c-span: you were at a woodrow wilson scholars seminar and you walked across the street to the national archives. >> guest: exactly. c-span: for what purpose? >> guest: i wanted to look at what they were--advertised as our precious national documents, documents which i hadn't seen and which, in fact, scholars don't need to look at normally. there are so many facsimiles that works our--does our pur--serves our purpose perfectly well. but i wanted to see what the display was in the national archives. c-span: and we're looking at that right now. >> guest: we are. yes. c-span: you said something about an altar. >> guest: it looks like an altar. it looks like a church. it's--it's ma--it's encased in--the declaration of independence stands where the tabernacle or a monstrance would be --on an altar. on the face of the altar is the constitution and what the national archives calls the bill of rights. but there are enormous pillars. it's three steps up from the main floor in the rotunda national archives. it is like a religious exhibit full of religious imagery. one--i have actually asked students who h

i would also like to take a historic perspective since we are here at the national archives.d think about where we are in our economic development and what kind of economy we have and what needs to move forward. because i teach a lot of courses in world economic forum, rankings of competitiveness. three different stages of economic development has a look at countries around the world. resource driven countries, like we used to be in the 1800s. back then, infrastructure and other things were important. much more important than they are today. then we moved to an efficiency driven economy. how efficient can he you be. and then they moved to innovation economy, where we are today. twelve pillars of competitiveness, the one that they rank than the one that makes the most difference in an innovative economy, it is a sophisticated production system. read that as a global supply chain for he that is in sourcing and outsourcing. i saw it today, the very first bill and the congress, we saw this earlier here at the archives, with the baltimore citizens petitioning to protect. he was on

george daughn to the national archives. [applause] thank you very much, admiral buchanan. that is a splendid introduction even for an air force guy like myself. [laughter] i would like to begin -- i'm going to talk for about 30 minutes or so and then invite your questions if that is okay. i would like to begin where the book begins in in all the plays, paul revere. let me tell you something about the situation in boston on the night of april 18th, 1975. and i will explain why this is relevant to the founding of the navy. in boston the british had 4,000 troops underhung general thomas gage, and he had orders from the king if to make a show of force against the rebels in massachusetts creating a fuss. general gage had also 24 british warship sent to harbor. some of which were there on that particular evening. and, the admiral in charge of the fleet was someone named thomas graves, and the admiral and the general didn't get along. they didn't -- they had very little communication. in fact, they couldn't stand each other. the patriots new everything the british were doing. if

tell you in any one grid have much was sprayed him many direct hits we also got files from the national archives of where people live where the hamlets were that i could actually put how many people lived in each of those squares of ground and we calculated that probably four million vietnamese were directly sprayed by by the herbicides in the late one nine hundred sixty s. there were some tests done chemical tests done on the on the toxicity of two four five t. and. when it was observed that the two for fighting could lead to birth defects in laboratory and laboratory test a ban came down in the united states and. the military was forced to stop using it shortly thereafter in in vietnam because one of the arguments that was made about why this was ok to use in vietnam was that it was safe at home the. agent orange is t c d d tetra or for koreans these are the koreans so this is the most toxic and it can stay in the environment for decades to hundreds of years and it can accumulate in the food chain we found it and in fish and turtles and snakes in vietnam for example we're concerned about the d

one could complain about the bargain between ethel kennedy and the national archives, but mrs.apers at this point. the problem is that we're finding out they're not really personal papers and correspondence, that there's material as you mentioned, about the cuban missile crisis and other events when rfk was attorney general. i don't see this as a big issue. i think eventually they'll be opened. they're all saved at the kennedy library in boston. with the 50th anniversary of the missile crisis approaching, a lot of scholars would like to get into it now. i'm afraid it will be a few more years before they're opened. >> i understand some of the documents are marked clos fied and some confidential. what's the difference between >> well, i mean, the ones that are truly personal papers, let's say, might be a letter to frank sinatra or rfk's correspondence to jackie kennedy. those would be of great interest to us as americans. but it's nothing do with national security. other ones, like during the missile crisis, you might be dealing with some things may have to be redacted. you might

ok i bought a national archives i can tell you that same car in moscow two times more expensive i don't know what is the reason for this but it's a reality check and probably the tax tax on i think also the strategy of big brands to sell products in russia most fans of them and some are in marcus saw. structural fewer expenses completely different icons are then in moscow for sure. the way a supermarket functions in moscow and in the united states in russia in the states is a completely different or is it more or less the same i mean if it is your business familiar or you have to learn and. create new things the business itself is the same and we're selling. merchandise we're selling food and the way how we're doing because for sure different and the warm winter is very famous for their everyday low cost and everyday low price strategy and as far as a non off russian retailer she was the strategy is it really is a true you know level of sales and discounts and warm we have some time. there not like there are so low that you know it's not a legend to that we have something but it's not s

here, at the national archives, we do have a wonderful partnership. some people call it a strategic partnership. i guess it is strategic. it is a wonderful partnership where we have had about three or four events right here in the mcallen fear -- the mcgowen theater. i have such a need your assignment, to introduce a wonderful moderator, and man named hans nichols. he is the white house correspondent for bloomberg television. he focuses on foreign affairs and the international community. he is right here in washington, d.c. he has introduced many political figures and government officials as well as past and present heads of state. in 2008, he covered the presidential campaign of senator john mccain for bloomberg news. in addition to bloomberg news, is reporting appeared globally in publications such as "the los republic." "the new before he was a reporter, he was a writer on the hill. he will be assisted by members of congress and experts who will be joining us on stage. so i would like to invite mr. nichols to join us. i would like to invite our dis

i would also like to take a historic perspective since we are here at the national archives.and think about where we are in our economic development and what kind of economy we have and what needs to move forward. because i teach a lot of courses in world economic forum, rankings of competitiveness. three different stages of economic development has a look at countries around the world. resource driven countries, like we used to be in the 1800s. back then, infrastructure and other things were important. much more important than they are today. then we moved to an efficiency driven economy. how efficient can he you be. and then they moved to innovation economy, where we are today. twelve pillars of competitiveness, the one that they rank than the one that makes the most difference in an innovative economy, it is a sophisticated production system. read that as a global supply chain for he that is in sourcing and outsourcing. i saw it today, the very first bill and the congress, we saw this earlier here at the archives, with the baltimore citizens petitioning to protect. he was

immigration service to the national archives. that may not seem like a big deal but to get those records you have to make the freedom of the information act request. it is much easier at the archive. they were kept in kansas city. i looked up on the internet randomly the archivist name was in charge and i called her up and got to her on the phone. [laughter] she said i am so busy today. i was bracing myself. before i could get a word out she said i don't think i can get to to those records until after lunch. i said i guess i can wait. [laughter] she called back and said she found the file and would be happy to overnight it to me. i was surprised. your tax dollars at work. what arrived was a package filled with documents. and pretend certificates and confirmation from cuba and there were three sheep's i almost did not notice. deliverer this is the xerox by knoll disk. there was a recording part of the record. land just by coincidence or a curiosity is their final? she said i have no way to listen to it to. i said what if i bring a

cia, to the national archives. this may not seem like a big deal to you. but it was a really big deal to me. because to get records from the immigration service and make a freedom of information request. to get from the archives is a much easier process. so i found out that pedro victor garcia's records were kept at the records office in kansas city. and i looked up on the internet, randomly, the archive who was in charge of the guy. and i called the archivist of them got her on the phone and answer the phone. and she said that i am so, so busy today. time is of the essence. so busy. she said i'm not going to be able to get to those records until after lunch. and i said oh, i think i can wait until after lunch. because she called me dock after lunch. she found the file that i was looking for and that she would be happy to overnight it to me. again, i was surprised. your top dollars at work. what arrived the next day was a package filled with documents. they were wonderful documents for researcher. handwritten certificate of birth and confirmation from cuba

he is a senior analyst of latin america at the national archives.k about the significance of wikileaks in latin america. >> wikileaks was exposing cables from the state department. if you brought them all together on latin america, you could really understand the broader policy of the united states in the region. the way that countries, like venezuela, colombia, ecuador, reacted over issues like the farc insurgency, u.s. commercial interest in the region. latin america seemed a cohesive place as a case study for the impact of these cables and the influence they have as they were disseminated through various media outlets in latin america. that is the reason why the executive editor of "the nation" decided to devote an issue dedicated to wikileaks and latin america. >> before assange was in the embassy, on his show, he asked rafael correa -- who was a guest on the show -- about u.s. involvement in latin america. >> what do the ecuadorean people think about the united states and its involvement in ecuador and let america? -- latin america? >> as evo m

japan access to its archives on the transportation of japanese detainees in soviet era labor camps. japanese officials will examine about 2,000 files stored at the russian national military archive in moscow. the documents include the names of previously unknown detainees as well as details of incidents that took place en route to siberia. about 53,000 japanese died in soviet labor camps. the burial location of 18,000 of them is unknown. >>> the operator of fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant is studying how to remove fuel rods from the crippled facility. tokyo electric power company examined one unused assembly removed in mid july. it says it found no significant damage or change in the rod's shape. the utility plans to examine the fuel pellets inside the rods in the coming days. more than 1,500 assemblies remain in the water. cooler of the number 4 reactors. tepco executives expect to begin removing them next year as a step toward decommissioning the reactor. they also plan to build new tanks to store the contaminated water. tepco says the plant is producing 400 tons of contaminated water per day. this is partly because the groundwaters entering the reactor

i can go to the national archives and pull out their records. a historian has that luxury because all of the german and american records, we don't have it so it's always a challenge. i think i have done as well as you could possibly do at least in this current time. >> host: i have heard iranian academics say iran is getting better in terms of having government archives that academics can access but they are probably a bit envious of what you are able to do in telling the u.s. side of the story. i wanted to compliment you on how physically some of the stories are told and i think of hollywood decides to make a movie, and even a party down a lot of the work for screenwriters and given a lot of color and atmospherics. so i wanted to ask you, what are your favorite stories in the book? what were the ones that you found the most dramatic, not necessarily that the u.s. side comes out as the hero, but just tell me from a pure kind of human interest side, what were some of your favorite vignettes are chapters in the story? >> guest: there are a few tha

i would also like to acknowledge incredibly generous support of national geographic archives, the bbc, and some may be in -- and some amazing independent filmmakers. the american museum of natural history, wildlife conservation society, the world wildlife fund, the nature conservancy, freedom to roam. people that have donated film and media other than the core. that camel protection foundation, independent filmmakers. nick sherman, mark shelley, richard ellis, michael hughes, elizabeth colbert, simon winchester. i have been calling a lot of people and asking a lot of questions. thank you to my studio assistance. in sound and media, we have carolyn chadwick, raymond chavez, alex chadwick. my media coordinator, luc d ubious. they've given us a much of their time and brilliance to work with us to help in the final character of the media and also pentagram and management. i have to think what wall of foundries -- i have to thank walal walla foundries. what is missing? it begins with an accounting of what we are losing as we watch. in terms of species and habitat loss and i hope it provoke

there visiting one time i happened to ask peter i've looked at the papers of your father in the national archives and everyplace else i can think of you have anything any artifacts? there's a couple boxes downstairs so i prevailed upon him to bring the boxes and hoping it might be the hat but in fact it was oppenheimer's tax records. which were somewhat interesting in themselves, but there was the next slide, please this is theqb rub that peter reverse his father carrying place to place when they travel and he remembers the physicist playing tiddlywinks on the pattern of that. next slide please. this is where oppenheimer went every summer in august after the session was out she would take a select number of friends, graduate students, friends like lawrence and they would retreat to what he called the sanctuaries on 6 acres in the pecos mountains east of santa fe it's a primitive site there's no electricity the only running water is the creek that goes behind it and this is where he retreated after the bomb had been dropped and he wrote a series of soul-searching letters from the cabin. my wife an

it's always a challenge, unfortunately, i can't go to the national archives and pull out the record. all the children record as an and a lack. it's always a challenge, but i think i've done as well as you can possibly do, at least at this current time. >> host: iran is getting better and stay in they cannot archives where andrea santillan deicide of the story. i want to compliment you in a you inevitably some stories are told. i think of hollywood decides to make a movie of the book him a verdict in a lot of the work for screenwriters and given a lot of color in atmospherics. i wanted to ask you, what are your favorite stories from the boat? spoke with the ones you found the most romantic, not necessarily that the u.s. side comes out as a hero, but just tell me for me. human interest side, what were some of your favorite vignettes are chapters of this book? >> guest: there's a few i was personally involved with, one story at iowa, there is a couple of them. one is a story by the name of two rashi yockey, and erudite man, made wine into some basement, had parties with the alcohol flow

100th anniversary of the emancipation proclamation in 1963 and documents also will come from the national archives in washington, d.c. that will be year to mark important freedom anniversary. what passes for freedom? in the interest of historical literacy, let us note that according to our historians and scientists, freedom was brought forth upon this continent by a new people thousands of years ago. 12,000 years on our island of manhattan and for a longer time elsewhere upon this continent. the recent discovery of the universal connection to particles and mass may offer the best definition of the freedom expressed by the first american who lived in connection with the sun, the moon, stars, rocks, plants, birds, water, wind and weather. 500 years ago more people arrived and the freedom of the first ancestors changed. in 1776, freedom changed again and again the declaration of independence for more than 3 million people who fought courageously to end the tyranny and slavery they said of a foreign leader, king george. fourscore and seven years our nation lived, evolves and divided fought nearly to i

a government worker, when he first arrived in washington in 1953, was passing the national archives building in a taxi, where he saw this motto carved on one of its pedestals -- "what is past is prologue." he had heard that washington cab drivers were noted for knowing all the washington answers, so he asked the driver about the motto. "oh that," said the driver, "that's just bureaucrat talk. what it really means is -- 'you ain't seen nothing yet.'" [laughter] [applause] my friends, the kind of era i have described is possible. but it will not be attained by revolution. it will not be attained by the sordid politics of pitting group against group. it will be brought about by the ambitions and judgments and inspirations and darings of 168 million free americans working together and with friends abroad toward a common ideal in a peaceful world. [applause] lincoln, speaking to the republican state convention in 1858, began with the biblical quotation, "a house divided against itself cannot stand." today the world is a house divided. but -- as is sometimes forgotten -- lincoln followed this quot

a government worker, when he first arrived in washington in 1953, was passing the national archives building in a taxi, where he saw this motto carved on one of its pedestals: "what is past is prologue." he had heard that washington cab drivers were noted for knowing all the washington answers, so he asked the driver about the motto. "oh that," said the driver, "that's just bureaucrat talk. what it really means is'you ain't seen nothing yet.'" [laughter] [applause] my friends, the kind of era i have described is possible. but it will not be attained by revolution. it will not be attained by the sordid politics of pitting group against group. it will be brought about by the ambitions and judgments and inspirations and darings of 168 million free americans working together and with friends abroad toward a common ideal in a peaceful world. [applause] lincoln, speaking to the republican state convention in 1858, began with the biblical quotation, "a house divided against itself cannot stand." today the world is a house divided. butas is sometimes forgottenlincoln followed this quotation with a n

some are in the national historic preservation center, the girl scout archives in new york city, and fran and katherine at the birthplace national historic site in savannah have been more generous than i had a right to expect with photographs. there's some in the georgia historical society. the photos also were taken by a friend, clyde. >> thank you, also, it's so touching for me to hear you speak and to -- i'm a second generation girl scouts, and my mother was my leader. i'm my daughter's leer. it's wonderful. my question is this week we celebrated national women -- >> international women's day. >> international women's day, and i just wonder how we can spread that around? we have days for things, entire month devoted to african-american culture, one day for women, and most day didn't know that day was here. as girl scouts and as a women's historians, do you have suggestions for us to make that day more noticeable to people? >> well, march is women's history p month. we have the whole month. that began in 1981. it objective as women historians tell you was to write women back into hi

radio show that you're pretty sure nobody in yo home district yet alone national political circles was expected to have archived no matter how great the dan ray show is on wbz. it's another thing to lie blatantly in the face of black and white evidence that proves you are lying, that proves you are lying about your own record. do you believe the game-change account of the 2008 presidential campaign? this kind of thing happening with john mccain's vice presidential nominee, with sarah palin, was the cause of crisis in that campaign. do you remember how that played out in the "game change" movie? remember this scene? >> why haven't you released a statement saying todd was never a member of the alaska independence party? >> because that would be untrue. he was a member. >> he checked the wrong box. he registered by accident and rectified the error immediately. >> he was a member for seven years. i'm sorry, governor, but there is only a few weeks left in this campaign. you have got to stop saying things to the press that are blatantly untrue. that is not the kind of campaign that we are running here. >> you have to

host: let's look at video archive video of president obama addressing the nation about the economy and afghanistan. here's what he said a year ago about the downgrade. [video clip] >> on friday we learned that the united states received a downgrade by one of the credit rating agencies. not so much because they doubt our ability to pay our debts as we make good decisions, because after witnessing a month of wrangling over raising the debt ceiling they doubted our political system's ability to act. the market, on the other hand, continue believe our credit status is aaa. warren buffett said if there were a quadruple a-rating, i would give the united states that. i along with most of the world's investors agree. that does not mean we don't have a problem. the fact is we did not need the ratings agency to tell us we need a balanced long-term approach to deficit reduction. that was true last week. that was true last year. that was true the day i took office. we did not need the ratings agency to tell us that the gridlock in washington over the last several months has not been constructive,

national convention at 10:00 this evening. you can find out more about the lineup, who is speaking, archival video on our website at c-span.org.e are asking you this morning which speaker you are looking forward to hearing at the republican convention this week and why. someone that you find to be particularly interesting. kathleen joins us from florida, the republican. good morning. caller: good morning. i am looking forward to hearing ann romney speak tonight. i think she is a wonderful example. a lot of people do not realize what it was like going through that mess. therapy is available at many, many places. i was at the mitt romney rally and i was one of the volunteers. st. augustine is different from everywhere else because that rally was like a patchwork quilt. everybody was there. young and old, black and white, asians and hispanics. the other thing i noticed is there are always lots of children painting that is a great thing to see. the other thing i would like to comment on is i for one am tired of hearing about this contraception and planning. i think those are highly personal decisions that a woman or a couple make

presidential nominees, there is no doubt that the democratic national committee obama for america, the obama campaign and the super pacs have lengthy archivesf opposition research that they intend to unleash on paul ryan. this is a pretty charismatic two some. we will see how they perform as the ticket in just about less than an hour now. really only a few minutes away. the romney campaign has officially confirmed that ryan is the pick. that was something that they had hoped to reveal only in their app. that was for folks to sign on to get the information first. the truth is, he we broke the story last night. that the plan was to announce it today. and last night that t was, in fact, confirmed by a whole host of republicans, that it was indeed paul ryan. there were tea leaves to read talks of security hometown wisconsin. wisconsin is what has traditionally been considered a blue state. now it's very much up for grabs hot bed of politics. because of the recall election that scott walker won because of the legislative battle that he undertook at the governor there to strip strip certain negotiating powers of labor unions and try to get the st