husband. husband.oin her

her husband was in prison in austria. she got out of prison in paris and went to austria and voluntarily went to prison in austria so she could be with her husband. ofwhat were americans' views this rescue? >> i do not know if they knew about it at the time. holdtory does not get until much later. much later.until what we know most about it is what monroe wrote in his autobiography. it was not published until years later. becomeory did not current until well after the event. >> james monroe met eliza in york city when she was just a teenager, 17 years of age. virginia became an important part of their lives in between

their various political postings. we will show you two places important to them next. >> the james monroe museum has been in existence since 1927, when his great granddaughter had an effort of preserving his law office that existed here in the city of fredericksburg in the 1780's. we had the largest assemblage of artifacts and other information related to the family that you will find anywhere in the country. elizabeth monroe was a true partner in her husband's career and a good sounding board for many of the decisions he had. she was a literate and articulate person and someone who her husband could go for four very valuable advice. her husband could go very valuable advice.

with the items on the table here, we go through an arc of elizabeth monroe's life. she had the heritage of a very well-developed sense of style. she had shoes she employed responsible for the accounts. they are ivory pieces with days of the week. your to-do list could be listed on her with a charcoal pencil and they were done. it reflects someone who was organized, busy and making use of a very practical item in her life. the relationship that mrs. monroe had with her sisters was a strong bond in very much the style of the time and giving a gift of sisterly love, she presented to one of her sisters in the 17 the 0's jewelry made from her own hair. jewelry made of human hair became very common place in the 18th and 19th centuries.

later in the 19th century, it's often associated with mourning in memorializing dead loved ones. it also can be an express of a very personal sign of affection. really the essence of a personal gift. music was an important part of elizabeth monroe's upbringing and life. she appreciated music throughout her life and was trained in playing the piano. we have an astor piano forte, 1790, a british product. we believe it was used at the white house during their residency there. elizabeth monroe had a well developed sense of style and image. she did not have as well developed a budget due to the long years of public service that james monroe put in, but they were particularly on their european postings able to make

some pretty good deals on a variety of items. her jewelry is a reflection of that. mrs. monroe had elements of high quality with versatility. we have here necklaces and their associated other jewelry that are in aqua marine and citrine, each can be worn with or without a pendant. you have a couple of different uses there. a broach, a bracelet or a choker is possible with the amethyst jewelry. she had several options in her combinations. >> the monroes came up here after purchasing this property, some 3,500 acres and made this their permanent home from 1789 until 1823. mrs. monroe, a sophisticated "new yorker" and moved south to this farm had to adjust to plantation life here. so far as we know, she adjusted to it very nicely and her gay would frequently begin down here. she would make sure that all

the preparations that needed to be made for the meals of the day took place in a correct and fastidious fashion and she was in charge of that, in charge of the, what they called the servants. they were house slaves in making sure the house slaves made all of the preparations and then she in turn would make sure that some meals were put together. sometimes some of those meals were quite sophisticated meals. for while the meals here were much simpler than what she would find at monticello, and they liked to go there for the extraordinary meals. nevertheless, mrs. monroe was capable of putting together extraordinary dishes here. here we are in the dining room. the meal would begin after 2:00, sometimes at late as 3:00. it would be earlier depending on the season and the light available.

the table, it can be opened up so that 12 people could sit at this table. now the monroes had a corner cabinet very much like this one. the nice thing about this is that this piece was made in the shenandoha valley just 70 miles to the west of us. inside what is particularly significant is you see the monroe white house chinaware the monroes established that each president would have china of his own. before that, the presidents would bring their own china from home. the monroes brought this china to the white house during monroe's administration between 1817 and 1825. we count ourselves very lucky that we have what we do. >> how important was virginia in understanding elizabeth monroe? >> monroe made a joke later in life. a friend who was a member of congress from tennessee married

a woman from pennsylvania and took her home to tennessee and there was a little bit of trepidation about whether she would adapt or not. and monroe wrote to him and said, i'm sure mrs. campbell will do ok. mrs. monroe was a little uneasy about leaving new york, but she has become a good virginian. so she teamed to have fit in the life very easily. something along those lines that really said a lot about her character from very young is, as we mentioned, she was very young. she was 17 when she married monroe. he was 28. she was from new york. he was a member of the continental congress. in october of 1786 he finished his term in congress. they went to virginia. she left her family with whom she was very close, all of her friends. went to fredricksburg, virginia, went from new york city to little dinky fredricksburg, didn't know anybody. they bounced along the bad roads from new york to fredricksburg not knowing where

she was going, what was going to happen when she got there. she was seven months shy -- months shy of 18, seven months pregnant. the grueling trip and the stamina that she had to make the trip and she could do it. >> the monroes had three children, a son who died in infancy and two daughters, we talked about them in particular. the question comes from someone who calls themselves president pondering. this will wrap up our understanding. how involved in politics was elizabeth monroe, how might they have viewed the monroe doctrine? >> i don't mean to, for years, there was people that suspected john quincy adams wrote it. elizabeth didn't write it.

just about everybody else got credit for it. it's interesting. there is one point where he refers to her as his partner in all things. one senses, although, there is an unfortunate lack of documentation that that would include sharing his political secrets with her. i don't think of her, certainly in the modern sense as a political figure. she was certainly aware of what he was doing. we only have one letter that she wrote, but there are letters of her handwriting that she copied for him to either make copies to send to others or to keep. she was certainly aware of what was happening. they were together for so long and they were so close that it's inconceivable that they did not discuss public matters. she was certainly very much well aware of what was

happening. >> and having lived through the french revolution, the reign of terror, she certainly would have had strong opinions about the approach to europe, you would imagine. >> yes. >> rachel from pensacola. >> hi, yes, i was wondering, back to the blue room, did president or mrs. monroe actually make a list of furniture? does anyone know that? >> thank you. >> i don't think he stipulated, it was president monroe who sent off this order. i don't think he stipulated specific pieces of furniture. tohe wrote to contacts, merchants that he dealt with in france and we need chandeliers,

we need design. he wanted the american symbols, the eagles and those sort of things. they undoubtedly talked about this. when they were abroad in europe and friends would write and ask for them to buy things for them, it was usually elizabeth who did the purchasing. >> general of sherman offers this view on twitter. the monroe china was beautiful, simple and classic. it's the first presidential china and at least one person in the audience who gives it a thumb's up. our time has evaporated on elizabeth monroe. in 20 seconds or less, can you tell us what people should know about this woman's tenure as first lady, what did she contribute? >> elegance. she brought a sense of style. she was known for her beauty, for her sense of fashion, but mostly for her elegance,

bringing a sense of real style. if i was going to compare her to a modern modern first lady, not so modern, 50 years ago, i would think of jacquelyn kennedy with that sense of fashion and style and elegance that she brought to the white house. >> daniel press-on, thank you so much for being here. >> thank you for having me here. >> we will move on to our next first lady profile, that of louisa catherine adams. we'll be right back. ladye was the only first born outside the u.s. louisa catherine adams, writing in her diary in 1812 about the loss of her 1-year-old daughter, my heart is almost broken, and my temper which was never good suffers in proportion to my grief. my heart is buried in my louisa's grave and my greatest longing is to be laid beside her. a letter entry, it is the first

tuesday and opens my campaign having given a general invitation for every tuesday during the winter. this plan makes some noise and creates some jealousy but it makes our congress less dependent on the foreign ministers for their amusement. i wish they may prove so. and to her son, the situation in which we found the house made it necessary to fur finish almost entirely anew a large portion of the apartments. i respect my masters the sovereign people with great sincerity but i am not so much alarmed at the idea of going out at the end of four years as to desire to make any sacrifice of actual comfort for the sake of prolonging my so journey in this would be magnificent habitation which after all like every thing else in this desolate city is but an half finished barn. >> louisa catherine adams almost disappeared.

>> she is sort of an unsung first lady who deserves much more exploration than she has received. >> the relationship between louisa and john quincy is elusive and in many ways distressing. i don't think he realizes what a treasure he had. it's interesting because his father did. old john adams took to her. abigail never really did, but john did. >> she was born in england and educated in france and she remained a phone personality to many of the adams, but not to henry as a world traveler herself. she was very well educated, very sophisticated socially i would say. she sort of entertained john quincy's road to the white house. >> she was not happy about returning to washington as the wife of a congressman. adamsisa catherine

essentially became the campaign manager for her husband, john quincy adams' run for the presidency in 1824 by dominating the capital city's social circuit. following a contested election, the adams' four years in the white house were a turbulent period in american politics and washington society. we'll look at louisa adams' relationship with her husband john quincy adams and john and abigail on the road to 1600 pennsylvania avenue. good evening and welcome to our continuing series on first ladies influence and image in partnership with the white house historical association. the next installment is on louisa catherine adams, the wife of john quincy adams. we have two guests at the table, richard norton smith and meet amanda matthews. she is at the massachusetts historical society where she is a research associate for the adams papers. ms. matthews, we learned there

was not much documentary evidence about elizabeth monroe. how about louisa catherine adams, what exists? >> quite a wealth. she kept diaries intermittently. she wrote autobiographies and memoirs. there are hundreds and hundreds of letters of hers. we have her thoughts and feelings from her point of view, both reflective and contemporary as the events were taking place. >> another suggested that in her research she saw louisa adams as the first modern first lady. do you agree with that contention that she developed a sense of self? >> in some ways she has her own cause. washingtonith the female orphan asylum, so in that way it's somewhat modern having this cause that she was involved in and she does work

politics in her parlor in such a way as to help win the presidency for her husband in her own way. >> well, richard norton smith, explain to people how the presidency was won in 1820's, it was a very different system than we have today? >> it was. as we said earlier, everyone in monroe's cabinet seemed among others that wanted to succeed him including john quincy adams, secretary of state. the great popular hero was andrew jackson, a controversial figure in his own right. there was a multicandidate field. no one got a majority, either of the popular or electoral vote. in both cases jackson came in first, adams came in second. so the election went to the house of representatives. the man eliminated by the constitution, the fourth place finishing, henry clay ultimately threw his support to adams. it was enough to win him the

presidency which turned out in many ways to be a poisoned chalice. from day one there were charges of corruption. they hung over the adams presidency, i think it's safe to say. adams sent an apologetic note in his inaugural address. it was the election of 1828 began almost before he took the oath of office. >> you mentioned in her own way, she helped him win the presidency. she actually began to refer to it as my campaign. it was the second half of the -- second half of the monroe administration where the social etiquette wars were in full force. the adams saw an opportunity as seeing social washington as a pathway to the white house. how did they do it? >> when they get back in 1817 to washington, they have been gone from washington for quite a while. john quincy has served in st. petersburg and washington and he is back.

a lot of people in washington don't know him. the way the etiquette situation works in washington right now, it really favors people who have been there for a while. so they want to shake things up. one of the ways they do that is we're not going to call on all of the senators' families first which is how you make a social connection. on the other hand, let's invite you, we are going have these parties. you can come, even if we haven't connected in these formal visits. that kind of put them in a position of power as a social leader because they were making the rules now, kind of trying to take back a little bit of power that congress had, louisa said that congress makes and unmakes presidents at their with him. they wanted to pull a little bit of that back to the executive. they start throwing these parties. she has her sociable it's in 1819, some seasons weekly, and other seasons every two weeks where hundreds of people would come. it was a subscription series.

they kind of become the center of entertainment in washington. >> one of these balls that she threw was for a contender for the white house, andrew jackson. what was her thinking in involving her husband's rival? >> it's simple. so many people came to the house that night on f street that they had to show up the floors for something like 900 people who attended. i wish i would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. louisa must have been a remarkable hostess. she had attracted attention. she had been a favorite in the prussian court when her husband was u.s. envoy there. czar alexander of russia made her one of his favorite dancing partners. there clearly was a charisma about this woman that had set her apart in the courts of europe. and tragically, it very rarely comes through in the american setting.

aboutuld know much more that. >> i think it certainly does in the socioables. she complains that even though she had no political power, everybody seems to want to know her and spend time with them. she claims to be quite put out by the imposition. i think that the same charm that she exhibits in europe is still exhibited in the united states as this wonderful newspaper account of an englishman observing louisa, this is during the white house years. she is taking the bowl back to quincy and people are just coming up to her and talking to her as though she is the first lady, oh, we're dressed as well as she is and talking to her as if they had known her for 10 years. she must have been very affable and made people comfortable in her presence. >> you have read her diaries of these events. like her mother-in-law, she had candid views of the people she

was meeting. we have one of them. tell us the context. she wrote, "i have the happiness of meeting with a variety of these misleaders who are either not gifted with common sense or have a sort of mind when which i have often met with utterly incapable of comprehending anything in a plain way, whether that's a natural defect in the formation of the brain, i will leave philosophers and metta physicians to decide." >> because campaigning is not allowed, john quincy can't come out and say i would like you to vote for me as president, the candidates can't do that and you can't ask for office directly, you have to kind of use these subtle back channels. women were a good conduit for that. and so people had louisa to spread their gossip, to ask for favors. she doesn't always -- she knows that she can't trust these people.

she is not naive. a lot of them are spreading false gossip or false information. they're misleading. they all have their own agendas. she is aware of the political game that is going on. she is not terribly a fan of it. >> we welcome your questions on louisa and john quincy adams on the program. you can post on c-span's facebook page or send a tweet with #firstladies. youou read that quote and realize instantly why there was an instant bond formed between louisa and her father-in-law, old john adams. >> why is that? >> john adams was a man of strong opinions, very few, great reluctance to share them anyone that would listen, a stern new england conscience, a

profound sense of right and wrong and he and his exotic european daughter-in-law seemed to have hit it off from the first. abigail was a little bit harder sell. >> is it fair to say that john quincy adams was not the most sociable man? >> john quincy adams, even the people who admire j.q.a., i'm among them, would not suggest that he was a modern figure in terms of outreach to people generally, but more in terms of tonight's context, he would not have been an easy man to be married to. this is a stormy relationship. yet the adams argued over the same thing that couples argued over since there was marriage. they argued over money and their children.

there were small tragedies in louisa catherine's life, a life that was filled with tragedy as far as her children were concerned. her husband was appointed minister to russia and at the last minute, her older sons, george washington adams and john adams ii are going to stay behind. she can't take her children with her to russia. they're going to stay behind with john and abigail to be raised as americans on american soil. you often get the sense of a woman who is powerless within her marriage to be making fundamental parental decisions, that they were reserved as most decisions were for john quincy. >> but she must have had the innate desire, she worked her heart out to get her husband to the white house. then she gets there and how does she enjoy her tenure?

>> not very. not very much. the white house years are very unpleasant years for the adams and was readily apparently to everyone in the family, charles francis adams, their son, talks about it in his own diary of how sad the household seemed at the time. >> what made it that way? >> i think the cloud under which the presidency began, it never lifts. because this campaigning for 1828 begins almost instantly, louisa feels very personally the attacks on her husband, on his character, some attacks on her character, is she not american enough? situationat that really did not -- they finally reached the pinnacle and it's not a happy pinnacle. it's very, it's a very stormy four years for them. and the white house is not a very comfortable place to live.

people coming in all the time and -- >> and here is one quote that really captures this had. she wrote, "there is something in this great unsocial house which depresses me beyond expression." of,ell, she was accused bizarrely, of extravagance in the house. one was a billiard table which the first lady had purchased using the tax dollars of honest working men. somehow this very un-american quality that people wanted to read into her. on the other hand, there are these wonderful bizarre letters confirming her addiction to chocolate of louisa catherine adams was a chocoholic.

i say being married to the sourest man in washington, she took her sweets where she could find them. apparently she had her sons and others buy chocolate shells by the barrelful and she writes about the medicinal qualities of fudge. i mean it was as if she took it where she could find them. that's pretty pathetic. >> i would say that the shells are probably not bon-bons. she is not sitting on her sofa munching. they're the cocoa bean shell. you would steep them in had water. it would be like coffee and you would add milk. she was interested in the medicinal qualities of it. i wouldn't go too far on john quincy's sourness. there is affection between the two of them and great love. otherwise she could have stayed in quincy. >> after they lost, i think,

the daughter, is it true he gave her a book on the diseases of the mind? >> some months later, yes. >> it's the modernize, the insensitivity. he is certainly not a modern husband. louisa had by one count nine miscarriages. >> minimum five and a stiff birth, officially more. they are sometimes hard to read into it because of how discreet they are with their language. at least five with a still birth. she had a lot of tragedy. >> and three sons who lived to maturity. >> if you can call it maturity. >> speaking of their family, brian watkins asked on twitter, did having a former first lady as a mother-in-law help or hinder louisa? >> of course, abigail had passed by the time john quincy attained the presidency, so she can't ask her mother-in-law about handling the role and the role had somewhat shifted.

louisa generally follows the presence that monroe set, not attending public functions. it did help. herwas familiar with mother-in-law's opinions and the way she had carried herself. i think that she wanted in some ways to keep that in mind and honor that. >> did she continue the entertaining that she had done to get him to the white house once they were in the white house? >> no, not to that degree. the sociables were informal. there was music, there was often dancing. once they get into the white house, the entertainments are much more restricted. they're open to a lot of people, especially the drawing rooms, but they're not, there is not that kind of dancing until

actually the end of their term. as their on their way out, the last great drawing room, they actually have music and dancing and people stay until 2:00 in the morning and talk about how gracious the adams are knowing that they are, that they have failed in re-election and it's probably one of the greatest entertainments that they had in the four years. >> next is a question from leroy from kentucky. >> yes, ma'am. i am really enjoying this, this is great. >> thank you. >> were the adams family, john quincy and his wife, were they god fearing people, did they attend church and teach their children things of the lord? i'm a minister so i'm concerned about this. >> thank you. >> yes. louisa's religious views evolve over time. it's very interesting. her father was unitarian. she was raised in england where that was not an acceptable in england. she was raised in france so she was expose c