wanted to write about, because if you break that exchange down moment by moment, you see multiple failures of understanding, of empathy, have a million things. 8:00 easternht at on c-span's q&a. ♪ the house will be in order. >> for 40 years, c-span has provided america unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court and public policy events from washington d.c. end around the country, so you can make up your own mind. created by cable in 1979, c-span is brought to you by your local cable or satellite provider. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] tvnext, an american history exclusive. our cities tour visits from the

past 12 months, helping us learn the history and literary life of cities around the country. for eight years we have traveled to u.s. cities, bringing the literary scene to our viewers. you can watch more of our visits itiestour.org/c ♪ >> many think the selma to montgomery march just started up overnight and was a one-off idea, but a voting rights movement had been brewing in selma since the 1930's. ♪ [gospel singer performing] ♪ >> here in selma and in many places throughout the south, african-americans were done night -- were denied the right

to vote, not because it wasn't their right, but because there were folks in position of power who did not want these folks to have the right to vote. that way they could be considered second-class citizens. -- andes and literary literacy tests were used to prevent americans from getting the vote. poll taxes was a price you had to paper year forgetting on the voter rolls. let's say i live in a rural area and i am making $60 a year, but poll taxes are one dollar a year. now, we might have rent that is $40 a year, so $40 out of the year of my $60 entire year income is going to go to the rent, and then i have $20 for close, food, comfort for my kids, so there aren't many black people who are going to have money left over to pay a poll tax paid let's say, on some whim, that i annexed the dollar

left over and i go to this courthouse here in dallas county , and i show up and say, i would like to register to vote. i would actually go to the county registrar, i would have my poll tax ready. let's call colonel, him that, is going to take my poll tax, but he is also going to administer a literacy test, another barrier african-americans faced. the literacy test could take many forms. it could be, how many counties are there in alabama? 67. she might ask me the name of the probate judge in the county or in the entire state of alabama. now i am going to scramble to find the names of all of these probate judges who are in charge of enforcing the laws of these counties throughout the state. there wasn't any google or any wikipedia that would tell me this information in 1965, so it is difficult for me to do that. that was one form a literacy test could take.

it could be a question, such as, how many gallons flow through the alabama river? or he could give me a political literacy test that would be 68 questions, 38 minutes to complete the test and this was done in a more formal setting, you had a large group of folks coming into take it. whereas for a white patron coming into register to vote, they might pay the poll tax and only have to answer 20 of those questions, whereas an african-american would have to answer all 68. right now we are at the dallas county courthouse. this is one of the most integral pieces of the voting rights movement. in 1965.just start there were protests every day beginning in 1963 when the student nonviolent coordinating committee came to work in selma. they began rallying the youth to come here and protest, where their parents weren't necessarily joining in yet. so you have this place where marches were being led every single day during the summer and

fall of 1963, and then thearching in 1965 when southern christian leadership conference came with dr. king and marches were continuous throughout that time, from january until bloody sunday in march 1965. on any day, if you had a protest directed at the dallas county courthouse, most people are going to line up on this sidewalk here, down the side of the building. you might have sheriff jim clark standing at the top of the steps. if you see where the door is, that is where sheriff clark would be standing. you had protesters lined up to get past him into the voter registration office. so you would have folks lined up, wrapped around the building, singing freedom songs and protest songs and doing chance and things of that nature. anybody walking by my here, might hear, ♪ ceylon freedom,

woke up this morning with my mind, on freedom. woke up this morning with my mind, sail on freedom. hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. ♪ here at brown chapel ame church, this is one of the movement churches, whereas the main churches used during the voter rights movement to hold training sessions and meetings with leaders. brown chapel is one of the oldest black churches in selma. e there in selma in 1965. you theere to tell business men, the men of this city, the police commissioner

and everyone in the white power structure of this city must take a responsibility for everything jim crow does. >> pretty much announcing his presence and letting folks here know that the movement now had a new voice. theughout the 1930's, dallas county voters league was the main organization in selma to achieve voting rights for african-americans. they were holding voter registration drives and education classes for blacks throughout the county and city. they worked throughout the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's, in order to really attack the problem of african-americans in selma not having the right to vote. 1963, sncc sent their first representatives to be the voice for sncc in the area, they were going into

places that hadn't really been touched by the civil rights movement. they were working with young folks here in selma to prepare them for the work of civil rights and to protest in the streets for rights they weren't even old enough to have. so sncc laid the foundation for sclc to build off of in 1965. sncc began in the basement of tabernacle baptist church and the interesting thing is that the church had two faces. it was built by a black architect in the 1920's and during that time, segregation in selma prevented african-americans from entering or exiting a building on broad street, the main street through the city. when tabernacle baptist was built in the 1920's, the architect played a trick on city officials. there is an entrance, the facade has an entrance on broad street, but the real entrance is on

mentor avenue, so it is called the church with two faces. and in the basement sncc began doing nonviolence resistant training for students and others interested in protesting for the right to vote. ofsncc didn't work just out tabernacle baptist. in 1960 three they moved over to first baptist church, the black selma,aptist church in down the street from where we are now. it served as headquarters for many mass meetings, including right before freedom day in october 1963 where dorothy height is the main attraction and the speaker that evening and gave a lot of encouragement to who would go out the next morning. selma was a logical place for the voting rights movement to have its push, because there were so many factors that made it a hotbed for this issue. you had a population that was mostly african-american, there

were only 240 register black voters throughout the county, and there was also agitation that would be needed to make the movement successful. so you had a sheriff here that was belligerent toward african-american protesters, toward those who weren't his cup of tea at that moment. his name was sheriff jim clark, and he provided a type of resistance that groups like sclc needed in order to make selma the place for voting rights. it is said dr. king brought three things when he came to selma, money from the sclc and their donors who helped get people bailed out of jail, so it is about motivation, a big deal like dr. king coming into a small city like selma, already seen as somebody who can lead the masses, speak gallo currently and inspire people, so he brought a lot of motivation and that was the inspiration for

a lot of adults to get involved with the movement. media, andught the the media put the nail in the coffin for the voting rights movement here. they were able to show that even these protesters were nonviolent and rack to sing civil disobedience, they were still mistreated because of sheriff clark's attitude towards them. we just made our way from brown chapel ame church to edmund pettus bridge, which is a movement that african-american protesters in selma during the voting rights movement would have made three times. the first attempt was bloody sunday on sunday, march 7, 1965. 600 protesters gathered at brown chapel in the playground area to get their wits about them and prepared to go all the way from selma to montgomery. how did they get the idea to have a march from here to montgomery? it was actually direct action

that they wanted to take in response to the death of jimmy lee jackson. jimmy lee jackson was a 26-year-old veteran who lived in marion, alabama, and during the night march on february 18, 1965, he was shot by an alabama state trooper while trying to protect his mother and grandfather from getting assaulted. eight days later, he died. selma wanted to do something in honor of jimmy lee jackson. they decided to take his body all the way to the alabama state capital and laid on the steps, to show george wallace how important voting rights was for them. so instead of taking his body to montgomery, they did decide to continue with the idea to march montgomery, marching in spirit. so on march 7, 1965, protesters left brown chapel in the afternoon and progressed down the street to alabama avenue and

street theyn broad crested the bridge, those who lead the march, hosea williams and john williams, they faced alabama state troopers and sheriff's deputies and citizens that had been deputized by the sheriff. when they crested the bridge, they did feel a tinge of fear, but even though they were scared and fear did rise inside them, they continued putting one foot in front of the other and marched 100 yards past the edge of the bridge before they were stopped by a major who was over the state troopers that day. ,ajor john cloud said to them this is an unlawful assembly. you have two minutes to disperse and go back to your churches or your homes. john lewis said, may we have a word with the major? the major responded, there is nowhere to be had.

30 seconds later he gave the order for troopers to advance. the melee that ensued is what we know as bloody sunday. alabama state troopers, sheriff's deputies, deputized citizens rushed the marchers on this bridge, back across the bridge, beating them with nightsticks, even furniture wrapped in barbed wire as tear gas canisters were going off. they beat the marchers not just here at the bridge, but throughout the city and into the george washington carver home area. accounts of law enforcement officials throwing young women into baptismal pools at the baptist church. that was the first attempt. what made this significant is that there were so many media cameras that were capturing this moment. only when still cameras from people like the birmingham news, not only them but also national news filming the action, and that night, the footage from

bloody sunday appeared, so the country got to see what was happening here in selma. after that became found out about the march and all the things that happened to the protesters, he put out a call for clergy members from across the country to march on tuesday, march night he wanted these folks to be the face of this march. but the next morning when he arrived in selma, he got word there was an injunction placed on the march by george wallace. the injunction had gone to a federal court judge in montgomery, and judge johnson notified dr. king there was an injunction, and he was going to set a court date for march 11, two days after dr. king promised these folks we were going to march on march the ninth. how does dr. king keep his word?

but also not violate a federal court injunction? he got on the phone with top people in washington, the president, fbi representatives, and they came up with a solution that he would march 2 the spot of bloody sunday where the attack began, and turnaround. this march became known as turnaround tuesday. on march 9, about 2000 gathered at brown chapel ame church to walk down philbin street, to turn right on water avenue, and then up the bridge right here. as they crested the bridge this ise, that same sea of blue in their face, alabama state troopers, sheriffs deputies from dallas county, so as they saw ofs see of blue -- this sea blue, dr. king knelt and prayed, sang and then turn around --

turned around. most of the people did not know that was his intention. only top people were privy to this information, so you had 2000 folks who assumed they were marching all the way to montgomery, but indeed they turned around. happy about the turnaround because they did not want another bloody sunday, but some were distrustful and that led to the student nonviolent committee to leave selma and continue from teske ghee university and alabama state. after the march, there was the death of a young man named james reed, a minister from boston. mr. reed had come down from boston to be part of the march. he was brutally beaten that night by white citizens in selma for his involvement with the movement. he died about two days later from his injuries.

he is known as the second martyr of the voting rights movement. of death inspired a lot thought from white citizens across the country. that is another reason this day is known as turnaround tuesday, because white attitudes started to change. frank johnson, the federal judge, again hearings march 11, he heard from many civil rights leaders, hosea williams, john with thehers involved movement, and from the opposition, jim clark, governor wallace, and others who were not ond of the march and thought it disrupted public safety. he issued a decision saying the march would be necessary for african-americans to obtain the right to vote, that there had been such injustice done to these folks, especially in selma, by those issuing the injunction, that a march of this scale seemed appropriate.

the ruling was issued march 17, so these folks only had four days to get together and make the entire track from selma to montgomery. 21, thousandsh gather to march from selma to montgomery. they took the bloody sunday route, came down philbin street, turned right on alabama avenue, up rod street and across the bridge, this time with no sea of blue, continuing to march for five days and four nights. they have different campsites, , for fourblack farms nights and continued to march all the way until they got to the alabama state capitol on march 25, 1965. more than 8000 of us started on a mighty walk from selma, alabama. they told us we wouldn't get

here. said were those who would get here only over their dead bodies. knows thatld today we are here, that we are the power in the state of alabama and saying we aren't going to let anybody turn us around. later, thenths voting rights act was signed, ensuring african-americans would have the right to vote, and this would be the cause for african-americans having their right to vote insured by the government. so this demonstration was a realization of the desire of african-americans who had the right to vote for over 100 years, since the end of reconstruction. ♪ >> god bless you.

this infield probably had as much to do as any facility with the army with winning world war ii. and not a single shot was ever fired from here. the military value of alaska was noted back in 1905, when lieutenant billy mitchell, an aviator of some fame who grew up to be commander of the army air corps, came to alaska to put in a telephone line from chicken to the first noted u.s. military interest in alaska. as a result of that stationing, billy mitchell, later in his career, testified in front of congress about the strategic value of alaska, that it was enormous. he is still quoted to this day,

"whoever controls alaska, controls the world," because of its strategic location. alaska looks like the shortest distance from the west coast of california to japan is a straight line, and it is not. if you look at it on a globe, you will see a straight line between, say, san francisco and tokyo, actually comes very close to the aleutian islands. that is why the japanese were interested in controlling them during world war ii. today it still has a strategic it always had. forces stationed in alaska can get to europe or the far east at least a day faster than forces anywhere else in the world. it always had. instruction on the airfield began in august 1930 nine when major gaffney arrived in fairbanks with 13 assistants.

they began building hangar one, to my rear, in october 1939. they poured the first 5000 feet 00 foot is now an 85 runway here. the purpose of the original facility was to house a cold-weather test detachment, whose mission was to test airplanes in the cold environment of the subarctic in fairbanks, in order to learn how to operate in a cold environment. of note, we have all seen pictures of b-17s during world war ii, shooting out both sides of the airplane through a window, and they were heavily dressed. people don't know the uniform was electorally -- electrically

heated than the heating system was developed here at ladd army airfield. this was an attractive place to do cold-weather testing, because it gets cold. we are sitting here in 70 degree temperatures on the 21st of june, solstice, by the way. but six months from now, we want to be sitting here. there will be two feet to three feet of snow all over the installation. 10 daily temperature will be degrees below zero to 20 degrees below zero, but sometimes it gets 60 degrees below zero. at those temperatures, rubber stops being pliable and fluids stop being fluid. special materials and operating procedures in order to work in a cold environment like this. [explosions] while the bombing of pearl

harbor began u.s. participation in world war ii, its impact on ladd army airfield wasn't until later. 19 43, to september september 1945, this was the transfer base for almost 8000 airplanes, and right here they were transferred to the russians, the russian air force, and russian pilots took the airplanes to the russian eastern front. 7929 airplanes. the airplanes were brought by u.s. pilots and flown to the eastern front by russian pilots. there was a detachment of 350 russian soldiers in hangar one, and they did a lot of things to prepare those airplanes for shipment to the eastern front. primarily, they took off the u.s. insignia and painted the

so it would stop being an american airplane and become a russian airplane. the people who brought the airplanes up your were part of the air transport command. when they got here, they got on a transport plane and were taken right back to montana to pick up more airplanes, because at 250-300 airplanes per month, they had to keep that flow going. when they got here, they were turned over to the russians. the russians serviced them with cold-weather oil and hydraulic flew thehey test airplanes and then they left. helped world war ii? does their those those 8000 airplanes were used by the russians to put eastern pressure on nazi forces and relieved helped world warpressure on ths approaching from the west.

the program was called lent-lease. there were millions of tons of rolling stock and other materials as well as airplanes that were given by the u.s. to its allies in europe and its ally in russia. i think it was a misnomer. none of that equipment ever came back, and nobody ever paid us for it. a value on that equipment, even -- in 1940 dollars, was in the billions, even in 1942. alert withce went on b-52 nb 36 airplanes, on strategic nuclear alert. 8000, 575 at ladd's feet. it can't be any longer because a

river is at the end of each end of the runway. the air force1, left ladd and went to the alternate base, named it i'll extent of the runway and began sending nuclear alert with b-52's end be 36 is. i never refer to the russians as our friends. they were our allies. now it is ironic that in 1945, the russians left here, and less than five years later we were sending a nuclear alert against a primary soviet threat. ladd army 1961, airfield became wainwright army airfield, and it remained wainwright army airfield from

january 1961 to september 2006. in 2006, the airfield manager hired me, and the first job he asked me to do was to get the airbase renamed ladd army airfield. there were a couple of reasons. first of all, this was the only army garrison where the airfield had the same name as the garrison. number two, there is already a wainwright airfield in alaska, north of the bux range, almost to the arctic ocean. and there was confusion among 80 people -- among aviators about which wainwright to land on. the people of fairbanks never stopped calling it ladd airfield. >> some say, why the moon, why

choose this as their goal? and they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? why 35 years ago, fly the atlantic? moon, we to go to the choose to go to the moon [applause] in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, because they are hard. because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others too. [applause] >> in the early 1960's, president kennedy says, we want

to galvanize our country to do something very bold, and it was the space race. we wanted to do something bold to beat the russians. let's beat the russians by sending humans to the moon and returning them safely before the end of the 1960's. as the country is thinking about going to the moon, one question was, how do you know where you are going? because if you travel to a foreign country, you take a map with you to figure out where you are going. if you travel to a foreign world, you better have a map so you don't run into a crater or something like that, so it was a critical part of preparing to go to the moon. we are inside historic club 24 reflecting telescope. the observatory was established in 1894, well before arizona was a state. he came here, he grew up

back east, came from a wealthy family, got interested in astronomy, but the east wasn't ideal anymore because in the 1890's you had proliferation of electric lights that were shiny and making it more difficult to see stars and planets. to the american southwest. he sent an assistant out here, andrew douglas, he tested sites around the territory and chose flagstaff. flagstaff had dark skies, high elevation, 7000 feet the higher the elevation, the less air you have to look through and the less distortion you get through. air is like a swimming pool. when you open your eyes and a pool, everything is fuzzy because the water is bending like area air does the same thing. the more air you are looking through, the more distorted stars are going to look. higher elevation and

dark skies here was a great location. youe around flag stack and look up at mars hill where the tory was located, and you see a telescope on the top of a hill like a birthday cake. set upup the tell -- he the observatory in 1894. in 1896 he had built a 32 foot long refracting telescope that uses lenses instead of mirrors to collect light. that was 1896. it was used in mexico for about a year and brought here in 1897 and has been here ever since. this is a classic instrument, classic scientific instrument, american history, cultural history, of the first evidence of the expanding nature of the universe was collected using instruments on this telescope. pluto, although it wasn't discovered with this telescope,

it was important in the search. so there has been a lot of great research with this. over the last several decades, it's not used for research anymore but we use it for educational outreach. research wasr mapping, a unique thing that captures our imagination, especially as we approach the 50th anniversary of the first manned mission to the moon. inllo eight flew to the moon december 1960 eight and neil armstrong and buzz aldrin took the first steps on the moon in 1969, july. all those astronauts plus every other one who traveled to the moon, all trained here in flagstaff, and they learned geology, tested instruments, they also learned about reading maps, and that was something important done here at the

observatory with the telescope. the mapping was the critical thing lowell was involved with and preparing to go to the moon. but the telescope was involved in another way. in 1962, the second group of astronauts were named. you had the mercury seven that flew up in the mercury flights, just showing we could get into space. alan shepard was the first american in space. he rode for 15 minutes and came down. from 1962, the second group came along and when they came on, jean shoemaker here -- here from nasa, he said, if we are going to plan to send people to the moon, we should do more than just plan a flight and come back, we should do science. what better way to learn about the origins of our planet and who we are, then by studying another body in the solar system similar to ours, kind of our

partner? in january 1963, the next nine astronauts, the second group that included neil armstrong, jim lovell, frank borman and others, came out here on a very cold day, flew into flagstaff on two planes. in case one crashed, not all the astronauts would perish. they flew in and these guys were rock stars, met by the mayor, met by cheering fans wanting autographs, but they went to the crater because if you're going to the moon and do geology around this pockmarked, cratered area, why not study and prepare for that at the best-preserved impact crater there is, meteor crater right down the river from the observatory? they went to meteor crater to see what an impact crater looks like. then they went to lowell observatory to study the mapping and see how these features are

depicted on maps, because they are going to have to read these maps and relate what they are seeing on the map to real futures. group broke, this up into threes, each group went with folks, some stayed here at lowell, some went to northern university -- northern arizona university and their telescopes, and one -- and some went to the naval observatory a few miles from here. , theth those three groups astronauts looked through the telescopes to see the moon and where they were going. they could see what an impact crater looked like, how craters are depicted on maps, and what the moon impact craters actually look like. that firstis that trip was very successful. nasa realized the value of training the astronauts through geology.

and all future groups of astronauts who went to the moon came to flagstaff to train. we are now in the field, several meyer roots from downtown -- several miles from downtown flagstaff, not far from meteor crater, this field has senders from the explosion. when astronauts were training here, they went to sunset crater and meteor crater and grand canyon and other places, but nasa realized they wanted another place to train, something that was more accurate for the lunar surface in terms of crater. usgs, based on an image from the moon, created this crater field. they dug holes with a back at different depths, filled them

with explosives to create different sized craters, and 400 plus craters were made here. they set the charges, blew them up in this cataclysmic explosion, senders flew up in the air and then settled down. they took aerial photos and realized this was really effective, at really did look like craters on the moon in terms of, not necessarily the exact geology, but the orientation of the craters and everything. from 1968 through 1972, astronauts came here for training. , they camer missions here to practice carrying their tool carriers, they surveyed the landscape. for later missions, when they developed rovers, they brought those here and practiced driving them. today this area is protected,

has a fence around it, it is national forest service land. there is a second field they created that is a mile of way, in the open at a recreation area and a lot of the craters are worn down, but this one is a nice shape 50 years after it was created. you can see this nice crater, a little bit of a rim going around from when it originally exploded. this is the largest one. we are on the northwest corner of the field, and then a lot of other craters around we can see. it is a anybody can come here and see. debt is -- anybody can thing come here and see. our observer -- our observatory was founded by a guy who was interested in astronomy and put his money where his mouth is. the discover of pluto was an

amateur astronomer who grew up in kansas, and what is there to do in kansas but look up at the sky? discovered old, he the planet. other astronomers couldn't find it, but he did. while professional astronomers are making great discoveries that inspire us, astronomy is not the realm of just professional astronomers. if you are interested in it, you can really do a lot with it, just look up and you can get excited about it. ♪ >> the battleship missouri, 53,000 ton flagship of admiral halsey's third fleet comes the scene of an unforgettable ceremony marking the complete and formal surrender of japan. in the bay of tokyo, u.s.

destroyer buchanan comes alongside, bringing representatives of the allied powers to witness the final capitulation. general douglas macarthur, supreme allied commander for the occupation of japan, boards the missouri, greets admiral nimitz and admiral halsey and his chief of staff. admiral nimitz escorts general macarthur to the deck where the ceremony is to take place. it is sunday, september 2, 1945. ♪ we are on the o1 level of the battleship missouri known as the miranda deck. tips of the events of september 2, we call this the surrender deck. this is where the japanese assigned the surrender ending world war ii. this is where the table sat that

day. the ship looks different. the shading canopy overhead was not installed and the turn it behind me was rotated 30 degrees to start bar to make more room on the deck for all the officials. have us that day you would seen thousands of members of the missouri crew, crews from other ships, hanging onto anything they could trying to get a glimpse of what was to occur on this deck. at 9:00 in the morning with the ceremony was supposed to start, members of the japanese delegation were making their way on board. there were 11 of them. they made their way up the ladder and at nine: oh two, general douglas macarthur, admiral nimitz and admiral halsey descended from above to start the ceremony. after opening words, the first person to sign would have been the person signing on behalf of the japanese delegation, followed by the general signing on behalf of the japanese military. the third person to sign was general douglas macarthur. he signed it, supreme allied

commander. he did not actually represent the u.s. the fourth person to sign was admiral nimitz. the rest of the allies designed in order, china, great britain, ussr, australia, canada, france, new zealand. thee are two copies of surrender documents because one was to be kept by the u.s. and one by japan. we do not display the original, for obvious reasons. we have replicas on board. the originals are in the national archives and in a museum in tokyo. we also have a replica of one of macarthur's pens. he used six pens to sign. forhose to use six pens arthur on bothnd documents. he did it for a simple reason. he wanted to give these pens away as souvenirs afterwards. following the last signature, he

said, these proceedings are closed. he gave a signal, and above the missouri over 1000 allied aircraft flew information. the beginning of the ceremony was at 9:02 ended ended at 9:20 5, 23 minutes was all it took to and -- to end the bloodiest conflict in human history. ♪ we are on the fantail of the missouri. we recognize this part of the ship for an event in world war ii, a touching event that tells you a lot about the crew, particularly the commanding officer. and the battle of okinawa, the missouri saw herself under, because the attack -- under kamikaze attack. aze has a lot of feelings

associated with world war ii, but it goes back much farther. fleet --ongolian of twice a mongolian fleet was wiped out by typhoon and kamika ze means divine wind, to save the country from the threat of invasion. this threat was what missouri spotted 7000t was yards off the starboard side, came in allow, 20 millimeter and five inch guns fired on the, kamikazeired on the and he slammed into the side of the missouri, where you see these two mooring bits. bombeft wing, fuselage and fell into the ocean. they did not cause harm to the missouri.

the bomb did not detonate. the right wing flew onto the missouri and spilled aviation fuel as far forward as the surrendered deck and ignited a fire. other ships around. the missouri was sinking. her crew was so fast in responding they put the fire out within minutes and found no one had been killed at their worldly a few minor injuries. -- and there were only minor injuries. as they cleaned up the wing, they found the body of the pilot. captain callahan, first commanding officer, after finding out the pilot's body had landed on the ship, took the body below deck to prepare for a full military funeral. the members of the crew were not happy but respected the decision and members of the crew stayed up that night to sell it

japanese rising sun flag for the funeral. --two a japanese rising sun flag for the funeral. no chaplain said, he is longer your enemy. at 9:00 in the morning the chaplain said, commit his body to the deep. not money have heard of this is becausethe reason it got no press coverage, no one because aprilt, 12, 1940 five, the day of the funeral, was the day president roosevelt died and harry s truman was sworn in as president. captain's inside the import cabin on the missouri, a large space, well decorated for the captain of the missouri when the ship is in port specifically are when he has visiting dignitaries and needs to act as a diplomat in a foreign port.

missouri memorial association has a very large and historicction -- collection. it spans from the turn-of-the-century all the way the currenty with uss missouri submarine. we have pulled out artifacts for display. these are two very important pieces of ship history. they are both fragments of the that hit thee missouri in 1945. the piece on the left has factory paint on it and the piece on the right was taken by a crew member and fashioned, so you have two different pieces that both ended up back here. arenext things on display again from the kamikaze attack

on the missouri. these artifacts are two pieces from something larger. they were both recovered by two members of h division, the medical division on board the missouri. when captain callahan gave the order to take the pilot's body down below decks, they brought the body down and prepared it for a funeral and at some points in that process, the commanding officer of that division as well as a corpsman, came upon two fragments of the scarf the pilot was wearing. we have them here. one is quite small, and this one from the medical officer is quite large. now, they both bear the same a faint floral pattern in addition to the oil and things you can see. they are two of our most fragile

artifacts, and in the coming year, as we redo our display for the 75th anniversary of the attack, one of the fragments will go on display to the general public, but for now they are so fragile we keep them in a climate-controlled area. one of the most important set of artifacts on board the ship are known as surrender cards. they were given to the crew who were on board for the surrender ceremony as a way to verify and them to prove to everyone they were on board. each one is assigned, you can look closely, it is signed here by the fleet admiral, halsey, and nimitz. and you have the captain, andanding officer murray, douglas macarthur's signature. and it bears the name of each individual crewmember. . drew,e is for a.l

radioman 3rd class. we only have a handful, they are incredibly rare and important to telling the story of the surrender aboard the missouri. the next two documents actually show the timing for september 2, 1945. they report as each person comes on board to when the ceremony and when each25, person and ship leaves as well. andceremony ends at 9:25 japanese officials have left the missouri by 9:29. we have already seen how detailed a battleship schedule can be. one thing in our collection our plans of the day, they detail everything that will happen on board that they to exact times. we have one from august 30, 1945, that bears a line written in it by the ship's second-in-command, commander leon, that is incredibly telling

and bears the weight of what was about to happen in just a few days on board. it says, "we have the energy, ability and strength to prepare for and put on a glorious show for the grand finale. if each of us does all he can in this last push, as i said long ago in newport at the commissioning, when our children gather ran down say grandpa, what did you do during the great war, we will all answer simply, i was on the missouri." is about u.s. missouri about with the arizona. in world war ii, the start for the americans was the attack on pearl harbor. for americans and the rest of the world, the end was the surrender ceremony, september 2, 1945. so we have the bookends of world war ii here in pearl harbor for the united states, the beginning

on the arizona at the end of the missouri. as she set out about with arizona, the 16 inch guns point symbolically over the ship, standing watch over the sailors forever entombed in the arizona's hull. >> the 1968 sanitation strike was a crossroads in the period of the civil rights story. memphis was a moderate city, more moderate than other areas of the deep south. this was considered the midsouth but it was right here on the banks of the mississippi, but african-americans and whites aill label -- still lived in segregated community. african-american sanitation workers did not make the same as white counterparts. there was a great amount of tension on the city of memphis in 1968.

in sanitation workforce memphis was 70% african-american, 30% white. sanitation workers that were african-american made about a dollar an hour, you could be fired for being late after one minute, you would have no pension, you were given no other grievances during this time, you were not able to drive a truck, only able to ride on the back, but the reason sanitation workers took this job is because they felt it was going to be a steady job. if you worked 90 hours a week as an african-american sanitation worker, you can still receive up to government assistance. you could work 90 hours and make net a little over $100, so this wasn't the right way for african-american men who were just trying to take care of their families, to live off this wage. jones, going back o. jones, goingt.

back to 1964, fought to better conditions for memphis sanitation workers. it had its last straw when two lundation workers, cole walker, are killed in the back of a garbage truck in 1968. it was a thursday evening, mr. walker and mr. cole were on their route in east memphis, it is inclement weather, a large thunderstorm going on, and at that time black sanitation workers were unable to sit in the front of the cab -- the cap. to shelter themselves from the rain, they got in the back. the truck they had been riding in had already been told it was a faulty truck, it malfunctioned, and the two men are crushed to death in the back of the garbage truck. the city of memphis provided only $500 checks in response to

the two men's deaths. $500 were somewhat garnished because of wages and taxes taken out. in one case, one he was actually taken to his hometown of tallahassee, mississippi. ofs is what led to a strike their teen hundred sanitation workers 11 days later. they wanted better working conditions for the sanitation workers at this time. they wanted to file for grievances such as pension, better pay, better work uniforms and just to be treated with a little bit more dignity area mayor henry was adamantly against doing this. it began on february 12, 1968.

approximately 1300 sanitation workers struck against their employers. the response from the city of met with resistance. not a very welcoming term for people who support the strike at this time. this really doesn't see the type of violence that takes place until after dr. martin luther king jr. returns to the city of men this on thursday, march 28. invited dr. king to come to

memphis. he arrives here on march 18. he tells the reverend, another eighth, we come back to men this. once dr. king returns to the city of memphis to this day, there is a war going on in the back of the march after the march takes place. larry payne is killed by a memphis police officer. dr. king was assassinated on thursday, april 4, 1968.

immediately after his death many began to feel what was the worst of a sanitation worker to receive the very minor increases take the life of a man who fought freedom, justice and equality. it showcases to america the still and nonviolent movement and creates a violent response. i think with the assassination of dr. king, the pillar of nonviolence is -- really prompted other local lawmakers to fix this. city of memphis reaches a strike at -- strike resolution with the sanitation workers. better working

conditions. workers finally receive a pension for their service. today sanitation workers in the city of memphis face a completely different experience than 50 years ago. they are given to the opportunity of growth. the legacy of the sanitation workers strike was to show that even after the declaration of -- they are still indeed not treated as men and we will risk our lives, and a man comes to the city of memphis and actually sacrifices his life so that men are treated as men in the united states of america.

>> that's people of all walks of life. asking what brought them that, you will get a different reason for each one of them. once you begin walking on the peer, you don't realize you're only a block away from downtown. you realize you are over the ocean at the beach, a completely unique environment that is not part of the city. the book is santa monica p or, a sentry on the last great pleasure. pier.ta monica it has its ups and downs and is

-- it almost ends in a community rallies to save it. then it has to go through some growing pains again. it's a wonderful up-and-down story from fishing to amusement park to yacht harbor. the home to many interesting stories. peeranta monica municipal pier open as aiu public utility to run sewage out to the os -- out of the ocean. the city opened it as a public pier. it did open as being distinct and unique in the fact that it was first ever entirely concrete pier built on the west coast of the united states. and was the concept that it would last forever. the city held a parade, and they held band concerts and

competitions, athletic competitions on the beach and in the water to celebrate the opening of the new pier. the idea with the concrete pier in the early 1900's was that it would last forever. or at least certainly longer than the wooden piers that were traditionally built here. but it would succumb to the elements. the most concrete piles lasted all of 10 years. [laughs] jim: before the inner ironworks started rusting. the construction of the pier, it was very porous and allowed it to interrupt. those piles in 1920 and 21 were replaced with wooden piles. in the 1920's, we have a concrete deck with wooden piles underneath. then ultimately, the concrete was all replaced with wood. we had an entirely wooden pier until the 1980's. in the 1980's, storms came in the west end of the pier, and the wood gave way. about one-third of the pier was destroyed. then in 1989 and 1990, the city rebuilt the pier with concrete

again. a much better make this time. and a wooden deck. so we've tried all sorts of formulas, and i think we've gotten one now. >> in what capacity has the pier been used over the years? jim: meaning besides being used to run sewage into the ocean? [laughter] jim: many greater things. in fact, early on it was the best fishing out of santa monica bay, which is ironic when you think about what they were doing to the ocean at that time. the reason was clear. people had not been fishing this particular part of the bay until they were able to on top of the pier. and what they were pulling out the time, among the fish at the time, were these very large giant black seabass. which while protected species, a a slow grower, but they were pulling out in the 20 century, these six-foot-long black seabass. 800 pounds.

80 years old. and i mentioned they are protected today. in 2005 -- that was pretty young and had a lot of growth to it. it is legendary fish. so fishing is very important part to the existing pier. the community has been most dedicated. they hear 24 hours a day and very happy we still have the pier. from 1916 to 1930, originally there was a wooden roller coaster and funhouses and things like that. and a merry-go-round was on the pier. that is the original from 1915. the buildings, in particular, that merry-go-round has been here since 1937. the merry-go-round concept remains from early days. and then in 1920's, there was a large ballroom, the largest in the world.

the lamonica ballroom became a feature of the pier. and for 40 years, it was -- it was used not only as a dance hall that a city convention center. a roller rink. the home to the first ever variety show brought live on television by ktla in 1948. there is that distinct part of history. people like charlie chaplin was one of the first people who had a yacht in the harbor, errol flynn had a yacht in the harbor. it is a very unique and wonderful history for the pier. in the 1940's, actually, they were displaced by fishing boats, because they had taken over san pedro, the harbor there and oxnard pier sufficient, commercial fishermen had no way to unload except for the santa monica pier.

it became number one, the primary spot to deliver catches. and basically the community. and the santa monica pier became a focal point for that. it became even more efficient pier than it already was. this was home to the fishing boats. they pushed out the yacht community. and then in the 1960's, the pier was pretty run down. the city was trying to figure out what to do with it, and they had many ideas, other than being a causeway, which is a series of islands, on the santa monica pier, then out to malibu, there was the idea of a large island with a convention center and a nice hotel and using the pier as a bridge to that, and ultimately tearing it down and building their own bridge. all the concepts were surrounding the pier in the 1970's until the community rallied and put a stop to it all. they planned to turn down the pier and turn into something

else. the community said no. in 1983, storms wiped out the end of the pier, and it seemed like a tragedy at the time. what it did was create a clean state for them to figure what we are going to do with this pier that we love so much? and they really wanted to make it a very special place. so everyone could enjoy and the concept of the amusement park returned. they wanted to make it family-friendly, so a new amusement park was built. they finished building the pier in the 1990s. and 1996, pacific park opened. and it changed everything. the visitorship was much more family-friendly and open to all. and it was comfortable and it was safe. people could enjoy a nice afternoon on the pier. it was not the seedy pier that

it was. it was vibrant and full of color and safe. and that is the pier that we enjoy today. we are standing out at the end of the santa monica pier. as far as you can go without going for a swim really. [laughs] jim: at one point, this was considered the endpoint of route 66. the mother road. that's because this was as far as you could drive back in the day. not the official end of route 66, but it is the end of the journey that most people finish as they were driving route 66. it is a very special place. the pier is a little more than a quarter of a mile. you're getting your steps in when you take a walk to the end of the pier and back. you getting a good half mile walk just to the end and back. so it is good exercise. on an uneven surface. these old, rickety, wooden boards that you're working on. it really is the experience and helped put into a sense of place, and people been walking

here for over 100 years. since the book was published, i have learned so much more about the pier. people tell me stories about people, like about pete peterson, a very well-known and respected lifeguard, the greatest waterman that ever lived. surf history. there is also a wonderful craftsman, paddle boards, and he was an inventor. he invented the peterson tube, which i had no idea was the reason he was the inspiration behind this orange foam. invented by pete peterson. it is just incredible things that come out of the woodwork that i learned about since. a nine-year-old girl inspired the first ever public paddleboard club in 1940. how wonderful fun and how fitting for the pier.

because it appeals to the adults and children alike, just like the pier appeals to adults and children alike. right here in the santa monica pier. beach volleyball, the most popular sport in the summer olympics now. that sport started right here next to the pier. it just goes on and on. when i came to the pier, there was no west end. there was no amusement park. the west end had been torn down by storms. and the pier was being used by the 2 million visitors basically as the bridge to get to the beach. santa monica has these wonderful pages, but it is hard to get to, because they are at the bottom of a cliff. so the pier is the bridge to the beach.

and so the pier was not very popular. it was not very well respected but through time, we grew together, and the pier has become home to 9 million visitors per year. and i am the person to tell a story. and we get that together. i think that is pretty cool. >> this is an exhibition about harry truman in world war i. truman was the only president who served in combat in world war i. this is the story of his life leading up to the war, what he did in the war and what lessons he learned. there were other presidents who had important roles in world war i. didexample herbert hoover relief programs, franklin roosevelt was the assistant secretary of the navy, and dwight eisenhower became a commander during world war ii. he was running a base on the .ome front truman's experiences are pretty unique.

they selected the title heroes are corpses for the show. it is taken from a memoir truman -- he was wondering if they come back heroes are corpses. harry truman's interests in the military started at a very age. he read about great military leaders. he needed the chrome rod are -- the camaraderie. he joined the masons. did it wasthings he joined the missouri national guard.

he also needed to get away. he needed to have the company of other young men his age. this gorgeous blue uniform with red piping on its. he told the story of going home and showing unit warms to his grandmother. she and the other family were sympathizers. the bluewhen she saw uniform, she said don't ever come back here wearing a blue uniform. and truman says, i never did. his grandmother got to see his national guard uniform just one. in june 1914 world war i started with the assassination of ark

dude france ferdinand -- archduke francis ferdinand. -- france ferdinand. though the war was starting in europe, both the united states and harry truman weren't involved in it. truman would read the news but there was nothing he could do. he had a girlfriend who lived in independence. he decided the best way he could get to the farm was to buy a car. used 1911 first automobile. here's a photo of him and bess sitting in the front seat. doingrunning the farm, the hard work on the farm while the wars unfolding in europe. up his stint in the

missouri national guard. that's where things were as the united states started heading towards war, which they finally entered in 1917. when the united states finally does enter the war, harry truman rejoined the national guard. he is older than most soldiers. that became a minor issue. the other main issue was his eyesight. a according to him he memorized the eye chart. his eyes were bad for his entire life. he actually had to pass the eye test legitimately. harry truman was shipped out in the spring of 1918 to head off to europe. he was sent to new york city.

and with it a little note that asked him to bring it home safely. after the war, while he was in new york waiting to get shipped overseas he found an op, tryst who made some new glasses for him. a letter that said, in the process of making new glasses, the optometrist chipped one of the lenses. we actually found that lens in our collection, it is displayed right here. it was found in truman's sewing kit, which is also displayed here. it is a nice example of being able to compare a letter he wrote to his girlfriend along with an artifact we have in our collection.

when truman left for france, he was lieutenant harry s truman. he received a promotion to captain and didn't find out about it for months. when he left for europe he had this box where he kept his equipment for his horse. he had written in black print. he had had found out been promoted to captain, he wrote over the top of that, captain harry s truman. hishows before and after promotion in service. the first thing truman did when he went to france was he was assigned to a special advance artillery training school at a small village in france. these are some of the tools he would use and equipment for his artillery training. it includes slide rules and compasses and other things like that.

he had other advanced training, and then he was put in command .f a battery they called them the wild irish dizzy d's. catholice mostly irish , some german catholic, but mostly catholics from the area. they were known to be feisty. they had been under several commanders before truman. he really displayed his sense of leadership. to respectthey came him as a very quiet but confident captain of their battery. one of the more interesting pieces in the show is this portable barber's chair. he also took it to europe.

frank became a friend of truman. when frank returned to kansas city he opened a barbershop and truman became his regular customer. truman was sent to france along the front lines in france. truman makes a child -- truman takes a challenge in the war with what has become known as the battle of -- he had just moved his 475 millimeter field. they fired off a volley and were getting ready to move again when the germans fired back and there are shells landing all around. that's where he showed his first

test of having courage in battle. he served in battles toward the end of the war. when the armistice is reached, his unit suddenly didn't have to find it anymore. being a real student on history and military battles, he wanted to do some sightseeing. they traveled around mostly southern france to see various sites. it is a godly, gorgeous place. done at the isn't casino but at the cafes.

and his unit were finally able to return to the united states in spring of 1919. his family members gathered together and made donations to raise money to give truman their commander a loving cup inscribed to harry truman from his battery d associates. truman was proud of this piece. truman displayed this in kansas city. other people from his unit would come in. when he came home there is a nice photograph of part of battery d and the officers of the 129 field artillery here with harry truman front and center. of 1919, harry truman won his greatest battle

when he won -- when he married bess wallace, his longtime girlfriend. the is a photograph of reception after the wedding. that was exactly five years to archdukerom when frantz ferdinand was assassinated and basically the war began. very28, 1919 was also the day the versailles treaty was signed ending the war. foras an important day truman on many accounts. believed in woodrow wilson's ideas of international organization, in world war i the league of nations had failed. after world war ii truman was determined to make the new united nations work. truman went into the haberdashery business, which

failed because there was a depression after world war i. after world war ii harry truman was careful to keep economic controls on the economy while the economy switched from a military to a civilian mode. there was no depression after world war ii. justice,so believed in the proper way to deal with enemies is to unfold them. is what he tried to do with germany and japan after world war ii, bring them into the society of nations. truman, getting back to a sense of justice, they set up the nuremberg trials to meet out legal justice to the leaders of nazi germany.

he felt it wasn't right to just have vengeance after the war, the rule of law is very important. >> the socialist party essentially started here in milwaukee in 1897, under the leadership of victor berger. it took off from there. there were a number of factors that led to the formation of the socialist party here. one, this huge influx of german immigrants to milwaukee. many of them had a socialist bent when they got to milwaukee, so those german immigrants kind of provided leadership for socialists here. that. have then, there was a huge pool of industrial workers in milwaukee.

it waslate 19th century, becoming the machine shop of the world, there were numerous factories around the city, so of had this huge pool working-class, largely immigrant workers who were very receptive a message that promised to benefit the working class. they could see that there is this wide gap between the owners of the business and working-class people who are laboring for pennies. that the working conditions that they had to deal with were not good at all. they worked in the hottest, dirtiest, most grungy jobs available, so they were hoping the socialists could make those conditions and their lives in general better. socialism means different things to different people, but basically it is an economic system that preaches or believes

the capitalist system is going to be replaced by a collectivist state after capitalism collapses, in which working people will control means of production and and the claim is it will usher in this golden age where people are equal, there isn't going to be this wide gap between the haves and the have-nots, and everything is going to be great. victor berger is the one most people consider the key figure in the development of socialism in milwaukee. milwaukee has a loose affiliation of labor unions, each had their own agenda, there were political groups that were akin to socialism, they weren't

, and it wasective berger who draw -- who brought these disparate groups together. and he is the one who tweaked socialist theory a little bit. he realized that for socialism to really take root in milwaukee , you had to make it more amenable to american tastes, so that is why he had the socialists focus on, as i said, meat and potatoes issues like street lighting systems, the sewer system, things of that he didn'tcause believe that a socialist state had to go through a violent revolution to be achieved. he thought it could be achieved gradually and peacefully through the ballot box and through education.

he bought a struggling newspaper, became editor, a socialist newspaper, and it was through those vehicles that he got out the word about socialism and what it was, and he was very successful at that. we have moved into the research library part of the historical society, and i've pulled a number of items related to socialists in milwaukee county. , this is a campaign leaflet from their first campaign in 1898. the party itself was born in 1897 and they fielded several candidates for city offices. they didn't get far, obviously they were defeated, but it was the start, and gradually from did point on, socialists better and better throughout the next several elections.

milwaukee at the turn-of-the-century, it was undergoing rapid changes because of industrialization and this soe influx of immigrants, you are dealing with overcrowding, with pollution, crime, those kinds of urban issues. and the socialists were compelled to address all these things. victor berger was the first socialist elected to the u.s. congress in 1910. it was part of a sweeping victory for the socialists, in large part because of the corruption of the previous administration under mayor david rhodes. there was all sorts of graft and backroom dealings and that kind of thing. with a pushrose from milwaukee as this wide

open, wild city with gambling and saloons, liquor and prostitution, so all those things combined to help the socialists ride this wave into power. the socialists won control of city hall, they won a number of county seats and even state seats, and victor berger was elected to the u.s. congress. so the party put out this calendar showing milwaukee's success as far as advancing the socialist movement. and again, it starts at the bottom with city hall and all the people who one office there, including victor berger's wife, ata, who was elected to the etta, board -- wife,, who was elected to the school

board, moving onto the state capitol in madison and to washington dc with victor berger winning election there. veryocialists had a contentious relationship with the milwaukee streetcar company. they had a monopoly on the streetcars, the system in milwaukee, they battled them for years and years, so they were always the target for the socialists. this little leaflet shows basically how milwaukee is being of the by that monopoly streetcar company, showing that we had to pay $.11 when other cities were paying three cents, four cents, five or six cents, as far as ridership and the cost per unit for the streetcar. the ownership of the streetcar company didn't change until the lease was up in the 1930's, so

the socialists weren't able to gain public control over the streetcar system, but it didn't stop them from trying. from the beginning, people peoplesocialism, most anyway, viewed socialism with a little bit of trepidation, and there were all sorts of fears that they were going to take away private property or that they were bent on getting rid of religion altogether or they were going to basically make everybody the same and take away individual initiative, things that made people successful in a capitalist society. the socialists definitely wanted to dispel all those criticisms and arguments, so they put out showingphlet, basically that they don't want to divide

up the wealth, they just want public control, worker control of certain industries like andic utilities and mines things that are supposed to benefit the public in general. sophie argued that they are not going to get rid of i've rid of privatet property, they don't have anything against religion, their argument is that socialism has nothing to do with religion, it is strictly an economic system meant to improve the welfare of all working class. a lot of socialists that won the election in 1910 were voted out of office, and one of the big reasons why is that the established democratic and republican parties created this fusion ticket to join forces and not split the electorate, thereby helping the socialists win.

aat was created was nonpartisan primary ballot, and as you can see here, it is nothing but names. none of the political parties are indicated. this must have been a bewildering ballot for people voting, because it is just a and unless you are really up on each individual running for a specific office, you are not going to know which party you are voting for. you couldn't vote a straight party ticket. it was things like that that kind of helped usher the socialists out of office in 1912. so berger focuses his energies and running editing the socialist party in milwaukee, but he was reelected to congress in 1918, even though

he had been indicted by a grand jury for violating the espionage act during world war i. world war i, it was a disaster for the socialist party, not only in milwaukee but around the socialists,ause the in general they opposed all wars as capitalist ventures to dominate world markets and increase profits, that kind of thing. and milwaukee socialists, for the most part, were no different. victor berger, you can see in this campaign poster, it is from 1916 so the united states were not even in the war yet, but there is a growing anti-german sentiment in the country, and the socialists are saying, starve the war and feed america, because they were urging president woodrow wilson to a established -- to establish a complete embargo against the

belligerents in world war i. they did not want to send food overseas to either the germans but they were, critical of what they saw as wilson's favoritism toward the french and reddish allies, so they grew increasingly critical of wilson and his war policies. there would be this addition act that was passed that basically made it a crime to make statements against the war because the pro-war people looked at it, you are helping the enemy, basically. in several editorials in "the milwaukee leader" basically said this is a rich man's war and a poor man's fight. that was enough to get him indicted. ended, passions kind of died down a little bit and common sense prevailed again

, so he was finally admitted and remained in congress until he was killed in 1929. this is an interesting record. this is the coroner's inquest for victor berger from august 1929. berger was struck by a streetcar and killed, and i guess it is irony that the streetcar company that he had fought against for years and years and years was finally what did him in. but berger was recognized by friends and foes alike as being one of the key figures in milwaukee history. his funeral was a massive gathering, and everybody paid

their respects to berger just for how influential he was. they may have disagreed with his policies, but no one doubted how much he wanted to help the working-class people. movement ushered in a long tradition now of good, honest, efficient government, between a male slidell, the first socialist mayor of milwaukee, dan holmes, mayor of 24 years, frank zeidler, mayor as 12 years, all recognized honest, decent human beings. that became an expectation among voters in milwaukee. one thing milwaukee socialists demonstrated is that it could work. it wasn't this radical system bent on destroying the current

economic structure of the united states. socialists were very fiscally conservative, which fits right in with milwaukee's reputation, with good, frugal germans. so it could work, it did work here in milwaukee because milwaukee was recognized very often as one of the best-governed cities in the country, one of the healthiest and safest cities in the country. it was all under the socialists administration. divorce -- >> divorce is the thing that probably put reno on the map first. it was known as a railroad junction, a modest town. reno started out as a crossroads and a railroad stop. in 1905, when the first big divorce came, that got national attention, international

attention even, so the media started to focus on reno for that reason. that was the kind of publicity they did not have to try to get. people were just fascinated by this little western town where all these cosmic college and people -- were all these cosmopolitan people were getting divorces. that was the beginning of a kind of tourist trade for reno. the state of nevada legalized gambling in 1931. and some forms of gambling had been on the books before that, but that was when they absolutely said, gambling is legal, we mean it, you can open clubs and casinos and get licensed. and that became the heart of the tourist industry here through the 1970's, 19 80's, until recently when it started to diversify more. combination of being the divorce capital and this place where wide-open gambling was possible, that made

reno and international tourist destination. reno's fame as a divorce center was inadvertent. nevada had a couple of laws that made it easy and quick to get divorces here, but it wasn't intentional. transient a lot of people coming through working in mining or for the railroad, and you wanted them to become a resident as fast as possible. at the same time, nevada had a lot of grounds for divorce. there was no irreconcilable differences at that time in the 19th century. you had to sue on the grounds of something to get a divorce, and a lot of states had very few grounds. new york state only had adultery, the only ground you could sue for divorce. nevada had seven grounds for divorce that included and all three -- that included adultery, desertion, lack of support, so it offered a lot more possibilities for people to sue on the grounds of divorce, and it only took six months, which

was unbelievably short. first really celebrated case of a reno divorce happened in 1905. a woman named laura cory was the president as was the wife of the president of u.s. steel. she was a very wealthy socialite. after she came here for her divorce, a lot of other wealthy people from eastern states began ,o come here for divorce too and they came to reno because it was the largest city in the state, it was right on the railroad, divorce was an incredible economic boon because people had to find a state -- find a place to stay, anywhere from a rented room, luxurious hotel, guest ranches springing up all over whether well-to-do would go to get a divorce and private, so they needed close, to go out and eat, needed to buy things, so economically, divorce was incredibly lucrative for the state of nevada and reno in particular.

legislators started to pursue and even shorter residency, to make that time you had to live here to get a divorce shorter and shorter. that reduced the time from six months to three months and in 1931 reduced it to six weeks, fastest divorce anywhere. after 1931 is when it really began to pick up, so we had an enormous number of people coming from all over the country. it was a who's who, name a famous family and someone here got divorced in reno, the vanderbilts, roosevelts, rockefellers, celebrities, actresses, carole lombard, rita haworth, a lot of writers got divorced here, so it was something where people from every walk of life, from the most famous to people who just needed to get a divorce and get out of their marriage came here. the process was very formal.

they took it very seriously because they knew people were counting on this divorce being final and being recognized in other states. so the process was very straightforward. someone would arrive, meet with their attorney, they would have to hire an attorney. a spouse who did not, would have to have an attorney appearing on their behalf, but the person staying here and establishing residency would then have to stay in a place where a witness could testify that they had seen them every single day of the haddency period, that they not left the state and been here the whole duration. when that period was up, at its fastest at six weeks, they would come to the washoe county courthouse, often in this courtroom we are in, stand in front of a judge, the witness would testify, they would explain the reasons they were getting divorced, then they would hit the gavel, have the divorce, and they would be off. the divorce industry is a unique

part of reno's heritage, and having the ability for people to get divorced at a time early in the 20th century, when it wasn't as easy in other places, was really an important contribution to american culture. a lot of other states started to loosen their divorce laws, understanding that women's rights was demanding that there be more ways for women to get out of marriages that were not healthy for them. so that is an important cultural played.o plate -- reno the divorce industry influenced the landscape of reno so much, that we owe a lot of what is here to that unique trade.

>> the link of the city of detroit and the city of windsor isn't just a link between two cities, it's a link between two nations. canada and america are the biggest trade partners in the world, and the bridge behind me connects $16 billion in trade a year for both countries read 150 thousand jobs rely on this network of transportation and international trade. so it is a tremendously important part of our history and has been since pre-civil war. during prohibition, detroit is responsible for bringing in 75% of all the illegal alcohol brought into the country for the 14 years of the volstead act, prohibition. and that comes from our neighbors to the south, windsor, and canada. trade in what we now think of as the motor city was the cigar capital of america. we were not only transporting in

the raw materials, but out the finished materials. there were days in the 1860's when you had seven to 10,000 railroad cars -- 7000 to 10,000 railroad cars waiting that couldn't get across the river because they would come into took detroit via train -- come into detroit via train and have to wait for fairies to go into canada, so that made a conversation about a tunnel or bridge come to the forefront of national conversation by the 1870's. something had to be done because we had storehouses filling up waiting for transportation that was very slow, because fairies only transport 50 to 75 cars at a time, not quick enough to catch up with how the train this catch up with how much -- catch up with how much the train was able to bring in. we needed infrastructure that could supply taking from canada, getting to detroit and vice versa. that means building both a tunnel and later the bridge. we have two tunnels under the

detroit river. one is for train transport. completed in 1910, it took four years at a cost of eight point $5 billion. in 1930 president hoover in washington presses a button that brings a bell simultaneously in detroit at the cross the river in windsor, that opens the detroit-windsor tunnel. at just shy of a mile, it is the first underwater nation-connecting tunnel in the world and today it has been operating seamlessly since that time. it had a $50 million renovation in the 1990's, but it sees almost 10,000 cars a day. the detroit-windsor tunnel transports mainly people, 98 percent cars, 2% trucks. the michigan central railroad tunnel transports only freight. it can be everything from iphones to gerber baby food to tomato soup. you name it, if it is made in america it goes to that tunnel, pending it is not a hazardous or explosive.

explosive material. in 1922, the detroit river was the busiest freshwater shipping channel in the world and still is today. through the train tunnel and ambassador bridge, things are transported throughout the world. a freighter map everywhere michigan products and detroit products have made it around the world and short of antarctica, there is not a continent we don't touch. the ambassador bridge was completed in november 1929. when it opened, it is the longest suspension bridge in the world, and it holds that record for about four months before it is taken. but when the ambassador bridge is completed, it is known for its height rate at 152 feet, it allows freighter traffic below it, as opposed to a drawbridge, which would stop river traffic and commuter traffic every time it had to open or close. the bridge is completed by one

man, not municipally owned. he built the bridge as an economic driver, and it is a toll bridge. today it is still owned by an individual who charges five dollars per car to travel from canada to detroit or detroit to canada. traveling across ambassador bridge is nearly 10,000 cars a ,ay, plus 2000 semitruck the main transport for semi trucks leaving america and going into canada. we see everything on those trucks, again from gerber baby food through kellogg's cereal made in michigan, stroh's beer, iphones, anything and everything the has to be traded and as two biggest international trading partners, you can imagine the scope of what is traveling the bridge. in 1929, when the detroit-windsor ambassador bridge opens and again in 1930 when the tunnel opens, they are held it is that they are

heralded -- new they are heralded as engineering marvels and put detroit on the map, being able to bring in tobacco that makes cigar manufacturing flourish at the turn-of-the-century, bringing steel to make our stove industry and automotive industry flourish. but there are funny parts. when the bridge opens at 1930 in the height of prohibition, it gets named the detroit-windsor nnel, because of the amount of alcohol being transported through it. as an industrial hub, we have to have this transport or we would be stuck going back to post-civil war fairies which screwed up the entire industrial transport of north america, holding products in detroit for sometimes as much as a year, causing great spikes in the value of products like grain when the holdups would occur because of the river freezing. the impact of opening three

transit routes between two countries is monumental to detroit. connectionthe between the great lakes and eastern seaboard, we become a national transit hub. that plays into our role in world war ii as the arsenal of democracy, building a shipping out war materiel to support allied forces and for years previous under lend lease. we become a hub of industry and today we are still known as motor city, and couldn't be without access to shipping channels that are vital to the industry and prosperity of the region, not just detroit or windsor as cities. when you talk about legalities of an international border crossing, whichever it is, it is concerns issues and and national security. when the ambassador bridge opened, you used to be able to

walk up to its pylon basis. people1930's and 1940's, used to picnic under the base of the bridge. post-9/11 security concerns me that is closed off. the nearest you can get to the base of the bridge as a general citizen is about 150 yards, for security. it also has meant we have had to be aware of human trafficking, illegal drugs, illegal and counterfeit booze and product that aren't reputable coming over these products. they are protected by border security, we also have coast guard stations on the detroit river that monitor the traffic coming across, making sure that what is right into the city is legal. it is tireless work. it is enforcement across multiple agencies including the dnr, out on our island park in the middle leave the river -- in the middle of the river, border security, michigan state police,

all working to make sure what is traveling into our city and across the river is safe. nearly 100 years, the ambassador bridge coupled with the train tunnel and the civilian tunnel on their -- tunnel under the detroit river have been a huge part of commerce for the region. we are now building a new bridge, the gordie howe international bridge crossing and it will fall north of where the current ambassador bridge rises. as we travel through the next hundred years, detroit influence will be made in production and manufacturing and coupled with that is the transport of goods in and out of the city. the chance of ever creating another manufacturing marvel like the largest or longest span in the world, those titles simply can't be made in detroit because the river isn't long enough. but the idea that we were first to a bridge like that speaks to the idea that one day we are going to create more innovation

and invention with modern-day bridges. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> our visits >> our visits to these cities are an american history tv exclusive and we introduced you to c-span cities tour. c-spanht years now, cities tour has traveled to u.s. cities, bringing the literary to ournd historic sights viewers. you can watch more of our visits c-span.org/citiestour. with house interview speaker nancy pelosi. after that, house minority leader kevin multnomah county california and republican conference chairiz