i think that frederick douglass wanted to make it a point that this is the heritage. this is a long tradition of service, but this particular moment seems to be very special for him because he believes that this is the moment that could possibly, hope against hope, that black people everywhere could become free. those wars proceeding the civil war were also used in abolitionist literature to make the case for abolition long before the war. really the wartime moment is the culmination of years and years of building that case. whenever there was a war, there was this charge that this could be an interesting opportunity. particularlyis special for african-americans is the presence of the black press. during the revolutionary war and the war of 1812, there is not this robust black press that exists like it does for the civil war. this moment is key, because it signals a really distinctive voice that frederick douglass leads the charge. he is not the only voice, but he is articulating this in a particular way that is connecting the legacy of those veterans from the revolut

some people are going to be like frederick douglass. some people are worried about families. some are worried about -- are going to see this in a religious framework. some are worried about their lives. there is going to be lots of different responses and we need to be aware in the way that the historical moment creates opportunities. at ed gallagher's talk, he was like -- freedom follows the union army. that is important because think about the relationship of events to moments. one thing you notice in the slave community is there are not a lot of slaves who are going out and saying, i am going to do this no matter what. there are some. what you have is a lot of people making decisions based on what they think is the best way going forward, not knowing what the future is going to bring. that is how nat turner worked and that is the story i try to tell in my book. thank you. [applause] we have time for questions. the way it works is if anyone has a question, they can come up to a microphone. >> hello, dawson from illinois. my question is, to what degree do you think that the

i have her here with elizabeth cady stanton because she and stanton worked with frederick douglass prior to the ratification of the 15th amendment. after that was radically did -- ratified and women were excluded, they divorced from douglass and the suffrage movement was split. is there anything you want to ist about the suffrag movement in general and the outcome of what happened to it after the 15th amendment was passed? >> where would i start? women -- there were many women abolitionists who were also trying to find a way simultaneously to get suffrage for women. many of these women decided, ok, we will wait and give -- and make sure that black men have the vote the 15th amendment. , some women were not happy with that decision to wait and allow black men to have the vote first. i think that disagreement between those who with were willing to say, well, we should male suffrage across the board and those saying women have to have the right to vote -- it would lead to all kinds of complications and very disturbing battles in years to come. when women -- northern women suffragists decide

the battlefields from gettysburg to antietam to vicksburg to sites like clara barton, frederick douglass, and nine of ofse sites are as -- nine these sites are a special or poignant as gettysburg. we can agree on this. pete talked about this two nights ago. how this place resonates so deeply in america, the mystic chords of memory. the national park at gettysburg records a million visitors each year. for many people, this three-day battle defines the american civil war. so, what i was interested in was not the battle, but how the battlefield has been preserved over time or how it has been managed. the question i asked in my dissertation and ultimately my book was -- if you could visit gettysburg in the 1930's, but with that book look like? if you could visit in the 1940's, during the second world war, what kind of interpretive experience would you get? how did the national park service commemorate gettysburg in the 1960's? what did tourism look like in the 1950's? how has preservation philosophy changed over time? how has the nexus of fact and interpretation and fiction and myth, how hav

that is the room where frederick douglass came to visit on numerous occasions. in 1865 when the 13th amendment was ratified freeing the rest of it is extremely important that we commemorate, remember and never forget how important detroit was because it was one of the most prominent ways and most prominent that was put in use going to canada because of our close proximity to canada. the underground railroad was an underlying foundation for the history of detroit because it was an instrumental part of the growth of the community. a large part of the community was made up of the freedom seekers and helped detroit grow to be what it is today. >> continuing our to tour of detroit next we had to greektown 48 stop at detroit public libraries skillman branch which was the sight of the old city jail, the location of the cities first race riot. >> here at this location is where thornton and result .lackburn were in jail the uprising occurs here to freedom. iny had been enslaved louisville, kentucky. ruthascaped because blackburn had been sold down to new orleans and bart

if you look at frederick douglass -- frederick douglass' fourth of july speech he said what to the americanlave is fourth of july and a date revealed to him was all other days of the year. to him, your celebrations are a sham. saying.out what he was he simply said go wherever you want throughout the world, search out the facts. it is as true today as it was then in frederick douglass' time. host: for the past half hour, we have been getting your thoughts on the hearings taking place yesterday, taking a look on forming a commission that would study the idea of reparations for slavery and we are getting your opinion on whether you support that effort are not. if you support it, 202-748-8000. if you don't support it, 202-748-8001. if you are not sure, 202-748-8002. you can post on social media, too. news cameday, that out of iran -- a shooting of a u.s. military drone. john of the associated press joins us. good morning to you. john: good morning. how are you? host: fine, thank you. can you update us on the situation and reaction from iran and the u.s.? guest: u.s. central command acknowledged

it was so big that two years later, frederick douglass was the keynote speaker. it is a bipartisan issue at times but he always seems to come back to the democratic party, the idea of difference. -- deference. polk is going to make one final trip. by the way, he is married at this time. is like mary is 41 years younger than he is. he is in his late 70's, early 80's, depending what year we cut -- put his birth that, but we do know his wife is 41 years younger than he is. they make a trip to washington, d.c. they visit the local sites, the white house, where elias polk met president grover cleveland. he had shook hands with every single president from john quincy adams to grover cleveland , and he would meet everyone as long as he was alive. he ends up dying before any other president, but here he will be reappointed to in his position that he held at the united states capital. that very night, elias polk died. most likely, tuberculosis is the cause. he is broke at this he had so point. much debt, that when he died, his wife had to mortgage the house and there was

that is where frederick douglass came to visit on numerous occasions.hat's where john brown visited his good friend fred led douglas -- frederick douglass. that's the room where reverend supply chase, who was a white minister at second baptist for 10 years, he was the last conductor on the underground railroad. when the 13th amendment was ratified, freeing the rest of the slaves, reverend supply chase had the community come to hear the reading of the 13th amendment. it is extremely important that we commemorate, remember and never forget how important detroit was for the underground railroad. it was one of the most prominent sites and one of the most prominent ways. because of our close proximity to canada. the underground railroad was an underlying foundation for the history of detroit. it was an instrumental part in the growth of the community. a large part of the community was made up by freedom seekers. they helped detroit grow to be what it is today. >> i have a dream this afternoon. 1960 three,an -- dr. martin luther king gave a portion of the i h

african-american leader frederick douglass -- let's see how this works -- declared the right to vote was the keystone of the art of human liberty. after the civil war many abolitionists joined african-americans in thinking voting as a principal should be enshrined in the constitution. some thought the 14th amendment would have accomplished that. some thought laws such as the civil rights act of 1866 would do so. but ultimately it would require a new amendment to the constitution. section one of the 15th amendment stated the rights of citizens of the united states to vote should not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude. section two specified the familiar congressional enforcement clause, congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. various crosscurrents we talked about yesterday led to division for ratification in many states. including some states that voted twice, defeating the amendment trieden ratified and then to resend its ratification. nevertheless, the 15th a

some factions led by frederick douglass, the great abolitionist who was a great advocate of women's suffragehe and others agreed that the reconstruction amendments would only apply to former slaves, they put the right before in the first time that had never been in the constitution. some said you are putting us behind slave males but what about slave women who aren't given the right to vote? it took a number of decades before they came back together and got the constitutional amendment. there have been detours, but the fact is this is a celebration. we want people to learn the history because we don't think people will this history. you have senators of both parties who stood up and many told stories of the women suffrage battle in their state and had photographs of suffrage leaders from their state which was quite wonderful and i hope it can be a celebration. shannon: i urge people to look at the votes and how it came together. it took decades to get it done. >> women vote 100, women's vote 100. if people go to that vacancy what is happening across the country. shannon: our midnight hero ne

when frederick custis -- when frederick douglass or -- refused to appear in a for brown, he took his name on a program. newspapers edited out his boldest points. when the first biography of brown was written in 1860, he asked this man for a definitive account of the battle of blackjack and he dedicated the volume to him. his name was handing -- henry reau. throw -- throw -- tho thanmk you. [applause] prof. phillips: are there any questions i can answer? >> i am wondering, you have given us a surprising number of examples tonight where you have political radicals, where it is like they are curating their acts of violence. they are providing prompts and digging into the stories and relationships behind specific things. in thes a common tactic playbook of political activists at this time or was it new and organic? dr. phillips: good question. it was a very common tactic. one of the reasons why they did this is because it was clear to everyone across the political spectrum in america at this time that newspapers did not always tell the truth. one way you could substantiate your point was

the escaped slave, frederick douglass, sojourner truth and harriet tubman. important incident in the march of history occurred in 1872. susan b anthony and 14 other women in rochester, new york in aally voted presidential election. they were probably arrested. susan b anthony was put on trial, convicted and ordered to or facene of $100 imprisonment. -- for voting. she bravely refused, saying she would never submit to the high-handed outrage upon my citizens rights. chose notity wisely to pursue collecting the fine. suffrage leaders realized that nothing short of a constitutional amendment would -- one modeled after the 15th amendment come a which granted the vote to all men regardless of race. such as laterrs alice paul stepping forward, a to change thesed hearts and minds of political leaders and the public. in addition to marches, rallies and petitions, they enlisted the power of the pulpit and the --ss in there just cause their just cause. it took more than four decades for this strategy to succeed and strong women played key roles. , theyn reed valentine

frederick douglass once said it is easier to build strong children than it is to repair broken men. excellence in academic and educational preparation is an important part of the american dream and every single child in this country, regardless of race, regardless of gender, regardless of religion, should have access to the highest quality education. that is the mission of the department of education and the role of the office of civil rights within that department. by prohibiting the use of funds in the underlying measure from being used to limit the functions of the office of civil rights, we are take agnes step toward ensuring that in this country, the pursuit of excellent in education will be available to every single child. i urge my colleagues to support this amendment and i now yield a minute to the distinguished gentlelady from connecticut, the tchare of -- the chair of the subcommittee, rosa delauro. the chair: the gentlelady from connecticut. ms. delauro: i thank the gentleman. i rise in support of this amendment and the d office of civil rights. the slig of access to educ

of women's suffrage were those who knew too well the lash of oppression, the escaped slaves frederick douglass, sojourner truth and harriet tubman. another very important incident in the march of history occurred in 1872. susan b. anthony and 14 other women in rochester, new york, illegally voted in that year's presidential election. they were promptly arrested. susan b. anthony was put on trial, convicted, and ordered to pay a fine of $100 or face imprisonment. imagine, for voting. she bravely refused saying that she would never submit to this high-handed outrage upon my citizen's rights. the authority, madam president, wisely chose not to pursue collecting the fine. suffrage leaders realized that nothing short of a constitutional amendment would do. one modeled after the 15th amendment which granted the vote to all men regardless of race. with new leaders, such as carrie chapman catt, an instrument was used to change the hearts and minds of political leaders and the public. in addition to marchs, rallies and pe petions, they elicited the pulpit in their just cause. it took more than four dec

john berry visited his good friend frederick douglass. that is the room where the white minister here at second baptist for 10 years, he was the last conductor on the underground railroad. when me 18th amendment was heard the reading of the 13th amendment. that extremely important we commemorate and never forget how important detroit was because it was one of the most , one of the most prominent ways that was putting use going to canada because of our close proximity to canada. railroad was the underlying foundation for the history of detroit because it was a very instrumental part of the growth of the community because a large part of the of freedomas made up seekers and helped detroit, what it is today. at >> our cities tour staff detroit,traveled to michigan to learn more about its rich history. to learn more, visit c-span.org /citiestour. you're watching american history tv. all weekend, every weekend on c-span 3. in 1979, a small network with began.ual name c-span opens the doors to all of us, bringing you unfiltered content from con