lincoln."ok when we come right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> that is it for us tonight. thank you for watching this special edition of "the factor." coming up the film based on my book "killing lincoln." i'm bill o'reilly. please remember, the spin stops here. we're definitely looking out for you. >>> hello, john.

they sent it to lincoln. lincoln took it and, you know, never answered. and it said, we should respect freedom of the press. the press is entitled to express its opinion. but when it gives aid and comfort to the enemy it's subject to the laws of war. so they sort of -- this opportunity, it was a funny bunch of papers. the jewish messenger the catholic weekly, the only ones who dared participate in this little convention. basically they reiterated what lincoln said was the -- what the administration implied was the policy. >> if i can just add one thing about the first. democrats did make the -- about the first amendment. democrats did make the argument. the famous ohio copper head who was arrested and then tried before a military tribunal for disloyal speech, he was arrested under general orders, which essentially said you can't speak against the government's war policy. when he went out he said i don't believe in gem general orders number 38, i believe in general orders number 1, meaning the first amendment. democrats were making an argument that really

lincoln affable. my unpopularity is spreading because i will not bow my knee to the degraded creatures who have made the very name of a free press odious to honorable men. mrs. lincoln claimed to be immune to newspaper attacks but she was acutely aware of the power of political gossip and the washington pecking order. she longed to rule uncontested and win over the public. her social ambitions were at best extravagant, at worst ludicrous. but she carried on her parlor campaign and fervently as a statesman wheeling in and out of her husband's office. she felt frustrated when harriet lane's vacuum was filled by kate chase, the devoted daughter of lincoln's republican rival. the senator from ohio was appointed secretary of the treasury, yet his daughter continued to harbor presidential ambitions for her father. she set up a rival court just ten blocks from the white house in the chase home at 6th and e. quite a good place this clara barton, mathew brady nexus. this contest began even before lincoln's ass

lincoln affable. my unpopularity is spreading because i will not bow my knee to the degraded creatures who have made the very name of a free press odious to honorable men. mrs. lincoln claimed to be immune to newspaper attacks but she was acutely aware of the power of political gossip and the washington pecking order. she longed to rule uncontested and win over the public. her social ambitions were at best extravagant, at worst ludicrous. but she carried on her parlor campaign and fervently as a statesman wheeling in and out of her husband's office. she felt frustrated when harriet lane's vacuum was filled by kate chase, the devoted daughter of lincoln's republican rival. the senator from ohio was appointed secretary of the treasury, yet his daughter continued to harbor presidential ambitions for her father. she set up a rival court just ten blocks from the white house in the chase home at 6th and e. quite a good place this clara barton, mathew brady nexus. this contest began even before lincoln's ass

lincoln. the physical attributes of the district did not recommend it. noah brooks described the streets as canals of liquid mud. john hay concurred it would be difficult to conceive of a meaner street in architectural adornments than pennsylvania avenue. and as we just heard maybe the architectural recommendations of real estate on pennsylvania avenue remained there. there were of course areas of the city which boasted palatial homes. the finest date of senator steven douglas near "i" street and jersey avenue where his wife, adele, a legendary beauty near 25 years his junior held her court. equally sumptuous was the mansion built by senator gwynn from california who spent $75,000 to furnish his home. gwynn, however, was arrested on charges of disloyalty when the war began was imprisoned until 1863, then he went off to paris and became involved in a scheme for the colonization of southerners in mexico. in consequence, he was sometimes called the duke of sonora. the retiring president james buc

lincoln. it actually started out reasonably well. the union armies were doing fairly well in the field, which was a key predictor of how the public was going to feel in the north. he did have some movement, politically, from freemont, and freemont supporters but he appeared to be in pretty good shape politically at the outset of the year. he helped himself considerably in march by appointing this man, ulysses s. grant, to take command of all the union armies. grant had become a hero in the west. he had performed extremely well out there and lincoln had decided to promote him to be the commander of all the armies and grant came back east to carry out that job. he would travel with the army of the potomac, although he was not officially the commander of the army of the potomac. but he would certainly leave his mark on that army, and its doings for the rest of the war. in june, as we've discussed, lincoln was nominated by what was now called the union party. the republican party had changed its n

abraham lincoln has 13 days to live.d, 1865, confederate forces set fire to their own capital of richmond, virginia, before evacuating ahead of advancing union troops. confederate president jefferson davis escapes by train, abandons his white house of the confederacy, and abraham lincoln lands in richmond to view the devastated runs of this american city. >> foreman! >> do any of you know the way to general weitzle's headquarters? >> yes, sir, master lincoln, i know the way. ♪ >> thank god i have lived to see this day. >> keep you blessed and safe, master lincoln. >> you are a free citizen of this republic. kneel to god only and thank him for the liberty that is yours. >> it's one of the most unforgettable scenes in american history, an american president walking the streets of a fallen rebel capital in the midst of a civil war. scarcely 36 hours after jefferson davis has left his capital, abraham lincoln arrives at the home of the confederate president. >> i'll inform the general's wife who is on his way, sir. and this

lincoln has on tiny reading glasses.it's not the most -- it is not the most significant of the half dozen pictures berger made that cay. day. one, a profile, became the mod em for lincoln's head on the u.s. penny. and another is said to have been the photograph that the 5 dlarsz bill was mod e8 e eled image for the $5 bill was modelled on. so those are three pretty significant photographs. the following evening berger and at least one other photographer went to the white house at the request of carpenter to make some stereographic stud sdis for me at the president's office. this is a degaratype of campen material. he was preparing to paint his heroic work, first reading of the emancipation proclamation by president lincoln which now hangs in the u.s. capitol in the senate wing. carpenter sent members of his cabinet for his pabting and when berks erger made the april 26th visit, lincoln posed standing at the table in his office on which he had signed the historic document. in his memoir carpenter tells a story of his day

lincoln a life, the storm enveloping lincoln's wife could not be matched until we had hillary clintonincoln's immediate family were engaged in military rebellion dedicated to the overthrow of her husband's government. she remained completely loyal to the union and went well beyond what was required having her mail incoming and outgoing read for her. lincoln's wife had perhaps the most challenging time as first lady, a term that was coined before she assumed the role, but became a label embraced by the press to designate the president's wife. due to mary's visibility and profile, she took advantage of this new role. as mary lincoln the todd was only added later by descendants who actually wanted to link mary to her birth family, the todds and also to another president, and that is dolly todd madison was married to a todd but in her own lifetime the two-named mary lincoln felt herself at the center of a converging disaster inform 1864. for three long years she had weathered the political storms. she'd endured fearful threats against her husband in 1861, suffered the loss of a child in 1

we'll talk about the 1860 photograph of abraham lincoln and 1864 photographs of abraham lincoln that not only shaped history but captured it as well. mr. wilson will talk about his story of trying to recapture matthew brady. it's a tough thing to do. gnat thou brady didn't leave much in the way of writings. a few letters, few diaries. it's a tough nut to crack to figure out what was going on with brady, what stories he was trying to get across, how intentional he was in the art he was trying to create. hopefully after the first hour we'll know more about that. please join me in welcoming mr. wilson to the stage. >>> thank you for that great introduction. thanks too, to harold holtzer for inviting me here today and for other kindnesses. thanks to all of you have given the warm welcome my wife martha and me the last day we've been here. it occurred to me to write about matthew brady about a decade ago as i was finishing my first book, a biography of a 19th century werner explorer named clarence king. after the civil war king had led one of the important scientific missions of the west

for lincoln and profound respect for lincoln's leadership and what lincoln stood for that one might something to do with the kind of skepticism with which he emerged from the war with -- about so much. of everything. but it still does puzzle me. i don't have a good answer to that question. >> well, he comes out of the war, remember, with a very strong sense of what a mess the campaigns were. and the experience at potomac would have confirmed that. for long periods of holmes' service he's wading through swamps trying to get from the virginia northern neck area to richmond in two different aborttive efforts to invade richmond. he sees people randomly shot. he gets randomly shot. he sees people run to their deaths because somebody gives him a wrong order. he never has any sense of what the general plan of the war is. so, he may have associated lincoln with the strategists of the war and thought that it was pretty much of a cockup and partly blamed lincoln for that. and then, of course, he comes out of the war and he's not an abolitionist. he has a richer attitude toward confederat conf

historians and authors discuss president lincoln's 1864 re-election campaign. sunday afternoon at 4:00 on reel america, tried by fire. a 1965 film that chronicles the 84th infantry division during the battle of the bulge. find our complete television schedule at c-span.org and let us know about the programs you're watching. call us at 202-626-3400. e-mail us or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. >>> roger b. taney served as chief justice at the supreme court and delivered the majority opinion in the controversial dred scott case. next, rhodes college professor tim huebner discusses public opinion of chief justice taney and how it was shaped. the supreme court historical society hosted this event. it's a little under an hour. [ applause ] >> thank you very much, mr. goldman. i -- historians like me because, you know, every faculty, every respectable law faculty has a legal historian on it. but how important they are depends on how much you think the history behind the constitution or any other statute depend

and that douglas captain lincoln countered lincoln had said he wouldn't let slavery expand anywhere, and douglas kept saying does that mean you're against the acquisition of new territories? and finally after trying to parry the question for most of the debate, lincoln finally explodes in a fifth debate at the galesburg, illinois, at knox college and he just says, if it means slavery going southward, yes, i would probably oppose that kind of acquisition. douglas healthier chunk lincoln on the issue because most americans favored territorial expansion. but in the long run, lincoln's position helped him get elected president of the united states. lincoln was very worried about the future of slavery in the union. the viewpoint of lincoln at his new republican party was that they did not need to threaten slavery where it already existed in the union. some radical abolitionists like william lloyd garrison wanted to begin the abolition of slavery immediately, even in the southern states. but lincoln and his party realize the constitution gave certain protections to slavery as an institutio

as soon as word came to massachusetts senator sumner he dashled off a letter to president lincoln and quoted, quote, providence has given us a victory in the death of chief justice taney. it is a victory for liberty and constitution. in the days following a philadelphia newspaper noted, quote, the nation can feel little regret at his removal from an office which in his hands has been so promiscuously used. five months later in a thorough article on the chief justice's legacy, the atlantic monthly concluded that taney was essentially a partisan judge and around that same time in early 1865, an anonymous 68-page pamphlet was pub lushed called "the unjust judge" that basically made the same point. roger taney was and is the most infamous chief justice in the history of the supreme court. tonight i'd like to talk about the life and the death of chief juice tis taney and what his death meant in late 1864 and 1865, when the nation's was in the midst of concluding a long and bloody civil war. along the way i'd like to make various observations about taney particularly the rise and fall of hi

historians and authors discuss president lincoln's 1864 re-election campaign. sunday afternoon at 4:00 on reel america, tried by fire. a 1965 film that chronicles the 84th infantry division during the battle of the bulge. find our complete television schedule at c-span.org and let us know about the programs you're watching. call us at 202-626-3400. e-mail us or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. >>> roger b. taney served as chief justice at the supreme court and delivered the majority opinion in the controversial dred scott case. next, rhodes college professor tim huebner discusses public opinion of chief justice taney and how it was shaped. the supreme court historical society hosted this event. it's a little under an hour. [ applause ] >> thank you very much, mr. goldman. i -- historians like me because, you know, every faculty, every respectable law faculty has a legal historian on it. but how important they are depends on how much you think the history behind the constitution or any other statute depend

well, that is exactly what lincoln had with henry hall. and lincoln did not want this man to hang. he didn't want him to die. so what he did was he created an ex post facto law, and basically he was tried for entering union lines without sufficient permission and without a pass. which carried a substantially less penalty. this man was later transferred up to a union fort outside of new york city. he stayed there for a few months, and then he was eventually released. so, yes, lincoln violated the constitution, but by the same tone, he did that to save this man's life. ironically, this man here probably didn't know what lincoln did for him. we know he was proconfederate. he was a confederate soldier. it's very unlikely he would've remotely liked or supported president abraham lincoln. and yet, reflecting abraham lincoln's compassion, he pulled the strings unbeknownst to henry hall bragden so later he would not suffer the death penalty. >> i wanted to take you up here, share a couple more civil war stories with ya. and then also, kind of talk about how different americans saw the star

lincoln, of course, was elected president in 1960. white southerners feared the right to hold slaves in territories would not be protected under the incoming president, they seceded from the federal union, and the civil war began. jupci northern war effort begans an attempt simply to restore the union as an attempt to put down the southern rebellion. but by 1862, union policy changed. largely because of pressure exerted by african-americans, but also because of the republican belief that liberating slaves helped the union cause emancipation started to become the policy of the union government in washington. in a span of several months, congress enacted legislation forbidding slavery in the territories in defiance of the dred scott ruling, and ending slavery in washington, d.c. congress passed an act which made possiblepbf$ the emancipa of slaves owned by confederates. then on january 1st, 1863, abraham linnrae issued the declared all slaves in nonunion occupied areas of the confederacy forever free. with the emancipation proclamatio

he survived lincoln by 24 years. did the first love of the south during the war belonged to lee and stonewall and not jefferson davis? >> guest: yes that's true. on the other hand i don't think davis was as unpopular among the ordinary people in the confederacy as the image we might have from the newspapers and from his political enemies. he was subject to savage criticism but i think he retained a certain amount of popularity with the ordinary confederate citizens. on the three trips that he took to the deep south during the course of the war in december 1862 and again in the fall of 1863 and the fall of 1864, he spoke at a dozen or more venues during those trips almost too large and enthusiastic crowds. so clearly there was some residue of support and even affection for davis among the general population. at the same time that governors, senators, newspaper editors were savagely criticizing him. that doesn't mean he was as popular as lee or stonewall jackson by any means but i think he was probably more popular tha

the lincoln letter is valued at $40,000.a thomas-laurey channel 6 "action news." >> when "action news" continues an update of our top stories. >> plus a look at the exclusive accuweather seven-day forecast. >> recapping our top stories on "action news," a serious accident on i-95 south is holding up traffic between routes 291 and 420. the man is critical condition. >>> volunteers are look looking for shane montgomery by handing out flyers at eagles game. he has been missing since thanksgiving. >>> protesters will have a die-in after the game protesting two black men killed by white police officers. >> reporter: if you're heading to the game, bundle up. the eagles get things going around 4:25, the windchills will be in the upper 20s. 39 degrees tomorrow, 46 tuesday, that's the coastal storm, periods of heavy rain, gusty winds, wednesday a few scattered showers possible, it lingers through thursday, spotty showers, 32, friday and saturday it starts to clear, it's chilly highs in the 40s. giant christmas tree was lit up in thei

stevens when lincoln was there. and he actually mentions the fact that lincoln was there. but he says nothing about any incident involving people -- someone telling lincoln to get down, you fool. and that is a little curious. holmes was very far from being someone who wanted to embellish his participation in things. so, i think if he had on that occasion said, get down, you fool, to lincoln and he would have simply said it to someone at that point. he wouldn't have advertised prominently but he would have mentioned it to an intimate at some point in his life and he never did. the other thing is the source of the story was harold lasky. and lasky was a notorious embellisher. and so -- and there's no other account of -- there's no other source for this story. so i'm inclined to put this in the same category as when daniel webster made his plea in the john marshall, there were tears in his eyes. it's a good story and somebody tells it at some point in the history of writing up these incidents and it's too good for people not to repeat. that isn't to say it didn't happen. >> s

he actually issued a stern condemnation on president abraham lincoln saying that lincoln did not have the power to habeas corpus, he delegated that power which he did not have other union officers in the area. in clear violation of the constitution of the united states. no long thereafter, a no long thereafter, a no long thereafter, a federal marshal taking his demand the release of this john merriman. he was turned around at the fort's dates by union soldiers under the orders of the commander officer cease he took hi orders from the president, so really here at ft. mchenry in the early days of the civil ware was a constitutional crisis, the time where at least one representative of the judicial and executive branches came at loggerheads with one another. these were swift decisive measures that the administration tube to secure baltimore. by securing baltimore for the union cause, it helped keep the state of maryland from seceding from the union. that resulted in maryland staying loyal to the union cause as well. so ft. mchenry was important union fort during the american civil war ye

he survived lincoln by 24 years. did the first love of the south during the war belonged to lee and stonewall and not jefferson davis? >> guest: yes that's true. on the other hand i don't think davis was as unpopular among the ordinary people in the confederacy as the image we might have from the newspapers and h

lincoln had even for those who did not like him. when the writ of execution came across his desk. he had the man tried under an expost facto law. it's extremely clear in the constitution, says it in the constitution, quote, there should be no expost facto law. so in other words, you can't arrest a person and then accuse them of a crime that wasn't stated as being a crime or on the books at the time that the man was arrested. well, that is exactly what lincoln had with henry hall brogdon. lincoln didn't want this man to die, he created an expost facto lawened was basically tried to enter union lines without sufficient permission and without a pass, which carried a substantially less penalty. this man was later transferred up to a union fort outside of new york city. he stayed there for a few months, and then he was eventually released. so, yes, lincoln violated the constitution, but by the same token, he did that to save this man's life. ironically this man here probably didn't know what lincoln did for him. it's very unlikely he wou

constructed this year as part of the lincoln castle revealed project. now, you may have noticed that the magna carta has come to the united states a full year ahead of the 800th anniversary. we are thrilled to be able to stage this exhibit leading up to the magna carta commemorations that are already in the works throughout the united kingdom and indeed the world. our exhibition compliments the major magna carta exhibits, exhibitions being planned in the u.k. for 2015, as it tells the story from a unique american historical point of view. our exhibition focuses on the impact that the interpreted principles of magna carta had on our founding fathers and the founding documents. it explores magna carta's strong influence on the constitutional law of the united states. and when legal scholars and historians look back on this milestone anniversary, it is our hope that the content of our exhibition will show how one of england's most vennerated exports, magna carta, forged the u.s.-british bond of law. i think you all for joining this today and and i encourag

. >>> abraham lincoln men for his hats and his writing,es specially this new one, that story is coming up. >>> temperatures will be falling fast, across the delaware valley, and then it turns rainy for weekend. we will look at a the forecast, seven day, including eagles game day coming up, hi beasley. >>> eagles are prepping for that big match up sunday with the seahawks, shady mccoy has been focus all season. at will has number one defense in the game. we will get shady's thoughts on their d coming up in sports. we are following breaking news protesters at city hall tonight. >> it is latest protest begins the grand jury decision out of ferguson, missouri, it is a noisy protest. our todd quinones is at city hall with the demonstrators right now, todd? >> reporter: well, chris, it is quite the scene here. we are live inside the courtyard here at city hall, take a look over my shoulder here and as christmas carols are playing in the background for tonight's christmas tree lighting ceremony, protesters upset over the michael brown, grand jury decision are chanting, tree lighting ceremony

lisa thomas-laury has the story. >> it gives a rare glimpse of lincoln before he assumed the presidency. >> this is before the type writer and lincoln wrotes the letters pimself. >> this was hidden in a library. he was strictly an illinois politician and supported zachary taylor in 1848. >> when taylor was elected he thought he could influence people for jobs in illinois. >> he was looking for a prn that dtd model for his patent. >> the model was walter payton, for a boat that would clear river sand bars, he appealed to payton for a presidential appointment. >> but lincoln knew that a move like that would be sentive. if you look closely he wrote, it will perhaps be better for you and me for you to say nothing about this. >> the rob collection is the leading dealer in historical documents, this joins several other artifacts that are cure ated for the holiday season. this revolutionary war document was personally signed by george washington to thank his troops when they were discharged at the end of battle. >> the lincoln letter is valued at $40,000. lisa thomas-laury, channel 6 "action n

for lincoln and profound respect for lincoln's leadership and what lincoln stood for that one might have thought that, i think, his father, oliver wendell holmes sr., did. and it may have something to do with the kind of skepticism with which he emerged from the war with -- about so much. of everything. but it still does puzzle me. i don't have a good answer to that question. >> well, he comes out of the war, remember, with a very strong sense of what a mess the campaigns were. and the experience at potomac would have confirmed that. for long periods of holmes' service he's wading through swamps trying to get from the virginia northern neck area to richmond in two different aborttive efforts to invade richmond. he sees people randomly shot. he gets randomly shot. he sees people run to their deaths because somebody gives him a wrong order. he never has any sense of what the general plan of the war is. so, he may have associated lincoln with the strategists of the war and thought that it was pretty much of a cockup and partly blamed lincoln for that. and then, of course, he comes out

stevens when lincoln was there. says nothing about any incident involving people telling lincoln to get down, you fool. and that is a little cure yousz. holmes was very far from being someone who wanted to embellish his participation in things. and, so, i think it's -- i think if he had on that occasion said get down, you fool, to lincoln and he would have sitmply said did that. he would blt have mentioned it prominently, but he would have mentioned it at some point in his life. the other thing is that the source of the story was harold lasky. and lasky was a notorious embellisher. and there's no other account for the story. i'm inclined to put this one in the same category as the story when daniel webster made his argument in the dartmouth college case, there were tears in john marshal's eyes. it's a good story and somebody tells it at some point in the history of writing up these incidents. and it's too good for people not to repeat. i just need to say it happened. >> i wanted to talk about holmes' view of lincoln

many believe that lincoln would fail to win reelection.jennifer weber examines the political climate in the summer of 1864 and explains how lincoln won by a landslide. this is a portion of a symposium hosted by the lincoln group of d.c. it is 50 minutes. >> i am pleased to be here this morning and am honored to introduce our next speaker, jennifer weber. jennifer is an associate professor of history at the university of kansas. where her specialty, no surprise, is the civil war. her first book was "copperheads" for those of you who may not have a copy at home or have read it. and this, of course, is about the anti-war movement in the north. this was published by oxford university press in 2006, and actually has a forward by jennifer's mentor, james m. macpherson. so you can tell she comes from a quality line. her second book is actually geared for children, and this fact has won her a special place in the hearts of many of us in the lincoln group who really view the importance of sharing the story of lincoln and his heir, and our nation's

that's coming >> now to an old letter that gives new insights on president abraham lincoln.e wrote letter 165 years ago even before he became president. >> carol erickson tells us he had all the instincts of many political leaders. >> displayed in the union league room a rare old letter from old abe himself offered for sale for a lot of coin. >> $40,000. >> steven rob a document dealer smiles because he knows this letter is a hot commodity. the letter written in january 1849 shows that the freshman congressman and future president was no political novice. lincoln let walter davis know he would try to get him add an administration job. >> the person who got fired in order to effect this was his own law partner's father. >> simple political fallout because behind lincoln's stoic face an early brilliant mind for politics. >> rewarding connies. >> lincoln wrote to walter davis who helped him get a patent. >> it's the distribution of the office should fall into my hands you should have something, no the just something but a lincoln underlined something and a further letter instru

it is waters world the lincoln edition. >> abraham lincoln. why is he so important do you think? >> civil rights. >> do you like him? >> i love him. >> i would venture to say i am obsessed with lincoln. >> when was lincoln president? >> 1850. >> civil war area 1840's, 50's, 60? >> plenty. >> emancipation proclamation. >> emancipation proclamation. >> say that three times fast. i was kidding. >> declaration of independence. >> that wasn't lincoln? >> who was that? >> jefferson. >> was he republican or democrat? >> liberal. >> republican. >> i believe he was a democrat. >> he was republican. >> wow. >> does that surprise you? >> no. >> republican for sure? >> no. >> you were right. >> trust your instincts, man p. >> how did lincoln die? >> he was assassinated by john wilkes booth at some theater. >> who shot lincoln? >> ruth. >> not ruth. >> babe ruth. >> you mean that's the same guy? >> george booth. >> booth. is it booth? >> they stole his body. >> they stole his body. >> lincoln's body. >> they did? >> where did they take it? >> it's an unsolved mystery no? >> you can count on h

many believe that lincoln would fail to win reelection.as jennifer weber examines the political climate in the summer of 1864 and explains how lincoln won by a landslide. of a symposiumon hosted by the lincoln group of d.c. it is 50 minutes. >>m

lincoln and fdr. lincoln preceded by james buchanan -- >> the worst president ever. >> guest: fdr succeeded by herbert hoover. presidents who follow great presidents are you shall be individuals for whom there are no expectations. harry truman is the exception, he left office with one of the lowest approval ratings in the modern history of the presidency, remembered over time as a much better president than the fact of what happened to the presidency after truman left. there were eight good years of peace and prosperity with eisenhower and then we entered a very traumatic fall. jack kennedy's assassination, lyndon johnson all vote transform of civil rights bills, medicare, medicaid, there was vietnam which dragged on. there was richard nixon, who harry truman said read the constitution but didn't understand it. then you had gerald ford, a transitional president, jimmy carter, one term president, morning in america again with ronald reagan and who you succeed has a lot to do with how you ultimately are

todd lincoln's child.e promised post partisanship in probably one of the most shark-enfested environments in our recent history. he set a bar that was extremely tough to match. i think, frankly, if the economy continues to recover and if we are not attacked again here in a consequential way, his one line plus if healthcare expands services, cutting costs and provides quality care and if a republican is not elected in 2016, i think his legacy could be a significant one. host: among the questions you ask in the book: how important are individuals in the broad current of history? and how do they matter comparison to the broaderforces that shape their time? guest: the great debate, steve, between what is more important: circumstances or the individual? marx, karl marx say men make history but rarely as they please. one of the things i have in the book is characters are imports. individuals are critically imports but you must anchor them in the circumstances in which they find themselves. great presidents simpl

courtney reagan has the story from the lincoln log factory in bur nah made. >> reporter: lincoln logs among the most american iconic toys but the last 60 years, the wooden toys have been made in china, not anymore. >> over the last four years although we had some fits and starts, we moved the lincoln logs back to the united states with pride manufacturing in maine. >> we operate in a 152 mile radius pulling from ordering states. matched colors, we've got the speck rate, the strength rate. we're ready for 2015. prides ready and connection is ready. >> reporter: consumer reports say given the choice between a product made in the u.s. and an identical one made abroad, 78% of americans would rather buy the domestic version. they're also willing to pay more. but that's not an issue for lincoln logs. >> with us, we don't give them that choice. we make sure it's the same price it was before. it's on us to deliver the value and deliver the customer experience and to deliver the price value equation. >> reporter: many children made wish lists on apps like ipads, connects said retail sales rema

would lincoln be reelected? would mcclellan be the better choice? which candidate would bring the end to the war? at the same time that the here at atmosphere was belle grove, the environment was completely different over at fishers hill. the air at fishersville was filled -- fishers hill was probably filled with electric energy. having their last meal before they would be marching through the night to camp -- unaware -- hhere at belle grove. hundred and fifty years ago tomorrow, this landscape will are wrapped with the sounds of war. him was will set with 1000 men lying in this field. by tomorrow evening, the union the iers will return to camp here -- victorious, but solemn. what took place here has changed the course of the shenandoah valley for the rest of the war. at this place, we find the last major battle of the valley. that not only secure this quarter for the union, boosted votes for lincoln's reelection, and contributed to the end of the war. this place here, in the shenandoah valley, has significance for our local community, the commonwea

abe lincoln wrote this letter 165 years ago. it can be yours. >> reporter: display in the union league room containing more lincoln hits then a coin purse a rare old letter from old abe himself, offered for sale for a lot of coin. >> $40,000. >> reporter: steven rob a document dealer smiles because he knows this letter is a hot commodity in the historical market. lincoln's letter to friend walter written in january 1849, shows that the freshman conditioning man and future president was in political novice. lincoln let walter davis know we try to get him an administration job. >> what was surprising in the letter was person got fired in order to effect this was his own law partner's father. >> reporter: simple political fall out because behind lincoln's stoic face an early brilliant mind for politics. >> rewarding friends, politics is about that. >> reporter: to do that lincoln wrote to walter dave hoist helped him get a patent. it is a distribution of the offices should fall into my hand you should have something. not just somet