well i have discovered a much more complex edith wilson. i wrote a book for woodrow wilson for a series on a presidents, i discovered a wilson i did not. emitonal and deep-feeling. i am discovering who edith really is. her memoir is fascinating, and i've gone to the library of congress and read her papers. so far as i've put this no more together and learn a lot from all of this. next, please. all right, my first point, you cannot understand edith wilson if you do not understand woodrow wilson's attitude towards women. this is a very sensitive topic, if i say wilson and women most people will say, like that wonderful picture, that he is kaiser wilson, he was against the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, at least for a long time when he was president. this makes you think that wilson is a dour figure who hates women, does not want them to succeed, has nothing to deal with them or nothing good to say about them. but, i have discovered nothing could be further from the truth. i cannot think of another president for whom w

edith wilson's insistence to keep him and all americans indeed all the world in the dark was what wilson's biographer john milton cooper labeled a cover-up. according to edith's biographer christy miller wilson's declining health caused behavioral disturbances. that would have huge implications in the league of nations. now i am not an apologist for edith wilson, but her not engaging with or speaking to the press was completely in keeping with how she had dealt with a press from the very beginning. why should she change? well, of course the reason to change is because it was absolutely an emergency situation. prioritizing her husband's health over the country's welfare and her reluctance to speak out have been interpreted as a power grab. it was at the very least a terrible series of decisions for the country. christy miller found that edith wilson's actions had a long reach influencing even the 1967 passage of the 25th amendment dictating that the vice president and no one else. would govern if the president is incapacitated. why why did edith wilson lie to the press? to conclude i will s

edith wilson's insistence to keep him and all americans indeed all the world in the dark was what wilson's biographer john milton cooper labeled a cover-up. according to edith's biographer christy miller wilson's declining health caused behavioral disturbances. that would have huge implications in the league of nations. now i am not an apologist for edith wilson, but her not engaging with or speaking to the press was completely in keeping with how she had dealt with a press from the very beginning. why should she change? well, of course the reason to change is because it was absolutely an emergency situation. prioritizing her husband's health over the country's welfare and her reluctance to speak out have been interpreted as a power grab. it was at the very least a terrible series of decisions for the country. christy miller found that edith wilson's actions had a long reach influencing even the 1967 passage of the 25th amendment dictating that the vice president and no one else. would govern if the president is incapacitated. why why did edith wilson lie to the press? to conclude i will s

served from 1915 to 1921. >> overall, and despite an imperfect beginning, it is fair to say that edith wilson's press coverage was extremely positive. journalists kept to their unspoken bargain of the era -- not insisting on interviews, not quoting her, focusing their stories on her good works and her role as wilson's constant companion. and she kept to her's. she did not expect to be interviewed or quoted. she was gracious as she accompanied the president. at no point did she stepped out of that decades traditional gendered rule. she had no cause as first lady beyond her husband. she never sought the spotlight nor used her position as a bully pulpit. it's when the wilsons returned to the united states and embarked upon a trip to drum up support for -- in september 1919 that edith wilson's relationship with the press began to diminish. it did so because it was connected to the role she had always played. private and constant companion who guarded her husband's health. after his health failed on the western trip, the first lady remained silent about his initial collapse. as wilson's doctor sugge

but when edith wilson -- wilson went on to live there for three years, he died in 1924 in this house, edith wilson went on to live in this house for another 37 years. so, in fact, having lived in the house for close to, you know, 40 years, she really did -- she put a stamp on what the house would be, and she bequeathed it to the national trust for historic preservation upon her death in 1961. and it was opened to the public in 1963 and became really an official, officially a historic house and i museum in 196 a 5. her letters of bequeathment refer to it as being a shrine to woodrow wilson, and so we struggle with that because we're not really a shrine any longer. we talk about it as being a place where we can talk freely about his legacy and the legacy that he's left. and legacy, i think, is a much richer word. you can -- it describes both things that are positive and negative, the consequences and the results of some of the legislation in the parts of his administration that today we're realizing what that legacy is actually leaving, such consequences of that legacy. the house itself

but you know, this is really a story about woodrow wilson and we probably would not change it to the edith and woodrow wilson house. but it's a discussion and it's interesting. >> well, it may serve other purposes. also, it goes without saying that changing into the edith and woodrow wilson house would not in any way to mitigate the problem with race. >> not at all, not at all. it just compounds it. >> it would just compound that, yes, exactly. >> if i might add, i know that what used to be the which are wilson home in south carolina has done an excellent job. they are now the museum of reconstruction, because they are telling a fuller story about what life was like during that. so, that is an opportunity for a museum such as they to do something like that. to pivot on their mission, and i think they are doing wonderful work down there as well. i do want to highlight that it can be done. i just think, for us, with our mission of life and times, it changes it. >> right. the reason i bring up the question is because i think it's one that, at least i can imagine, which are wilson saying it sh

. >> watch the full program anytime online at c-span.org slash history and search edith wilson. >> if you are enjoying american history tv, sign up for our newsletter using the qr code on the screen to receive the weekly schedule of upcoming programs, like lectures in history, the presidency, and more. sign up for the american history tv newsletter today and be sure to watch american history tv every saturday or anytime online at c-span.org slash history. >> there are a lot of places to get political information. but only at c-span do you get it straight from the source. no matter where you are from or where you stand on the issues, c-span's americas network. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. if it happens here or here, or hear, or anywhere that matters, america is watching on c-span. powered by cable. thank you so much for joining my class today at saint joseph's university. today we are going to explore five women who used their writing and singing to create a better future for black people in our country. pauli murray, billie holiday, lorraine hansberry, nina simone, and anne mo

what role does edith upbringing, as rebecca and you have described it, play in wilson's own actions in allowing for the resegregation of washington d. c.. this is interesting. this is why i like studying both parts of the couples to understand how that happens. >> one question, i keep saying to myself, was it edith or was it mcadoo? >> let's not forget ellen. >> policy started before edith. >> go to that wilson house in washington d. c., there is a wonderful lady who does a wonderful tour. she struggles with all of these questions. i took the tour in october, she was stunning! go there, they are doing all these displays on edith and racism and stuff. >> thank you, thank, you these are wonderful recommendations. >> i am still thinking about the stuff! >> do we need to wrap things up? >> i do. it has been a wonderful panel. i know i have so enjoyed it. i learned so much! she is such a divisive person in rmof how people feel about her. i think that you helped setheecord straight. , -- into the presidential library museum, the interpretation and the interpretation of residential homes. . o

edith. >> go to that wilson house in washington d. c., there is a wonderful lady who does a wonderful tour. she struggles with all of these questions. i took the tour in october, she was stunning! go there, they are doing all these displays on edith and racism and stuff. >> thank you, thank, you these are wonderful recommendations. >> i am still thinking about the stuff! >> do we need to wrap things up? >> i do. it has been a wonderful panel. i know i have so enjoyed it. i learned so much! she is such a divisive person in terms of how people feel about her. i think that you helped set the record straight. the ronald reagan presidential foundation and institute hosted a conference on first lady, reagan,'s life, work, and legacy. one of the topics discussed was her time in the white house,as it was captured through the phographers lands. here is a portion of that program. >> we were in los angeles, it was partfhe just say no campaignwhich, she really took heart! she met the pope. just before we were going out, everyone had prepared to l