his 2015 "lincoln and the power of the press" won the lincoln prize. and a few slightly last prestigious awards. one from the columbia journalism school and other from the kennedy school at harvard. in 2008, then president george bush awarded him the national humanities medal. this afternoon we will be among the lucky few to be introduced to his most recent work, which will not be widely available until january. the title is "monument man: the life and art of daniel chester french." the sculptor of the lincoln memorial. it is my distinct pleasure to present harold holzer. [applause] harold: i would love all eyes to be on me, but i have some really interesting silent movie footage for you to see. this is the dedication of the lincoln memorial -- taft. there's robert lincoln. and this is the crowd gathering in front of the reflecting pool. this is memorial day, 1922. thousands and thousands of people. you'll see some of them with parasols. it's not raining. it is just really sunny in washington. so, i am going to be speaking about the career that leads u

lincoln loved herndon because lincoln was so thorough in his research when they would do trial cases. >> now, what does mary not liking herndon, does that cause any friction amongst the law practice here? >> it did not cause any friction between lincoln and herndon. it did cause friction between mary and lincoln because i think there was a jealousy between herndon and mary. i think herndon was jealous of lincoln's relationship with mary and of course mary was jealous of herndon because lincoln spent so much time with him. he was gone from early morning to almost late evening. to do law. >> we coming upon the old state capitol to the left. >> in this place, of course, mr. lincoln practiced law. he was in the legislature here in this building. mary came into the building two very important times for me. one was when she watched him give the house divided speech. but the most important time was when she watched him give up votes to mr. turnbull for the legislature to go to the u.s. congress and he turned over some votes, to him, that were given to mr. lincoln, and mary was very dishearte

lincoln met. it is important for museum visitors to see original pieces on display, be it a document hat abraham lincoln wrote, a everyday piece that might have been in his home that he interacted with as he got ready for the day. those pieceses are incredibly important as people walk through our museum because there is power, there is magic in a museum art fact. said is something to be for standing in front of the actual object. you can read about that object or see it in a different format, maybe a picture in a book, but when you're standing right in front of it, there is power in that piece. i think the greatest power those pieceses have is they remind us that figures like abraham lincoln, abraham lincoln himself, he is just a human being. when you stand in front of one of those pieceses, you understand that abraham lincoln was a human being. >> our city's tour staff recently traveled to springfield, illinois, to learn about its rich history. learn more about springfield and her stops in our to

abraham lincoln is elected in the election of 1860 in a couple short months later abraham lincoln is making the journey to washington giving his farewell address to springfield from the train depot . he was always planning on returning to springfield but he never does. only has body comes back here after his assassination in 1865 doesn't lie in state here in this building in representative hall. all of the furniture was completely cleared out of this room including both podiums, a black canopy was set up underneath which lincoln's "and was placed. people came through this room about 75,000 mourners to pay their respects to the fallen president. the town of springfield is about 15,000 at the time. by 1876 this building is no longer the state capital. the legislature outgrows this building and they start to look for other locations. by 1868 they start construction on what we will call the new and currency capital. the most important thing about preserving old buildings may not necessarily be for the architectural value they have. don't get me wrong it does have architectural value that

>>> the dedication of the lincoln memorial took place in 1922 almost 60 years after abraham lincoln's death. next harold holzer talks about his book monument man, the life and art of daniel chester french which examines the life of the sculptor best known for the statue of lincoln that serves as the memorial centerpiece. this program from the annual lincoln forum symposium is about an hour. >> good afternoon and welcome to the second session of the lincoln forum. i want to make one correction before we get started, in your packets there are biographies and mind suggests that i and the provost at howard university. i think my boss the provost would be very surprised to hear that okay. that is him responding. so we will start with that but in any case i had the great pleasure of introducing harold holzer, i have known harold a quarter of a century. i'm reminded since the last century that's right but anyway i have known harold nearly a quarter of a century and have had the pleasure of working with him and frank both on and off publication and several national boards including this one.

illinois is the land of lincoln. springfield certainly is the city of lincoln. his home is here, his old law offices are here, and of course he is buried on the outskirts of town at oak ridge cemetery. lincoln is extraordinarily important to the city of springfield. this museum was built in 2005. it was opened to the public. it had been a dream for many folks in central illinois, a presidential library for the greatest president. the purpose of the library is very basic, to preserve and pass on the legacy of abraham lincoln. he is the man i think best encapsulated what it means to be american, freedom and equality, opportunity. we do put him on a pedestal rightly, but also he was a human being and had great ambitions to do great things. he certainly succeeded in that. abraham lincoln was born in 1809 in kentucky. he lived there just for a few years. he was six or seven when he moved to indiana, lived through his teens in indiana. he grew up on the frontier. he had a lot of front -- hard work to do clearing land, essentially being a farmer in many ways, lived a v

lincoln was elected congressman 1860.6 and president in lincoln's sans robert todd lincoln donated the family home to the state of illinois in 1887. coming up we visit the lincoln residential library and museum to learn more about the life of our 16th president. alan: the city of springfield, so much is built around that legacy of abraham lincoln. springfield is the city of lincoln. his home is here, his speeches, his law offices, and he is buried on the outskirts of town at oak ridge cemetery. he is extraordinarily important. this is the always built in 2005. it had been a dream for many folks in central illinois, presidential library for the greatest president. the purpose is to pass on the legacy of abraham lincoln. he is the man who best encapsulated what it means to be freedom and equality, opportunity. we put him on a pedestal rightly , but he was a human being and had great ambitions to do great things. abraham lincoln was born in 1809 in kentucky. he lived there for a few years. he was six or seven when he moved to indiana, lived through his teens in indiana. he grew up on the

he givers inh that 1858, and after lincoln's 1965, nation, in lincoln's body lies here in state for nearly 75,000 people through this building in a 22-hour time period to pay their respects to the fallen president. as spring evidence becomes the state capitol in 1839, the illinois is starting to move northward. when springfield is established, town of about e 1,500 is actually larger than a lake michigan n called chicago. and so springfield becomes the city as it's a central location in illinois. as the population starts to northward, then the ideas of slavery begin to change. to this building in 1840, as a representative. terms ncoln served four as a state representative, but he served his last and final 1840 etween the years of and 1841 in this building. so here on the main historic old state capital we have the state library, and his is where abraham lincoln started to hone his political career. it was in the state library, surrounded always with information and knowledge as well.of people lincoln's friends actually say lincoln is a very competitive player in the state library. i

of lincoln. the way i prefer to tell the story is douglas has lincoln's back. when lincoln was inaugurated, he had a stovepipe hat, he wanted to take a hat off but didn't know what to do with it. douglas said i will hold your hat, mr. president, a sign of unity between the parties and certainly in the north and a sign of lincoln, douglas and the relationship that they had. there are nine members of the illinois senate. each senate district is deserted -- is divided into two. just like in the house, you have -- douglas and lincoln both served in the house. chamber, just like the illinois house was restored in 2006, 2007. from 1997 to 2005, 1 of the state senators was barack obama who became a state senator. his desk is not here. these desks came with the restoration. he would have sat in the back row. his last spot was here and before that he sat here. this is where senator obama would have sat. in 2008, u.s. senator barack obama is elected president. he announced his candidacy at the old state ca

next, jesse disdains lincoln.p to washington to rescue her husband's career ended badly. ,incoln listened carefully asked her questions, and then, just as you can imagine he would have done had she been a man, lost his temper when he heard her answers. jesse proceeded to lose her temper, too. concluding her visit by challenging the president's authority and her husband's name, demanding the president's correspondence with the players, urging her husband to print more copies of the emancipation order that the president had just told her was null and void. and then by encouraging fremont to arrest frank blair, who was lincoln's man in missouri. jesse's disdain for lincoln remained unabated for the rest of her life. only one man could engender more revulsion in jesse's breath and george clinton -- in the contest for the presidency, even her lifelong love affair with fremont, who was also running for president, took a backseat to her fervent hope for the end of slavery. despite her enmity for lincoln, him in far more

lincoln met.t is important for visitors to see original pieces on display, be it a document that lincoln and everyday piece that might've been in his home that he interacted with as he got ready for the day. those pieces are important as people walked to the museum because there is power and magic in a museum artifact. there is something to be said for standing in front of the actual object. you can read about it. you can see it in a different format, maybe in a book, but when you stand in front of it, there is power in the piece. i think the greatest power those pieces have is they remind us that figures like abraham lincoln, he is just a human being being -- being. you understand that abraham lincoln was a human being. are -- announcer: our staff recently traveled to illinois to learn about its rich history. /citiesore at c-span.org tour. you are watching american history tv all weekend every weekend on c-span3. if beale street could talk received three oscar nominations for original score, best

where lincoln started to hone his political career.t was in the state library and he was always surrounded by information and knowledge and people. his friends say lincoln is a competitive chess player. in the state library in this room, abraham lakin debated the house divided speech before he gave it in 1865. a biography about lincoln says that they sat along a long cylindrical table and debated. was the only one who supported lincoln's ideas and his friends said if you say these radical things, you will not win the election. his friends were right. he lost the election. the ideas about what does freedom mean and how do we interpret that today started for abraham lincoln in this building , possibly even around this table. behind me is a representative hall. in 1840, they were not assigned seats. back then, democrats sat on the left-hand side and the wakes, later the republican party, sat on the right. abraham lincoln, a creature of habit, sat in the second row back in the third seat. mostly tothis place be around people who were like-

>> he does not like lincoln because lincoln is not a professional soldier. he is a politician. halek does not like politicians. a lot of army people don't like politicians. what halek is telling grant and others, whatever you do, make your plans, but don't tell the president because he is a blabbermouth. the next person that comes in, he will tell them the whole story. >> it will remind him of a joke. john: exactly. >> what about the relationship? grant is commander-in-chief from this point on of the army. lincoln was unhappy that mcclellan sent infrequent reports. we know that jefferson davis on the other side of the river craved daily reports. how frequently did grant communicate with lincoln, and was lincoln satisfied with the number of messages? john: what seemed to be going on was that a lot of grant's messages, some were coming to the president, some were coming to the secretary of war, stanton, who then talked to the president, etc. lincoln basically said, look, here is what i want to do. we agree, so just do it. i don't have to know. the difference that is happening is

they were rivals for mary todd lincoln for her hand. abraham lincoln obviously won. some local wags might say he lost, but lincoln obviously won. douglas always seemed like he was eclipsing lincoln. his career went so fast. he was secretary of state, on the illinois supreme court. he was elected to congress. he became a powerful and well known u.s. senator. lincoln spent four teams in the legislature, one term in congress, and his political career was over for a while. as the slavery issue heated up, lincoln got back into politics. he and dulgheru has had some major disagreements. in 1858 they ran for senate against each other. douglas won. but reasoner getting discouraged, lincoln had made a national name for himself. two years later he ran for president and defeated douglas and two other candidates and was elected. . so that is reflected in this building, a building that neither one of them served. doing has actually died in 1861 before the end of the civil war, and lincoln died at the end of the civil war in 1865. the building construction didn't start until 1868.

whether lincoln packed the court. after his remarks, he sits down for a conversation about the history of political influence on the supreme court with university of richmond law professor inner chambers. the american civil war museum hosted this 90-minute event. introduce ourt me speaker for tonight. hubler, thetimothy sternberg professor of history at rhodes college in memphis, tennessee. a specialist in the history of the 19th century united states, he is the author and co-author of multiple books including "liberty and unions," which we have in our gift shop. he has published numerous articles in scholarly journals. his essays and op-ed pieces have appeared in "the wall street journal" website, "the hill," and the "near times" to name a few. he received his v.a. from the university of miami and m.a. and phd from the university of florida. without further ado, let's give a warm welcome to dr. cuban or. huebner.ban or -- >> thank you, kelly. thanks to the staff here at the american museum. it is an honor to be here.

10,000 books on lincoln? did the world need another book on lincoln, and what is it that you brought to it that made it so distinctive and such a best seller? doris: it was scary to do lincoln, and i did not think it was out of chutzpah, thinking i could make a huge contribution. i knew i wanted to live with him. that's how i choose my subjects. if i want to spend time, i want to be happy with a person getting up in the morning and thinking about him when i go to bed at night. and abraham lincoln was somebody that i always wanted to learn more about. so i just hoped that if i started in, i could figure out a different angle. david: lyndon b. johnson was famously colorful in his language. i always thought the johnson treatment was yelling at people, screaming at people. things like that. when you listen to tapes, you don't hear any curse words. at least i didn't hear any. were they excerpted, or did he not talk that way? doris: when he was on those tapes, he had a button in his desk office. and whenever he was

lincoln in 1864. that election, they fled together again to europe. we know for certain that george loved nellie. love george?e though his biographers state ist as a fact, the answer not obvious in my opinion. i tell the tale of her youthful engagement to the future confederate general a.p. thwartedch was cruelly by her mother. but i found even more convincing her ambivalence toward mcclellan in her behavior during the war and later in her husband died. unlike many civil war widows, abandoned responsibility for defending mcclellan's reputation after his death. nellie left her husband's legacy to the not-so-tender mercies of a very misguided literary published perhaps the most criticized memoirs of general. war and it included more than 200 of the wartime letters mcclellan written to nellie. in those letters, which mcclellan had always asked to keep private, he had lincoln,t his abuse of the gorilla, the baboon, the devil., and the it's almost enough to make you feel sorry for george mcclellan, almost.

10,000 books on lincoln. what makes it so distinctive and a bestseller? >> it was really scary to do lincoln. it was not thinking i could make a huge contribution. i just knew i wanted to live with him. that is how i choose my subjects. i want to be with the person i am going to be happy getting up in the morning and thinking about him when i go to bed at night. abraham lincoln is someone i always wanted to learn more about. i hoped i could figure out a different angle. carol: -- david: i always thought lyndon johnson was always intimidating people. when you listen to the tapes, you don't hear any curse words. did he just not talk that way? >> the interesting thing is when he is on those tapes, he had a button in his office. never it was talking to a senator or congressman, he wanted to take the conversation. they would make deals on the phone. it was never just force. it is charm, knowing what each senator or congressman wants. you want to go on this commission? i will send you to france. you want that, you

10,000 books on lincoln? did you think that we needed another one? what is it that you brought to it that made it so distinctive? doris: it was scary to do lincoln, and it wasn't thinking that i could make a huge contribution. i just knew that i wanted to live with him. that's how i choose my subjects. if i want to spend time, i want to be with a person that i will with getting happy up in the morning and thinking about him when i go to bed. abraham lincoln was somebody that i wanted to learn more about. i hoped that i could figure out a different angle. david: lyndon b. johnson was famously colorful in his language. i always heard was yelling at people, screaming at people. when you listen to tapes, you don't hear any curse words. i didn't, at least. justey taken out or did he not talk that way? doris: when he was on those tapes, he had a button in his desk office, and whenever he was talking to a senator or congressman, he wanted to tape the conversation, because they wanted to make deals on the phone and h

lincoln had agreed. werean feared his troops badly outnumbered and began to show signs of a nervous breakdown. he was soon relieved of command and moved to a list stressful posting. but as a consequence of that dilution newspapers around the country carried the startling headline, general william t sherman insane. in january 1862 ellen traveled again on his behalf this time to washington to ask the president of the united states for help in restoring her husband's reputation. that meeting was far more productive than jesse's head and in large part because of ellen's opinion of an attitude toward the president. sherman took president lincoln's advice as ellen reported it to him and soon was rising again in the ranks. asked if again ellen she could visit him in the field. he consistently refused until after the great union victory when he wrote to her that she and her children could come to his camp on the banks of the lack river. ever mindful of disease in those days like malaria, yellow fever and the typ

topacks it off, takes it lincoln, nebraska, he meets a woman who had seen lincoln at the lincoln douglasered he had a curious way of standing before he was to speak. he stood with his hands clasped in front of him as if he was collecting his thoughts. they then unpacked the model and put on display and the woman said, you were there? he wasn't, but he had somehow intuited it. he had somehow intuited it. he called it his high water mark. >> join us this presidents' day, beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern to learn more about the lincoln memorial. this is american history tv, all weekend, every weekend, on c-span3. >> next, on lectures in history. brooklyn college professor kc johnson teaches a class on lyndon johnson and richard nixon's supreme court nominations. he describes johnson's plan to fill the bench with liberal justices and the difficulties he ran into trying to get them confirmed. he outlines the pushback from conservative senators and confirmation hearings. he concludes with background on some of nixon's nominations to the court. his class is about one hour and 15 minutes.

lincoln considered suicide at one point. doris: lincoln had gotten into the state legislature. his great hope was to bring infrastructure projects to his section of illinois so that farmers could bring food to market and towns would grow up. he sponsored a million dollar bill to dredge harbors, build roads, and wide in rivers. the state went into recession and all the projects were half finished. he had to leave the legislature in disgrace. he felt his promises where it had not been met. he broke his engagement with mary todd, and knew it had humiliated her. that sentiment to a depression so deep that they took all the knives and razors from his room. his best friend said you must rally or you will die. he has in his early 30's. he said i know, i would die, but i have not accomplished anything to make people remember i will live. that was his lodestar, and he came out of the depression and eventually had a single term in congress. he will lose two senate seats and run as a dark horse candidate for the presidency. that desire to leave his mark on the world, which is an unusual a

no, lincoln's liked to play handball -- lincoln liked to play handball, though, but mostly lincoln likedtell stories. he loved telling funny stories. that's how he could relax. in the middle of tough cabinet meetings, he would come up with a funny story, and all of these serious guys would have to relax for a few moments. teddy roosevelt, two hours he would exercise every day. it could be a boxing match, or a raucous game of tennis. his favorite was a hike, where he would make a point -- you could only move point-to-point. you couldn't go around any obstacle. and then there is fdr, who relaxes with a cocktail hour, where he made a rule that you couldn't talk about the war. you could talk about gossip, books you had read, movies you had seen, as long as the war did not he wanted the ,. people to be living the cocktail hour and to be ready for it on the second floor of the white house. i kept picturing them in their bathrooms at night and what incredible conversations they must have had. david: final question. our time is up. if president trump called you and said i didn't have time to rea

but i'm going to out myself as a lincoln, huge lincoln admirer. i would make the argument that lincoln was always considering what we would call public opinion. and when he made statements -- so the current president? >> please, please. that was a little bit of a low blow. when he went out there and said let's call colonization. i think he knew perfectly well was a nonstarter. i think it's the greatest thing ever written about lincoln was a eulogy in 1876. >> i surrender as a. >> he had to bring the public with him in as much as we don't like it, most of the public including most white people to the north had no used to the black people. it would've been much happier if we had a country with few or no black people in it. so, lincoln had to bring these people to at least a position of neutrality on his politics. and so you find him saying things that curdle our blood, i'm not saying that he didn't harbor what we would call racist ideas, he did, he was a man of his time. he really believed that we could solve this problem through colonization. i don

written on lincoln?t does it you brought to its that made it so distinctive in such a bestseller. doris: i just knew that i wanted to live with him. if i want to spend so much time, i want to be happy with him getting up in the morning and thinking about him when i go to bed at night. abraham lincoln was always somebody i wanted to learn more about. i hope that if i started and, i can find another angle. david: lyndon johnson was colorful and his language. when you listen to tapes, you do not hear any curse words. doris: or they excerpt did or did just not talk that way when he was on those tapes, he had a button in his office and whenever he was talking to a senator or congressman, he wanted to take the conversation because they made deals on the phone. and he wanted to hold the guy to the deal later on. it is never just force. it is charm. it is knowing what somebody wants. some of you might want to be on a historical committee. he talks to people to bring the republican filibuster to an end. he offers

mary lincoln and abraham lincoln seem to be quite impressed with him later on. marilyn consent allow me to show you gratification. this is still crowded. jonathan had to say about him. sickles is an abomination in the sight of god. this is my favorite comprehensive and synced quote about dan sickles. -- comprehensive and succinct quote about dan sickles. -- [indiscernible] know the meaning of that word. i am not sure what the author meant by et cetera. why did they have so much faith in this man? he had a long track record. we are not going to go through all of this. i will just leave it with this. inwas born in york city 1890. -- it might've been 1825. possibly 1826. first chargedwas for fraud in 1837, i don't think he was 11 years all the time. while i read with you a few of the more telling personality traits of him. if you have to some up dan sickles, he is a massive contradiction. he was born to a i've founding family of amsterdam, he mingled easily with irish aristocracy. withe loved hanging out irish catholic immigrants and he went to mass with them. tamm

lincoln -- the members of lincoln's cabinet very often groaned when lincoln would start to tell a storyecause he knew these stories would go on and on and there was business to be done. and sometimes the stories had a point, a moral. for example, at the end of the civil war when jefferson davis was on the run, and nobody could quite figure out what to do with him, lincoln did not want to try him for treason. lincoln wished that the davis problem would simply go away. lincoln was all in favor of a speedy and lenient reconstruction. but he was -- he had to have sort of some policy about what to do with confederate leaders. he was asked, mr. president, what shall we do? mr. president, it brings me in mind this baptist that i used to know. and this baptist was quite opposed to the use of any alcoholic beverages. he would not go near the stuff. but he came down with a fever. and his doctor prescribed a certain gram of whiskey once a day. and the baptists couldn't decide whether to follow his conscience or the doctor's orders.but the baptist finally concluded -- he came up with a solution. an

written on lincoln?t does it you brought to its that made it so distinctive in such a bestseller. doris: i just knew that i wanted to live with him. . if i want to spend so much time, i want to be happy with him getting up in the morning and thinking about him when i go to bed at night. abraham lincoln was always somebody i wanted to learn more about. i hope that if i started and, i can find another angle. david: lyndon johnson was colorful and his language. when you listen to tapes, you do not hear any curse words. ? doris:doris: or they excerpt did or did just not talk that way when he was on those tapes, he had a button in his office and whenever he was talking to a senator or congressman, he wanted to take the conversation because they made deals on the phone. and he wanted to hold the guy to the deal later on. it is never just force. it is charm. somebodywing what wants. some of you might want to be on a historical committee. to bring theeople republican filibuster to an end. he offers and everythin

he takes it to lincoln, nebraska. he meets a woman who had seen lincoln in person.d he had a curious way a standing before he was to speak. he stood with his hands clasped in front of him as if he was collecting his thoughts. they then unpacked the model and put it on display and the woman said, you were there? he wasn't, but he had somehow intuited it. he called this is high water mark. watch this and other american history programs on our website, where all of our video is archived. that is c-span.org/history. monday night, on the communicators, christopher shelton, president of the communications workers of america talks about their opposition to the proposed t-mobile-straight murder. -- merger. mobile-sprint merger. >> we think it's a bad idea. it will destroy about 30,000 for an the united states german government owned company and a japanese billionaire company. we don't see why the german government or japanese billionaire should seek to make money off of american jobs, that's what that merger will do. communicators," monday night at 8:00 eastern, on c-span t

meets a woman who had seen abraham lincoln at the lincoln-douglas debates. him, i remembered he had a curious way of standing before he was to speak. with his hands clasped in front of him as if he was collecting his thoughts. they then unpacked the model and put it on display and the woman were there? and he wasn't. intuited it.mehow he called this his high water mark. president's day, beginning at 8 p.m. eastern, to learn more about the lincoln memorial. is american history t.v. all weekend, every weekend, on c-span 3. nearly 100 new members of the u.s. house this year, congresswoman iana presley. the boston based seventh district. she previously served as an of the bostonr city council. this isn't her first experience with congress. formerked for both representative joseph kennedy and former senator john kerry in her career. isresentative laurie trahan also a former congressionallal staffer. prior to her election, trahan was c.e.o. of a consulting firm. pappas has been involved in state and local politics 2000's,e early including an elected body that advi

mary lincoln and abraham lincoln seemed to be impressed with him later. this quote from mary lincoln circles, youry name is deservedly mentioned as being among the most energetic and brave union supporters." i am sorry, this is crowded. it was not uniform, this is what justin had to say about him. "king sickles is an abomination in the sight of god." all right. this is my favorite comprehensive as the sink quote i thinkn sickles and it's time for audience participation. will you read along for me? the quota that appeared in 1869. air quotes. the point if you know the name of that -- you know the meaning of that word. it was probably equally demeaning and accurate. all right. why did the m teachers have so much faith in this man? he had the long track record. i am not going to go through all this. teachers have so much faith in him? city, itrn in new york could've been 1823 or eight and five, possibly 1826. at one point, dan claimed each of these years you given he was first charged with fraud, i do not think he was 11 years old. i will leave it up to you.

he meets a woman who had seen abraham lincoln at the lincoln/douglas debates. she says to him, i remembered he had a curious way of standing before he was to speak. he stood with his hands clasped in front of him as if he was collecting his thoughts. they then unpacked the model and put it on display, and the woman said, you were there? he wasn't, but he had somehow sbut intuited it. >> join us this presidents' day at 8:00 p.m. eastern to learn more about the lincoln memorial. this is american history tv, all weekend, every weekend on c-span3. >>> did the conditions of world war i's treaty of versailles lead to world war ii? next on american history tv, university of toronto professor margaret mcmillen explores the 1918 armistice, the treaty's terms, and the expectations of germany and the allies at the end of world war i. ms. mcmillen is the author of "paris 1919: six months that changed the world." this one-hour talk was part of a three-day conference hosted by the national world war ii museum in new orleans. >> welcome back to the symposium. as we heard from

n mary todd lincoln is an amazing woman. i think her role of getting his involved with politics is important. she came from a very connected family in kentucky, the todd family. i think she saw a rough version of what we could be and she was seeing a future leader there. i think she prods prodded him a the way. i think she's definite lly supported him. issues later in her life. as you put that pair together, they were one heck of pair. he aspired higher. a couple of times he ran for the senate. we know that because the great debate with stephen douglas. his great political rival. there were seven debates held around illinois. he was a democrat and stoods for slavery. two years later they were rival for the presidency. this time abraham coming out on top because of the split of the democratic party. it raised lincoln's name up around the country. he was already very involved or getting very involved in the new republican party. he's going out to adjoining states. he was an illinois politician. these debates help raise him to

in that, he shared something with lincoln.e was always willing to suggest he had learned something or figured something out along the way. brian: one of the biggest surprises isn't the memoire, it's a note on the flap. there is so much there. a tanner's son, failing at so much, turned savior of his country, a slave owner turned mass emancipator. the warrior transformed into a warrior poet. ms. samet: ta is a big grant fan. he did a wonderful series in the atlantic on his experience of reading memoirs. i think he found in grant -- someone who did rise in modern circuit -- modest circumstances to become a great savior of the union and a mass emancipator. brian: where did you grow up? ms. samet: boston. brian: anybody in your family in the military? ms. samet: my father was in the navy in world war ii. brian: did you ever talk to him about that? ms. samet: i talked to him about his war and his army which was very different from today's army. he always downplayed those experiences. he was willing to talk to me about them. he serve

they called them lincoln's pups. they would antagonize them to no end, they would yell at them, be very angry toward them. and they would intentionally hoorah for geoff davis, who happened to be the president of the confederacy. that would antagonize the soldiers. they had these people openly supportive of the enemy. they would arrest the citizens that made those comments and take them to the camp at the guardhouse. they would now put them into the guardhouse. and before they would be allowed to leave, they would have to recite the oath of allegiance for the union. well, the southern sympathizers realized early on that it was a ticket out of the guardhouse. strongout any real emotion behind it it would go through the motions of reciting that both of allegiance and off they would go. as they would leave, they would hoorah for geoff davis again. it became almost a game. but a serious game with weapons involved often times. one incident that really became nationally covered, and became very well known here and elsewhere

lincoln and the president.'m not sure that julia grant and mary lincoln got along all that well, but i think they wanted to get back to new jersey where their children were. grant was happiest with his family and wanted to get back to them. they ended up going straight home. of course, grant had to turn right around and go back to washington as soon as he had learned of the assassination. it was by chance that he was not there. brian: as they were on their way to the train, this is the amazing thing about the footnote -- as we were driving along pennsylvania avenue, a horseman drove past us at a gallop. this is someone who had been rude to them at lunch. back again around the carriage, looking into it, mrs. grant said, there is the man who sat near us at lunch today with some other men and tried to overhear our conversation or he was so rude, we left the dining room. it turns out it was john wilkes booth? ms. samet: the conspirators -- it was so mysterious. afterward, they probably regarded themselves as quite

. >> illinois is the land of lincoln. springfield is the city of lincoln. his home is here. the old state capitol is here. his law office is here. he's buried on the outskirts of town. >> c-span's cities tour is on the road exploring the american story. this weekend, we visit springfield, the capital city of illinois. >> when they built this building, they wanted something that showed that illinois, we are it, and that is what this building is. >> with the help of our comcast cable partners, we will learn about the life of our 16th president. >> so he could disguise his political ambition under the umbrella of his law practice. and in doing so he built this network that eventually he used in the 1850's to put himself in the position of getting the republican nomination for president. these are the gloves that were in abraham lincoln's pocket on the night of the assassination. you can see the remnants of the blood on these gloves today. >> join us on book tv as we speak with local springfield and this sunday we will learn about lincoln's ties to springfield on american histor