understand that having this very antagonistic relationship to the west is not the way to go if they want to have greater economic growth. >> watch "afterwords" sunday night on c-span2. >> next, an american history tv exclusive. our cities tour visits springfield, illinois. to learn more about its unique history and literary life. for eight years now, we've traveled to u.s. cities bringing the literary scene and historic sites to our viewers. you can watch more of our visits at c-span.org/citiestour. >> the purpose of this building was to show that illinois had it made. when they built this building, they knew they were going to build a new capitol they wanted something that -- i say shock and awe.

they wanted to show that illinois, man, we are it. that's what this building is and to some extent what it reps. >> welcome to springfield, illinois. located in the center of the state it became the capital with the help of a young pollation named abraham lincoln. he moved to springfield and began a political career that would launch him into the national spotlight. for the next two hours we'll learn about the city's history and life and legacy of america's 16th president. we begin our special feature with a visit to his presidential ibrary and museum. >> the city of springfield, so much of it is built around the legacy of abraham lincoln. illinois is the land of lincoln, springfield is the home of lincoln. his old courthouse where he gave speeches, and he's buried on the

outskirts of town. this museum was built in 2005, it opened to the public. it had been a dream of for a long time of many folks here in central illinois. the pup of the library is very basic. to preserve and pass on the legacy of abraham lincoln. he's a man who i think best encapsulated what it means to be american. what the idea of america is all about. the dom, equality, opportunity. we do put him on a pedestal rightly but he was a human being he had great ambitions to do great things and he succeeded in that. abraham lincoln was born in 1809 in kentucky he lived there for a few years. he moved when he was 6 or 7 to indiana and lived until his teens in indiana. he lived on the frontier. he had a lot of hard work to do, clearing land, being a farmer in many ways. again, very difficult life. one that he was determined to move beyond. so you see a very young lincoln putting a focus on learning as much as he could and finding

those rare books he could read and read them cover to cover, over and over again he knew he wanted to do something more with is life. from an early age, abraham lincoln said he knew that slavery wasn't -- if slavery wasn't wrong, nothing was wrong. we believe, it's somewhat speculation, he would have seen slavery growing up in kentucky when he was very young. one of the reasons the family left kentucky, our understanding, is their dislike of slavery. but as a young man he traveled down the mississippi river twice to new orleans. which at that point was the biggest slave trading market in america. and we know he stayed just a block or two away from one of the major air dwhreefs slave trade there, a slave auction area. it's certain he saw it then and was repelled by it. he saw slavery as a moral evil, as something running completely counter to the founding ideals of america he also saw from an economic view it made no sense economically that people should

be able to reap the benefit of what they do for their work. some speculate that early on, him being farmed out to other farmers by his father showed him the injustice. if you're working and you're sweating for that product, you should benefit from that. you should profit from that. and of course in slavery, that was not the case at all. so fundamental moral and philosophical repulsion to slavery. also realizing that this was fundamentally unfair in every way. and he had that view and put that into effect as president. abraham lincoln came to springfield, illinois, in 1837. he was in the state legislature. he was a lawyer, a young lawyer at that point. making his way in the world. he was part of that legislative group that ended up getting the state capital moved to springfield. he was instrumental in making that move here. in me here, he was active the social scene, active as he could be, a little awkward

around women. he met mary todd from lexington, kentucky he met her at the home of her sister, elizabeth. she had married the son of a former governor. -- came he came other over to her and said i want to dance to you -- dance with you in the worst way and she said he did that. he was not a great dancer. they hit it off, it was a rocky relationship. they reconnected in 1842. mary todd lincoln was an amazing woman. her role of getting him involved in politics was extraordinarily important. she came from a very connected family in kentucky. the todd family. very aristocratic family there. she was close friends as a youth with henry clay, one of ibe hamlin con's great idols in the u.s. senate.

she had a political background. she would read the newspapers and talk politics with her father. she was extraordinarily well educated. when shet met lincoln she saw in him a rough version of what he could be and she realized that there was a leader that she was seeing, a future lead threr. so i think she prodded him along the way. i think she pushed him a little bit. she supported him. they were a good political pair. obviously issues, particularly later in her life. but as you put that pair together they were one heck of a political pair. as a lawyer, abraham made a name for himself in southern illinois but also as a politician in the state legislature. he aspired higher he ran for the senate, most famously in 1858. we know that because of course the great debates with stephen douglas, his great political rival. seven debates were held around illinois. they really encapsulated the political ideas and detpwheists time like nothing else. steach dough ulous was known as

the little giant. he was a bigger name than abraham lincoln. he was a democrat he stood for slavery. he was trying desperately to get the democratic presidential nomination he already had his eyes on that he knew the senate was an important steppingstone to that democratic nomination. of course two years later in 1860, these two men who were rivals for the senate seat that douglas won were rival nevers presidency, this time abraham coming out on top because of the split in the democratic party. there were seven debates between lincoln and douglas in the 1858 senate race. it raised lincoln's name up around the country. he was already very involved or getting very involved in the new republican party. so he was going out to adjoining states, sometimes further afield to speak, but he was an illinois politician. these debates helped raise him to the level of national prominence. it's interesting, several times after his defeat in 1858 and before that lincoln, like any human being, when he suffered defeat thinks that's it. i'm done. no one will remember me at all. after the 1858 debate he is said

maybe i was able to enunciate some important principles -- principle -- principles, maybe that will be remembered, maybe not. he has thought of running the presidency and of course plots a path to do that in 1860678 still very unlikely that he gets elected. what helps him is douglas run bus loses a lot of southerners, the democratic party splits. abraham retains the republican party as a whole unit and wins most of the north. so that's how he becomes president. the interesting thing is, douglas, always his political rival, they had obviously differing views on important issues like slavery but after the election and the war breaks out, douglas says, i'm with you. i stand with union. i put that in the credit box for stephen douglas, he stood up and said i will support you. sadly right after that, he passed away. he was elected president in 1860678 left springfield on february 11, 1861. back then inauguration was in march, rather than january hsm

left springfield and addressed the crowd from the back of the train at the depot. heart felt remarks that talked about the importance of springfield to him other time. it was where he had grown up and practiced law, raised a family, owned a home, how much he owed to springfield. you can sense in those words his concern about maybe never coming back. he realize he's going on to an enormous challenge in washington. when the president came into office, often they have a honeymoon period when they start their term. he had no such honeymoon. as he was elected and is wait frling inauguration, states are starting to sea cede from the union. when he gets here, he's immediately confronted with the issue of fort sumter being blockaded by the southerners. what do you do about that? he realizes any step there could facilitate a war. how he tra versions that difficult the rain, that's immediately put on his desk when he gets to washington, of course eventually the south fires the first shot and the war begins,

no one, surgeonly lincoln, didn't want but that came anyway. horrible cost to this nation. but lincoln knew that he had to follow in the footsteps of washington. he was one of his heroes he went back to the founding fathers and realized he had a sacred duty to preserve the union and carry on the ideas they had. and make right those ideas thamp still very incomplete thanks to he horrible evil of slavery. abraham lincoln arrives in washington as the newly elected president, ready to take the oath. he has to sneak into town because of assassination plots against him. already he's being attacked terribly by any number of individuals and publications. this part of the museum, the whist pering gallery we show some of those representations of him, the attacks on him and you hear some of those whispered as you walk through the gallery as well. everything from his looks to intelligence or lack thereof and

this horrible racist thing also spewed about him. you see them blaming him for the thousands upon thousands of deaths and casualties. must have been a horrible burden to him that every move questioned and to be personally attacked in such really vicious manner from every possible avenue. of course also from his own party. he almost wasn't renominated in 1864 to run again for the presidency. he was under such tai tack -- attack from the republican party itself. the civil war is so much a part of what we talk about here at the lincoln library and museum. in this part of the gallery, we have an amazing audio visual presentation tchailed civil war in four minutes. every week of the war is shown as one second you see the changing board orse of north and south and mounting casualty rate in the lower right of the screen. it's a phenomenal way of representing how that war progressed. of course that war took a great toll on the nation an certainly took a great toll on abraham lincoln. we all know the horrible aging

he underwent in those four year, five years, from his election in 1860, where you can see in the photos, looked like a young man, to a time right before his death, we have one of the final photos of him in 1865, he looks like he's aged 20 or more years because of the stress of the war. we have also -- we are also fortunate here to have life masks of abraham lincoln. the one in 1860, we allow guests to touch this, to see how big their hand is compared to abraham lincoln's. this was taken not long before the assassination. a very different face here of a man grown prematurely old with all the stress and strain of the civil war. so what caused the stress for abraham, president lincoln, during the war, he gets stressed from many fronts. of course he does go to the telegraph office all the time. he's very much connected to the fronts, he knows the mounting casualty numbers.

he visits hospitals with mary in the washington area and sees the sick, the wounded, the dying. he takes it very personally, every one of those he does get constant bombardment of letters from families wanting to know where their loves ones are, talking about the horrible, horrible toll of the war. just about every direction he's getting these stresses. he also has to make constant decisions. decisions that he knows may preserve or destroy the union. these are extraordinarily earth-shaking decisions that no man, no woman, could take easily and you see that as part of the stress as well. when the war began, when lynn condition came to office, the civil war began, he put so much effort into preserving the union but he understood that the real core issue was slavery. and he knew he had to make measures against slavery. of course that was a controversial thing to do. one of my favorite areas of my

museum shows his initial reading of the emancipation proclamation to his very strong cabinet you see a variety of reactions to that. some happy, some not happy at all. because they feared that the manspation proclamation would drive, particularly the border states, into the confederacy. that would have been probably fatal to the union. but lincoln knew at that point from a principle point of view, he had the authority, as commander in chief, to free the slaves in rebel territory taken by union armies. but he knew it was important to bring african-american men into the union fighting forces. they played an extraordinarily important role in the final victory of the union in the civil war. lincoln presents the draft emancipation proclamation to his cabinet and you famously heard from doris kearns goodwin, this as a team of rivals he got a

variety of opinions on it. some were against black equality but realized the proclamation was a wartime measure. there were a diversity of views on it. at the end it was president lincoln's decision to make he said he had had a conversation with god about. this that's, i think, you see a growing real jusness, if that's a word work abraham lincoln over time. in his early youth he was seen as atheist sometimes. you see this kind of coming to terms with god over time and by the time of the emancipation proclamation and the second inaugural you see a very religious man. so the war is over. lee surrendered. there's still some mopping up operations in the west. but essentially the war is over. lincoln goes to richmond and walks the streets of richmond the rebel capital. comes back, says a few words at the white house, decides one of the things he loved to do is go

to the theater he decides to take mary to a play at ford's theater, "our american cousin," a comedy. they go there, a little after 10:00 p.m., john wilkes booth enters the area where the president is sitting with mary along with major rathbone and clara harr liss and shoots the president point-blank in the head. he dice on good friday. he then is taken back to springfield where he'll be buried on a trip that's some 1,700 miles on the rail. i think the most prolonged, elaborate, repeated ceremony in american history, thousands turn out to see the train and pay their respects toth slain president. during the final sections of what we call journey two in our museum represents lincoln lying in state at the state capitol here in springfield at the end of his long journey back from washington. it's intring to me, even though his is a replica of the scene,

the capitol down the road you can visit, it's in a reverential way, even a loud school group will quiet down and show respect to president lincoln. tens of thousands of people came to see president lincoln, pay respects while he was lying in state at the state capitol for addai, he was buried the next day at oak ridge cemetery. in terms of the burl site, some wanted to bury him in chicago. there was a great back an forth with mary. she wanted it to be in oak ridge ceremony. he was buried there as you may know a few years later, lfs a plot to steal his body. thankfully that was foiled. many years later, when robert todd was still alive they built the new tomb at oak ridge cemetery where he's buried along with mary and everyone in the family except robert todd who was buried at arlington national cemetery. when visitors come to the

museum, it's a great experience for everyone, i hope. you can learn about lincoln, his time the civil war. hopefully they realize one thing that lincoln is still very vell rant -- still very relevant to us today. that the ideal he is stood for are the ideal we as a station aspire to today. he can be a model of our how to attain those principles. >> abraham lincoln is buried inside a tomb at oak ridge cemetery in springfield, alongside his wife, mary lincoln, and three of their four sons. after his funeral and burl services, his -- and burial services, his coffin was placed in vault while dedicating the final structure. now he's buried inside a concrete vault 10 feet below ground. up next we visit the abraham incoln library and museum.

>> abraham lincoln presidential library and museum opened its doors in 2005. but our collection goes back much further. in 1889, they established the illinois state historical library and ever since that time, we have been collecting all the treasures that help illustrate illinois' wonderful past. as you might imagine, the illinois story is not complete without a really close look at abraham lincoln's life. in our lincoln collection we have about 52,000 pieces that cover every aspect of abraham lincoln's life that collection uld include about 18,000 monographs written about abraham lincoln. he's the most written about american ever, which is staggering. on any given day, visitors to the museum is able to see about 100 original pieces from our collection that are on display.

and there's always a reason to come back to the abraham lincoln presidential museum. we are rotating those items out, putting new peetses on display all the time. and we always like to say, a visitor that comes to the museum today, come back one year later, you'll see a whole new group of 100 pieces from abraham lincoln's life. so today i pulled some pieces out of our vault to show you to help illustrate the life of abraham lincoln. some of my favorite pieces. 'll show you first, the oldest piece of writing that abraham lincoln did that survives. this is a piece of a painer that abraham lincoln got his hands on in 1824 when he was living in that cabin in the middle of the wilderness he got his hands on 11 pieces of paper just like this. he sewed them together and made a little notebook and he used this to work his way through a textbook. you can see he worked his way

through all sorts of mathematical problems. he's doing addition, subtraction, long division, multiplication. she's a little boy that is trying desperately to acquire an education. abraham lincoln had less than a year of formal education, so a lot of his education is really self-taught he picks it up by working his way through textbooks. and so this is a first page of that notebook. i think it's quite remarkable, i'll show you a couple of my favorite things. this is the first abraham lincoln autograph that survives. look at how clearly he wrote his name as a young teenage boy. abraham lincoln told us in his autobiology fi he wrote for the 1860 election, an autobiographical sketch, that his

hisham lincoln, you can see father had a rough signature later in life. he is just making his mark on documents. abraham lincoln wanted something else in his life. he did not want to be a farmer. thatnted to have a life might include things like being a lawyer, being a politician. he did not want to spend his life in the wilderness. he learned at a young age how to make a good signature and also, what is so special about the document, on the back i think you might have gotten a little and he wrote a four-line little poem. abraham lincoln is my name and with my pen i wrote the same. i wrote in haste, speed, and left it here for fools to read. this is a really interesting piece that is in our permanent collection.

a real fancy piece. it is a really common ink well from the middle of the 19th century. this ink well participated in an extraordinary moment in american history. when abraham lincoln, here in springfield, crafted his inaugural address. he is dipping his pen into this inkwell and he is searching for the words that will be stern as well as reassuring to those folks in the southern states. it is this inkwell that he uses, that he has by his side as he cichlids himself in springfield at a location where he is not going to be bothered by all of the onlookers, individuals looking for a public statement. mr. lincoln will craft those words using the inkwell for the first inaugural address. at the time of his assassination, when individuals were going through his office to

collect not just the papers but also the contents of his office, this quilt pen was on abraham lincoln's desk. when he was a little boy, he was probably using quill pens as he was writing. during his presidency, he was not using quill ends. he was actually using quite modern pens to do his eloquent writing. in fact, when they found this it wasen on his desk, sitting close by a beautiful gold pen. why did abraham lincoln have a quill pen and a gold pendant sitting next to each other? .t is a matter of speculation pen represents where he came from in life. from a log cabin with less than

a year of education. maybe the gold pen symbolizes what he achieved. at the time of his death he is one of the most powerful people in the world. it is that evolution that abraham lincoln talked about during his presidency, when he talked to soldiers as he was reviewing soldiers at the end of the war and pleading with them to continue on with fighting until the war was finally over. that is the lesson he would tell the soldiers. it didn't matter where he started in life. that is the american dream. that is why america is worth fighting for. it is also a hint at why he hated slavery so much. slavery is an artificial barrier . it allowed a slave to only rise so far and hindered the ultimate growth.

onert e lee surrendered april 9, 1865 at appomattox. it is the virtual end to the american civil war. there were other armies in the field but robert ely's army is the big one. five days later, abraham lincoln was in pretty good spirits. he and his wife decided to see a play. they went to ford theater and that evening they saw a play called "our american cousin." it wasn't a tragedy that they went to go see. they wanted to see comedy, they wanted to laugh. they were in good spirits. at quarter after 10:00, a very well-known actor made his way into the presidential box and he brutally murdered the president of the united states as he was holding hands with his wife. piece helps illustrate the real tragedy of that evening.

that maryhe fan lincoln brought with her to ford theater that night. when it was brand-new and probably quite striking. silk fan and with ostrich plumes that came off the top. this was a brutal reminder to mary about the worst night of her life. notou can imagine, mary did want to keep this fan in her possession after the tragedy at ford theater. she got rid of it. item toe a collectors individuals in the 19th century, all the way through today where it has its place in our museum. mary lincoln had a fascinating life. she is america's most controversial first lady.

mary had a really tragic widowhood as well. the remaining years of her life were not happy. she had lost a little boy before the presidency. she lost another little boy during the white house years. in it widowhood, she lost a third little boy, who was her confident companion during her widowhood. in 1875, her last remaining son made an excruciating decision to have his mother involuntarily committed to an asylum. she spent about four months in a private sanitarium in illinois. her son, forgave robert, for having done that. it is a tragic episode in the life of mary lincoln. this is a another relic from the assassination. these are the gloves that were

in abraham lincoln's pocket on the night of the assassination. ofkept gloves as a custom the time, when you are shaking people's hands at an official event you have on gloves. these are a pair of white leather gloves. over time, they have probably shrunk a bit. you can get a sense of abraham lincoln's hands. ,e is six feet four inches tall still the tallest president in american history. he kept these gloves in his pocket. shot atth fired that the back of mr. lincoln's head , the doctorser that entered the box couldn't immediately identify where the wound was. it took several minutes for the doctor to find an entry wound on the back of his head.

blood was not coming out of the wound until the doctor placed his finger inside the wound and then blood began to flow. mr. lincoln was laid out on the ground in the presidential box. as the blood began flowing out of his hair, he went on the length of his body until it went into his pocket. it made its way onto these gloves. you can see the remnants of the blood on the gloves today. is really at reminder of the brutal and that mr. lincoln met. it is important for museum visitors to see original pieces on display. be it a document abraham lincoln n everyday piece that he may have interacted with, that he got ready for the day. those pieces are incredibly important as people walk through

our museum. there is power. there is magic in a museum artifact. there is something to be said for standing in front of the actual object. you can read about that object, see it in a different format, maybe a picture in a book. when you are standing in front of it, there is power in that piece. i think the greatest power those pieces have is they remind us that figures like abraham lincoln is just a human being. when you stand in front of one of those pieces, to understand that abraham lincoln was a human being. i want to thank you both for joining me today. we are here to talk about illinois politics. you, how wouldth you describe illinois politics? during my lifespan, there has

been a culture of corruption in all of my politics. starting in the 1940's when we had a republican governor, he had a very powerful machine. at that time, gambling was illegal throughout illinois. he would not allow the anti-gambling law to be enforced. the gambling interests flooded him with contributions. disclosed in the , two newspapers shared a pulitzer prize for disclosing that more than 50 annoyed newspaper editors, publishers, and other employees were actually on the state payroll. in terms of ethics and everything else in journalism, that is a big no-no. in the 1960's, i know bernie

will echo this. over the next 11 governors, including our newly inaugurated , five were indicted. one was acquitted of the charges were convicted and ended up in prison. it is great for reporting and the media and so on, i'm not sure it has been great for the state. in the 1950's.t he was governor for most of the 50's. two years after he left he was indicted on charges of income tax evasion. they were related to political contributions he received. there was a long, extensive trial. he was acquitted by a jury.

that was one of the five indicted. he was found not guilty. then we get to the 1960's. we have a very popular democratic governor for most of the 60's. everybody was shocked in a 1971 was democrat kerner indicted in chicago. this was three years after he left the governorship. he was a sitting judge in chicago. he was indicted on tax evasion and conspiracy and mail fraud charges relating to the fact that in his second term he had accepted under the table stock in a racing organization. is a bigg industry industry in illinois. he got the stock at a bargain price and was allowed to resell it. this was done covertly. it was purchased at a high price, he made a lot of money.

the tax evasion charges emanated from as well as the conspiracy charges. he was tried in the 1973 in federal court and found guilty. in 1974, he was sentenced to prison and sent to a federal prison facility in kentucky. he served there from july, 1974 until may of 1975. he was released because he had serious lung cancer. he died a year later in 1976. tiffany: he gets indicted, what is the reaction of the public to their former governor going to jail? he served two terms, it was stunning. he was very popular throughout the state.

people downstate loved him. this went across party lines. everybody respected him. because of all this, that is why it was such a shock when he was indicted in a 1971. bernie: for more than 40 years, the newspaper i work for has an annual first citizen, used to be the top family. kerner was one of those. there is a big landmark in springfield, that is the building in which barack obama announced his campaign for the presidency. he came back to announced joe biden would be his running mate. that building was the former state capitol and became the county courthouse. was governor, he went along with the idea to dismantle the entire building, blockse beautiful stone

and built a parking garage underneath. it is now a landmark. a lot of stuff happens there. kerner got that done. it was an incredible shock to everybody when he was indicted in 1971. bernie: his children really think he was targeted. a kerner day at the abraham lincoln presidential library in springfield. there was a tape of richard nixon talking to his attorney general saying we have to get this guy, he is a democrat in illinois. think him children being convicted on this grounds is touchy. you know much more about this. we should let it be known that itner's family was happy

came out that president nixon seem to have a vendetta. jim thompson said kerner was guilty. he was the longest-serving governer. a greatd out to be politician. he could put on cowboy boots and go to the state fair and deal with people very well. taylor: the next one indicted ironically was not endorsed by the democratic machine. he was a rebel democrat named dan walker. in 1972.s elected bernie: he was known as bandanna dan. a straightlaced attorney. he put on a red bandanna and went to the southern tip of the state. he walked the length of the state in a zigzag, getting press coverage everywhere he went.

it was this amazing outpouring of media coverage saying i am going to take on springfield. he got known for that. was running against the democratic hierarchy. all sorts of regular democrats in the counties and communities he was walking to would refuse to talk to him. he spent almost the whole time talking to people who had not been involved in the political process one way or another. he brought in a lot of young iople who had no interest assumed before that in politics. he slept in different homes every night. very seldom where they connected. the biggest political story i ever covered in illinois was in 1972 democratic primary when

walker democrat -- upset paul simon. everyone thought he would easily beat him. there was quite incredible. his governorship was a mixed bag. inengaged constantly confrontation with virtually everybody. not just republicans but other democrats. the mayorade up with in chicago. in retrospect, walker wished he had made up with daily because he might have gone further in public life. seven years after he left the governorship, his downfall began when he and his wife purchased a small savings and loan down in illinois. branch in a open a , they made that

the headquarters. 1986, federal authorities took it over saying it was not solvent. the following year, walker was indicted on perjury and other charges relating to the operation of the savings-and-loan. charge that he had profited personally from bonds connected to the savings-and-loan. he pled guilty to three of the charges. in 1970's --ced 1987 to seven years in federal prison by a federal district court judge in chicago. years of it.d 1.5

he was released for health and other reasons. it was tough duty. it was very difficult. he was in a real penitentiary, unlike kerner. walker: when was convicted and what is the reaction now that they have another governor convicted? bernie: it was interesting. there wasn't a lot of sympathy. it is just like here we go again. when he was governor, there really was no scandal to talk about. a lot of bickering, definitely. walker lived very sparsely as governor. he didn't use the fancy toousine, he felt he had protect his image. when he lost and could not get the nomination and was out, he

decided i have been deprived of all the perks i could have exercised as governor so i will enjoy myself now and i will really -- he had several business ventures that made money before he got the savings-and-loan. he also found the money to buy not one but two yachts. he lived a glamorous life. tiffany: we brought this up a couple times talking about the walkeral machine that had gone against. can you talk about the political machine and where are they based out of? daley, heyor richard was mayor for 26 years, maybe it was 21. there is a book by famed chicago newspaper columnist, it is the news and some schools across the country to teach how to build a political machine. the chicago democratic party, the mayor controls the people

running the board in city hall. he ended up controlling the legislature and some governors. knowsdaily -- mayor daley about this. if you got out to vote, your garbage got picked up and your snow got plowed. if you didn't do that, you got fired. that is a lawyer eventually took on the daley machine saying people shouldn't be hired or fired for political purposes. in the early days, starting in the late 50's or 60's, you performed for the party or you didn't get jobs. it is funny. the newspapers in chicago have .one a good job over the years you go before the organization to be slated for a judge.

people get slated and if the party is for you, there are so many judges on the ballot in cook county because of the way they split it up, nobody knows who the people are. if you are on the ballot, you win. tiffany: how did the power of this machine's that seem to be chicago make its way to springfield? alderman youu an have real power. there are 50 of them. sometimes it was more important in chicago to be eight a member -- to be a member of the council. as these stories about paul and others who were corrupt down stators, it wasn't limited to chicago. we will talk about george ryan, a republican governor. there was a machine there as well. the republican brand.

state mentalor the health facility that was there, you probably should buy your stateac from the local senator's cadillac dealership. then you got your job. chicago had such a population center. below 3 i guess dipped million people but it was above at times. they elected a lot of legislators. a lot of them would come down to tell for mayor daley them how to vote. tiffany: george ryan, what was his background and how did he end up beating the democrats? even oute was not of office a year when he was indicted. he was elected in 1998.

the houseaker of before that. he was a powerful legislator. he was the speaker of the house, a very powerful position in illinois. he was an elected official in the county i think. i think he ran the county board. i know he ran the county politically. in many ways, he didn't operate politically any different than his predecessors in different counties, democrats and republicans. things caught up with ryan and within a year, he was a one term governor, he was indicted. on a whole variety of charges related to so-called corrupt activities during his years of public service. trial, i think it was a seven trial, he was

convicted on 18 counts of corrupt activity. sentenced to prison, he was sentenced to 6.5 years. his defenders always said that when he was indicted for a lot of things he did he wasn't doing nothing that a lot of his predecessors both republicans and democrats had done. truth to a little that. apparently, the powers that be decided to finally make a stand on this stuff. and a lot of the going back toed his years in the secretary of state's office. elected secretary of state and i think he served from 1991 until 1999. the problem in the office was he had a very aggressive fundraising operation. it wasn't necessarily run directly by him. i remember at the fairgrounds

when he would have fundraisers and there were giant lines of people paying to shake his hand. full buildings full of people. there was a guy who was his chief of staff who also went to prison. ony were putting pressure people and drivers license facilities to raise money. you can move up in the eyes of the boss if you raise money. wherewere things going on particularly trucking companies bribes to get licenses. this all came to a head and started to develop because there was this horrible accident near milwaukee in 1994. they had six of their nine children in a van. there was a truck driver who had

gotten his license apparently through bribery that somebody paid for him. a piece of metal fell off his truck. the van ran over the piece of metal, the car basically started on fire and six children died. some of thee in offices where the bribes for licenses transaction were taking place that some people kept notes and went to investigators. ultimately, this led to a lot of investigation into what george ryan was doing and his people. while there was no murder charge or anything like that, this horrible situation led to an investigation and there were many people who were indicted and convicted. part andhe corruption yet people look at him in the legislature as someone you could work with, who could get things done. when the chicago bears almost moved out of soldier field, your dry and help push through

plan to get this modern saucer so the bears stayed in downtown chicago. it done. he was a dealmaker and people trusted his word in the legislature. he was a good speaker of the house. tiffany: we can't leave without talking about the last governor. taylor: rob mccoy of itch -- he is a boyish looking individual. anyway. 2008, he was arrested by the fbi and charged with basically trying to implement pay to play systems. an appointment wherever,

you have to pay and so on. impeached.09, he was he was convicted in the general assembly process. later that year, he was indicted by the feds, mainly on charges in trying to do this pay to play theme. the one that garnered attention was that he saw the profit from the sale of barack obama's senate seat. he was the senator of illinois when he got elected and the governor appoints the person that phil betsy. -- filled that seat. it was worth individuals to pay

to get the senate seat. >> i don't know if it was as direct as give me $1 million, give my wife a job. or maybe i can get a job running your association. >> it was clear. that's what got him in hot water. 2010.t to trial in and there was a mistrial. but then there was a retrial and he was found guilty, again basically on the selling barack obama's senate seat charge. 2011, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison. and in 2012, he started serving that sentence out in a penal facility at the edge of denver. >> lawyer in chicago, assistant state's attorney. i'm not sure the sequence, but

he met the daughter of a powerful chicago alderman. and he married her. chain,d up the political was interested in running for things. and is up going -- ended up going to congress. he was in the house. he was the kind of guy who would play around. i remember him throwing spitballs at another guy one night. he was kind of a backbencher. when a seat came open, he got to congress. i remember being at the democratic national convention in california, and he shows up, says i'm going to be governor. and he was a great campaigner. i remembered the smell, his father -- dixon l,'s came when rob

mccoy which was in congress and running for nomination for governor. nell said this guy is the best campaigner you'll ever see. if he goes to a bowling alley, he won't leave until he shakes everybody's hand. democrat -- andrew jackson, to the victor goes the spoils. get yout rod and we'll some jobs, basically. that kind of thing. the downstairs went strongly for him. he ended up winning the primary. i remember seeing him at the state campaign monday. it was on a weekend. there were a few hundred people. when he finished talking about his father that came from europe and his mother who took nickels and dimes at the cta station, public transit in chicago, just

to kids through college and a good education. when he finished this, there was online about a block long, mostly women waiting to meet him and have him signing sweatshirts. he had charisma. then he got to be governor. turned out, he didn't want to do much. he state in chicago most of the time. there was an eight minute report that ended up on a tv station in chicago. he was in his bathrobe coming out because he wasn't going into the office. for a while, the state still had airplanes, a fleet politicians could use. that ended under the last governor. there was a three day veto session in the fall or book oil which -- in state plan would pick him up in the morning, taken to springfield. and at 4:00 in the afternoon, he would go home so he could tuck in his kids at night. he didn't want to do the work.

there are people who asked for clemency petitions. he let thousands piled up because he wasn't acting on them. by the time he got into this other trouble, which -- he ended with his a fight father-in-law. he blew the whistle on someone running a dump for materials. he got the epa involved. dick mel told one of the chicago police stations, what is rod doing? he's saying if they pay him and his campaign, he will appoint them to something. that started the process. than the fbi started bugging his campaign office and i think his home for several weeks then news started to break about those tapes. and he sounded so self-indulgent.

he called barack obama's senate seat the opportunity to appoint -- there's a bad word that starts with f. it's golden. golden opportunity i won't give away for nothing. as he would argue, he never got a dime from this, never got the job. people probably donated to his campaign, but not personal money. still got 14 years because the judge, former department of revenue, put the hammer down on him. because in addition, after he was indicted, he went on this national tour. he was on david letterman. he's like, what are you doing here? put upon byent man powers at be. people always trade, talk about different positions. he ended up being a contestant on the celebrity apprentice. this is when we found out he

couldn't type because he had to use a computer for one of his things on the show and he couldn't really type. but he was shameless and going around the country saying this is not my fault. i did nothing wrong. the judge didn't like that. he's still in prison. his wife patti has gone on fox news a couple times to talk about how terrible it is these prosecutors railroaded my husband for just doing political work and trying to be good. i think we're hoping donald trump my commute his sentence or pardon him. hasn't happened yet. maybe on a slow news day. >> we talk a lot about the culture of corruption in illinois. there's certainly a lot of extremely decent and honest people in public office in illinois. that should be pointed out. a lot of them are well-intentioned. they're in both parties. they don't get the attention

that these people get. i would say right now, the future is in the hands of jb pritzker, who has never had an individual like this in my lifetime at the helm in illinois. and i'm optimistic that he is going to do a good job. and i hope he does. i'm optimistic that he will. he doesn't have to know anybody. he's his own man. and this is a big deal in politics at any level. i don't think he fits any particular mold, and that's good. i think we're going to see some innovations, maybe even surprised bernie and i. and i'm optimistic. things can't get much worse, tiffany, ok? tiffany: thank you gentlemen so much for joining us and talking about illinois. >> that's what we do, right? >> that's right. >> thank you, tiffany.

we're at darcy pines in springfield, illinois. the horseshoe in springfield has been around since 1928. it's kind of a conglomeration of whatever meat and vegetables you want on top of texas toast. smother it with french fries and cover it with cheese sauce. the cheese sauce is what makes the horseshoe the horseshoe. they became popular in springfield in 1928. it's been credited to the lumen hotel, estate lyon hotel in downtown springfield. if you go 30 miles outside springfield, you may or may not know about the horseshoe, but it certainly put springfield on the map. >> coming up, we visit the illinois state capital, the sixth capital since 1818. >> the purpose of this building

was designed to show illinois had it made. illinois was now a player in the world. we won the civil war. illinois had it made. when they built it and they knew they would build a new capital, they wanted something, i would say shock and awe. that's what this building is. that's what it represents. we're actually the sixth capital building in this building. the new york state capital was the fifth state capital. illinois went from the south to the north. the original was on the mississippi, 80 miles south of st. louis. we knew that illinois, which went up to the wisconsin border, population would go north. capital 80a new miles north. we also knew the population was going to be farther north. after 20 years, they would pick

a new capital. a lot of towns fight for it. springfield was led by abraham lincoln. they were six feet tall or taller, so they are called along nine. they did everything they could to get the capital to come to springfield. some say some of the things were underhanded. we were goingme, through an improvement project and spending millions of dollars to build canals, roads, bridges, things like that. they say the log nine cut every deal they could. in 1839, officially in 1840, springfield became the capital. springfield was a very small town. illinois was still pretty much the frontier. very nice building. for almosthe capital 40 years. was at one point going to be the location where

lincoln was buried. mary todd lincoln didn't want him buried in springfield, where it would become a loud tourist attraction, which is what the city fathers wanted. they wanted people to stop and visit. he wanted to be buried at oak ridge. that left this lot empty. this is why the capital is built in this location. construction started in 1868. we just had our 150th anniversary of the start of construction. the building opened in 1876. legislature met here for the first time in 1877. at that time, construction stopped. we were short of completing it and the voters of illinois would not give us more money to finish the building. hard to believe, but we had a reputation for corruption, believe it or not. same time the capital building is being built, we are going through a new constitution.

in 1870, got a new constitution. construction began in 1868. some of the legislators were so concerned there were cost overruns. there would be cost overruns and there will be problems raising the fees. they actually put you can only spend $3.5 million on this building. what that meant was -- anybody can change an appropriations bill. but to change the constitution takes 60% of the vote in the legislature and takes the voters of illinois to approve it. twice they voted for $575,000, which is what it would take to finish the building. then the voter said no. the third time the voters said yes and they were able to appropriate the money. construction started in 1887, 10

year gap. then the building was declared finished in 1888. took 20 years, but a tenure gap in their. .- 10 year gap in there we are at the highest point. it's a great place to talk about how they built this building. they didn't do this steel structure support. it's stone upon stone upon stone. the only steel is the rotunda itself, 90 feet wide. if you look at the top, you'll see 9000 pieces of stained glass. in the middle is the state seal. the dome is held up by 24 pillars. no steel or metal in this building. builders they had to use certain building techniques. marble pillars up there and done here, that's not marble.

marble is heavy. what it is is a brick painted to look like marble. you see that throughout because it's lighter. at the base of the don't is relief every and looks like bronze but bronze is also heavy, so that his plaster. scenes inrent illinois history. we have a 10 year gap between when the building opened and when they got the money to complete the building. were individual panels done when the building opened in 1877. the artist died by the time they got around to installing this. it was pretty obviously they went. they are not sure about the order.

the last panel of the lincoln douglas debate. once again, the lincoln douglas motif. the first panel, you can see westerners meeting native americans. you will see a missionary with a young baby. that's all fine and good. , weuse the artist had died are not sure about the rest of the panels and what order they are supposed to be in. is ato lincoln over here man with his arm up. some people have said that's patrick henry, give me liberty or give me death. that doesn't make sense because those are not illinois scenes. that's fine. if you go over here, you have peter carr right. he's doing a revival meeting. peter cartwright was 1840's,

1830's. now you are out of order. similarly over here, you've got black hawk and black hawk war. again out of order. that should have been elsewhere, a little bit earlier in the proceedings. beautiful panels, really nice accurate. this0% is room 212, which other than chambers, probably the prettiest room in the building. it served as supreme court in 1877 until they got their own building across the street in 1908. best example of my mind of a process done by the architect, alfred. he took papier-mache and plaster, mixed of them in a mold , and put a mold on a ceiling,

lighter than using wood finish or using wood to make that the court of design -- decorative design. he put the papier-mache and plaster in the mold and glue it to the ceiling. you can see that throughout. it was popular in europe when this building was being built. i don't know if it quite made the transition to the states. final --ne of the finest examples and really unique. was modeledelf after the palace in venice. if you look at the portrait, it's a life-sized portrait of lady justice. justice can't be bought. foot on money. one of my favorite little things about this building is in the back of this portrait, lady justice, you see the illinois state capital in the background. i really think that kind of displays a little bit of the

humor people had in the 1870's, 1880's. i think that's interesting the state capital is in this classic portrait. we're in the chamber, the illinois house. there are 118 members in the illinois house. 59 members in the illinois senate. it has been restored to how it looked when the building opened in 1877. it's an absolutely beautiful room. what i like about it, you can tell which said the democrats are on and which side the republicans are on. democrats are on this side of the aisle, overlooks by the great democrat, stephen douglas, a beautiful portrait that was on in the capital. and on the side, you got the portrait of abraham lincoln overlooking the republicans. between lincoln and douglas, almost begin from the beginning. douglas only served one term in the legislature, but he was always around and he was very

ambitious, always the leader of the democrats. lincoln became leader of the whigs, so naturally they were always arrivals. springfield was the capital at the time so douglas spent time in springfield, as well. because it was a small community, they went to the same functions. they got along fairly well. they were both rivals for mary taught lincoln -- mary todd lincoln. abraham lincoln obviously won. some locals say he lost, but he obviously one. douglas seems like he was existing lincoln. -- eclipsing lincoln. his career went so fast. he was elected to congress. he became a well-known u.s. senator. lincoln spent four terms in the legislature, one term in congress, and his political career was over for a while. it seemed to douglas' star was rising and lincoln's was falling. him and douglas had major

disagreements. in 1858, they ran for senate against each other. douglas won, but rather than lincoln getting discouraged, lincoln had made a national name for himself. douglas agreed to debates. it put mcginn on the map. two years later, he ran for president and defeated douglas and two other candidates. that's reflected in this building, a building another one served. douglas died in 1861 before the end of the civil war. lincoln died at the end of the civil war. the building construction didn't start until 1868. the never served in this building, but they were the two major leaders in each party in the 1800s. you see the rivalry over and over. you go to the front of the building, you see a statute of lincoln and douglas. a lot of people say douglas is behind lincoln. some will say douglas is permanently in the shadow of lincoln. that's one way to look at it.

the way i prefer, douglas is lincoln's back. if you know the story of the early months of the lincoln administration, lincoln was inaugurated. he had a stone pipe hat. as he was ready to give the speech, he wanted to take the hat off but didn't know what to do with it. douglas said i'll hold your hat, mr. president, a real sign of unity between the parties, certainly in the north, and assigned between the relationship they had. we're in the senate chambers right now. there are 59 members of the senate. each senate district is divided into two. so 59 senate districts, 118 in the house. just like the house, democrats on one side, republicans on the other. mica house, you don't have douglas -- on like the house, you don't have douglas or lincoln. the senate chamber, just like the illinois house, was restored

in 2006, 2007. one of thentil 2005, state senators was barack obama of chicago, who became u.s. senator and the first african-american president of the united states. because he served before the restoration, his desk was not here. where he would have set is here. and where he would have sat, generally in the back row. the last spot was right here. he was here for four sessions. this is where senator obama would have sat for those citizens. -- sessions. he had announced his candidacy for the presidency at the old state capitol in springfield in two dozen seven. he can't -- 2007. in 2008, he returned to springfield, murphy announced joe biden as his running mate. he came back to springfield in two dozen nine, the bicentennial

-- in 2009, the bicentennial of abraham lincoln. in his first visit outside the white house was to springfield, illinois for the bicentennial. next time he was in springfield was 2016 in the last year of his administration. it was a farewell tour. he gave a speech in the house chamber. he reminisced about his time here. many legislators served with them, certainly the staff, one of the more interesting things is you can run into anybody from the senate presidency, certainly, to janitors, to our guides, who have their own obama story because he served here for eight years from 1997 to 2005. so everybody has a story. some of the stories, yeah, he would take cigarettes for me and we would smoke outside the building. some are late night poker games.

he reminisced with the legislators. he delivered a speech and front of a joint session in the house chamber. -- it was was a very very good for springfield and for the state capital. as his political career was winding down. i think he enjoyed himself coming back to his old haunts. this is the people's building. this is what i love most. you look at the statues of famous illinoisans and you hear stories, these of the people who here not just illinois but the country. they're not all good. good, bad, ugly, home items. you can see that -- whole nine yards. you can see that all in this building. we're smack have in the middle of the states, one of the most beautiful buildings in the state in one of the best states in the country, of course. that's really my favorite part

of the state capitol. usually when you think of writing, you think of -- rioting, you think of black people rioting. this is why people rioting. they had businesses. they took care of themselves. they had property. they own homes. you're not supposed to do that. because you're just, pardon me, the a word. they were getting too big for their britches. we're going to teach you a lesson, put you in your place. the presidential library museum is the county jail was, where the two men, who were in jail, were kept. that's where the rioters came.

because the sheriff, sheriff warner, it was his intent to take them out of town because he feared for their safety. one of them had been accused of killing a white man. the other had been accused of raping a black woman. >> who was the sheriff? >>'s name was charles warner. -- his name was charles warner. best if theould be two prisoners, richardson and james, were not in the jail because he feared a right. he had come -- a riot. he had come here from ohio, and there had been a riot in one of the towns where he had lived in ohio. and because of what was going hatred and of the

whatever, he said it would be safer. he was going to take them to bloomington, which was about 70 miles away, for their sentencing. except that the citizens, who were now incensed because of the rate of the black woman and her of the black man by these black he thought that would be the best thing to do. when the citizens got wind of one of the richest people in springfield, owned a restaurant and own a car in 1908, one of the few people in springfield who owned a car. he said this'll never happen. and as a result, they trashed his car, destroyed. was the sheriff able to get

them out of town? >> apparently he must've been. but it doesn't say how. >> how large of a crowd visit? >> about 5000 people. can you imagine? i couldn't. i thought that was incredible. 5000 folks. and the first victim of the riot was the person who worked there, a young boy. i think he was a dishwasher or something. and he was white. and he's not mentioned very much. but he was the first victim of the riot because he tried to remain safe, but then when they trashed the west lawn, he got caught up in the wrong place. that's where he worked. he just happened to be there. [indiscernible] eastn the fringe to the

was where the black community kind of started, and what the black community had their businesses. 11 street is at, kind of a divider because there are tracks on -- t-rex on k street. -- trucks on k street. >> how large was the black population? >> about 2500 folks. and probably 5% of the population at the time. so. madison is where scott burton, who was the survivor, was lynched. why would they go after the barber? the barber was one of the few jobs, so to speak, that a black

man could have and be employed. i always thought it was interesting that he cut the hair and shaved black people, as well as white people. this man had a straight razor and he's cutting white folk's hair. he could have slid a lot of throats, but he didn't. i was thought that was kind of oxymoronic. barbershop at his home, he lived up over his barbershop. that -- the house is gone. it was the home of mr. donegan. mr. donegan was like 84 years old, give or take. married to a woman who just happened to be white.

they had been married for 20 some odd years, if not longer. and they lived in this area. far, which came this is far removed from the other activities was, but they knew he lived there i knew he was married to a white woman. and they thought that they would kill him. he had done nothing. he was a cobbler. it was reported that he made boots for mr. lincoln at one time because he certainly would have been in spring field the same time mr. lincoln was in springfield, so that story is true. >> so they come to his house, what happened? >> they lynch him. ok, the building was called the arsenal.

the grounds of the state capital served as a refuge for the black people, who were scared to death. and so the arsenal was a safe haven for black people. and across the street, that's where the militia was stationed, for lack of a better term. >> after they lynched mr. donegan, where do they go from there? >> that was about the end of it because the state militia started to show up. that was the end of two days of writing. -- rioting. done,n all was said and how much damage was done and how

many people were killed? >> there were 40 homes were destroyed. three people were killed. >> what happened to the prisoners out of springfield? >> joe james was ultimately and soed of the murder, he was hanged in october. richardson, who was accused of rape, in september somewhere in there, in the fall, right, because this was in august. in september, he recanted her story. . she had not been raped at all she had been having an affair. with a white man. up,her husband busted her

so -- out, so to speak. her husband found out about it. the cry of rape is what started the whole riot. the best thing that happened from the riot was the formation of the naacp. and that occurred because, at the time of the riot, there was well, folks a -- called him a socialist, or a communist, whatever. who happened to be in chicago. and he heard about the uprising of the activity that was going on in springfield. and he wrote an article for a magazine called the independent. and william english ralig.

in it, his final question was, who can step forward to help right the wrongs that happened to the black residents of springfield, and the culmination of that founded the naacp? >> in the years following, what did springfield do? >> nothing. nothing was done. >> why do you think it wasn't? >> shame, shame, shame. a race riot in the home of springfield, illinois, home of abraham lincoln? we don't want anyone to know about that. i'm sure that's why. it's a black spot on springfield's history. whoever would have thought that there would be a race riot in the home of mr. lincoln? plus, it was in the north. usually you associate race riots

to be in the south, and lynchings in the south. but no. this was in the north. you know, it says we should learn. remember our history or else we are condemned, something like that, to repeat it. because i hope we would never get to the state or get to the stage in springfield where something like that would happen again. we are in the old state capitol. we call it the old state capitol because in springfield, there are two capitals. the significance of this building, it was the capital of illinois from 1840 until 1876. some of the well-known events that occurred in this building were abraham lincoln's house divided speech that he gives in 1858.

and after lincoln's assassination in 1865, lincoln's body lies here in state where nearly 75,000 people came through this building to pay their respects to the following president. as springfield becomes the state capital, the population of illinois moves northward. when springfield is established, this tiny town of 1500 is larger than a small outpost on lake michigan called chicago so springfield becomes the capital city, as it is a central location in illinois. as the population starts to expand northward, the ideas of slavery begin to change. lincoln comes to this building in 1840 as a representative. lincoln served four terms as a representative, but served his last between 1840 and 1841 in this building. here on the main historic level, we have the state library.

this is where abraham lincoln started to hone his political career. it was in the state library where he was always surrounded with information and knowledge and lots of people, as well. lincoln's friends sailing can was a competitive chess player in the state library. it was in this room where lincoln debates the house divided speech before he gives it an agency five. -- in 1865. he said they sat around a long, cylindrical table in the library and debated that. because harmong says he was the only one who supported abraham lincoln's ideas, and his friends said if you say these radical things, you won't win the election. his friends were right. he goes on to lose the election. but these ideas about what this freedom means and how we interpret that today started for abraham lincoln, even here, in

this building, in this room, possibly around this very table. behind me is representative hall. in 1840, there were not assigned seats as there are in today's state capital in illinois. but back then, democrats sat on the left-hand side and the whigs, later the republican party, sat on the right. and abraham lincoln, creature of most ofke many of us, the time set in the second row back, third seat in. he set in this place mostly to be around people like minded of him. as people set closer to the middle, this came the moderates -- became the moderates. the radicals sat on the far left or right because they couldn't get along with the other party. it was the people closer to the middle that have like-minded ideas. lincoln gives his house divided speech here in 1858.

he took the stage by the glow of the gas lamps to a packed house in the middle of june, 1858. the house divided speech was what lincoln was giving in response to being nominated as the next u.s. senator from illinois. stephen douglas,'s main rival, was also nominated. these two gentlemen would give speeches to kickstart the campaign for the senate seat. the u.s. senate seat was elected by the legislators. these gentlemen had nine debates throughout illinois. those debates would spark interest in men contacting their legislators and representatives so they would then turn and vote for lincoln or douglas. stephen douglas, believing and popular sovereignty and states should have the rights to choose. but abraham lincoln outlined an

idea that the united states should mandate that every single person in the united states was free, not states having that freedom to choose whether they should have slaves are not. abraham lincoln, in his house divided speech, references book of the bible and a passage that says that a house divided against itself cannot stand. this nation cannot endure being half slave and half free. he goes on to say it will become all one thing. abraham lincoln outlines the ideas that this nation should be a completely free nation, and the united states government should deem everyone in the government is free, not subject to tierney of slavery. in 1858, when he gives the speech, the house erupted with large applause afterwards because lincoln was surrounded by those people of the same political party.

his ideas were definitely radical, but he would feel confident he could go on, compete against even douglas, debate douglas nine different times, and go on to win. douglas, being a good or greater, would go on -- or rater, would go on to win that election. lincoln does not hold any political office until that of the presidency. when he runs for the president in 1860, even utilizing this building for his campaign headquarters. some gentleman came to his house wouldening and asked him, you consider running for president? and it lincoln actually said, i think i'll have to think about that. later, he gives his response he would run for president. governor'sas the reception room. the office is next-door. this is where the governor would

greet a guest. and during the 1860 campaign for president, abraham lincoln utilizes this as his campaign headquarters, or his office, if you will. we have an original newspaper for an artist that illustrated this room when lincoln had his reception here. we set this up as it would have been when abraham lincoln would have known what this room was like. one of the most unusual things in this room is the large wooden chain that hangs in the corner. we don't really know a lot about that wooden chain, but it shows up in the newspaper illustration. so we reproduced the chain to place a here. we do know it was given to abraham lincoln by one of the well-wishers in 1860 that came from wisconsin. that gentleman said he carved it out of a single piece of wood. now, some scholars put on their

lincoln thinking caps, if you will, and thought about the significance behind that chain. abraham lincoln will go off to become president in 1861, breaking the change of slavery. maybe there's some significance about a chain there. however, it wasn't until the civil war when we started referring to the united states as a singular noun. it was prior to the civil war we talked about these united states, with the emphasis put on the individuality on the state. after the civil war, the nation is the emphasis. the united states. you see this one piece of wood carved into many different lengths may have more significance than that man from wisconsin might have wanted to lead on about. abraham lincoln is elected in the election of 1860. a couple short months later, abraham lincoln is making the journey to washington, giving

his farewell address to springfield from the train depot here, always planning on returning to springfield, but lincoln never does. only his body comes back here after his assassination in 1865 to lie in state here. all of the furniture was cleared out of this room, including both podiums. a black canopy was set up, underneath which the coffin was placed. people came through this room, about 75,000 mourners, to pay their respect to the fallen president. the town of springfield was about 15,000 at the time. by 1876, this building was no longer the state capital. but it was just after the civil war, by 1868, the legislature outgrows this building. and they start to look for other locations. by that year, they start construction on what we call the new and current state capital.

the most important thing about preserving old things may not be for the architectural value that they have. it does have architectural value that is important but it is because of the people that worked here that this building is important. when people come to springfield and they can visit these places, they can get a sense of not only what it was like, but the people that are here to make a difference in our state and nation's history. there was a lot of misunderstanding of mary. neri made her own rules because mary, she was the first hillary clinton. she was outspoken. she took the bull by the horns. she loved it. politics was her life. springfield, we took

a driving tour of the city with mary todd lincoln presenter, cam brown. >> thank you for joining us today. >> thank you for having me with you. >> is going to be fun. what do you have in the box? >> i brought something so you will be appropriately dressed. >> of k. >> it's more of a christmas bonnet, but it's a joyful bonnet. >> now that we are an accurate clothing, you wear this a lot, right? what does the state back to? >> 1864, 1865. >> how long have you been portraying mrs. lincoln? 2006, so this is year 13. >> what will we be seeing? >> let's start with the law office. and then down the road, we would drive by the state capital. then towards the end of this road, at the corner of jefferson and six the street, is a parking

lot. we can pull in there and talk about that house. >> let's get going. let's see mary lincoln's springfield. she was not here from springfield. >> no. >> where was she from? >> she moved here from lexington, kentucky. his sister -- her sister married the son of a past governor. pennsylvanianding university in lexington. they moved to springfield. his father built them a wonderful house. she brought one sister at a time. this is when the state governor just moved to springfield. there was a lot of single legislators in this time. mary set her sights on mr. lincoln when she came to visit in 1837. when she gets here in 1839, finds out he's still single. says mrs. todd, i want to dance with you. later that evening, she told her

cousin elizabeth, she did dance with her. [laughter] she and mike and laughed about that forever -- lincoln laughed about that forever. >> we're outside the law office right now. what significance does it have? >> this is where lincoln would have practiced law. mary and mr. herndon didn't have a good relationship. mary didn't care for mr. herndon. he was known to be a drinker. a lot of drinking. lincoln and mary were teetotalers. him when she met moved to springfield. they were dancing and he made the mistake of saying she glided around the dance floor like a serpent. >> oooh. >> mary was a very biblical person, so the phrase serpent head a different connotation to her. she was very put out by that. so she never had any interest in

him whatsoever. but lincoln really came to admire her. he was a wonderful researcher. lincoln loved herndon because lincoln was so thorough and his research when he trial cases. >> was married not liking herndon, did that cause friction at the law practice? >> it didn't cause friction between lincoln and herndon. it did cause friction between mary and lincoln. i think it was jealousy from herndon and mary. herndon was jealous of lincoln's relationship with mary. and mary was jealous of herndon because lincoln spent so much time with him. he was gone early morning to almost late evening to do law. >> we're coming up on the old state capitol to the left. in this place, lincoln practiced law. he was in the legislature here in this building. mary came into this building two very important times to me.

one was when she washed and give the house divided speech. the most important was when she watched him give up votes to mr. turnbull for the legislature to go to the u.s. congress. he turned over some votes to him that were given to mr. lincoln. and mary was very disheartened that he would give up a legislative post to another man, as opposed to asking him to turn over his votes to him. mary was very hard on mr. lincoln about that. if you turn into this parking lot to the left, this would have been where elijah and simeon francis's house would have been sitting in this vicinity. >> who were they? >> elijah and simeon, simeon was the editor of the newspaper. elijah was his wife. when mr. lincoln and mary broke

up, the first engagement broke up -- >> weight, their first engagement broke up? >> yeah, there's a lot of controversy about that breakup, if they broke up because of he got cold feet, or did he just feel like he was an adequate for mary -- an adequate for mary? i think a lot of it was pressure from her sisters because they always felt he was in good enough to marry mary. we know they broke up right after new year's eve. they were miserable. elijah and simeon, each one invited the other, like simeon invited lincoln and eliza invited mary to dinner, not knowing the other was going to be there. evening and talked that like they had never been apart. it had been nine months. after that initial meeting, they

started coming here secretly and meeting and courting at their home. in secret, because she didn't want her sisters to but in again. toddu mentioned mary sisters did not think abraham lincoln, one of our greatest historical figures, was good enough. give me perspective on who were the todd's and who was married? -- who was mary? aristocracy ofe -- todd's were aristocracy. he was prominent in lexington. henry clay lived down the street from them, a mile and a half down the road. mary is known to write her pony over there to visit. she admired him greatly because of his political stature. she was engrossed in politics. she found it fascinating. lincoln was a nobody.

he was poor. he was a backwoods men. and that todd's didn't think he measured up to who they thought a todd should marry. mary married for love. she knew what she saw in the man. she had a childhood dream of becoming mrs. president. but she knew she had to marry the right person. >> after they broke up and they have the courtship, they eventually did get back together and get married. >> they did. here, that's where the globe tavern would have sat. >> what was the globe tavern? >> the very first home that mary and abraham lived in. carried in a few personal items and lived in a 12x14 foot room. a day or two after they got married, he went on the road. he had to go work.

he was practicing law. they spent six months a year away from each other. >> we're on our way to lincoln's tomb. >> there's the monument in front of us. it's a beautiful monument. it's in a park like setting, which was mary's desire for him, because that's what he wanted. she fought hard for this because the city wanted him in the center of the city, where the bustle of the town and tourists could come. but he didn't want that. he did not want that. he wanted to be buried in quietness. she told the city planners that you either giv m or his going te buried in washington. and they prepared a spot for him right next to george washington, in the capitol, just in case that's what they needed to do. but she won that battle. >> is mary also here? >> mary is here.

willie is here. eddie is here. thomas is here. robert is not here. he's the only son who is not here. he's buried in arlington national cemetery. this is an actual three-quarter reproduction of edwards and homes. this is the house mary lived in when she first moved to springfield. it would be the house they were married in. it will be the house that mary died in. >> what year did mary die? >> she died in 1882, at the age of 63 and a half years old. >> what did she die of? >> i always say broken heart. she suffered a lot of illness. they think she probably had diabetes. mary lincoln lived her life every day, i believe, just my own personal opinion, waiting to

die to be with mr. lincoln. every day was the next day. maybe today. maybe today. i think she was 17 years waiting for that day. >> we know so much about president lincoln. why do you think it's important to know about mary lincoln as a historic figure, as well? becausersonal belief is if it hadn't been for mary lincoln and her aspirations to be mrs. president lincoln, you never would have had a president lincoln. >> really? >> because when he was invited nominee forpublican president in 1860, he had to think about it. and she twisted his arm for three full days before he caved. they had a son what -- that was buried here. it was hard to think about leaving a son, even though it was only for four years.

they had a home here they just rebuild and added on that second story. there was just so much he wanted to accomplish your. but there was so much she wanted to do, as well. i kind of have mary on the back -- pat mary on the back. some say he would have done it anyway, but i don't know if he had those presidential aspirations as much as she did. she saw something in him a lot of people did not see. she saw greatness. >> thank you for taking us around. >> thank you for allowing me to do this. >> the visit to springfield, illinois is an american history tv exclusive. we showed it to you to introduce you to c-span cities tour. for eight years, we travel to u.s. cities, running the literary scene and historic sites to our viewers. you can watch more of our visits at c-span.org/citiestour.

[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> next, president trump's statement on his veto to block the declaration on the southern border. the southern border. in a discussion about u.s. national security threats. at 10:00 p.m., newsmakers with larry kudlow. president trump talked about why he is vetoing the congressional resolution blocking his national emergency declaration on the southern border. this is 30 minutes. mr. trump: thank you very much. earlier today i spoke with prime zealand ardren of new about the monsters terrorist attacks at the two mosques. these sacred places of worship were turned into scenes of evil killing. we have all s