after breakfast on april 22 1861, robert e. lee wrote away from arlington house for the last of the he departed for richmond trust in a black suit with a silk hat atop his head. two days later he formally accept command of virginia's military force. now neither lee or his wife could know how dearly this decision would cost them. one of his consequences would be the loss of his mentor now better known as arlington house. arlington strategic overlooked over the capital amid the union simply had to take it over for military reasons. union soldiers proceeded to chop down old, stands of old growth oak and justice to build barracks and to burn wood for firewood to keep them warm in the cold weather. they constructed access roads over the once pristine agricultural landscape. a hospital was constructed on the property, in 1863 the southern portion of the state became a freedman's village for thousands of runaway slaves. but sure enough it also became a burial ground and today it is the centerpiece, it is the centerpiece of arlington cemet

-- robert e. lee and the entire confederate high command say we refuse to exchange black prisoners of war because we refuse to recognize black people as legitimately soldiers. in fact, what the confederate army does for a short while is to enslave black prisoners of war, which is again a violation of every known rule of war at the time and is a throwback to the roman empire. and in fact, if you add to this jubal early's incursions twice into pennsylvania where he spends his time hunting down blacks to bring them back to the south, the confederate army starts to look like some weird modern version of the roman empire going to hunt slaves in gaul or among the germanic tribes. or even more weirdly, it looks like a precursor of the nazis, who spend their time hunting jews in ukraine and russia rather than fighting the russian army just as the confederates are hunting blacks in pennsylvania and maryland instead of fighting the united dates army. so, i think the question of war crimes and the question of he

day and robert e. leensas. >> yes, 150 years later, robert e. lee's birthday is still being honored. >> well done. >> god bless america. >> god bless arkansas in particular. you have to get two to win the bad prize. question two, on wednesday's show, we reported that harry reid, the top democrat is in the senate, is going to have to undergo surgery to protect the eyesight in his right eye after he was injured over the holidays. how was senator reid injured over the senate christmas break. a. complications during laser eye surgery. b., he got punched in the eye during a charity boxing match? was it c, a piece of exercise equipment broke while he was working out? or d, bar fight in alaska? >> as much as i would want to say d, it's c. >> let's take a look at the footage from the press conference from this week. >> i was doing exercises that i've been doing for many years with those large rubber bands, and one of them broke and spun me around and i crashed into these cabinets. >> as much as i like the idea of

watching in arkansas, mississippi, and alabama, i want to take this time to wish you formally a happy robert e. lee day. they celebrate martin luther kij jr., the civil rights icon, and general robert e. lee who is the opposite of a civil rights advocate. he gets first billing on the state's calendar is part of some of the most iconic drajties. he helped lead the montgomery boycott. this is where the selma march for voting rights took price nine years later. beating those protestors took at the hands of state troopers and local law enforcement, broadcast around to the country known as ploody sunday. some of the cast of sshs elma recreated that march yesterday making their way on to the famous bridge. many people in selma were excited to pay tribute to the history of selma, a alabama superintendent shut down a high school's question to see the film last week because it had profanity and derogatory references to african-americans. he said i'm eliminating the decision to use taxpayer money to see something with filthy language. one parent thinks there is more to it. >> it raises my curiosity as to whe

>> i'm going to go with robert e. leefrom monday's show. >> today is martin luther king jr. day and robert e. lee day in alabama, mississippi, and arkansas. >> robert e. lee's birthday is still being honored in parts of the deep south. >> excellent. well done. >> god bless america. >> you have to get two to win the bad prize. so let's go to question 2. on wednesday's show we reported that senate minority leader reed is going to have to undergo surgery to try to protect the eyesight in his right eye after he was injured over the holidays. how was senator reid injured over the christmas break? >> a a. complications during laser eye surgery. b, he got punched in the eye during a charity boxing match. c, a piece of exercise equipment broke while he was working out. or d, bar fight in alaska. >> as much as i want to say d, i think it's c, his exercise equipment broke. >> what's the right answer on that one? >> let's take a look at the footage from the press conference. >> i was exercising which i have been doing for many years

that today officially celebrate both martin luther king jr., the civil rights icon and general robert e. lee it is the opposite. alabama where lee gets first billing on the state's calendar is the site of some of the most iconic moments and tragedies of the civil rights era, a tate where a young martin luther king jr. as a 26-year-old preacher in 1955 helped lead the montgomery bus boycott that lasted till 1956 when they struck down laws. it's where the selma march took place nine years later when thousands marched from selma to montgomery, the beating they took at the hands of state troopers and local law enforcement broadcast around the country became known as bloody sunday. that march has now been drama advertised in the oscar nominated picture selma. some of the cast re-created that march yesterday making their way on to the famous edmund pettus bridge. while many in and around selma were excited to pay tribute to the history of selma an alabama school superintendent saw things differently. hugh taylor in charge of schools in dekalb county shut down a high school's request to see the fil

a little bit of mitt romney including abby's thoughts being out on the campaign trail and then robert e. lee friday on the cycle it is robert e. lee. >> but if the republicans and obama agree, by the time the show is over they won't agree any more. "the cycle" is up next. she's a dietitian. and back when i wasn't eating right, she got me drinking boost. it's got a great taste and it helps give me the nutrition i was missing. helping me stay more like me. [ female announcer ] boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. grandpa! [ female announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost. you show up. you stay up. you listen. you laugh. you worry. you do whatever it takes to take care of your family. and when it's time to plan for your family's future we're here for you. we're legalzoom, and for over 10 years we've helped families just like yours with wills and living trusts. so when you're ready start with us. doing the right thing has

. >> i think people talk about robert e. leen they talk about other confederate and talk about him as a bad guy and what is different been robert e. lee as a tortured hero even though he led a rebellion against his country in defense of slavery. >> he's been given credit as you said in your open after the war, he accepted a post washington college, where he said he's going to prepare young men of the south for peace and make them into productive citizens because for four years he's been leading them into war and today that is washington and lee university. >> i never made that connection. >> i never put that together. >> enjoyed the book. thanks for your time today. >>> up next betting on the game. a top oddsmaker lays out the lines and said there is something for everyone and anyone to gamble on. and don't forget you can use the hash tag my super bowl pick. abby we have yours. you can pick your favorites, for example i have it here. abby will tweet my velveeta for her super bowl pick. so let's do something about it. premarin va

this hemorrhaging from robert e. lee'sarmy in virginia further he depleted his already thin ranks, and allowed general ulysses s. grant to deliver the knockout blow in the spring of 1865. from the vantage point of the 21st century sherman's way of war seems a dramatic departure from earlier methods, and has prompted some historians to characterize his george to the sea as the birth of modern total war. but hard war was not total war. while the march destroyed property and infrastructure and visited suffering and fear on the civilian population it lacked the wholesale destruction of human life that characterized world war ii. sherman's primary targets food stuffs and industrial government and military property, were carefully chosen to create the desired effect and never included mass killing of civilians, especially those law-abiding noncombatants who did not resist what sherman described as the national authority. indeed, sherman always claimed that his war on property was more humane than traditional methods of conflict

him and us soon as i filed a notice of the appeals, i got a call from the judge whose name was robert e. lee told me that he didn't want to be involved in the case and after he was convicted and sentenced we got invoed after he'd been sentenced and the book is about our effort to kind of expose the wrongful convictions. and i talk a lot about the irony of the case because this community is the same community where he grew up in wrote to kill a mockingbird d it's a beautiful book with an incredible place in american literature and the people there love that story, but there was this kind of tragic irony they were so enamored of the story and yet so unwilling to recognize the wrongful conviction of the african-american man. >> host: he came to the attention of the police because he was having an affair with a white woman? how would the police know about that? >> well, o things for the woman he was having an affair with the husband found out about it and initiated custody proceedings for the children where he tried to bra her as a bad mother because she had an affair with an african-american ma

day and robert e. lee day. seriously the same day. a confederate general.e are a complicated country. >> in november 2013, congress >> in november 2013, congress was hit with a narcotics scandal. he was busted for cocaine possession. shortly after he resigned from congress. that's how they got kurt claussen. he was assigned to the house foreign affairs committee. to top american officials from the u.s. congress and state department came to testify before that committee. american government officials testifying before that committee, now watch. >> i am familiar with your country, i love your country, and i'm hopeful with the new change in regime that the future and the land of promise and opportunity of india can finally become so, and i understand the complications of so many languages, cultures, and histories. just as your capital is welcome here to produce good paying jobs in the u.s., and i would like our capital to be welcome there, and freedom of capital, and i ask cooperation and freedom in your government from so doing. can i have that? >> i think yo

although he did go to richmond after appomattox in 1865 and succeeded in taking photographs of robert e. leeoon after he had returned from the war to the house where mrs. lee was living. and within a few days of lincoln's death. i thought a lot about why lee posed for the famous photographs. he apparently agreed almost the instant he returned to richmond. you can imagine how weary he must have felt in every single way, and his son wrote later there's nothing he liked so little as having his photograph made. but lincoln died the day that lee returned to richmond. and i suspect there was some sense that he had some sense of responsibility to present that calm visage at this dangerous time in the nation's history. i'm sure you're all familiar with these photographs. this particular one where the -- part of the door behind him makes him look like christ on the cross, had some resonance in the south for years afterwards. still as many as 10,000 civil war photographs are attributed to brady or his studio, how can that be? here's where things get a bit complicated. brady began his career early in t

and in souther states people are deciding to celebrate robert e. lee being the confederate general's birthday. at the same time. oh, irony, how you taught mef. >>> and state of the union is trending. and this viewer called his veto game strong. and this man called him the worst president ever. let me see, great depression watergate -- that makes sense. and the thoughts of the state of the union on our msnbc #sotuis and you can tune into that. but the biggest is occupy playground. today school children in kenya were teargas after demonstrating against their playground being seized by a private developer. on facebook you are recounting their trial as they surrounded the grounds. now thousands of tweets are being sent on the occupy hash tag. >> shame on the government for teargassing the corrupt. and you are calling these kids braver than my whole existence and that from the former vice president of kenya added our school children were promised laptops, not canisters of teargas. someone must be held accountable. the officer who ordered that the teargas be

day and robert e. lee day. seriously the same day. a confederate general. martin luther king.a complicated country. ♪ ah, push it. ♪ ♪ ♪ push it. ♪ ♪ p...push it real good! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ow! ♪ ♪ oooh baby baby...baby baby. ♪ if you're salt-n-pepa, you tell people to push it. ♪ push it real good. ♪ it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. ♪ if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance you switch to geico. it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. ♪ i'm pushing. i'm pushing it real good! >> in november 2013, congress was hit with a narcotics scandal. he was busted for cocaine possession. shortly after he resigned from congress. which is how they got a congressman named curt clausen. he was assigned to the house foreign affairs committee. during one subcommittee hearing on u.s. relations with india, two top american officials from the u.s. commerce and u.s. state departments came to testify before that committee. these were with american government officials testifying before that committee. now watch. >> i am familiar with your country. i love your country and i'm hopeful with the new

robert e. lee. outside the chapel was the grave for his horse travelers because in lexington we didn't draw the line with humans. all sorts of animals were stone. stonewall jackson, another confederate general is buried at lexington. when his horse who was also famous died, rather than burying him, some enterprising soul thought let's stuff him and put him in the museum. so when i was a kid after school, this was one of my favorite museum artifacted to go and visit with nothing better to do on my meanders home. so history just by now, was flowing through my blood. as i got older i started thinking about other ways to write but i definitely retained that interest in history. it wasn't until i was quite a bit older. i majored in english. went to college in wisconsin and did all sorts of professional writing but it wasn't until i got older and had kids and started reading all the great children's literature that was in our local public library just like you may do yourselves, that i reconnected with th

i mean the top-of-the-class guys, your robert e. lees they're by the book, they're very methodical thinkers, they know all of the theories of war they apply them and so forth. the guys at the bottom they tend to be a little more free-spirited, they tend to be a little bit more outside-the-box thinkers a little bit more unorthodox because that's the kind of west point career they were pursuing. and that certainly was true of custer. and another insight into him that we get from his west point days is his bravery. because when they caught him, they caught him, and he would admit it. cadet wright said that his bravery in battle did not surprise anyone who had seen him walking up with calm deliberation to the head of the section room to face the instructors with the confession he knew nothing of the lesson. so he would just walk up and take it. that's the kind of guy he is. now, he could have done better at the academy if he followed the rules. he wasn't dumb. he had gone to stephens academy in monroe michigan and performed well when he was

-- robert e. lee surrendered. we know a proximally 40,000 west virginia spot in the conflict. recent scholarship has updated those numbers to indicate those who fought for the confederacy. we now approximately 20,000 west virginia and troops fought for the union and approximately 20,000 fought for the confederacy. we weren't equally divided state, -- we were and equally divided state, perhaps the most divided state in the union. this is one of those commemorative flags made shortly after the war's conclusion. you can see it is in pristine condition. also, you can read our state motto -- mountaineers are always free. we do have one captured confederate flag from the battle of lynchburg. this is the confederate national flag. it is known as the stars and bars. a lot of folks come here expecting to see the crossed flag the confederate battle flag. this is the national flag of the confederacy. and again, all our flags are in climate controlled cases

examines the homes of notable civil war era figures which includes the residences of jefferson davis, robert e. lee clara barton and frederick douglass. this is about one hour. >> good evening. i'm tony clark from the carter presidential library. i'm really glad you guys are here. i have really been looking forward to this because this book, "houses of civil war america," is usually faceting. anybody i think the likes to travel, one of the things, i know i enjoyed is going to places where people lived that have been so tied tight in history. i just think of going to abraham lincoln's home and i can still, you almost walk in and some of the dark wallpaper and designs of the time it just kind of seems to take you back into the time and you can to get a sense of the people from the places they've lived. for more than two deca

our first cavalry -- both of these flags happen to be at the mavericks courthouse the day the robert e. lee would surrender his army and the war would effectively be coming to an end. both of our flags were there that day. we know that approximately 40,000 west virginia is fought in the conflict or a recent scholarship updated those numbers, particularly for those who fought for the confederacy. we now know that approximately 20,000 west virginia troops fought for the union, and approximately 20,000 thoughts for the confederacy. we were an equally divided state in the war. a few more flags and not see action during the conflict but were made shortly thereafter. this is one of those commemorative flags made shortly after the war's conclusion. it is in pristine condition. you can read our state motto. mountaineers are always free. we have one captured confederate flag from the battle of lynchburg. this is the confederate national flag. it is known as the stars and bars. a lot of folks will come here expecting to see the crossed flag that was the confederate battle flag. this is the national f

our first cavalry -- both of these flags happen to be at the mavericks courthouse the day the robert e. lee would surrender his army and the war would effectively be coming to an end. both of our flags were there that day. we know that approximately 40,000 west virginians fought in the conflict or a recent scholarship updated those numbers, particularly for those who fought for the confederacy. we now know that approximately 20,000 west virginia troops fought for the union, and approximately 20,000 fought for the confederacy. we were an equally divided state in the war. a few more flags did not see action during the conflict but were made shortly thereafter. this is one of those commemorative flags made shortly after the war's conclusion. it is in pristine condition. you can read our state motto. "mountaineers are always free." we have one captured confederate flag from the battle of lynchburg. this is the confederate national flag. it is known as the stars and bars. a lot of folks will come here expecting to see the crossed flag that was the confederate battle flag. this is the national fl

that of our first cavalry, both of these flags happened to be at appomattox courthouse the day robert e. lee would surrender his army and the war would effectively be coming to an end. both of our flags were there that day. we know that approximately 40,000 west virginians fought in the conflict. recent scholarship has updated those numbers, particularly for those who fought for the confederacy so we now know that approximately 20,000 west virginia troops fought for the union, and approximately 20,000 fought for the confederacy. we were an equally divided state. perhaps most divided state in the war. now, a few of our flags didn't see action during the conflict but were made shortly thereafter as commemorative flags. this is one of those commemorative flags made shortly after the war's conclusion. you can see it's in pristine condition. and also, you can read our state motto. mountaineers are always free. now we do have one captured confederate flag from the battle of lynchburg. now this is the confederate national flag. now it's known as the stars and bars. a lot of folks will come here exp