we as historians have a tendency to rely on frederick douglass when we're looking at how african-americans are respond to what lincoln is doing. and i think we do that because was so eloquent and he was so prolific. his about absolutely everything. heso you can find those kinds of things easily. but what you've done here is you've included a lot of people that most of you will have never of. and these are ordinary people, soldiers ministers others are mothers writing to lincoln about their and telling him you know he needs to protect them more. soldiers writing about unequal and that kind of thing. and you're also looking a diversity of sources in terms of letters, speech is editorials, poetry even. and so i think it gives the volume a kind of flavor thdon't in the in the regular, you know, history books. so i was very much pleased tha tell us a little bit about the people who you have been included. well, before we do that, tell us you chose. there were so sources u could have used. how did you choose these? there are there's that. when we got into it, we had no idea. i but we had no idea

well, while lincoln was was not abolitionist the way william lloyd garrison or frederick douglass were abolitionists, he it clear that he thought slavery was a moral, evil and for defenders of slavery that, that position was absolutely. and they weren't going to give lincoln a chance as president. they wanted to leave as soon as they could. so as lincoln says, his cooper union speech. well, the only thing that would satisfy these people is if we stop saying that slavery is wrong and we're not going to do that. and keep in mind, too, south carolina was spoiling for a fight. all i mean, you know, they were talking about seceding the union decades before and they had nothing to do with slavery. so it was not surprising that south carolina left union. and then, you know, if look at the ordinances, ordinances of secession and the supplementals to that they're talking about, where it because we need to protect slavery. and so anybody who thinks that the civil war was about something else that it was about states rights and all of this all you have to do is look at those ordinances of secessi

frederick douglass in august of 1863, even to the white house and confronts on these issues. and lincoln to douglass essentially black men will eventually get equal pay. i just politically can't do it yet. and as you might imagine if you know anything about frederick douglass, he was not altogether satisfied with that answer, but he did go away. that meeting with an appreciation lincoln treated him as a man, as an equal. shook his. welcomed him into his office. and that lincoln was under constraints. eventually, black men would equal pay, but it would take a year, some and more than a year for those who had been born into bondage. dr. medford set us up for this next letter. yes the pay issue was certainly most important thing that black men had to deal with. they had many other issues to contend. you know, the disease rate among black soldiers was higher than among white soldiers broken down equipment. all the rest but some of men were so frustrated by that, they actually stacked arms. they refused to fight or they didn't accept any pay at all. and those who stacked arms the l

justice, frederick douglass. favorite is the counterexample, frugality, james wilson and george mason's death. how did you settle upon one founder versus another for each chapter? you could have easily dedicated, say, hamilton or adams to the chapter on industry. you chose jefferson. why was -- how was it that you settled upon each one? jeffrey: absolutely. there is a kind of discretion in choosing who with which virtues. all the virtues are part of the family of the four classical virtues, which are prudence, temperance, courage, and justit is not a neat connectiont i thought it was helpful to focus on a founder. have to tell the story through people. it is all about biography. and then to try and show how they match the virtue or not. some are obviously more obvious than others. and had to be humility for john adams, because he struggled so mightily with it. most famously, self regarding of all of the founders. called his rotunda d in wantin c majesty. constantly beating himself up for his own suppose it vanity

oakland's six year old selma white back in january, when she won first place in the national, frederick douglass oratorical contest. she then had a chance to give her speech in washington, dc, where she met senator amy klobuchar at the frederick douglass national historic house. selma and her parents also got a tour of the white house, sponsored by congresswoman barbara lee. today, i will be sharing part of martin luther king's nobel peace prize acceptance speech. >> i accept the nobel prize for peace at a moment. when 22 million negroes of united states of america are engaged in a creative battle to end the war. lines of racial injustice. >> and that is video from her most recent speech contest. she won first place in oakland's mlk speech contest in late february, where she presented mlk, nobel peace prize acceptance speech, which bart is welcoming musicians at its stations from march 21st through the 31st. >> the transit agency says it is celebrating the life and music of 18th century composer johann sebastian bach. bach in the subways was started in new york city back in 2010, and if you woul

he thought the mcguffey reader, which he would just read in his log and frederick douglass, my god, if you want any rebuke every morning i do i actually browse rather than read think of frederick. what was the point where he felt most crushed in his liberty? it was when his wicked master told, his mistress, not to teach him to read. and he felt the enslavement of my mind was even greater than the enslavement of my body. and he snuck out and pre and paid boys on the streets of baltimore with bread to teach him to read. and then he got this book, the colombian warrior, which is summed up the classical wisdom with little excerpts, and that inspired him to be the greatest abolitionist of all time and books so precious to them. and and we can do it, too. all we need is the discipline to read. it's absolutely extraordinary we can do it too. except it seems in this age to imagine our political leadership being contemplative, you know, because of beating. and it's not just social and it's not just the coming of age, but it's all that. it's those things and many more things. the whole system se

yeah, well, luckily the meeting was pretty well described by frederick douglass and by others, so it was the way to do it. because you knew we had these conversations. we even know that that's what douglass said. they talked about. so but the important thing was something even larger, i think, is that it showed the relationship between an agitator on outside and the inside politician. and they form a certain important leverage with each other. i mean, one of the things that that douglass later said after after lincoln died was that if you judged him by abolition standards, he would seem tardy, cold. but if you judge him by the standards of a president who has to get the country going along with him, then he's swift and and resolute. and that's something so important to understand that they have different constituencies they're dealing with. and and that one of the things lincoln later said was, don't call me a liberator. it was the anti-slavery movement and the union soldiers that did it all. and that's part of the history of social justice in our country. the progressive movement was

yeah, well, luckily the meeting was pretty well described by frederick douglass and by others, so it was the way to do it. because you knew we had these conversations. we even know that that's what douglass said. they talked about. so but the important thing was something even larger, i think, is that it showed the relationship between an agitator on outside and the inside politician. and they form a certain important leverage with each other. i mean, one of the things that that douglass later said after after lincoln died was that if you judged him by abolition standards, he would seem tardy, cold. but if you judge him by the standards of a president who has to get the country going along with him, then he's swift and and resolute. and that's something so important to understand that they have different constituencies they're dealing with. and and that one of the things lincoln later said was, don't call me a liberator. it was the anti-slavery movement and the union soldiers that did it all. and that's part of the history of social justice in our country. the progressive movement was

. >> you survey figures and next-generation thinkers like lincoln and frederick douglass.on, whifranklin,e spectrum of. yet they all came around to this. how was it that they all were brought to this? ■utwven that they came from such different backgrounds or educated in such different ways. jeffrey: it must be the shining idea, embodied in this wisdom. isn't it remarkable? think of phyllis wheatley, the great african-american poet who is literally brought ern chains, but she is educated along with her masters children, and she reads this classical will -- classicalreads virtue, t the importance of self-mastery. think of frederick toklas -- think of frederick douglass who has by reading lessons on the street of baltimore with bread. he pays boys to teach him how to read because his master has forbidden him from being taught how to read. at that moment, he felt he was more crushed than when his body liberty was taken aw. he learned how to read and he finds this book called "the colombian order" the fate -- which he pay■[forhas experts of. it resolves him to become the greate

oakland six year old selma white back in january, when she won first place in the national frederick douglassance to give her speech in washington, d.c, where she met senator amy klobuchar at the frederick douglass national historic house, selma and her parents also got a tour of the white house, sponsored by congresswoman barbara lee. hey i will be sharing part of martin luther king's nobel peace prize acceptance speech, which i accepted nobel prize for peace at a moment. when 22 million negroes of united states of america are engaged in to create its battle to m-oh the night of racial injustice. and that is video from her most recent speech contest. she won first place in oakland's mlk speech contest in late february, where she presented mlk, nobel peace prize acceptance speech, which already starting off the workweek with a fairly nice day. >> a few clouds out there, there were a few spots of drizzle in some places. that's how it's going to go the next couple of days, with the potential for some slightly unsettled weather. but not enough to change your plans or to get out of out of sync wi

the same tradition, my brother, in the face of all the organized hatred here comes frederick douglass. here comes ida b wells, here comes marcus garvey, here comes tony morrison, here comes james baldwin, here comes john cole train. you talking about a love supreme. every 2 1/2 days for 50 years in the united states in the state of texas. with any other state in the country what does that have to do with the muslim brothers. it's got everything to do with the unprecedented moment in the history of the american. for the first time in the history of this nation, the muslim community, our precious islamic brothers and sisters, are moving to the center of the discourse and constituting a crucial part of the moral conscious of america. that is part of the challenge. that's why the muslim legal fund -- give it up for our sister. that is why your leadership make such crucial difference. the legal defense fund with charles hamilton houston and so many of those freedom fighters. who would've thought in 1964 when america still had a white supremacist immigration act in place, were so many of yo

just out harvard prof gates latest book is about the effort by african-american writers from frederick douglasso james baldwin to write and define the black experience. its titled the black box writing the race. and one more new book that's out, we want to retired harvardw professor alan dershowitz. his latest is called war on woke. mccarthyism is more dangerous than the old. and this is about books, a programing podcast produced by c-span's book tv. his episode, we're looking at some of the new books that are coming out this spring. here are some by journalists. in aprilicagoinvestigative repoy royal pratt is releasing his book on the windy city and its former how chicago mayor lori lightfoot led and lost a city in crisis. and in may,on white house communications director and current abc host george stephan police will release the situate in room story of presidents in crisis. and the newest book from titled family unfriendly how our culture made raising kids much harder than it needs to be. news host jesse waters, his latest is called get it together. troubling tales from the liberal t there'

professor henry louis gates latest book is about the effort by african-american writers from frederick douglass to james baldwin to write andefine the black experience. its titled the black box writing the race. and one more new bt, tell you about, lawyer and retired harvard law professor alan dershowitz. his latest is called war on woke. why the new mccarthyism is more dangerous than the old. and this is about books, a programing podcast produced by c-sp's book tv. in this episode, we're looking at some of the new books that are coming out this spring. here are some byagobunee wind gr may georg room xamineesse waters, his troubling tales from the liberal fringe. and we should note that there's a new book coming out about a journalist. usa new biography about one of the most well-known broadcasters in history. barbara walters, the book, which will be released in april, is titled the rule breaker. susan page's previous bestsellers were about former pelosi and first lady barbara bush. now, as we continue our spring book preview here are some notable titles about foreign policy. cnn's fareed.merie

and also just out harvard professor henry louis effort by african-american writers from frederick douglass to james baldwin to write and define the black experience. its titled the black box writing the race. and one more new book that's out, we want to tell you about, lawyer and retired harvard law professor alan dershowitz. his latest is called war on woke. why the new the old. and this is about books, a programing podcast produced by c-span's book tv. in this episode, we' looki new t are coming out this spring. here are some by journalists. in april, chicago tribune vestigative reporter gregory royal pratt is releasing his book on the windy city andts former mayor. the title, the how chigo mayor lori lightfoot led and lost a city in crisis. and in may, clint white house communications director and current abc host george stean police will release the situate in room the inside sto crisis. and the newest book from washington examiner politic columnist timothy carney is how our culture made raising kids much harder than it needs to be. and one more. foxs, his latest is called get it toget

and frederick douglass symbolized that. so i think that's why this was important to have this as a as a theme running through the entire story. and when you talked about the meeting was so well documented you know, in the parts where we didn't know, we worked with a team of writers and obviously they did a lot of research and that elizabeth ball and her team under with radical and then al showrunner who then kept it all together and that was sarah enright and all of these pieces the parts that we knew we were able to lean into the parts that we didn't we were able to research. and that's why and for time and efficiency sometimes we had to put some things together and then we hadorexperts that we would run it by them to say, you know, does this seem plausible? is okay? and, you know and we wanted to s and true as we could to lincoln's story and to the country story. what liked about this scene in particular is that it reminds people or should remind people that leadership is not all about yelling and carrying on and staking

deserved a close analysis, a careful the way that we've looked, what lincoln had to say, what frederick douglass grant and other you know, figures from the 19th century had to say. so recovering that that was was an aim. and then one last quick observation, which will help to frame our conversation. longstreet is this is a familiar name to most of you, if not all of you. i know and realize and we longstreet primarily with a particular place in a particular moment and that's gettysburg in 1863 and of course gettysburg is fascinating will have a lot to say about but part of the object my book was to say to understand this man and indeed to understand gettysburg and its legacies, you have to appreciate the other moments, key moments and the other key settings. his life, new orleans in 1867, when he makes a really surprising decision to support reconstruct in gainesville, georgia in the late 19th century not far from here. he settles and writes this memoir and really digs into the defense of his wartime record against critics. atlanta washington d.c. where he is a part of an important republican pol

, like frederick douglass, i think i'm going to lose reelection.'s see if we could get together a clear decision group to go in and free as■ many peope as we can. and some like underground army. right. so he was really trying to do this. he changed. he was not about that life early on, but towards the end, lincoln had to have had some moral revelatory moments. all right. so so let's let's look at how ilana responded to the beginning of the war this is this is your city. this is your city. and see how your predecessors, what they would talk about in when the war began, the local newspapers were about what the war portend for the city and the region i quote upon point, he is perfectly plain. atlanta intelligencer newspaper wrote about lincoln. he decides war. we are prepared to meet it. we are united and homogenous. this as a people every man. the south is a soldier unquote. the paper wrote in classic form the 44% of the state's population that was black and almost entirely held in chains, or the 35% of people in the region south isimilar conditions

a chance to give her speech in washington, d.c, where she met senator amy klobuchar at the frederick douglasshey i luther king nobel peace prizen acceptance speech. >> i accept the nobel prize for peace at a moment. when 22 million negroes of unitedúare en increasing. battle to emplo. night of racial injustice. i >> that's video from her latest speech contest. she won first place in oakland's mlk speech presented martin luther king jr. s nobel peace prize acceptance >> i hope she's running for something one day, she is all right. parts of the oakland zoo will be temporarily. closed this week due to some maintenance. is closed thursday. butthe zoo the gondola and the california trails will remain closed on thursday and friday. and then everything is expected to reopen on saturday. something else to maybe make you hungry. krispy kreme wants to award people on this super tuesday, the bakery chain, giving everyone the chance to come in and get two original glazed donuts for free on the super tuesday. the company says it's their version of super tuesday. krispy kreme has locations in san francisco

first african-american professional musician, marie williams, to perform at the white house and frederick douglass introduced her. she also invited other black music groups, including students, to sing at white house events. helen nellie taft, who's in the bottom left hand corner, developed an appreciation for cultural diversity when they were in the philippines and. that taft was the governor general of the philippines at the time. she found that there was a color line and that the soul pianos were not being invited to events. well, she changed all of that. and they really considered her to be very egalitarian. she also looked at the plight of african-american immigrants who were in washington, d.c., and tried to do some things for them. and she invited them to white house open houses, which had not been done before, and added african-americans to the staff. she believed that education was a great equalizer, and she supported the start of kindergarten classes for black children. well, she's best known for bringing the cherry trees to washington. her civil rights activities are lesser known, but t

the great black leader, frederick douglass, who watched lincoln deliver his speech and later di it himwhite house reception. the popur torohn wilkes booth, who evidently stalked lincoln at thenauguration. the great american poet walt whitman, who was covering the auration for the new york times, the angel of the battlefield, clara barton, who spent that week trying to meet lincoln and finally greeted him at the reception. and, of course, there was the vice president elect, andrew johnson, who showed up at the inauguration embarrassingly drunk. and the perception of these very differentpowerful and moving vit that war was about and what lincoln was up against on that rainy, muddy day in washington. and i tried to weave those all into the story. at the center of it all. of course is abraham lincoln, who can be seen standing in the middle. this crois speech just about above the table, a glass of water on it. he did something that day, as i mentioned, that no other no other politician would. on the cusp of victory after, four years of a brutal device of an widely despised war. he declined