time in a country on the brink of civil war and we'll tell you more about her in this video. >> harriet lane is a unique figure. she was 27 years old and the niece of our only bachelor president, james buchanan. >> we have a small doll that was not a play thing owned by iss lane but rather created to look like her when she was a first lady. >> she had been well-trained and learned discretion from her diplomat uncle and one of harriet's great admirers was queen victoria. >> this was a gift the queen gave harriet, a beautiful gold bracelet and inside it has her name, harriet lane, and the date of 1857 when she received the gift. the delegation came to the white house in 1860 and they came bearing all types of gifts, beautiful little shoes, paper folded objects, origami, little dictionary. ms. lane and her friend found all these things very intriguing. >> the great social triumph would be the first visit by the prince of wales and future edward vii and harriet presided over that. >> she'd wear gowns with many ruffles and white berthas at the neck and was known for her low neckline and wasn't in

harriet lane was a very wealthy woman. when she died late 1917, i think, it was round lip said she was the most highly respected woman in the united states. her charity, shep founded the -- the -- harriet lane children's hospital in baltimore. they changed the lane about 25 years ago, be uh still the children's hospital. they found the st. almond's school in memory of her two little boys. >> mm-hmm. she did many, many good workings. she didn't just go into a shell like jane pearce. she -- she was very active and into things and the -- and doing good works. she was a strong woman. maybe not a scholar or a learned-type woman, ever. but she was a human -- she was a people type lady. >> how many first ladies in this first part of the series were college educated? >> the first -- well, mrs. pope, i guess, went through the academy. mrs. -- mrs. harrison? mrs. harrison was a -- >> carrie harrison. benjamin harrison's wife. >> okay, next the president -- not controversy at all. mary lincoln. edith mail helping with the series talk

harriet lane had a cutter named after her. also, i heard she got into trouble for throwing a party on the ship in question. is that true? >> yes. >> all right. tell us the story. >> how they named the ship after her, i don't know. but her uncle was president of the united states. he may have been able to swing it. he did. he invited some friends of hers to have a party on the ship. her uncle got wind of this, and he hollared at her. not for having a party, but the ship was public property and he felt she should not have used public property. he didn't want her to accept any kind of giferts. gifts. >> here we'll learn more about the parlor and his entertaining style. >> here we are at wheatland. this is the home of president james buchanan and harriet lane, his niece. in 1848, they moved here. this was the place she would call home until the age of 36 when she married and moved to baltimore. while entering the parlor here at wheat land, this was a special home. this was the place where harriet lane as a host for her uncle, jame

take it up from there to harriet lane because of a president decanted's these. that was the grandest white house that ever happened. >> more with white house historian who william seale. Ï»¿Â♪ >> if we turn away from the needs of others, we align ourselves with those forces which are bringing about the suffering. >> the white house is a bully pulpit. >> obesity in this country is nothing short of a public health crisis. >> i think i had little antenna. >> there is so much influence in that office. it would be a shame to waste it. >> i think they serve as a window on the past to what was going on with american women. >> she becomes the chief confidante. she is the only one in the world he can trust. >> many of the women who were first ladies, a lot of them were writers. they wrote books. >> they are, in many cases, more interesting as human beings than their husbands. if only because they are not first and foremost defined and limited by political ambition. >> edith roosevelt is one of the unsung heroes. when you go to the white house today, it is really edith ro

. >> harriet lane hosted many tivities at her home which prepared her for her life as first lady. >> in the spring of 1848, just a month before harriet's birthday, they moved here. this was the place she would call home until the age of 36 when she married and moved to baltimore. >> this room is a social room. this is the social hub of the home. this is the place where harriet lane might serve tea to friends and guests, write letters to her friends. it is the room where the family lived. they would spend time together. play games, sing. just enjoy each other's company. very much like we would use a family room today. here we have harriet lane's piano. this was a gift from her uncle, james buchanan. this was probably purchased some time in the mid to late 1860's. as you see, we have her music book here. this is embossed with her name on the front. this included a number of pieces, italian classics. we also have patriotic songs in here. one of her uncle's favorite things to do was so sit in the parlor and listen to his niece play the religious hymns. he was a devout presbyterian. listen

.- everything is harriet lane was a wealthy woman. when she died in 1917, it was said that she was the most highly respected woman in the united states. laneounded the harriet children's hospital. she founded the saint albans school. she did many good things. she did not go into a shell. active and into things and doing good works. she was a strong woman. not a scholar or a learned type woman. she was a people type lady. >> how many first ladies were college educated? -- mrs. polk went to an academy. mrs. harrison. >> benjamin harrison's wife. > mary lincoln. let's listen to edith mayo talk about robert lincoln and his mother. throwing money and ingney -- sewu g money and bonds into her skirts. she was so worried she was impoverished. she was not allowed to testify on her own behalf. all of the people who made this decision were men. pillars all these male of the community testifying andt how she has gone off needs to be institutionalized. verdict on her? was she mentally insane? >> i think she's manic. -- and there was something wrong

there toake it up from harriet lane. president buchanan is a niece.the white house, everybody would that was theay grandest whiteout that ever happened. --more with his story and historian william seale. candidates gathered at the fancy farm picnic. fromaws a little figures across the state. each candidate spoke for about five minutes. here is mitch mcconnell. you will hear his remarks first. followed by allison grimes and matt bevin and u.s. air force veteran marksberry. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. >> we want mitch. we want mitch. >> i want to thank st. jerome for another fancy farm. you are well represented. obviously, congressman ed whitfield. and commissioner of agriculture is here with us. we appreciate it all. look. before i get started, i want to say how nice it is to see jerry lundergan back in the game. like the loyal democrat he is, he is taking orders from the obama campaign on how to run his daughter's campaign. they told him to make a pitch on the internet for the women's vote and he sent a check from anthony weiner. [bo

firste white house that the lady inherited had been the domain of harriet lane, who was much belovedn washington. really admired for her social skills even as the country was fracturing. new was the view of the first lady, mary lincoln, as she came to the white house? >> historian catherine clinton said that in one of her biographies, she broke the elite virginia scheme of things. many of the congressional wives at some of the women that were very important during the virginian times were resentful. they lampooned them. lincoln and her. the sad thing was, she was a very intelligent and highly educated woman from the family in terms of what you consider wealthy and good families. but they treated her very badly. the other thing that might have hit her is that washington was a swamp.disease ridden. >> in many ways. >> when i came to washington, it was mosquito-ridden. that was not 150 years ago. i am sure she had a difficult time dealing with that. she complained about how drab and worn the white house itself was. some of the furniture was back to the days of dolly madison. she had a l

i would take it up from there to harriet lane. president buchanan's nice. -- niece. and say,would remember that was the grandest white house that ever happened . >> more with william seale sunday night at 8:00 on q&a. joining us from the government accountability office , specifically taking a look at aviation andy transportation security administration --stephen lord, thank you for joining us. a report this week about employee conduct at the gao. what did you look at? guest: how does tsa investigate allegations of misconduct, and how do they adjudicate. how do they apply appropriate penalty if wanted. we look at the overall system. it's important that the management team in washington have good visibility over what is going on across 450 airports. host: when you talk about misconduct, how is that defined? guest: lack of adherence to stated standards prescribed in law, regulation, or internal policies either on duty or off duty. they have a clear set of rules and we measured whether they were following them. number of 3400 cases in 2012 came out. talk about that numb

and we have an opportunity here to see harriet lane, served as white house hostess later on. and sarah polk and dolly madison and james k. polk. photography as a political ool, how do politicians absorb this new technology and begin to use it for their benefit? >> they are just beginning to figure this out. you really don't get it until the 1850's and maybe the 1860 election when photography is everywhere. now it is almost a novelty. it is not all that terrific. you have to sit for a long time. it is not a single shot in the picture is there. you have to sit there rigidly and not move while the photograph is being taken. they are moving toward photography. much more important than photography is the very sophisticated line of type and art in newspapers. you have wonderful campaign posters being done. when polk runs, currier of currier and ives does a campaign poster for his pponent. with a picture of henry clay. they are using that kind of technology. photography you probably want to save for the fillmore's and beyond. >> we also have the first known photograph of the white h

would take it up from there to harriet lane. everyone would remember some of thatld pil people clearing saying it was the grandest white house that ever happens. >> more with william seale sunday night at eight. >> c-span is partnering with kaiser health news for discussions about the new health care law. we will take a look at the first portion of the conversation wa which lasted about an hour. >> this is on the federal health care law and what it means to you. we kick it out today with a series with kaiser health news. we are joined by three that will help guide us. first up we have mary agnes. thank you for joining us. both have in guest before. thank you for being here. we are dividing up the lines. 202.an call us at if you are in farther west it is 202, 585, re-881. take us back. what were the original goals of the law. convert them to make it cover more than it currently does? newhere are several benefits that have been added. we are talking about things like preventative care, looking at screenings for mammograms over 40.

i would take it up from there to harriet lane, president buchanan sinise. buchanan's nice. >> more with william seale sunday night. >> if we turn away from the needs of others, we line ourselves to those forces which are bringing about this suffering. >> u.s. take advantage of it. >> it is a public health crisis. >> there is so much influence in the office. served as a window on the past to a was going on with american women. >> she is the chief confidant. >> many of the women who were first ladies were riders -- writers, journalists. they are more interesting than their husbands, because they are not first and foremost to find by political ambition. thedith roosevelt is one of unsung heroes. edith's white house. >> we were breathless. i think it was too fast. ma'am. the first ladye, -- that whatever first her interest. >> she later wrote that she said i myself never made any decision . i only decided what was important, and when to present it to my husband. stop and think about how much power that is. it is a lot of power. bauer -- battle against cancer is