to it that we keep this, the greatest nation come and the freest and most wonderful nation in the world. we have guidebooks. the constitution. those are treasures. they are powerful beyond belief and very weak and tender. in guarding them, we must keep in mind that it is our duty to do it together. having said these things, i talked longer than i wanted. i don't know whether you be pleased to know, but several times she has sent me the signal. having said these things, i want to say god bless you all, god bless us all, and god bless the united states of america. we have tremendous treasure here. let's guard and pray that it is successful for many centuries. a bless you all. [applause]

>> here is a we are going to do. we are going to hand out glasses for a toast. first we are honored to have with us a very special guest, a founding member of the world's most famous female trio, the supremes. eight is a gentleman, ms. mary wilson. [applause] ♪ love don't come easy it's a game of give and take you just have to wait

love don't come easy it's a game of give and take ♪ou just have to wait you can't hurry

loveyou just have to waithow much longer must i wait? wait ♪ lvoe don't come easy gotta keep on waitin' anticipatin' love don't come easy it's a game of give and take ♪ ♪ [applause] >> thank you.

i'm from detroit. i am 69 years old. we both have a history here. it is great to have a legacy as great as yours. i appreciate you. i hope to appreciate my life as much as you have yours. i want to dedicate this song to

you. i have her permission to do so. when you've been in the business as long as we have, you can sing the song. ♪

♪

[applause] much.ank you so ♪ it takes one to know one ♪ of yours fora fan a long time. [laughter]

♪

here's to life, here's to love here's to you ♪ [applause] ♪

here's to you [applause] ♪ >> you want to come up and sing? you, young lady? you don't have to do anything. just be a supreme.

♪ stop in the name of love before you break my heartthink it o-o-over ♪ stop in the name of love before you break my heart think it over

think it over, baby ♪ ink it over think it over think it over stop in the name of love before you break my heart stop in the name of love before you break my heart think it over think it over

i've tried so hard hard to be patient but each time you are together i'm so afraid of losing you forever stop in the name of love before you break my heart stop in the name of love before you break my heart ♪ [applause]

♪ >> very good job. >> i can't hear you. >> i'll turn the mic on. they gave it to you. thank you. i kept my happy feet to myself. ladies and gentlemen, raise your glass to a true man of the house. john dingell. here, here. [applause]

ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our official program. stick around and enjoy yourselves. thank you for being here. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] congress is currently on break for the fourth of july. when the house returns, they will begin crafting a strategy immigration legislation on the house floor. they will be meeting behind closed doors at july 10 to map a plan. they're expected to take up student loan rates, which double for new loans, july 1. for the rest of the month, they will likely determine their time

looking at the funding bills. the agricultural bill is ready for house floor action. the senate appropriation committee has completed work on four of the 12 bills. both return for legislative work monday at 2:00 p.m. eastern. >> i think to be an american citizen is to be a paragon of freedom and democratic principles, a beacon for the rest of the world. we have done that very well. i think we will do it even better in the next 200 years. >> do you think americans out of haveens -- as citizens responsibilities? >> where the number one consumer in the world which gives us a sure webility to make consume responsibility. we have not done it so well, but we are learning and we will improve. .> it feels great i'm top of my class.

the teachers helped me out and i'm a straight a student now. that's america. .econd chances we have a good president. that's it. >> to be an american citizen is aims for, toryone become someone who is respected who doesn't get stopped at airports and asked for things like we have no idea what they are asking about. that isive in a country free, that respect everyone's beliefs. this is how i look at it. i come from the middle east. i come twice every year at least. for a conference.

>> i'm from france originally. the story came to the u.s., and learned a lot about of americans . the idea was more economical, i would say. successful americans, business owners. when i came to the u.s., that is what i decided to do, create my own business. the main difference between french and americans is food. [laughter] the political point of view and lifestyle are pretty similar. thatave a lot of people are really fighting for their point of view. differently, that would be the main point to becoming an american. >> bill clinton and new jersey

governor chris christie talk about planning for and persevering through disasters. advice on way to plans for future disasters and what the federal government can do to help. it was owned by the clinton global initiative in chicago. tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. after that, and discussion on how citizenship in america has changed over the decades. citizenship and how it relates to public engagement, civil service, and public engagement. from the aspen institute. also tonight, a look at the origins of instagram and what is ahead in the future. two stanford graduates built the filter technology company in eight weeks before selling it to facebook. we will hear more about the held by theevent commonwealth club of california at about 10:00 p.m. eastern on c-span.

>> the black okies coming west thought that they would leave behind the racism. the sun didn't shine a little more benignly on them here, but it was even a more cruel kind of racism. a smile in the face but a dagger how theyck is described california. they were not allowed to live in any of the cities, not small towns. . they were locked out. the only land available were these patches of alkaline land. it looks like it is so salty like it is snow. this was the land available to them. they build their little wooden shacks here. no water. they had to go into town to fetch that. no city sewers. they had outhouses. no police. it was a no man's land. ,> more on the black okies

african-americans who migrated to bakersfield, california, from the south. exploring this weekend on book tv and american history tv on c- span 3. lady'sies, first influence and image, has traveled to a stork sites associated with the women. we will visit some of those laces with historians and curators. while he was away fighting the revolutionary war, martha washington ran their plantation and their home, mount vernon. >> it is clear that martha arrived at mount vernon in 1859 1759 and there was a lot of management that she had to do. when she married george washington, she brings with her -- mount vernon 12 housemates.

house slaves. that is really almost unimaginable luxury. these are slaves that are for the most part, not field labor, not producing crops, which is where your income is coming from. they are doing things like cooking, serving at table, clean the house, doing the laundry, doing selling, this is not productive labor in the sense that it is not productive income. she brings them with her and she brings financial resources to the marriage as well as her managerial skills. it makes mount vernon a successful operation and it makes it possible for washington to be away for eight years fighting a war.

the fact that he has this support system that enables him to volunteer his time and talents to run the revolution is clearly critical. first, a farm manager, who during most literal revolution is a distant cousin of washington. then run by washington as a nephew. -- washington's nephew. and then it is run by his niece. i think that tells you about the closeness of the family relationship. it is clear that what they are at mount vernon with martha washington, she does take charge. since her interaction with the slaves, she is interacting with the cooks in the kitchen, the maids serving in the house. there are also slave women who are spinning on a continual basis to produce yarn. she supervises what the gardners are doing. martha was a great lover of gardens and having flowers. she liked having a kitchen where she could go out and bring in vegetables for what they were going to serve at mount vernon. she was the one planning the menus. there were a lot of levels that

she is working with. it is a big operation her whole life. the room that we refer to and show off in the mansion as the washington's bedchamber is the room in the south wing of the mansion that was started in 1775 right before george washington left to participate in the continental congress and the revolutionary war. george washington always referred to it as open quote mrs. washington's chamber" and as "mrs. washington's chamber" and it is always referred to as her area. she spent time in that chamber, doing her hour of spiritual meditation. perhaps later in the date writing letters, talking with her coax -- her cooks to plan menus for the day, giving assignments she also use that room for teaching the children, telling them stories. you can imagine how wonderful it

would have been in that room. one of the most notable pieces is the bed in that bed chamber. that is the bed on which george washington died. but we also know that martha washington's had a role in acquiring that bad. another piece in the room had a very close connection with martha washington, her desk. although very little of the correspondence between george and washington -- george and martha washington has survived, because they savored their private correspondence.

two letters had been found that had slipped behind one of the drawers in that desk. that is the preserver of that little bit of very personal correspondence. it is not just the place where she slept. i can't picture her sitting in her easy chair by the fire -- i can really picture her sitting in her easy chair by the fire with her grandchildren around. >> before she became first lady in 1797 and during her early married life, abigail adams spent her time in quincy, massachusetts. >> the story of abigail adams in the revolutionary war is a story of sacrifice, commitment to country, and abigail rose to the occasion. for the first 10 years of their married life, john and abigail lived in this home from 1764- 1774. it is where they raised their four children. that was the birthplace of their second child, john quincy adams,

who went on to become the sixth president of the united states. it was also an important home because the primary link between she and john adams, who was serving in philadelphia at with the second continental congress was the letter writing. it was from this house that she was provided a window back here that he was provided a window back here of what was happening in the colonies during the war. she would report to him about the militia. during the battle of bunker hill and emptied 75, she took her young son to the high point -- the in 1775, she took her young son to the high point of the hill and would watch the battle. she would report to john adams about what was happening. she was literally the eyes of the colony in that area. this room in particular could be considered the classroom for abigail, the schoolmistress, and her four children. one must remember that the schools were closed down.

the children did not benefit from a formal education. instead it was up to abigail to teach the lessons. not only of arithmetic and french, but also plurality, literature, and what was going on in the revolutionary war. she was there educator and this was the room where many of those losses would have taken place. she reported to john adams during the revolution are at -- revolution at one point that she began to take up the works of lawless into history. -- rollins ancient history. i know if anyone has ever read it, but for a 7-year-old boy to accomplish this, he had a very good instructor in abigail adams. ever the patriot, abigail adams opened a home next door, john adams's birthplace, for refugees. she rented out the house to a farmer, mr. hayden, and his son.

they would provide for her here. she reported in one of the letters that she met with very ill treatment. she asked mr. hayden to share his house with the refugees, but he refused. by the time she received a response from john adams, like many things, she had taken care of the problem. she had paid mr. hayden to leave the premises and therefore, could provide for the refugees herself in the house. she reports to john that again young john quincy is marching out behind house behind the militia. she welcomed these militiamen to her home and supported the revolutionary war with her actions. in 77, abigail realize they have outgrown their battle college -- cottage. she began to negotiate with her

cousin to purchase the house you're standing in front of right now. john adams enjoyed a lot of peace and tranquility in this home, as did abigail, so he christened it peace field. there were two smaller bedrooms on the third floor and a small kitchen at the back of the house. there were about seven and a half rooms to this home essentially. this was their home base. before becoming first lady, have a bill would spend nine years in this house. the first year, she was essentially setting up the house after just returning from europe. she had remembered this house as one of the grand houses in quincy, but her perception of grand had changed since living in europe. she began making plans for a way to enlarge the house.

she wanted to improve on the size and height of the ceilings and the size of the space. she would tell her daughter not to wear any of her large hats because the ceilings were too low. she began working with architects to enlarge the size of the home, in effect, doubling the size, adding a long haul and along entertainment room where she would receive her guests. the sensitivity to the architecture on the outside and the flow of the home, she had the builder dig down so they could lower the floors and get the high ceilings that she desired without disrupting the architecture on the outside of the house. you step down two steps and you are in a different world. a typical day for abigail would be to rise at 5:00 a.m. she had many chores to do and much of her child -- a time was spent attending the farm, taking

care of the orchard, and taking care of the house. she also loved those early morning hours to spend by herself, preparing herself for the day. but most importantly, having a chance to indulge in one of her novels. although this is a presidential home, it is the home of a family. abigail, instead of having servants do the work for her, even as the first lady, she would also be contributing to the kitchen and the running of the household. this is something she continued throughout her life, no matter what her position was. she was very involved. she had children and grandchildren visiting her here and this was a very active and lively household. she also spent a great deal of her time writing, because their misfortune in being a part was our fortune. in one letter, when he is asking her to come to a philadelphia, have a deal with right of the room she was in and the window and the view that she saw. the beauty that unfolds outside

of the window of which are now right tensley to forget the past, an indication that while she was back at peace field, she was on a new beginning as the first lady of the united states, as the wife of the president, and still as a mother. she would describe life here at peace field so romantically that john adams would reply in one of his letters, oh, sweet little farm, what i would do to enjoy the thee without interruption. >> the remember the ladies letter is one that everyone associates with abigail adams. what is lesser-known and fascinating about the letter is the comments that come quite far down in the letter. the first section of her letter to john is questioning and voicing her concerns about va's role in the revolutionary war. she writes, "what sort of defense virginia can make against our common enemy, whether it is those situated as to make enable the fence, but are not the gentry lords and common people baffles, are there unlike the gentry?" and she points out more. of this i am certain, that it is not founded upon that generous

and christian principle of doing to others as we would that others should do unto us. >> brought up as a quicker, dolly madison was known for her warm hospitality, social graces, and sense of elegance and style. >> if you were a visitor, you would enter at the front door and be shown immediately into the madison's great drawing room. mrs. madison had many lady friends that she would invite your. margaret bayard smith was a favorite of hers, and the daughter of thomas jefferson

were also frequent visitors. it also include her own family, her sister's especially, anna and lucy. they were always welcome guests, who often stayed for extended visit here at mount year. -- montpelier. in the drawing room, you see many of the faces of american states mint, but also entities like the bust of athena, the declaration of independence, and the nurture of homework, and they need -- a miniature of homer, and then you have a painting that was 200 years old even when it madisons purchase it. in blending the classic and the american, they are trying to place in america in the important role of history. this is where they would have dinner.

they would have a chance to meet one another, conversed socially and casually, and then they might be invited to dine in the dining room. after supper, the ladies would then adjourn back into the drawing room. maybe they would serve some coffee and tea. this was the social center of the house. if you were an invited guest of the madisons or part of the intimate circle of family or friends, you would be invited into the dining room from the drawing room. and here, dolly madison would in an unusual setting for the

timeframe set at the head of the table and her husband, james, would sit at the center of the table. dolly would direct in, it -- with direct the conversation and james would be able to engage in intimate conversation with the people immediately to his right and left. this table today is that for eight people, but there could be as many as 20 people served in the dining room. that would not be unusual. and indeed, dolly madison considered dining at montpelier to be so much more relaxing than entertaining in washington. james monroe is here, general lafayette, henry clay, margaret bayard smith, dolly madison's good friend and writer from washington. once, the vice president offered to do the honors for her what she was sitting at the head of the table. and she responded, oh, no, watch

with what ease i'd do it, and indeed he said, -- he had to admit the ease with which she did it. it was if, he said, that she was born in paris. here we have very creation of something that we still have. this is typical of the style of the day. a jazz classic lines, a simple trade, and a much more simple and elegant fashion than that either before or after it. this is what she would have worn while she was the first lady. it was the regency style. but many of the dresses were more elegant. this represents what she wore at her inaugural. this was james madison's first inaugural. velvet. and it is described as a simple buff velvet. and she wore pearls. it was an indication of the

dining that you would find in the courts of europe. dolly was setting a style that was unique to american fashion. a lot of people think that dolly set the fashion of the turban. and that is not quite true. it began in persia, and it moved through france and england. but dolly popularized the style and it was considered her classic look, to where some extravagant turbaned often topped with feathers on top of her head. and sometimes, they thought her fashion was a little too regal. there is one instance where she wore something that was lined in hermine. and she had some guilt edging in her turban. and people said this was overstepping things. she looked to rebuild, to queenly. and they were afraid thatqueen

dolly" was setting -- they were afraid that "queen dolly" with setting the wrong town for america. many people felt that she was the last matriarch of this generation. but others felt that because of the growing tender in her life, she did not have the money to buy the latest fashions. she had to where many of the old clothes. she is often wearing the same thing. >> the james monroe museum in fredericksburg shows a unique perspective of the first lady for her personal belongings. >> elizabeth monroe was a true partner in her husband's career and was a good sounding board for many of the policies and issues he had to be involved

with. she was some one her husband to go to for valuable advice. we go through an art of elizabeth monroe's life. mrs. monroe had a very well- developed sense of style, a heritage of it. she had shoes that she inherited from her mother that she continued to wear into her lifetime. as the is -- the mistress of oak hill, she was responsible for maintaining the household accounts. and she did it on a small ivory memo pad. they are ivory pieces with days of the week inscribed on them. and whatever to do list that she might have could be written on here with a charcoal pencil and then be wiped off. it reflects someone with organized, busy, and making use of a very practical item in her life. the relationship that mrs. monroe had with her sister was a strong bond. in very much the style of the time in giving a gift of sisterly love, she presented to one of her sister in the 1790's

jewelry made from her own hair. joe were made from human hair became very commonplace in the 1800's. later in the 19th century it is associated with memorializing dead loved ones. it is a sign of mourning. but it can also be a sign of affection, a very personal gift. music was a very important part of elizabeth monroe's upbringing and life. she was trained in playing the piano. we have a -- and astor pianoforte a circa 1790. elizabeth did not have as well developed a budget as her style. due to the long years of public service that her husband put in.

they were able to make some pretty good deals on a variety of items. her jewelry is a reflection of that. mrs. monroe sought to combine elements of high-quality with versatility. we have your necklaces and associated other jewelry that are in aquamarine and citrine, and each could be worn with or without a pennant. you have a couple of different uses. it gives you several different options in creating her jewelry accommodations. >> the blue room is the monroe'' and one of the most authentic in the house. you can go back to one -- if i could go back to one time in the white house, i would probably go back to the monroe timeframe in the white house, because the wheels of history begin to come to life. and of course, monroe felt that the era of good feeling, as it

was called, would last forever. people began moving west in big numbers. i would like to be listening to what was going on. in furnishing the house, james monroe and his wife were very into french everything. they spoke french at home and they lived in france. they spent a lot of money on things, such as these clocks. these things are still in use, many of them. 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 these wonderful gilt chairs and sofas. they were acquired by president monroe from france. he was criticized for buying french things and not american.

and in 1826, the white house passed a law that the white furniture had to be of american manufacturer. this room is much more of a they would walk in and say, i understand this room. and this is wallpaper that is of our vintage. >> the only first lady born outside the u.s., lisa katherine adams, had to adjust to her new life in america, and the family of her husband, john quincy adams. >> when louisa and john quincy first came to than old house, they had just landed in europe in washington, d.c., and made the journey of two old currency. the journey was very difficult. she was brought to this house

to meet her father and mother in law and of that moment she would write, had i stepped on to know was arc, i could not have been more utterly astonished. she had a challenge in winning over abigail adams. john adams was easy. he took to her right away. she always felt very comfortable with him and very well-liked by him. skeptical, more perhaps due to john quincy t.d. in. he only give abigail a little bit of information about his wife, and was not forthright in his intentions. in many ways, it was a surprise that he married her so quickly. and abigail did not get a chance to know her. she was quite concerned that although she was an american citizen, she had never stepped

foot on american soil. this is not what she intended for her son, john quincy adams. but through time, she learned to grow and love and understand lisa -- lisa and a forged a strong relationship. she described abigail adams at the end of her life as the planet around which all revolved. unlike john adams, john quincy adams did not live at peace field year round. summeruld return in the months to get a break from the politics of washington. her grandson, henry adams, remembered louisa catherine fondly. he describes her and her relationship with the family. he always felt that she was the

odd one out because she was born in england and educated in france. she remained a foreign personality to many of the items, itemsthe adamses, but not to henry. his fondest recollection is of her entertaining at t in this room. john quincy adams and louisa would inherit this room from john adams. they thought about selling the house, but after discussion they decided it was important to the family story, to hold on to this house for future generations. >> during andrew jackson's brief hiatus from the military in the early 1800's, rachel entertained family and friends at their home, the hermitage. >> they came to this property in 1804. a was just retiring for while. when they first moved here, he spent a lot of time at home. the primary people who would have visited prior to 18 -- the war of 1812 would have been friends and relations in the

area. rachel had a huge family and they all had lots of kids. there were a lot of them and they were in and out all the time. rachel was very close to her family. jackson being an orphan, grew very close to rachels family. heer the war of 1812 when has become this national hero, there were people here all the time. basically, they were acknowledged to be nice horses, very cordial and very welcoming. -- nytes hostess, very cordial and very welcoming. they have lots and lots of company for the rest of rachel's life. they had many dinner parties and things here at the hermitage. there used to findings in the city, so they -- fine things in the city, so they acquired a good deal of those things, too. they had quite a bit of silver, such as these punch cups used. they would add some highly liquor out punch.

she had very nice things with this dual image of her as this from the country lady. -- frumpy country they. jim was not so much that. -- she was not so much that. i think it was more about living in the country than anything about her appearance or clothing. during the war of 1812, there are letters from her that say things like, yes, do not let fame and fortune blind you to the fact that you have a wife and i am home and i need you. i think he knew pretty well that she would have preferred him just to stay home and the plantation owner and jackson. this is the earliest letter that we have that jackson wrote to rachel. it was written in 1796.

referred to her "my dearest heart." pleasurewith greatest i sit down to right with you -- write to you, though i am absent from you. i will be restored your arms, there to spend my days in domestic sweetness with you, the companion of my life, never to be separated from you again during this transitory and in fluctuate -- and fluctuating life. there were lots of comments and visitors about her flower gathering and picking.

one lady was here on her honeymoon and she and her husband were indicted tuesday. she mentioned -- to step -- were invited to stay. she and her husband mentioned the garden. she walked through the garden with rachel and rachel gathered flowers for them before they left. we don't know what kind of health rachel was in overall. it is apparent that throughout the fall of 1828 her health was not very good. but the campaign for president that jackson was going through have a huge effect on her health. jacksonthe letter that wrote on the day rachel actually died, december 22, 1828. he is writing to his friend, richard keith carl. theis letter, he describes onset of her final illness. he says that she was a few days hence, suddenly violently

attacked with pains in her left shoulder and breast and such was the contraction at her breast that suffocation was apprehended. verys clear that she was -- in very serious condition. he talks about going to washington, like he is assuming she will get better, and off we will go. unfortunately, she did pass later in the day. according to the stories of her death, jackson called for her to be bled when she died. he was a big believer in heroic medicine, basically that the medicine that did not hear you -- did not kill you would cure you. even though was clear that she was not alive anymore, he asked that dr. to believe her. supposedly, there is a little

stain that came out when the doctor did try to bleed her. and then some things about his morning -- if mourning, a calling card that he printed in black, suggesting he is in mourning. and then a book that was given to him by a friend of his, mrs. rutledge, that had the wrong inscription in it. it was a book to help him, come for him, to help him along. -- comfort him, to help him along. jackson was completely devastated. towas preparing plans to go washington on a steamboat and it was up more than he could deal with almost. this is something with her

picture on it that he had with him pretty much all the time. it would be on a chain or strap that he could wear around his neck, on his bedside table at night so that he could see it in the morning when he awakened. and she was with him pretty much all the time, even though she had passed away. this is the book that was very important to jackson. this was rachel's songbook, and she made this cross stitch cover for her book, so it would keep the book nice. after her death, jackson kept a number of things like this very close at hand, so we could refer to them. another way of keeping rachel close. jackson had abbott after rachel died of purchasing were using were keeping the things that reminded him of her. this is a central hallway of the hermitage manchin. although the house burned after rachel's death, jackson insisted that they repurchase

the same wallpaper that rachel had chosen for this space. she had liked it. it reminded him of her, and he wanted it here. this is jackson's bedroom. after rachel's death, she was never far away from him. he kept many mementos of her around. in the early 1830's, he had a portrait that was a special favor of his copy, so that he could have hanging over the fireplace so that it would be the first thing he saw in the morning and the last thing he saw at night, according to the traditional stories passed down in the family. he would go out to her tomb every evening and spend some time out there. >> educated in the graces of society, angelica van buren was well-suited for the white house. later at his retirement in kidder hook, n.y.. >> angelica them during would spend the summer months here. occasionally, also the winter

months, but they would spend the summer months here. in the dining room, angelica van buren would serve as a hostess. van buren had many social events, political events. and during those times, angelico would be hostess for those occasions, just as she was at the white house. she was quite refined, being that she was a wealthy and had all the appropriate social graces of the time, so much so that the ambassador from france who was purdue the critical of american social graces complimented her. later, he added another 100 acres on to the 130 acres they had here. typically, the women in the house would engage in a variety of activities, polite conversation, read or recite

from memory to one another. they would often play parlor games in here. anjelica was trained in philadelphia on the heart. there were occasions she would have played a part for the other female guests here in the greenroom. this is the breakfast room here. it is a much more intimate room compared to the main hall. it is the place where the family had their daily meals. the china you see here monogrammed here"vb" is the daily china. angelica could be seen serving some one -- someone here. she suffered a miscarriage, and we know from letters that she wrote that during that time, she convalesced on this couch here in the main hall. earlier, while she was serving as host is in the white house, she had another baby girl -- as an infant. -- to die as an infant. here on the second floor, they

would have spent a great deal whilee while bought -- visiting her father-in-law, president van buren. it is easy to imagine her wearing one of the stresses here, or even at the white house as she hosted president van buren. the parasol is likely would use while strolling the grounds in the summer months on the air -- on their large farm of 240 acres. they had a very close relationship. he was a very amiable man, was why he was so successful in politics. theshe was trained in social graces of the time. i think they genuinely care for one another. >> while her husband, john, rebuild his political career, letitia tyler managed the kids and the plantation. >> he and his wife, latisha,

and their family moved here to williamsburg to establish the law practice. he constructed his law office, and the foundry. the house they live in is no longer here, but here in williamsburg, it was perfectly to traded at the center of the legal part of the town. the courthouse was right across the street. this is sort of the beating heart of williamsburg, even in the 1830's. activity, political the social activity, they are really living at the center of it. and this fantastic 18th-century house that they were living in, as john tyler was resurrecting his political year -- career. latisha was operating out of the house and running the various plantations all over the place. it is right here that she suffered a stroke in 1839 that

partly paralyzed her, although she was still able to retain control on the family accounts, of all of the family business, while john tyler was actually getting involved again in the business. it was here that he learned he was elected vice president and also in the spring of night -- of 1841, it was here that he became the next president of the united states. and it was here that she was informed she was the next first lady of the united states. >> julia tyler -- julia gardner was 30 years younger than him. >> when they got to for belvedere, they had put a barge in the bay. everybody was very pleased. the ship turned around and went back to washington. a hard core few wanted to fire

the gun again. they sent a request down to the captain. it was turned down. but at that point, somebody looked over and as they are passing, the request was to stop the ship and honor -- and fire the gun in honor of the first passenger appeared when they could not do that, the governor fired a cannon. the right breach blew out and killed seven people, among them senator gardner. also the secretary of state, and the secretary of the navy. everybody downstairs thought the ship had exploded. all of those handsome young

officers that were surrounding my grandmother who was 23 years old at the time, but very beautiful, my grandfather had been trying to talk to her because of -- but could not because of all the handsome young males. they all rushed to do what they had to do and left her standing there. she knew her father wasn't there, so she followed behind them. i've grandfather followed behind. -- my grandfather followed behind. and he was calling out, "don't let ms. gardner find her father is dead." and when she heard that, she fainted right back into the arms of my grandfather. he caught her tenderly. he picked her up and carried her. she came to, and later, she wrote her mother sang the first thing she remembered was going down the gangplank in the arms of the president, and she

struggled and her head fell over so she could look up into his eyes. and she wrote her mother that she relies for the first time that the president of media elite. >> she had parties at the white house. she was immensely dedicated to the concept of the annexation of texas to the union. during that time, she was able to sway john c. calhoun, who was a contemporary of my mother's from south carolina, and she was able to sway him to vote for the annexation of texas. and she worked on henry clay, but i don't know whether she was really successful. biji took henry clay out to dinner. and this is a woman without a chaperon, a president's wife, alone having dinner with henry clay, and she did not mind at all. and she wrote her mother a letter, which i think it's priceless.

she said, mother, mr. clay was a little insulting. when i told him that my husband wanted him to vote for the annexation of texas, he said to me, i am wide taxes should not be an efficient -- and next but i -- and i replied, my husband is both. john tyler was born in charles city county. he purchased his house and came down here once before he retired from the presidency. he and julia gardner were married. she said, the hand of god and nature have been kind to my sherwood forest, but i can improve upon it. and she did. she had the moldings imported from italy. shad the mantelpiece is brought in from italy.

and the knocker on the front door, it has been meticulous the polished through the years. that was one of her contributions to the house. julia and her mother were very close. and we are exceedingly fortunate to have many letters written between juliet and her mother from his plantation. this house is only one room wide because you want the breezes to go from the north to the south and from the south to the north. they would sit in the hall quite frequently. she sat in the open doorway that led to the south porch and wrote letters to her mother. and quite frequently, she commented on the president, who

kept his feet on the banister and would read his newspaper and throw it on the floor. in the gray room is a table, and it is the table on which we are told john tyler fed her breakfast in her bedroom after he had been around the house. after his horseback ride, he would go to that table and have breakfast with his wife, which he would personally carry in on a tray, because she was still in bed. also, her mother writes her and says commanders stand from other people who believe that you sleep until 9:00 in the morning, and the president brings you

breakfast in bed. and she says, please, do not take advantage of an elderly gentleman who dotes upon you. in the afternoons, julia rights to her mother frequently what she is doing on his plantation. she records almost every piece of furniture in the house. her brothers -- brothers visited, and became her buying agents. they bought and you're from a store and when it comes, they found cuts on the bottom edge of the mayor. her mother writes her back and said, don't be so picky of minutia. thatve record of a ball she had in honor of her sister margaret, who came here very frequently. and the portrait is a portrait of julia ann margaret. -- julia and margaret. thecan see the water in

background. the ball that she had for margaret started at 9:00. and then, she says, they danced the virginia rail and the waltz until the sun rose, and the finest champagne flowed unceasingly. among one thing that julia did here for entertainment was, they allowed all of the house serving children to play continuously with the children of the big house. in her letters, julia tyler speaks of her children playing with the children in the yard. and she speaks of their dancing with the children in the yard. housepervision of the servants, and there were many, there were a total of almost 90

slaves on the plantation. i think there were 13 house servants. they would care for her as well as the others on the plantation. they were happy. and she loved it. she refers to the melody of his voice. she always refers to his intelligence. she had a wonderful time here. morerah polec took a much active role as first lady, just as she had done throughout her husband's political career as a congressman, speaker of the house, and governor. isthe traveling desk indicative of sarah's life with james k. polk, mainly as his health made. he had no staff, so sarah took a hand on attitude toward being his wife. the traveling desk she took with her on her long trips to washington, d.c. as she traveled twice a year, these are

troops that could take 30 days. she is communicating with her family and friends back home, so she wrote tens of thousands of letters during her lifetime. the portraits are painted by ralph earl when james and sarah were in washington as congress and lady. is there was a helpmate to him throughout his political career. when he was writing speeches, she would complete them for him. daly, they would read the newspaper and she would underlined passages she thought he should read. she was a fixture in the gallery in congress. it was a great time of speeches of politicians. henry clay and calhoun and others were giving their famous speeches of the day. 14 members of the house of representatives, and the last four or the speaker of the house. and he was the only speaker at that time to become president. it brings a whole new social

status to washington, d.c., and sarah played one of the hostesses in washington. typically, congress would act -- enact a memorial officially thanking him for his service. the congress was so widely divided when he left the that they refuse to do that, but it is interesting. a number of politicians wrote poems in honor of sarah at the time that she left. supreme court justice -- supreme court justice joseph story road a palm mourning the loss of her in washington this society. >> how sarah looked was important to her from the standpoint of how she was perceived by the public. she also saw it as a reflection on the presidency itself. she was known for having beautiful dresses and looking incredible in a white house that was also a beautiful.

the dress was purchased in texas and warned by her in the late administration. it was the dress costume of a first lady before she was properly dressed. the white dress is a ball gown, also made in paris, france. it was a style mrs. polk used to give the indication she found a style she liked and looked good in. it is a beautiful town in silk and satin. it has a great deal of lace attached to it. mrs. polk often purchased addresses and would buy a great deal of material to go along with them so she could change the way they looked. ortead of having to buy five six down, she would buy a single down and buy extra material to make them look differently. she was a master at excess are rising. she had a wonderful collection of handbags and purses. -- she was a master at access

arising -- accessorizing. her head dresses are unusual. the are incredibly rare. few of these headdresses survive from this time period. they tend to get one out. one unusual piece, a turban. by the 1840's, probably has fallen a little out of fashion. dolly madison was still alive and was in making the visit to the polk white house. this is the inaugural stand. president-ft from elect polk to his wife. she carried it with her on the day of his inauguration. his is is gilt paper and features the lithograph images of the first 11 presidents from washington all the way to james

k. polk. duringried it with her the spring of 19 -- 1845. it features the lithographic image of the signing of the declaration of independence. the polks came into the white it features the lithographic image of the signing of the declaration of independence. the polks came into the white house a young, vibrant couple. the white house was split and that was why polk said he would run for only one term only. sarah polk used the white house to enhance her husband's political prestige. dining in the white house was a serious affair. twice a week, she would entertain 50-75 people. the china they used was beautiful. it is considered some of the most beautiful of the white house china.

it features the presidential seal. the dinner set is white embossed with gold. you will often read that mrs. polk did not allow alcohol in the white house. she stopped the serving of whisky punches at public levees, but wine was one of the largest bills. one of the more interesting objects in the collection speaks to sarah and her ability with music. we have music book that has hand written notations. when of the books inside was the song hail to the chief, she is credited starting to use as the official song of the president. >> eastern new york was considered the frontier at that time.

>> at the time the home that belonged to millard and abigail fillmore. they met when they were both teachers. they both had this desire and love of reading. abigail was brought up in a family that had many books. her father was a baptist preacher. he loved to read. she was surrounded by books her whole lifetime. when she moved into this house with millard, she continued that. they had their own personal library. she wanted to let young people learn extensively about the world as it was. this room we are in is the focus of the entire house. history is made right here. she independently employed herself as a teacher. she tutored young students in the evening in the course of history. this room would have been the living room. it also served as their kitchen. here in front of the fireplace,

millard and abigail would spend hours in front of the fireplace and do their reading and writing. abigail cooked in this very room. it was their kitchen. this is the bedroom. the original staircase has quite an angle to it. as a young wife and mother dressed in a long skirt and with a toddler on her hip, she ascended that ladder into the bedroom. within this room, we have been fillmore bed and dresser. she was a wonderful seamstress. we have a colorful quilt in a tomblin blot pattern. --

a tumbling block pattern. we can envision abigail having a very full life. we see her as a hospitable young woman, young wife, young mother, >> after leaving congress, franklin and jane pierce moved to concord, new hampshire to raise a family. >> franklin had just finished serving in congress. he served a full term in the senate. he resigned his seat about a year earlier than his term was up to move back to contour to be with jane and to raise their two children -- concord to be with jane and to raise their two children. this is the only home they ever we are in the dining room. typically the family would have their main meal at noontime.

jane pierce was a shy, reclusive person. she did not entertain a lot in her private home. >> this couch belonged to jane. this was one piece they took to the white house. they had 8 rooms they had to furnished with their personal furniture. this was one of the pieces they took to the white house with them. this table was known as the white house table. they had to borrow some furniture to take to the white house with them. this was one piece that they borrowed from jane's sister mary. the also took the little writing desk and chair that belong to franklin pierce. this room would have been used as a guest room. this is a small bed. we think this belonged to benny this is a master bedroom.

this is a rumor that franklin and jane would have used. theirs the room where second son, frankie, died of typhus when he was four years old. this was a great blow to both jane and franklin. he was the apple of their eye. he was an interesting little character, according to their letters. they were devastated by his death. jane was in mourning quite a a big house, especially with only one child, was too much for jane to take care of. she was not interested in housekeeping. when pierce went off to fight in the mexican war and they sold the house when he came back in 1848, and then they lived in a boarding house again in concord. they lived in a boarding situation for the rest of their lives. this is andover,

massachusetts. pierce's sister. they were very close friends throughout life. in alls there for jane of the important times in her life. jane and franklin came to andover to visit the aiken family. son came there with her benny to visit the cousin's. mary and john had cousins. the family stated 48 center street -- stated 48 central state. jane would stay with her sister mary at 48 central street. it is believed that administrative staff stated 47 central street just across the road from them. jane and franklin were staying in andover because there had been a death in the family. jane's ankle, amos lawrence, had died. they went to boston to attend

that funeral. they return so they could get ready to move to the white house. unfortunately, the train ride was devastating for the family. it was about a mile outside of the city and an axle broke on as i understand it, benny was a child and was moving about. when the train rolled down, he was hit in the back of his head very severely. benny did not survive the crash. the services for benny took place at mary aiken's house. benny, theo bury jane did not attend. she was very grief stricken and could not make it to the final procession of the funeral. jane was very sick most of her life. she was referred to as tubercular and she probably died of a lung disease. she died in andover at 48 central street.

>> raised by her uncle, james buchanan, harriet lane was hostess for many social activities, which prepared her for a future as a white house hostess. >> this is the home of president james buchanan. in 1848, they moved here. this was the place she would call home until the age of 36 when they moved to baltimore. >> this is the place where harriet lane would have served tea to friends, write letters, spent time together. very much like we would use the family room today.here we have harriet lane's piano. it was a gift from her uncle. this was probably purchased

sometime in the mid to late 1860's. we have her music book here. it is embossed with her name on the front. it contains a number of her favorite pieces, including italian classics. we also have some patriotic songs. one of her uncle's favorite things to do was to sit here and listen to his niece playing religious hymns. he was a devout presbyterian.to listen to those hymns was something that brought a great amount of joy to him. lane was very enthusiastic about all things european. when her uncle was elected as minister in the court of st. james, she was over the moon about the idea that she might get to accompany him. upon presentation to queen victoria, miss lane made a great impression and the queen was impressed with her. as a result, the two formed a great friendship that would continue throughout both of their lives.

this bracelet is actually a gift that the queen gave harriet. it is a beautiful gold bracelet. it has her name, harriet lane, and the date of 1857 when she received a gift. behind me, we have a lithograph of queen victoria and her this was prince albert. a diplomatic gift presented to president james buchanan and harry lane during the time in the white house. they actually hung in the white house and then were brought back here to their home. bit ofane spent quite a time traveling with her uncle james buchanan. they also entertained international visitors during their time in the white house. one of the most interesting groups they had visit them was the japanese delegation. the japanese delegation came to the white house in 1860 and came bearing all types of gifts. what can see here are some of

the list of things they brought. paper fold and objects. oragami. this is a little dictionary in japanese. harriett and her friends found all of these things intriguing. here we are in harriet's lane's bedroom. it is furnished in the same way it might have been furnished when she was living here. these are pieces she owned after her marriage. behind me, you will see her original wardrobe where she would have stored her beautiful gowns that she purchased from paris. she had a penchant for european fashions. most of her clothes were handmade for her in paris. her signature style of first lady differed radically from this dress.

she would wear full gowns with many layers of ruffles. she was also known for her low neckline. that was something that was not quite in fashion in america yet. she brought it to the forefront of fashion and people started copying her. some of her garments created a bit of a scandal because she was itowing a great bit of skin. caught on. women copied her hair, her jewelry, and her general fashion sense. over to the right, we have a small doll that is not a plaything.it is created to look just like her. it is wearing her signature style of gown. in front of me is a beautiful rose wood mahogany bed. she had it specially made to accommodate her uncle.he was a very tall man, so she wanted to make sure he was comfortable. this is something that she commission specifically with her beloved uncle in mind.

we also have many pieces in the room that are american made and european made, reflecting her pride of country and her interest in european pieces.we have a small writing desk that she would use to sit and write letters to friends. luckily, it is portable. she spent much of her time traveling to friends and family throughout the country. >> a very ambitious woman, mary todd lincoln saw great political potential in her husband, abraham lincoln. >> this is the home where mary helped build abraham lincoln's political career. she would invite friends and family over to talk politics, his goalsts of the day.

were enhanced whenhe met and married mary todd. she was ambitious. there was something about abraham lincoln.she said she was going to marry a man who would be president. she saw the potential and encouraged it and helped develop it. lessons in etiquette in the dining room helped polish him up for washington society. the political parties they had when they invited a lot of important political people.the strawberry and cream parties. she wielded a lot of power. both over mr. lincoln and where he was going. this is the dining room. when they moved in it was an eating kitchen. that is not something that a polished, high society, upper- class person would do. mary had grown up with a formal dining room in kentucky and she felt she needed to have one here. she did not want her children

growing up without the proper manners. in a lot of cases, mr. lincoln needed that polishing as well. all of her boys needed polishing in manners. she created this dining room to have that formal space for she and her family and also when they had guests over. after he was elected president, there were four months between the election and the inauguration. there were a lot of visitors one of to springfield. them was william seward, who ended up being secretary of state. hostess,excellent she had trays of something like her famous white cake or the macaroon pyramid's. get your refreshments, relax a

bit after the formal site of meeting mr. lincoln. this is the double parlor. these are the two nicest rooms in the house. there are marble top tables. there is a walnut shelf with a bust of mr. lincoln on it. that was here in 1860. not everyone in the neighborhood could say they have a bust of their husbands in their living room. this was a fancy place, where she wanted to show off. mary would have held her parties in here where she would have been discussing mr. lincoln's political aspirations. this is where people started when they came to a party. they started at the front door, met mr. lincoln here, maybe went into the dining room and picked up a bit of refreshment and met mary in the sitting room before going out of the front door again. this is where lincoln was told

mi had bee president. this was the seat of power in merry showcased how far her husband had come, to this beautiful house, comfortable house, and hinted at where they were headed. stating to the world that abraham lincoln had mated it and he was ready to move on. -- made it and he was ready to move on. family. president lincoln's cottage was a seasonal home for the lincoln family. she saw it as helping the family have more privacy than they had in the white house. we are in the living room, which is not part of the typical when the lincolns were living here, mary lincoln is involved in a pretty serious carriage accident.

some scholars believe the carriage had been tampered with and this was actually an early assassination attempt on when mary lincoln suffered that accident, the driver seat separated from the carriage and the horses were startled and took off. on the carriage to save herself. she suffered a head injury. she is treated down at the white house. after she has been treated, she comes out here to make her recovery. we believe she did that here in mary lincoln room. it is the most isolated room and the only one that has windows on three different walls, allowing for better cross breezes to make her recovery more comfortable.in 1862, there is the imperative of having a more private place to mourn and grieve after the death of their son, willy.

willy lincoln passed away in february of 1862. mary lincoln was going about the traditional cultural and social expectations of a woman in morning and felt like she could not do this effectively at the white house. a family ande was personal imperative to come here to the soldiers' home to have a place to grieve the loss of her son. documentedbest events that took place here at the soldier's home is a seance after the death of willie lincoln. lincoln felt that mary was being taken advantage of, that she might be subject to blackmail. he asked for some of his colleagues and friends to check out the situation to see if they could figure out with this medium was doing, and how he was able to making noises he was

claiming were spirits. the noises were recounted and the fact that when the lights turned on, they were able to prove that he was a fraud. based on the historical record, it does not seem that mary was aware she was being defrauded in this way. after it was revealed that this man was a fake, she is quite embarrassed by it. there is an attempt to conceal and cover up the event. whenever mary lincoln writes about this place to friends, she talks about how dearly she loved the place and how much she was looking forward to coming out here. she saw it as fulfilling her dream of what her family would experience when they were in gave them ad.c. it little bit of respite from the

chaos of downtown washington, d.c. the personal effects of eliza johnson allawi glimpse into the life of this rather private first lady -- allow a glimpse into the life of this rather private first lady. we have one of eliza's necklaces. it is a plain black cross. another is a sewing case. three of her favorite pastimes, being as reclusive that she was, was the embroidery work, reading poetry, and scrap booking. on the broader sense, they received political gifts while they were in the white house. we have an ivory basket that came from the queen emma of the sandwich islands. they are now the hawaiian islands. that was the first time in queen came to the white house. they had the first easter egg hunt on the white house lawn.

previously it had been held at the capital. he brought it back and held it on the white house lawn so that eliza could watch. as an invalid who had tuberculosis, she wasn't able to get out much. during the white house years, eliza chose to not assume the role of first lady lady. she was very ill at that point. she received many gifts that you brought back with her. -- she brought back with her. is af the most spectacular porcelain box and was given to her by noble frenchmen. it had 50 pounds of chocolate bonbons and it. -- in it. letters of her children that they would go up to her room in the white house to get bonbons.

charles dickens would come and visit them at the white house. she returned and brought back one of his books. she was an avid reader. this gave her a chance to remember his visit. charles dickens is one of the most prolific writers of that another item she brought back is a gaming table. 500 pieces of inlaid wood. they would play games. it sits up and rolls up. it looks like a regular table. the craftsmanship is incredibly remarkable. another piece that goes back to them is actually the fruit from the.it was a gift children of philadelphia when they were in the white house. placeia grant was given a to call home after following her husband from one military

outpost to another. it was purchased to give to the grant family in appreciation for his service during the war. she said it was furnished with everything good taste could offer. the parlor was being entertaining part of the home. -- the entertaining part of the home. julia was an avid entertainer and loved it. the family spent a lot of time in the parlor. mr. grant and their daughter played the piano. imagine the family sitting here, the general in his favorite chair, the boys listening to their sister and their mother playing songs. julia and ellen played songs for the guests. grant launched his presidential the dayn from downtown. after their election, grant and julia opened up their home and the parlor here for people to

file through an congratulate both of them on his election. this is the general and mrs. grant's bedroom. the bed is the oldest piece we have in the house and probably the most personal. they brought it from white haven. they left it here. through all of their travels, this was always here for them when they came back. this is called a lap book.it has mrs. u.s. grant on it. papers, pens,ept her correspondence in here for when she was writing letters or receiving them. religion was important for mrs. grant. her grandfather was a methodist minister. growing up, it was important to her and she instilled that in the children. they attended the methodist church. the pew they used is still marked at the church. it was the grant family pew.

this is the dressing room, the most personal space in the house relating to julia grant. she would get ready for breakfast and get ready for bed and have a little solitude. there are a lot of things that haveged to mrs. grant.we her sewing kit that she probably would have used demand socks for the kids -- to mend socks for the kids. we have her size four shoes, and her purses. after his eight years in the white house, the grants came back here for the rest and relaxation. then they decided to go on a world tour. they were gone for over two years, visiting close to 40 countries. the grants were so popular at that time, they were like american celebrities. they were treated like royalty.

they received a lot of gifts. we are fortunate enough to have some of those. two of them are here on the mantle. these were gifts from the king of bulgaria. after the world tour, they came back for a couple of months and -- and wentrom cuba. to mexico and cuba. a very popular artist did these. the landscape paintings were given by the government of mexico. this is where the family would have their meals. julia maybe would have done some light entertaining here. this is not anything too elaborate. we have some other gifts given to the grants and this one was given to julia. this was a bronze urn given to her by the citizens of yokohama, japan.

a little vase, this was given to her by the emperor of japan. on the mantle is one of the most personal pieces that julia liked she actually framed it. the leaves were given to her by general grant, leaves he picked up from the holy city. she kept them, had them framed and wrote the whole story on here. julia probably had the time of her life on this world tour. she devotes almost a third of her memoirs to it. she developed a friendship with queen victoria and a very good friendship with the emperor of japan and ended up staying in japan longer than they had expected because they develop such a nice, close relationship with him. after president grant passed away, julia was living in new york and the emperor of japan came to visit julia while she was there. they still kept that friendship and had it for the rest of her life.

this was always a place where the children's family could come back to and this was always considered home and was always welcoming. she speaks of galena and refers to her dear, dear galena. >> lucy hayes was known for her kindness and compassion, not only to her family but the many >> lucyives she touched. was very dedicated to her family. she and her husband had eight children. five of them lived to adulthood area we know from letters that this was their gathering space. not only is this their bedroom, but this is where they spent a lot of family time together. this room is important to lucy as a mother because this is where her eighth child was born, right here in this bed. he was the only one of the eight to be born here at spiegel grove. tragically, he was never a very healthy child and when he was about 18 months old, he contracted dysentery and passed away.

it was very hard on the family. this is what she took with her when she was encamped with her husband during the civil war. it was very important to her that she be with him as often as was practical. when he was in winter camp and not actually on campaign, when he was in western virginia, she would travel in him and wrote how important it was for her to be with him. she often wrote that she was concerned about the welfare of the men in his regiment. she took this with her and would actually do some sowing and mend some uniforms. she was a good seamstress. not only did she repair soldiers' uniforms, but she made her own beautiful wedding dress.

one of the things that is interesting that occurred in the space, this is where they had family christmases and they would write about these in the diary entries. they would come in here and the whole family would gather. they had very simple presents, but this is the space where they would do this. a lot of traditions happened here as well as day-to-day activities. this is a watercolor painting of the president and lucy at the white house. there are some very vibrant colors. the same color scheme is reflected here. we know that she liked the color blue, and when we were real and -- reupholstering the furniture to take it back to the original and what it looked like, we embeddedor swatches within these pieces of furniture.

this is the bedroom of rutherford and lucy's only daughter.her name is fanny. she was named after the president's much beloved sister. this is a painting of fanny with her father. she was the only daughter. you can imagine a little girl growing up in a house like this with a lot of brothers. even though her parents claim she was not the favorite, she had this furniture specially made for her and had one of the bigger bedrooms. she certainly was the darling to her mother and father. this is a painting that shows lucy tending to a wounded soldier during the civil war. two causes that were important to her were veterans and soldiers and orphans, children who had been made orphans as a result of the civil war. this painting was created to hang in an orphanage in ohio where she was very supportive. it reflects those issues that were important to her.

when people associated with those causes would come here and visit, they would sit in this formal parlor. spiegel grove was host to a number of reunions of civil war veterans. the unit that rutherford served in and future president mckinley was a member of the 23rd ovi. he and his family were frequent guests here. veterans' groups were always welcomed. when they would gather on the ground and come to sit and talk, they would sit in this formal parlor. lucy was a wonderful hostess and wanted people to feel very welcome here. this is where they would sit and discuss the issues of the day.

they would have hosted a number of political figures, including future presidents taft, and william tecumseh sherman was a guest as well as a number of other national political figures. as a political partner with her husband entertaining these figures and serving in the role of hostess, that would have been incredibly important. >> lucretia and james garfield had a great love of books and knowledge and created a learning environment for their family. later, she established the prelude to a presidential library. >> this is the parlor, the way it looked during james garfield's 1880 campaign. this was the formal parlor and family room. james and lucretia spent a lot of time with their children. they lost two children in infancy, isabella and edward. those children died before the family moved here. james and lucretia's five children all have the benefit of having two very intelligent parents who strongly believed in

education, that education was an emancipating factor and that led to the keys of success. the children took dance lessons, piano lessons. we have molly's piano, which was a gift to her on her 13th birthday in 1880. she more than the boys practiced the piano, and that was the reward. here in the family parlor, like everywhere else, you see a lot of books. the children loved to read as well. some of their favorite authors were dickens and there are several volumes of his work. also william shakespeare. the family would sit and read to one another in the evening. that was one of their favorite activities. we are here in the family dining room and in the center of the table is this interesting art piece. it won an award at the

philadelphia centennial. mrs. garfield absolutely adored her time at the exhibition. she visited all the tents, the art tents, the science tents, the technology tents. she was specifically interested in the latest science and technology of the day. she would write pages and pages of what she saw at the site. a lot of people think of her as a very artistic lady. but she's also very intelligent and loved the sciences, like most families, dinnertime was a very important time of the day. a time for them all to get together and talk about what they were doing. the garfields would use this time to educate and play games with the children. sometimes they would bring books to the table and words that were mispronounced or misspelled and quiz the children.

james and lucretia made everything an educational experience. >> after james garfield's death, lucretia came back to ohio and started to make her family's life on this property. she started to make a lot of changes to the property. the downstairs summer bedroom, she turned that into other things and started using the upstairs at room. she converted the kitchen into an open reception room and had it moved into the back part of most significant was the construction of the presidential memorial library. just as important as the changes she made to the property are the ones that she did not make. i am standing in the room the james garfield used as an office for the years he was living here in the house. this room pretty much looks like

it did when lucretia garfield came back to the home and really found the room it was in the condition it was when james garfield walked out to be the president of the united states. the the fireplace you saw words carved into the wood. of james garfield. it does have an interesting double meaning. it was also the title of james and lucretia's favorite poem. james garfield went to washington, became a first-time member of the u.s. house of representatives. december 1, 18 63, their tostborn child, eliza died choose only two or three years old. this was very tragic. it brought them much closer together than they had been up to that point.

james garfield wrote this very sort of compassionate letter to his wife from washington, d.c. just about two weeks or so after the daughter's death. he told lucretia in the letter that he had been reading this poem, in memoriam, and it was offering him great comfort as he tried to deal with the death of their daughter. he suggested the lucretia read the poem as well. he hoped it would bring as much comfort to her as it had brought to him. that it become their poem. and it did. when lucretia garfield had that carved into the wood here in her husband's office after his death, she was really acknowledging not only his tragic death at a young age, only 49, but also this love of literature that they had and this very special relationship they had with in memoriam. if james a garfield were to walk into this house right now, he would not recognize this room. when he was alive and living here, this was the kitchen. after his death, she started to make major changes to the

property. this room was converted into this open reception room. the most significant change she made was the construction of the very first presidential memorial library. as we get to the top of the steps, we come first to the memorial landing. it is here we find one of her favorite portraits her husband. this was done by carolyn ransom and it shows james garfield as a major general during the civil war. this is the room she came up with in her mind to memorialize her husband, to keep his memory alive for himself and for their children and the country as well. these are all books that belonged to james garfield. this is a beautiful piece sent to mrs. garfield unsolicited by someone in italy. it is a beautiful memorial piece.

it is all made with small stones pressed together, and it was one of her favorite pieces. we have a beautiful marble bust of james garfield sculpted by an italian sculptor. here we have what she called the memory room. this is a room constructed with the library in which she stored her husband's official papers and documents. it was in this room the papers were organized, cataloged and bound up and stored to keep them for posterity. a lot of interesting items in here. most significant is the wreath on the shelf there, that was actually lying on his casket

while he was lying in state in the capitol building. the wreath was sent to her via the british delegation along with a handwritten note of sympathy from the queen. something interesting about this room is the fact that they used this room a lot. it was not a room where you can't go in and touch anything. she spent a lot of time here writing letters and you will see she did use black bordered stationery. she actually used that for the rest of her life to denote a lifelong mourning for her husband. in front of the large windows, two of the garfield children actually got married in 1888 in a double wedding ceremony where the oldest garfield, molly and the only surviving daughter married their respective fiances in a double wedding ceremony in front of the windows in the library. >> the youngest first lady, frances cleveland, stirred the interest of the american public and became the fashion icon of her time.

>> the public's fascination with frances cleveland -- she was a real icon. women emulated her hairstyle and she popularized everything she had and did. this is a dress from the second administration and this is the most prized piece of all because this is the inaugural gown. this is the inaugural gown from 1893 and it stayed her family and became the family's wedding dress. the bottom of the dress is exactly the same, but the top has been remade. it originally had a satin top with large leg of mutton sleeves with bows on the shoulders. a lace from the original dress was used to re-create a new bodice and make it a more fashionable, modern wedding dress. even her everyday clothes were very stylish.

a lot of them look like something you could wear now. this is a jacket. black with this beautiful blue velvet. it is definitely daywear. this is a more evening appropriate piece. this would have had a matching skirt and you can see the beautiful lace and sequins. slightly more ornate daytime vest. this would have a matching collar and you can wear it with a short waisted skirt.

it is 100 years old now. and one of the earlier wedding dresses on display for many years, we changed the dresses around and this dress was on display. this is a reception dress she would have worn during the second administration.this is when the sleaze became much larger. larger.es became much this is a beautiful skirt and bodice with a matching evening gown. these large puffed sleeves and butterflies. a description talks about the butterflies looking like they would alight from her shoulders. you can see the damage light can do. the velvet was originally this color and over years of display, it has faded. frances cleveland is so popular. people are imitating her clothes and hairstyle, but they want a

piece of frances for themselves. pictures of the first lady you canextremely popular. purchase your own pictures of ms. cleveland to have in your home. advertisers and manufacturers make an array of souvenirs that you can purchase and have mrs. cleveland in your house am in your home -- your house, in your home. you can purchase a small painted glass portrait. you can have plates of mrs. cleveland. ms. cleveland can convince you to buy a product. together.couple she is used in campaigns. while we have grover cleveland running for president, we also have mrs. cleveland running for first lady. here is a set of campaign playing cards where you are

electing the president, vice president, and first lady. frances cleveland in the second administration looks a little different now. she's a young mother, a confident matron. this is a pretty piece you can have in your home. the same image is used in this ribbon. you can have a souvenir that not only commemorates the world fair, it commemorates the campaign. the collection is too vast to all be on display at one time. what is not currently on the floor is stored in here, and they can be used for exhibition purposes. this is frances cleveland's wedding dress. frances cleveland was an incredibly popular bride.

she married the president in a white house ceremony, the only white house ceremony for the first lady. the bodice filled in with a neckpiece. it goes around and create a softening effect. it is a long-sleeved dress, and has a wonderful long train. even the underside of the clothes have this beautiful trim and this sweeping train. this collection contains more than clothing. we have the public pieces and personal pieces. one of my favorite things in the entire collection is this box. each of the guests were given a satin covered box painted with the bride and groom's initials to hold a piece of wedding cake.

before the wedding, they found time to sign the card for every cake box. this would have been a piece of cake. and this particular cake box was theen to the minister. minister who performed the wedding. he was the minister at the first presbyterian church in washington d.c. a testament to the public's fascination. this is a piece of sheet music, the cleveland wedding march, composed in honor of the wedding because it was not the wedding march played at the wedding. it's obviously decorated with pictures of mr. and mrs. cleveland. the images of the cleveland together will be part of popular culture for the next 12 years. >> first lady caroline harrison

was interested in the painting of china dinner wear, and was the first to establish a white house china collection. >> china painting became a national hobby because of caroline harrison. women all over the country, once they heard the president's wife was a china painter, they wanted to do that to. i would credit caroline harrison with creating enthusiasm among have otherainting.we examples of caroline's painting. she loved flowers. i guess i was her number one subject, to paint flowers -- that was her number one subject, to paint flowers. on the bottom shelf, we have birds. she loved birds and nature and she created these beautiful bird plates. we have a couple of things on the wall she painted and gave as gifts. when she was in the white house, she did this frequently.

one of the pieces was given to a servant who retired and she wrote on the back of it, thanking him for his service. then we have a piece the harrisons gave to the stanfords of stanford university. it was a gift painted by caroline and when the museum opened, stanford university sent it back to us so we now have it here in the dining room. >> when she came to the white house, she was very interested in how the place worked. this is still the ground floor but it was considered the basement because the kitchen was down here. the storage for food and tableware and such. she came down and found it was

rather dilapidated and dirty, sort of ominous, and she tried to spruce it up and went through the cabinets and found old pieces of china and asked servants if they could tell how old the piece is. she started the idea of trying to catalog and create a sense of what the chinas were. she had a plan for putting display cases in the state dining room, but that never came to fruition. she is credited with being the initiator of the concept of a permanent china collection at the white house. she was interested in designing china and wanted it to be american. there was not a strong enough porcelain manufacturing industry when she started looking into new china, so she decided they would let a french company make the blanks and she would provide the design. it was not a full-service. she didn't try to order 12 or 15 pieces per plate setting. it was designed with a shape that was the lincoln-era shaped. this is a soup late or tea plate

plate. she feltgned the border. represented american agricultural plants. the soup plates and breakfast plates were made in the blue. and then a series of cups and saucers. so there weren't all the other shapes you would have, such as bowls and shapes that went with it. >> you have caroline harrison's white house diary, and this was something we don't have out very often. she kept the diary, and you can she it's very fragile.

mentioned several different things. she mentions going to arlington cemetery and decorating the soldier's grave site and mentions riding with benjamin to the soldiers' home and hospital. some of the things near and dear to her here were working with the asylum and she continued to do some of that while she was in washington visiting the shepitals and whatnot. mentioned having the floral arrangements for several different banquets and dinners. one was the pan-american conference of countries meeting there and mentions decorations for that as well.

this was the dinner at the arlington in washington, d.c. and you can see the table the vicee have president, president, and different delegations sitting at that particular dinner. she talks a lot about the centennial celebration for the centennial of george thingsgton's inauguration. from the banquets and whatnot here. one of the parades was seven and a half hours long. and also very personal and family related things. she mentioned how she's is feeling, what the weather is like. one of the things he talks about is the christening of their young grunt debtor -- granddaughter. she said they used water from the river jordan that her sister had brought back from a trip over there. we have some of that water in our collection today. we actually have some water in there as well.

she was christened in the blue room of the white house in a private family ceremony at that time. she also mentions christmas at the white house and having the tree put out for the grandchildren. they have the first decorated christmas tree in the white house. and she mentions the gifts given at that time, including opera glasses. we have her opera glasses given to her that she mentions in the diary as well. >> even though she was in poor health and suffered from epilepsy, she still contributed by crocheting slippers and donating them to charity and presenting them as gifts. >> what is wonderful about this is that inside, it has a picture of william mckinley. this is something we see in a lot of her personal belongings. this was her sewing bag.

she would keep the crochet items in here. this is one of her crochet needles and it is her favorite color, blue. inside, we have a picture of william mckinley. even when he was away from her, she would have something to remind her of him. she was known for her crocheted slippers and would spend hours crocheting these slippers. we think she made approximately thesepairs in her lifetime. are unique for the soles that they have. they were leather soles on the bottom. she would make them in various sizes. we have pairs from a child size and they were usually made in a variation of blue or gray.or an ivory color. these represent the basic colors she would use. since she was not able to do other types of work as the first lady, this was one of the things

she could contribute. she would donate these to a charity or war veterans or she would donate them to the auctions to raise money. to see some of the more fragile and important pieces, we have to go into our main storage area. this is where we keep the white house dresses and other artifacts. this dress is my favorite. we are in the middle of a conservation process so we can have these dresses repaired, so they will be able to be on a mannequin. this one is my favorite because it's so heavily ornamented. it has silver beads and metallic it has tiny little

mirrors. this would have reflected light the puffy, leg of mutton sleeves although toward the end of the decade they toned down a little bit. most of the dresses we have are typical of that type of color palette. call a was what we semi-invalid. fashion was important to their. >> our conversation about first ladies continues every monday night at 9:00 p.m. duquesne watch all the programs in our series at c-span.org.

presentation. august 5 withay, our program on martha washington. firstptember, season 2 of " ladies, influence and image." mondaysday nights at 9:00 p.m. eastern. they gave advice to u.s. governors for ways to plan for future disasters and with the government can do to help. the event was held in chicago. we will show it to you at 8:00 p.m., after that a discussion on how the definitions of citizenship in america has changed over the decades.

panelists talked out citizenship and how relates to political engagement. hosteds part of a form by the aspen institute that begins at 8:45 p.m. a look at the origins of instagram. two stanford graduates build the company before selling it to facebook for $1 billion. we will hear more about that story during and event held by the commonwealth club of california. it starts at 10:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. -- america is the land of opportunity. there is some anythings you can accomplish and my daughter has all those opportunities. that is one of the greatest things about america. she can do whatever she wants. it does not matter her sex, her

nationality, it does not matter her race. that opportunity that our forefathers fought for is present and available to me. i think it is great. i can use that and build a great life and be happy. that is what i think it means to be an american. >> it got to know the history of america. i know my history of my culture. i am black and native american. i consider myself an american. i am thankful for what i have been at the same time it for to ask this question to my grandmother, it would be a totally different answer. ,ou have to do the right thing go to work, it cannot rely and the government to pay for a living. like a lot of people on welfare. they still use the system and that plays a big role.

need money.eally do if you're one was honest and work hard, the country would be greater than it is. >> i have lived here for a few years and a half an american daughter. , you live in ay free country in north america in general. i have so many opportunities to grow and to do different things with your life and you can change the course of your life from wherever you're at. a big difference is in canada we can to be more relaxed. we do our best to move ahead but not be as pushy. that is something i have noticed is different. i am a true to my homeland but i do love living in the u.s. that is where i think it means to be an american. click on the next "washington

look at data to drive a range of issues. and a recent report by his organization mission readiness, military leaders for kids which examines the possible benefits of the obama administration's proposed pre-kindergarten early education program. after that, paul kern and a guest talk about how much americans and foreign visitors to the united states spend in travel and tourism. plus your e-mails, phone calls, and tweets. liveington journal" is each morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. the museum in washington recently hosted interviews with pulitzer prize-winning photographer s. includedng photos

images of the syrian civil war and we will hear more about the stories behind those pictures. this is 50 minutes. >> hello and welcome to the studio. i'm your host for this weeks edition of inside media. this week's discussion will be with two pulitzer prize winning photographer's rum 2013. to my immediate left is roderigo three he began his career in his native argentina. since 2003, he's been a staff photographer for the associated press and covered a wide range of international tories, from the fighting in kabul, afghanistan, to political turmoil in bolivia in 2003 and haiti in 2004. he covered venezuela's presidential elections and found himself back in haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake in 2010. in 2010, he was documenting the political strife there. and he was awarded the pulitzer

for breaking news photography. also with us is javier manzano who put the -- he was the first freelance photographer to be awarded the award in 20 years. also javier manzano. he was born in mexico and as an 18-year-old, much of his work has been based on cross-border issues that define our relationships for better or worse over the years. while he started his career shooting photos for newspapers, he has since expanded his portfolio to include television and the internet. he has covered the drug wars of mexico and fighting in afghanistan in syria. that is where his village surprises winning image was

captured. give a warm welcome to both of our photographers. [applause] it is always our custom to ask the audience to throw in their questions. i will give you that opportunity in just a while. we have two volunteers with microphones and i will give you the sign and you get one of them and get a microphone and jump in. we're going to start with the fun part because we want to get to the heavy issues soon enough. we always ask: surprise wedding photographers, where were you, tell us the story. >> first, i didn't have any idea on the day the pulitzer prize was announced. me, my boss in mexico says you need to go to the office. we have some bureaucratic papers. i went to the office and you are going to receive a call at 1:30 in the afternoon.

i received the call and it was the director of photography. i said i'm in trouble, this guy is calling me because my paper was a mess. so he said can you keep a secret for half an hour? [laughter] he said we won the pulitzer prize, you and another for photographers. i started laughing. another ap photographer jumped in, and i'm looking at my colleagues. it was a great surprise and great news. after working in syria and working in such difficult circumstances, it is a good thing.

it's not because now we are better than before, but it's a good thing that someone tells you you are in the right way, continue working hard. it's good. >> you have a very different story. equallyprobably bizarre. i found out through facebook. [laughter] someone sent me a facebook message and said congratulations. i ignored the message and then people started tagging me and that's how i found out. i was in my apartment in turkey and my roommate, he was in his