country out of the glut we are in and getting job numbers back and things are getting back and make sure that people have a living wage where they can earn a good salary and dignity and respect and feed their families and take care of them. listened to donald payne from new jersey talk about his life when he was growing up and the importance that unions paid in his life. when i was in high school, i worked in a growry store and it was a union grocery store and it was the only one in dallas. and we had benefits. we had time and a half and paid extra on holidays and we were young people and allowed to make

extra money. no one got rich of of it. when we were working extra, we worked those extra hours during the summer. we were compensated for it. and really proud of that. and also thinking back to my childhood, i often think about the people that would come over to our house and play cards and dominoes on saturday night and when the man would talk about uplifting themselves and get that better job and better salary, the companies they talked about and how you get on that. that was the saying. you have a friend that can get me on. and when people were talking about getting on about splaste, hat was a place that had a union and one of our forces that

were fighting for families for health insurance and dental insurance and just basic things like that that so many people take for granted and helped shape the person imtoday. . labor unions have fought to raise the standard of living for the middle class, ensure safe working conditions and increase benefits for both workers and their families. unionized workers are more likely to receive paid leave, have an employer-provided health insurance and participate in employer-provided pension plans. they reduce wage inequality by raising wages for low and middle-wage workers, boot collar workers, without a college degree. and they raise wages of unionized workers by roughly 20% and raise compensation, including both wages and benefits, by about 28%. today the labor movement is an

important tool for african-americans and as unions continue to play a pivotal role in both securing legislative labor protections such as safety and health, overtime, family and medical leave, and making sure those rights ren forced on the job -- those rights are enforced on the job. labor unions are critically vital to the african-american community's economic security. has been historically and will continue to be in the future. african-american workers are higher than nonunion counterparts and labor unions provide key bargaining power by organizing the workers to negotiate an agreement with management. this agreement covers things such as a safe place to work, decent wages and benefits. union workers are 28% more likely to be covered by employer-provided health insurance and are almost 54%

more likely to have employer-provided pensions and are more likely to receive this paid leave. 50 years ago, 50 years ago the with on washington was led a labor message to increase economic security. today we must work together to continue that charge. working people need a collective voice and bargaining powers that unions provide to keep employers from making the workplace look as it did in the past. unions are vital in ensuring that corporations do not focus on creating profits at the expense of their employees. african-americans are serving in key leadership roles in the larger labor movement. arlene hope baker currently serves as the afl-cio's executive vice president and lee saunders serves as the president of asme. today labor unions are still on the forefront of efforts to

ensure that the gains of the past are maintained and that those who fight for dignity and equality continue to march on. i encourage my colleagues in congress to continue to honor the traditions of the davis-bacon wage protections that have helped cement labor agreements and other fair practices that have helped the african-american community and all americans achieve prosperity nd economic security and as we think about what has transpired last month, with the march on washington and the commemoration of 50 years, we think about all of the great things that dr. king did in his service to our country, while god allowed him to live on this earth, and one of my favorite quotes by dr. king, and i'll close out with this, as i've said many times and believe with all my heart, the coalition that can have the

greatest impact in the struggle for human dignity here in america is that of the negro and the forces of labor because their forces are so closely intertwined. mr. speaker, mr. jeffries, thank you very much for this time. let's continue to march on. mr. jeffries: thank you, representative veasey, for your very eloquent thoughts and observations and of course we understood that dr. king was very close with organized labor, with 1199 in new york, with the retail workers, a variety of other unions and of course on memphis,ic day down in tennessee when he was assassinated in -- tennessee, when he was assassinated in 1968, he was there in support of striking black sanitation workers. so he leaves behind a tremendous legacy, part that have legacy, of course, includes standing up

for the rights of workers to for decent fight wages and health care and a pension. these are all things that dr. king would advocate for were he around today. we have been joined by one of the leaders of the c.b.c., someone who was a distinguished civil rights attorney prior to his arrival here in the congress, and a judge. and now he serves as the vice chair of the congressional black caucus, one of the most eloquent voices in the c.b.c.. i'm pleased to now be able to yield the floor to representative g.k. butterfield from the great state of north carolina. mr. butterfield: thank you very much, mr. jeffries, for those very kind words, and thank you for yielding time to me this evening to talk about this very important subject. mr. jeffries, your leadership on this issue, the issue involving strong labor unions and bringing

american jobs back to american workers is so critically important and for that we appreciate your leadership. mr. speaker, the economic success of the united states is something that other nations every day try to emulate. the success of our country is not because of us here in congress, of the policymakers, but it's because of the hard work of so many americans who help build a strong and resilient nation. the role of african-americans has been particularly important over the years. the role of african-americans played in the early economic success of our country is one that is not well known to some people. but it was so vital to building the world power that we are today. even before the civil war, black americans were critical in helping to build ships and other sea-going vessles that we use to move agriculture goods and equipment to the growing nation

by serving as caulkers, a job that was dominated by african-americans. those same ship builders formed the caulkers association. back in 1838, to protect african-american caulkers by negotiating for higher wages and safer working conditions from their employers, the caucus association counted frederick douglass who worked as a caulker in baltimore as one of its members. after the end of the civil war, four million former slaves were set free. african-americans who were freed founded very -- found it very difficult to find work because of racial tension. they were often used by white employers as strike breakers. so that their businesses could continue to operate while white employees were on strike. well, as time went on, by 1902, at the turn of the century, more

than 40 national unions didn't have any members, not a single one, who were african-american. but as the quest for civil rights began in earnest, african-americans would soon find a home, a good home, with labor unions all across the country. by the 1930's the congress of industrial organizations welcomed everyone it encountered, both black and whites, as members, and was one of the most integrated organizations in the united states at that time. by 1945, more than half a million african-americans were members of unions that comprised the congress of industrial organizations. labor unions played a critical role, we've heard that tonight, in the civil rights movement and served as one means by which african-americans could fight for civil rights and fair pay and safe working conditions. mr. speaker, we recently

celebrated the 50th anniversary on the march on washington for jobs and freedom. on august 28, 1963, more than 300,000 people, including myself, witnessed the call for civil and economic rights for african-americans and on that hot day in august we heard dr. martin luther king jr. deliver his historic "i have a dream" speech. the march was one of the largest rallies for civil rights in the history of our country and it was organized in large part, i want to make this point, it was organized in large part by labor unions. including the clothing workers and the united auto workers. the large role that labor unions played in organizing the march on washington cemented their place in history and provided racial and economic equality. in 2012 more than 14 million

people were members of a labor union. but you know what? that is down from almost 18 million 30 years ago. that is very sad. why is that? the u.s. economy and federal and state laws have changed since the hayday of the industrial manufacturing where unions could organize with relative ease. jobs that once required a human being are now being performed by a machine. good-paying american jobs have been relocated overseas where labor is cheap and working conditions are not as heavily regulated. and perhaps most damaging have been the onslot of disgraceful antiunion policies that we have seen on television. sadly seen on television. that have been signed into law in states all across the country. for african-americans, labor unions continue to be vitally important because they are committed to maintaining the

hard-fought gains of opportunity and equality. since their inception, labor unions have helped african-americans fight for equal rights and equal pay and safe working conditions. now african-americans are more likely than any other group to be a union member and earn more than 30% more than their nonunion counterparts. labor unions will continue to be a vital part of our economy and we must do all that we can to ensure that the labor movement thrives with the same intensity as it did 60 years ago. i urge my friends in labor to continue their work. it is appreciated. i recently visited the a. phillip randolph institute, i went to their dinner just a few days ago here in washington, and i want to commend them publicly for the work that they are doing. i thank them for invoking the name of a. phillip randolph who

as mr. jeffries said earlier founded the brotherhood of sleeping car porters. let me also recognize the important work of the coalition of black trade unionists who was aded by my good friend, bill losey, who was secretary treasury for many years, and now the reverend terry melvin is now carrying on the work of bill lucie. and so i thank my friends in labor and urge them to continue the great work that they are doing in this country. mr. jeffries, i thank you for yielding time. i thank you for your leadership and at this time i will yield back the balance of my time. mr. jeffries: i thank the distinguished gentleman from north carolina for those observations. and for your continued leadership here in the congress. if i would ask the speaker how much time is remaining on this special order? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has about 15 minutes. mr. jeffries: thank you very much, mr. speaker. one of the things that's been

troubling to me and to many of the people that i represent back home in brooklyn and parts of queens has been the witness -- has been to witness the attack on organized labor, on unions all across the country, . rticularly in 2011, 2012 we've witnessed it in wisconsin, we've witnessed it in ohio, it's taken place in other parts of the country. and i think that it's unfortunate that there are some forces out here in the country determined to crush the ability of the american worker to organize and fight collectively for a decent way of life. it's important to point out

why all americans should be thankful for unions and for the organized labor movement. i'm going to highlight quickly why we should be thankful for organized labor because of overtime pay. we should be thankful because of child labor laws. we should be thankful because we now have the 40-hour workweek. we should be thankful because of orkers' compensation, their to provide a safety net for those who are injured on the job. we should be thankful we because we have the president's in significant part of the organized labor movement for

unemployment insurance. we should be thankful because many americans as a result of e efforts of organized labor enjoy pensions under assault and pengs are away, by important to the american way of life and standard of life. we should be thankful to organized labor because it's fought for employer health care insurance coverage. something that many folks in this country still don't have and one of the reasons why i support the affordable care act and correct an inhe canity that exists in america. but the fact that employers do provide health insurance is an

outgrowth resulted from in large measure the effort of organized labor. should be thankful for organized labor because of the presence of whistleblower protection laws that gives in many instances workers the capacity to identify something that's wrong and to be able to move forward and reveal instances when public laws are being squand ver squandered to reveal the wrong without the same level of fear that retaliation would take place as a result of simply doing the right thing. organized labor fought for

help harassment last to men and women to exist without fear of inappropriate behavior .ing. we have good laws on the books designed to protect against repus i have behavior in the work force. lastly, we should be thankful and this in no way is an exhaustive list, but we should be thankful for holiday pay, thankful that organized labor fought for the americans to njoy thanksgiving or christmas or new year's or other holidays with their families and have an ability to be compensated as a result of the ability to give

certain holidays, most significantly the fourth of july in remembrance of who we are and where we need to go in? country. we have a lot of reasons to be thankful to organized labor. several of my colleagues earlier today referenced their own personal experiences as it relates to the labor movement and as i was listening to those experiences from representatives donald payne and mark veasey, i thought about myself and my own family growing up in brooklyn from two parents in a working-class neighborhood in crown heights. my parents were married in april

of 1967. at the time they got married, they were married of the social service employees union, 371.quently became members and e.u. got married in 1967 and a short while thereafter, the union decided to go out on strike because they were fighting for improved conditions both for the workers and for the clupets that social service workers served. my parents, confronted what was an extremely difficult decision, do we trike with our union brothers and sisters, even

though we will have no possible means of providing for ourselves and don't know how long we will e out of work or do we cross that picture line in defiance of the collective action of the sseu workers that wept out on strike. my parents joined with their union brothers and cyst percent and went out on strike. and as i look back on that decision a lot of reason for our family to be thankful because when i think about it in 1973, my younger brother was born with some heart difficult if i and i'm confident that it was that union-negotiated health care that helped our family get through what was otherwise a

very difficult time and our brother is a professor at ohio state university. in 1980, our parents bought their first and only home in crown heights, the home that my brother and i grew up in, they live in it in brooklyn right now. it was that union-negotiated salary that helped them put together the money to make the down payment and to pay the mortgage all of these years. then in 1988, it was time for me to go off toll college and one of the reasons i was able to come out of college, relatively debt-free is because my mother borrowed against her union-negotiated pension in order to send her children to

college. the organized-labor movement doesn't have to worry about whether i'm going to sfand up for them because they have stood up for me and so many others like so many we have heard from congress.n members in ow unfortunately, we know that organized laborers are under attack about 60 years ago in 953, about 35% of the american work force had collective bargaining coverage. but as of 2010, it went from to just in the 1950's under 7% in 2010.

where that has that gotten us? a better 's put us in position as middle-class america. and we saw the attacks in wisconsinp and we saw the attacks in ohio that the folks had to roll back after the people of ohio rose up in opposition. i was proud as a member of the state legislature at the time in 2012 to support the effort foe unionize by a group of very ourageous workers in baseline, organized by the communication workers of america, they voted in the face of significant pressure to the contrary to join

the union and to organize a chapter in order to fight for better wages and for stronger health care and the possibility of a better retirement. unfortunately, the courageous nature of those workers has not been met with a negotiated contract. bargaining ve process has failed them to date. in fact, more than 20 of them were terminated earlier this year. and they were only brought whack in the files of tromedous pressure by public servants in all levels of government. in the moment in which they voted to join the union go, they are not having a contract and their lives have been turned

upside down. fact, every other worker in the company that employed these cable workers has been granted a substantial raise of these individuals remain in limbo. we are hopeful we can do better and bring the nlrb back to life, hat it can serve as an objective entity to regulate the relationship between the work force and employers across america. there are a lot of employers that want to do the right thing. we should encourage that, because it's good for america. and in this economic recovery we have right now, there are a lot of companies that are doing pretty well. but there are a lot of workers

that are still struggling. one of the things that we have to confront here in congress is the fact that we have a recovery. economic stock market is way up. corporate profits way up. the productivity of the american orker is way up. yet unemployment remains high and wages remain stagnant. how can that be? when corporate america is doing so well? when investors in the stock market are doing so well snl when objective measures show that the productivity of the american worker has increased

significantly, but the american worker, in terms of their ility to live and pursue the middle-class dream, has in many ways left behind. these are questions that i'm hopeful this congress will confront as we fight our way through sequestration and deal with the debt ceiling and the tential default, god for bepbid we have to confront next month and work our way throo a military strike in syria, let's not forget the fact that what makes america great is the capacity for people to work hard to purchase a home, to raise their family and in safety and

security, with the ability to live a life where they provide for themselves and their families and able to hand to it a generation of americans that an behind and hopefully america is that more prosperous and not less process produce and to n the c b.c. believe not attack organized labor but to recognize what it has done for this country and strengthen organized labor and with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan, mr. bentivolio, for 30 minutes. mr. bentvolio: mr. speaker, i stand here today as a former

soldier. like many of my colleagues in this room who served, i took an oath to honor and defend the constitution of the united states against enemies, both domestic and abroad. american soldiers do not swear to defend the president, they don't swear to defend congress or political parties. they swear to defend the constitution because this ocument is what protects our freedom. american soldiers swear to protect this document because our founding fathers understood that elected officials from the president to us here in the are of representatives fallible human beings. they swear to protect this document because they know that the principles it defends are true and its wisdom will long last after we're dead.

just as it lasted long before we were born. the constitution of the united states of america is the key difference between us and other countries. it is what makes our nation exceptional. forged on the anville of liberty, it has protected our nation as we have grown from a flenling republic into a -- fledgling republic into a world superpower. the sold that are we ask to fight on our -- the soldier that we ask to fight on our behalf knows that. we must honor our military by looking to the wisdom of the constitution whenever we discuss sending our troops to war. the constitution itself makes clear that we should go to war for the common defense. this statement, for the common defense, was so important that it was used twice by our founding fathers.

once in the preamble, then again in laying out the duties of congress. we live in a fallen world. bad things happen to innocent people every day across the globe. cartels beheading people in central america, christians being burned alive in nigeria, human trafficking in asia. all of these things are heartwrenching but none of them involve our common defense. when i see what is happening in syria and read the intelligence given to us, i do not see how this terrible civil war involves our common defense. i understand the horrors of the assad regime and it sickens me. it hurts to see the pictures of dead children brutally gassed by a hateful dictator. yet the action our president wishes us to take would do little to prevent such a man

from continuing to murder his people. nor would help those our soldiers were sworn to protect. ur constituents. in his farewell address, george washington said, we may choose peace or war as our interests guided by justice shall counsel. there is nothing just or in our interest in lobbying -- lobbing a few bombs into a country and walking away. the secretary of state and the president have both stated that we need to go to war because assad broke a treaty that the entire world supports. the u.n., they say, cannot act. mr. speaker, i am asking the same question my constituents are asking, why do we spend billions of dollars supporting an international organization for peace that cannot enforce a treaty supported by the entire world?

if the u.n. is so ham strung that it cannot rally the world to stop assad, and we have to unilaterally attack syria, what exactly is the point of having a u.n.? the secretary of state also had the gall to tell both the senate and the house foreign relations committees that bombing syria is not a war in the classic sense. let me tell you something, mr. speaker, if another nation attacked us the way our president wants to attack syria, everyone in this room would call it war. let me tell you something else, mr. speaker, war has consequences. the secretary of state told the house foreign relations committee that the goal of bombing syria was to degrade assad's chemical weapons and cause a stalemate in the fighting. in other words, assad will still have the capability of using

chemical weapons and could very well use them again to break the stalemate we create. does anyone really think that we will just stop with the first round of bombings? that's not how war works. wars are a yes or no question. you cannot, as secretary kerry and the white house suggest, only kind of fight a war. if we break, it we're going to be forced to fix it. like i said, i'm an old soldier and old soldiers need mission plans. when i look at this mission plan, i don't see anything that suggests we will simply be able to walk away after this bombing campaign. america's role in the world is not to play parent to the rest of the nations, chastising bad actors and picking winners and losers. in battles that don't directly threaten us. the point of our nation is to show the world the wisdom of a

free and representative government. my fellow members of congress, we can show that wisdom here today with this vote, we can show the world that our nation will not plunge itself into war because our president drew an artificial red line and feels embarrassed that a dictator crossed it. our military does not belong to the white house, it belongs to the people. i ask you, show the power and wisdom of our founding fathers when they granted the representatives of the people with the decision to go to war. i strongly urge everyone in this room to vote no on attacking syria and involving ourselves in their civil war. thank you, mr. speaker, god bless america, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back.

for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? mr. bentvolio: motion to adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly the house stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow for morning hour debate.

>> we join our series on first ladies in progress. >> december 18, 1886 and july, 1898. in unforgettable story of the death of theodore roosevelt's first wife. ed is watching us in north dakota. this is roosevelt territory. >> thanks for taking my call. i am the chairman of the theodore roosevelt foundation and our effort with the

life ason is to sustain a cattle rancher here in north dakota. mentioning of about a method of keeping the socially unacceptable people out of the white house. how when cowboys and rough rider friends were coming through the white house. >> i think it is understood that his time in the dakotas was precious to him. he said he would never have been president if it had not been for his time in the dakotas. is theodore roosevelt center a wonderful project. i think she understood she had visited the ranches that he had an understood that his time being a rancher meant everything to him, so she put up with some

desperadoes and farmers and cowboys who tr loved. she was quite a young woman and he was head over heels with north dakota. she wanted to know all about the things that he loved. new marvelous sleek colorful care tours from north dakota had a marvelous patina for her. >> did he have a rants throughout their presidency? >> no, he had to sell it. he was sort of a failed cattle rancher. armorndfather was a week and those were hard times -- was a wheat farmer, and those were hard times. it is now a national park.

.> there are oil derricks there north dakota had an oil boom and natural gas boom and the landscape was bothered a bit, but there is a very large tr contingent and they loved him there. >> you have to understand north dakota. there is the theodore roosevelt center where there are 155,000 letters. and there is the foundation that your caller mentioned. joint effort to keep the memory of theodore roosevelt alive. in silver spring, maryland, outside of washington.

>> i would like to know how did edith and theodore meet, and how long was their courtship before they married? >> before i leave the question of the time of their white house years, how do she compare with a modern first lady, particularly jackie kennedy, in the white house? this is something that edith roosevelt did. did she approach introducing americans to culture and supporting the cultural life of the white house? >> theodore roosevelt was not as bad as president grant. said there were two songs, dy and yankee doodle dan the other isn't. >> she brought amazing inner

came into the white house, paluding have locus all -- cassals. she brought the entire philadelphia orchestra at one time. she loved the corcoran art gallery, theater and art and music. tr brought indian songs. helped encourage john lomax to discover cowboy songs. they wanted people to understand and have culture. it was not a colonial society anymore. european cultures for borrowing artists. they are really important in that sense, too.

>> since they had sagamore hill, why did they need a retreat? get toook a while to sagamore hill because it is on the way in long island -- all the way in long island. he had a lot of political and att and difficulty times when he was having a rough time, it he had gained a lot of weight. i have been to the cabin. there is no plumbing, no electricity, nothing. stove.d a kerosene they had to do everything for themselves. >> we took a camera there. let's take a look.

remember this is a very wealthy family in the height of society. keep that in mind when you see the house that edith built know in virginia. place for rest and repairs to the president. close enough to d.c. that they could get out as often as needed, but far enough away that there was wilderness. she bought a cottage and 15 acres and her renovations that she prescribed for $280. the deed was written in her name. the renovations that she did include this porch, which he a.lled her piazzoll most of what you see is original. is color of the house now the color that it was when the

roosevelts were here. the interior is completely unfinished. she wanted it to be natural in every sense. this room was divided into two and edith wanted to have the family be here together. they cooked the meals by the fireplace. edith would boil the water for children would fetch the would and do the various things that were needed to get the meals together. when edith solve a cottage for the first time, there were no fireplaces. she had designed these stone ledges that are built into the fireplace to provide some

functionality. the stairs were originally in the center of the room so they took up the whole thing. she wanted the bottom for to be in an open room and the other issue wanted to create a room upstairs. this is the room she created for ethel. at the would so have been able to shut off her druthers from entering her room. this is where edith and t are slept. this was the master bedroom, as it were. you can see the light streaming through the boards. it is no more better appointed than the other rooms. this is the boys room. all four of the boys would have slept in this room when they were here. this has a wonderful mantle and even better yet, it has stone supports that edith would have designed. this was a family place.

in that sense, it was unique to the roosevelts because sagamore hill had become a place where tr had constantly a hubbub of activity. this was the one place where it was right at family time, and the roosevelts made it very clear they did not want anyone but family here. quick she wanted to tell the pine knot. >> there was no more privacy in the white house and very little at sagamore hill by this time. wait, they had to go far off the grid, as we say now. distance from washington today, how long would it take you to get there? >> a little bit more than an hour. >> one can go visit today? >> i believe you can.

>> today there would have to be a perimeter and the press would be hanging out and making sure no one was coming and going in using telephone lenses to get to them. edith lost sleep when they first went there because she was worried about intruders and she did not feel it was safe. to the farm, they would sometimes have neighbors come over. went out at night to take a little walk down the road. there were secret service men that edith had secretly put their and she did not tell tr. >> he really didn't want to protection e >> he didn't think

he needed it. he was cavalier about it, where she was very worried. he was eventually shot in the 1912 campaign and there were , sor attempts to get at him she had reason to be nervous. adrian asked on facebook, was edith into hiking, nature, and hunting like teddy? did she enjoyed being outside and living a more rustic life? society andway from not needing all the modern comforts, i'm not sure that she ever hunted. >> i know that after a certain think -- children, i go on those,d

under, around, and through. she was not like a classic big orient lady. she would go on hikes. after he died, she traveled took athe globe and canoe trip to a distant waterfall. >> next is johnny from denver, colorado. >> thanks for your wonderful series. i hope it continues. my question is on mount rushmore . seeing how she was alive during its conception and construction. >> she knew the person who carved it, but i don't remember

reading anything -- i'm not sure it's finished, or was it? theink it was finished in 20's are 30's, but i'm not sure she ever sees it. some people think that tr shouldn't be on their. admired him very much. i think the fact that the bull moose monument -- barbara says i would like to know if edith cooked very much. do we know about whether or not she prepared food for her family no, i think she was proud that she had never made a bed in

her life except maybe at pine knot. >> the women's movement that was , where did edith stand on this e i very much would like to know the answer to that. >> she said in private that she thought suffrage was a good idea. women could vote in western states i believe in 1904, you could vote in utah and colorado and some other western states. when susan b anthony came to the , alice was the person who was most sympathetic to suffrage. >> barbara is in peoria.

to know whether it is true that the error roosevelt had booker t. washington as a guest to dinner, ?nd if so, was that a first ec >> in 1902, theodore roosevelt did invite t washington, the institutethe tuskegee and a very important figure in african-american history. he was recognized as an important educator but also dealt with political patronage for the republican party. edith and tr had them to dinner. frederick douglass would come to the white house and talk to lincoln, but i don't think a dinner was involved. it is not the first time an came, but itcan

may be the first dinner. >> it could be. people threaten to kill tr. they said they should put a bomb under his chair because he advocated social equality to blacks and whites. you have to remember in african- american history, african reconstruction, this is the nadir, the low point of legal , and african- americans in the south were treated very badly. was very controversial to cross the color line socially. in one biography of her, there are a number of citations of personal correspondence where she would use what we would consider derogatory terms about african-americans. , itrites in the book follows in the range of general white attitudes among the upper-

middle-class in those years. muchs delivered without -- has not been explored. what kind of influence can we know that she might have had in this thinking on this topic thatal >> this is a couple has been together every day. they went horseback riding, they went walking. they had a very close relationship. i think what lewis l gould is doing in his book, and i would of modernhe founder first lady scholarship. he is looking at these letters and terms edith is using to describe african-americans and finding them within the boundaries of what white

americans used. what kind of influence does she have on her husband? we don't know. it would be interesting to look brownsvilleg of the incident with some of the things edith has written and what she said. african-american soldiers who were falsely accused and brownsville texas, there was local hostility and tr didn't really want to know the details. they got dishonorable discharges, and i think quite unjustly. he did not have a great amount of african-american support in the north where they could vote,

and certainly he lost them over that. when he was no longer going to run for president, he was less attentive to the needs of african-americans. >> it prompts more questions. topic but itble just shows you there are always more questions. she brought in singers of spirituals. >> that was considered giving them an audience at that time. minstrel shows, it is spirituals. looking back, so much has changed. at the end of his life, he said

justice has not been done for black people. it is a very interesting topic. sagamorel return to hill, the family home in long island and learn more about their collection that shows family life of the roosevelts.

>> she raised her five children from infancy, obviously, and she kept souvenirs. and there's actually in t.r.'s letters, references to ethel walking around in little red shoes. i think all of the children have little red shoes at some point or another. edith dhoeptz that the children did not destroy. the book is of peter rabbit in french. it belonged to ethel. the roosevelts were fortunate as the children were growing up, the beatrix potter books were brand new. they bought them. they read them to their children and with their children. the children would read back to them. the books were important to the roosevelts at all ages. i love the fact that this one in french is a way to introduce a child to a new language in a -- you know, in a story they already knew.

probably helped to read a story you already knew to learn french. this tells the story of her family's life. in the top row, the representations of her husband and herself and her six children. it goes on to show highlights of his career. the actions as vice president for cuba, for being president. equal to show that he was a writer, a pelican on the third road to show his conservation interests. and then on the bottom row, three sons in uniform and a gold star for clinton who was kill in world war i. and it was a lovely piece. she had learned to do needle work as a small girl. she did needle work in her lifetime. it's a poignant very touching

representation of what was important to her. >> i want to tell you about some resources. this video is on our website. but there's also a special feature. we have been accumulating all of the programs for this series as you know, before we finish we'll have done a biography of each of the first ladies who served in the united states. all of the resources with all of the videos of past programs plus many that didn't make it to air. we have a special feature each week. the special feature for this one is an item from sag more hill. it's a dog bowl that edith kepter in will study. there's an interesting story. our partner for this series is the white house historical association.

they have been so helpful in helping us prepare the resources. they have published a book of biographies, the first ladies of the united states. we're making it available for you at cost. on that same website, there's a link if you would like to order it, individual biographies of each of the first ladies and you can be prepared of the ones coming up in the years ahead and we'll get that too you quickly. there it is. that's what it looks like. you can have that as part of your own collection. well, i'd like to get to the part people have been asking us a lot about. that is the early years. they knew each oh as very small children. how did that happen? >> they grew up in the same neighborhood in new york city. tee ara grew up at east 20th street and she grew up near union square. they were together.

she was his younger sister's corinne's best friend. they watched the invalid corps of the civil war, the men who lost arms and legs marching down from union square together. they were playmates. they read books together. they were like family. >> did they watch abraham lincoln's funeral procession? >> yes. and she cried when she saw all of the invalided soldiers. that was 1865. they were really little. >> and has memories of those. >> i think we have pictures of that on a screen. amazing -- again, you can see the tiny fingers of children peering out the window. >> a miraculous find. >> it is. indeed it is. >> and so they were children together and people thought there was a romance there. but in turn, he married someone else. how did that all happen? >> well, that's the mystery of the summer house.

there was a -- there was an argument. we don't really know what happened. but t.r. and edith were together. things seemed to be going very well. and then there was some sort of a fight. after that, they broke apart. theodore went off to harvard. he saw across the room he saw alice hathaway lee. and he told a friend i'm going to marry that woman. and indeed, he did. >> who was she? >> they were descendents of the people who came over on the mayflower or intermarried with them. she was a daughter of a wealthy banker. beautiful woman, charming, athletic. and t.r. was incredibly taken with her. but she had many suters so he had to work hard. he sort of surrounded her, he charmed her little brother and sister and her cousins and her uncles. finally he became so familiar.

>> how old were they when they were married? >> 1980 -- i mean 1880. he was just 21 and she was something like 19. so they're very, very young. >> but that's not unusual in that time period. >> how long were they married? >> she died in 1884 on valentine''s day, so four years. >> four years. >> this is the story that i said was one that you would never forget. tell the story of what happen in the roosevelt house on that valentine's day in 1 4? >> alice had been born. the baby had been born two days before. but alice the mother had a kidney disease. so she was fading. t.r. was up in the estate, in albany with the state assembly. so he got telegram saying come down, your mother is ill and she had typhoid fever.

shen he would get more telegrams, alice is not doing well either. he came down on a train to new york and came into the house and it was -- they both died that day. it was a tragedy that, you know, that broke his heart. and he was distraught. he had been west, but he did flee to the west and was very, very sad for a long time. >> so hard to imagine losing your mother on one floor and a few floors below, your young wife a few days after childbirth. what happened to roosevelt in the years after? how did he approach this? was it surprising he married again? >> it was surprising to him, i think. he told his sister, don't let me run into edith at your house anymore because edith was friends with both sisters. so when theodore roosevelt went out the the dakotas, he vowed he was never going to marry again.

a victorian notion that you were committed to your wife, even though she had died. and so he was -- he was heard to walk the floor. i have none so he met edith. an impromptu meeting and they discovered that old flame had died. rekindled. they courted in secret and didn't tell anyone about it. a funny moment others realized they were in love because it was printed in the newspapers they were engaged. he said go tell the sisters. it's kind of true. >> but to show how far he travelled emotionally. he was a diaryist. >> my wife is ruined. >> the big x he put on the day. the light has gone out of my life and to be able to travel

from that to marrying edith in that short time. he was -- >> people said he didn't know what he was doing. he attended a double funeral. he was devastated but he was also very young and very vigorous and very much alive. they had been sweethearts and she knew him before -- before the tragedy happened, right? so if anyone in his life, edith knew him the longest. through the death of his father, the death of his mother, the death of his wife, it was -- it was, i think, in that sense, a sort of a lovely destiny that he would find solace in this old dear friend. >> our guest is a biographer of alice roosevelt, the child edith inherited when she married. this is good and you made reference many times to her outside personality. what was the relationship like between the two women? >> that's an interesting question. because edith said she did her best by alice. she once said, i'm not the best

mother for alice. you need someone more outgoing than i am. she was a good problem. alice had a leg problem. she stretched her leg. she was indulgent towards alice. alice said i'm not going go to boarding school. so her step mother gave into that. but as alice got older, i think she was seeking attention that she never ever had. so to find that attention, she couldn't quite get it from her father or step mother. didn't get it from her step siblings, alice looks on a bigger stage for that. once she began to cross the lines of propriety, the relationship became more strained. >> was there a difference in how she treated her own children. >> she preferred ethel. i think alice knew that.

she was strong willed. she had been a little spoiled. her grandparents would buy her anything. she had a strong will and edith would have preferred a more pliant, more traditional daughter. she had one. that was tough. no one talked to alice about her mother's death. t.r. was never able to explain to her why she had a different mother. >> on twitter, what was the relationship between edith and bammy. >> bammy had a little white house where t.r. would come to have secret meetings. she was quite a smart and capable person. so she and -- she also ran sagimore hill and set it up before they moved in. there's more competition about banny and edith about who's going be the political advisor.

but most of the time, they worked together. but it's clear that bammy was formidable and brilliant woman. she's a really important person in eleanor roosevelt's life too. >> going to return to sag more hill for a look at how edith ran that house hold, which she established as her own after bammy had run it for a while. >> sagimore hill designed to be a summer home. it was always their primary residen residence. when the first five or six years they were married, they lived here year-round. it was hard to heat in the winter, it was the center of their life even though they weren't here, it is where their hearts were. edith ran the house hold. not only in sagimore hill, but in albany, in washington, d.c. she managed the family's accounts and the investments.

what we have here is an account book. an example of the annual counts. it's from 1891, i think it is. and every family member is listed. and then she kept track of the expenses that she paid for each family member every month of the year. but it's also broken down to grocery bills. what she was buying for the butcher. what she might pay a plumber to come in and take care of the affairs. she counted every penny. s arc gimore hill was different because it was never a commercial venture. they never tried to be self-sufficient. what she wanted was to juf set the expense of living there. so they did raise hay, you know, and alfalfa and rye, you know, grains they could feed their horses and reduce the costs of having horses here.

they did have a lovely garden as that produced everything from corn to strawberries. an arbor with eight different kinds of grapes, strawberries and blueberries fields. the idea was to feed the family and the staff that lived on site but to reduce the costs of having a property like this. this is the guest book. and people would come up to ctr, they would sign their names like they were visiting the white house. it's a casual list. it's not as formal as the white house list would have been. 3wu usually they would have been politicians or government officials. but even family signed the book. here in 1904 anna roosevelt visited. that was the older sister, baymy. her brother-in-law douglas robinson was visiting, so it was

obviously a family visit that day. there are signatures from them. someti i don't think these people sign their name. i think people went back and made note of who had been visiting. a wonderful illustration done by one of the visitors showing hope at sunset which is what the illustration said. but it was a way for the family to keep track of who came to see them. when families and friends were here and what they were up to while they were visiting. >> a look at life at sagimore hill. going spend a few minutes on a big topic. that's really the influence of edith roosevelt on her husband, very active administration. just some statistics again. we had to choose some from a two-year term. and i mean a two-term administration. this is hardly an exhaustive

list. in 1904, supreme court upholds the antitrust act. 1905, the national forest service was created. the pure food and drug act passed in 1906, something you said was a very contentious time. roosevelt wins the nobel peace prize in that year. in 1908, the federal bureau of investigation was created, just a few things the time they were in the office. what was edith's influence if you look at what she contributed to this? >> edith played a large role, but behind the scenes. one of their friends called edith the perfection of invisible government which i think she would have liked. for example, going back to the victorian thing. edith said we're not going call him by his name. it was mr. president. she never called him by his first name in the white house. >> making it much more formal 506789. >> she played a role in

personnel. he suggested someone. she tried to get rid of an ambassador from britain she didn't like very much and tried to get one in. she said i pulled every string i knew to pull to get you here. alas, she failed. she was a back channel to theodore roosevelt. for example, in the white house henry cab both lyons would talk to her about the post office scandal rather than talk to him about it. so she could be a pathway for roosevelt to discuss matters of diplomacy that he could not discuss with the diplomats themselves. we mentioned all of the time they spent together walking. she writes four newspapers a day. e. >> he didn't have time. >> she wrote newspapers and cut out stories and handed them to

him. she made sure certain topics were in front of him. >> what about her influence? >> she favored the conservation policies. we have her on record for that. later on when he ran for president in 1912, she cries it day after he loses. she was really behind him. she edits his speeches and articles. he clearly talks with her about policy. she sits in meetings, like mrs. carter but knitting and looking unobtrusive but they discuss what happened at the meeting afterwards. she's a very active first lady. >> brent in lancaster, minnesota. >> thank you for taking my call. i have a quick question concerning edith's life after the presidency and after t.r. died. was she active in washington's society after that? and did he have much influence or relationship with franklin

delano as he began his run for politics? >> thank you for that question. we're going dissect it a little bit. the roosevelts leave the white house and did they believe that the political career is over at that point. >> well, i think the they said that. she thought it was true. t.r. goes on safari in africa. she joins him. they ride cam mels together in egypt and they go revisit sites of their honeymoon in italy and other places. he comes back. taft is in political trouble because the republican party is split between progressives and conservatives and taft hasn't really done a great job of holding the party together. so t.r. gets back to politics in 1912. >> she supported his run as the candidate? >> she did. it was a painful moment.

they knew he couldn't win. but this is when the primary system comes in, states voting to have preferential primaries instead of having caucuses to choose candidates. it was hard to predict. he won a lot of the primaries. no one knew what it meant. by the time it went to the convention, taft controlled the delegates and suspended the nomination. >> seven years after the unsuccessful run, he dies. he was just 60 years old, how did he die? >> his heart came out. >> an ambolism kills him. >> was he failing? >> he was in the brazilian jungle in 1913 and almost dies, fever, rheumatism. so he's in bad shape and part of it is the way he's lived his

life. he packed a lot into 6. >> a strenuous life. >> was edith with him when he die? >> she was downstairs. >> in the house? >> in the living room. she had been taking care of him and they knew it was serious. did he die at sa fwrks imore hill? >> he did. >> she was just 58. >> how did she spend her white house years. there were many of them. she lived for a long time. >> travelled, travelled, travelled. a lot of places. went to south africa many times. went around the world. sailed with kermit and other children. >> was she political? tsz. >> except for one moment. they're upset about ted's career not going too well. theodore retz roelt junior was assistant secretary of the navy.

he tried to follow in his father's footsteps. it didn't work. >> she had a sad family life in her post-white house years losing three of her sons. >> oh, awful, horrible, unbelievable. yes. clinton died in world war i. then she lost sons in world war ii. you wanted to tell this story? >> on the beach at normandy. he's a war hero. archie lives a very long life and alice will outlive everyone. >> alice, we have to say a word about the person she married and how her relationship turned out being a big factor after her parents' relationship. >> she married a man 15 years her senior who thought would

have become president which would have been alice in the white house as first lady. they have a torturous relationship, i would say. she will have a child. nick is not the father of the child. william bora is the father of the child. and she becomes sort of a -- she was more like a -- she was a wise political observer. and people sought out her dining table and her advice for really 60 years. she was an icon in washington, d.c. the other washington monument, she was called. >> funny. >> famously funny. >> yes. >> we're going to show a little bit of the clip we started our program with. it 's the republican rallies. >> right. and one understands the family politics of the roosevelts. we'll come back to you. >> this is theodore roosevelt.

>> i'm a new yorker.

for president of the united states. >> there we look at her one dip into politics in her postwhite house years. so what should people know about that -- that relationship between the two roosevelt families and their political aspirations? >> she was mad at eleanor for that and she was supporting ted in his political ambitions and she was being a loyal republican. herbert hoover gave money to the bull moose party and people saw hoover as a progressive republican. >> which of the movements was closest to mrs. rose veelts heart? >> she supported parks and playgrounds in oyster bay. so i wouldn't think of her as being an active reformer. but she was sympathetic with some of the reforms. >> four minute, going to tie a bow around all of this. what we learned about edith is let's take a call from joel in

monroe, michigan who's been waiting. hi, joem. >> i have a question for stacy. i read her book about alice. i was totally impressed with it. it's the only book i've ever seen about her. i want to ask a question -- were her impersonations of eleanor as good as what everybody said they were. >> yes, they really, really were that good. she did a mean one of mrs. taft that got in the way of the transition of the roosevelt-taft white house as well. she's a good mimic. >> did i read after she was leaving the white house and the tafts were coming in, she stuck her tongue out at the press? >> i wouldn't be surprised. >> it was her personality. >> in what ways was edith roosevelt best suited to the 20th century first lady? >> i think 20th century first ladies have had to be partners.

it's such a demanding job that the president needs not only emotional support but he needs practical help. there have been quiet delegations throughout the first ladies's time in history. >> an excellent answer. >> he said i've never seen in any other woman the power of being the best of wives and managers, the wisest manager of a house hold and the same time the ideal great lady and mistress of the white house. >> that's going to answer the question what strengths did she have that helped her president be a successful president. >> she was patient. >> the most important characteristic with theodore. >> one of the things we didn't talk about -- we could spend two hours alone on this. how different they were in personalities and characters, right? where t.r. is outgoing and never

met a stranger, edith was much more reserved. part of it is when to give him his head and when to say, now, theodore. don't you think? calmed him down. he was more excitable and impulsive. she's calm and deliberate. >> right. >> she was a better judge of people, everyone said that than theodore was. he said when i went against edith's advice, i regretted it. >> going to squeeze in the last question from robert. hey, robert, quick question, please? >> thank you for taking my call. you mentioned he came from a healthy family. i was interested in the source of the wealth. if they maintained the wealth, why is she so conscientious about money? >> you go. >> the rez volt -- merchant wealth, banking wealth. his grandfather helped to found

the chemical bank in new york city and they owned a lot of property. so t.r. spent a lot of his inheritance from his father on ranching and wasn't very careful about money. they lived on his writing and salary. that is why they were strapped. >> edith was poor as a child compared to the roosevelts. so she was always in the habit of pinching the pennies. wasn't until they got the white house that she felt she had enough money finally to entertain and could relax a bit. >> as we close here, we've shown you the biography. i want to make sure to get it on screen. kathleen dawson's book, theodore roosevelt. our callers may have read it. you may want to learn more. as we close out quickly here, as we look at the pantheon of first ladies that we're going to understand and learn more about