we talk about four phases of roosevelt's attitudes and policies, the first term roosevelt did not do much to attenuate the state department, the second term roosevelt did. most of the immigration quotas not only from germany, the smaller quotas of the eastern european countries were filled in 1938, 1949, 1940, and confirm your recollection, a lot of things changed and roosevelt's attitude changed, we had a grave security threats and all the earlier progress was reversed and it became extraordinarily difficult for jews and other foreigners to get into the united states during much of the war. the war refugee board changed things in the way of action in europe but even the war refugee board had trouble opening the gates of the united states. >> thank you for any interesting talk. i teach history at george washington university, one of the most lively discussions i have with my students is the question of u.s. response to the holocaust. very interesting point, roosevelt's concern was how it might affect the war in north africa. i hadn't considered that before and will in the future but

roosevelt". he was no longer young, no longer in political office and no one would have realized ten months later he would have the capacity -- catastrophe of his polio attack which crippled his leg but turned out not to cripple his career but that is another story and i think i will leave it there and if you have any questions i will be glad to take them on. [applause] >> i hope you will appreciate how extraordinary it is to hear someone speak without an hour without any notes and that was really well done. [applause] >> those of you who have questions please come up over here and line up at the microphone and speak clearly so the c-span can pick up your question and stanley weintraub will answer questions. >> thank you. i look forward to reading the book. as you pointed out young fdr was under the hierarchy of three heavyweight isolationists, what was it about his upbringing or anything else that led him to be international if not isolationist? >> young franklin was internationalist partly beca

roosevelt admired theodore roosevelt very much. he was a domestic reform or, an energetic, active man who is interested in all kinds of things that roosevelt was especially interested in his having an assistant secretary of the navy. that was the first big event in roosevelt's young wife that he really remembered. roosevelt had no idea he had become assistant secretary of the navy himself. he was bored by law practice. he graduated from harvard. he had gone into the pack is of new york city. it was boring. it was pushing paper. in fact, the first year he got no pay at all. then he got a small salary. it was of no interest at all to him. he wanted to do something else. fortuitously, all i keep an opportunity in politics. even though he had mired his uncle ted and what his uncle ted had done, i don't think he thought of a career for himself. but the democratic party, in this part of new york state needed a candidate for state senate. they had one and it didn't look like the candidate could possibly win anyway. but if it were roosevel

but was roosevelt doing in late october, 1942 or what was roosevelt particularly concerned with at thattime? on october 21st, the president met with the admiral and the the major general patent jr. to discuss the launch of what was the code name operation torch. if the invasion of french algeria and morocco. this operation had the ultimate goal of controlling and north africa from the atlantic to the red sea. its most important short-term goal was to capture tunisia at the board of tunis, which was relatively close to sicily, and that would lead the allied forces to the possible invasion of europe. but the direct landings were judged far too risky and in fact even the landings in larocco and algeria were judged to be very, very risky and a large and phidias subornation which roosevelt pushed over the resistance of the department. the president said he wanted u.s. ground troops in action in the theater in the calendar year, 1942. and no one fought and that the united states or britain was in a position to the fate france -- e fade france. because these areas were under the control of the

the operations were ran by head to door roosevelt's grandson, kermit "kim" roosevelt, and was assisted by this cousin, archie roosevelt, chief of the beirut station. he also reports these actions would lay the groundwork for current foreign policy relations between the u.s. and middle east. this is about an hour. >> thank you for that kind introduction, and i'd like -- thanks to everybody for coming out in these conditions. i'm originally from england and will be heading back there shortly, so preparation after southern california for a british winter. just like to begin by saying a few words -- first, how i came to this subject, were describing the scenes of the book. now, as you have already heard, the -- my previous book, the mighty wurletzer about cia front groups, nongovernment organizations made up of anticommunist, private citizens, engaged in cold war propaganda overseas and later emerged these groups were in fact being secretly funded and, to some extent, managed by the cia. one group i didn't really engage with in the mighty wurlitzer was the american friend office the middle

roosevelt even before he was president. polio was completely associated with roosevelt's name. every year when he was president on the president's birthday, there were dinners all over the country to raise money money for to fight polio. but the president's picture on the posters. people knew he had polio. they may not have understood the full extent of his disability, but they knew. and yet what has grown up in the last 20 years or so i would say is a belief, especially among younger people, that somehow this was all covered up. that there was a great deception about roosevelt's disability. i heard this again and again while i was doing my research, quite to my surprise. people would find out what i was doing, and they'd say isn't it amazing how that was all covered up? how could they have done that? how could the people not know? and the fact is that this is a great misconception. i found as i did my research, in fact, that roosevelt as he made his comeback found polio to be crucial to his political identity. and, in fact, i argue in the book that it's at least plausible that

, partly a biography ever roosevelt, but also a group biography including archie roosevelt, his cousin and another grandson of tr, and this somewhat colorful, ram bun, personality and different background from the aristocrat roosevelt cousins, copeland, from the south of alabama, compared with roosevelt, he was from the wrong side of the tracks and really becomes an industry commentator after leaving the agency on intelligence affairs. he's also somewhat and probably the father of stuart copeland, the drummer for the police, in case you didn't know that. now, these three men, archie and miles copeland are trying to shape the cia's early program in the middle east, and as kim roosevelt's involvement in 1953 suggest this involves creating quite a lot of disorder in the middle east, attempts at the various operations and attempts that they say is a legacy of the anti-americanism, still troubles u.s. relations with the region today, but at the same time, these men were arabic. that is, they knew a great deal about the middle world and finding sympathetic towards it believing they had the b

, but roosevelt again said no. he still was working on his recovery and he did he believe he could recover without assistance but he also believed although he supported smith and was a part of the campaign, he privately believed that he was going to go down. and if he lost the presidency, whoever was on the ticket was going to lose, too. that would mean that he would lose that race and he would have lost new york state in the vice presidential race in his home state. 1932 smith would no longer be governor and his own chances for the rise and he hoped he would be ready to run for president after the terms they could run to 1936 the party put tremendous pressure on fdr and he kept saying my doctors believe i need for their time to recover i must not spend the winter is where the weather is cold and bad for my legs. smith was ready to say okay let's find somebody else that the party leaders kept pressing and pressing right up until the time of the democratic convention and they got the message across and said it's now

roosevelt's father actually knew him and corresponded with him. so they had this tradition of the romantic british attraction toward the arabs. and this is also where the concept came in and they read the british empire and there is a story about a young anglo indians by in india which really shaped kermit roosevelt's childhood and his imagination and this is where his nickname came from in his adult life. and i believe that it is from this british influence the cousins in particular, they have a place of potential of heroic espionage games. this is not the only influence. i think it is supposed to be that there was another tradition on which they drew and it was a sort of unofficial legacy left by a generation of american missionary that first started getting hearing in the 1800s and have not succeeded in converting many of the non-christians or christianity. but they had left this important legacy in the region. they founded schools and american universities and a very important american institution prior to the 1940s and the 1950s and it was a

one edith roosevelt who becomes teddy roosevelt. so here's this manic roosevelt. she provides him with this safe harbor. you can come home, six boisterous children. nelly taft was unconventional. she smoked, she went to beer halls, she wanted a life beyond her own idea of a society girl and getting married. she finds the perfect partner in taft. she spurs him on to politics. then one of the great muck rakers who prays when she's 14 i never want to get married because i want a career. we can do all these things. sometimes difficult, but we can do them all. what a great movement the women's movement has been. >> so roosevelt, taft and the golden age of journalism. we're talking about their lifetimes, middle of the 19th century and the turn of the century. why does this period matter? >> the period matters so many ways. partly because it was the response to the guilded age. what happened after the industrial revolution was a huge gap between the rich and the poor. monopolies that were squeezing out small businesses. people moving from the country to the city. lots of

sara roosevelt sat at the head of the table, franklin roosevelt at the upper end, and eleanor roosevelt would find whichever seat was comfortable for her. she did not have an assigned a seat at this table. this is the bedroom that franklin and eleanor shared as adults. 1918, when infidelity was discovered within the marriage. from that point on, mrs. roosevelt insisted on not sharing the same bed with franklin roosevelt. at that time, mrs. roosevelt chose a bad room right next to and it has a doorway coming right in. this was an area where she could eat by herself. it was -- this was an area where she could be by herself. it was a bit of a private space. the furniture in this room was used by mrs. roosevelt, one of the fear areas where she could get privacy. when they were both here, it was given they would vote here in the big house. if for some reason franklin was not at hyde park, mrs. roosevelt was spentr own her time a couple short miles away from the site. thehis direction we have entrance to sara delano roosevelt's room, sandwiched sarah and her husband franklin, the same as in t

sarah roosevelt sat at the head. franklin was at the other end. >> this was the bedroom that 18ey shared as adults until 19 until infidelity. rooseveltme, mrs. chose the bedroom right next to this room. it has a doorway coming right in. this was an area where she could be by herself. it was a bit of a private face for her. the furniture was used by mrs. roosevelt. one of the few areas where she could get some privacy. roosevelt was in hyde park and franklin roosevelt was in here, it was a given that they would sleep in the big house. if for some reason frankly was not in hyde park, mrs. roosevelt on her own we choose to spend your time and they'll kill -- valkill. in this direction we have a direction to sarah delano roosevelt's bedroom. mrs. roosevelt's bedroom is sandwiched between sarah and her husband franklin. the same as in her lifetime she was sandwiched between franklin and his mother, sarah. the involvement of mrs. roosevelt in the political career of frank and roosevelt is right from the beginning. she beco

sara roosevelt sat at the head of the table, franklin roosevelt

franklin roosevelt said in this is shocking to me. he said straight out in the 1930s it qualities of opportunity is dead in america. you can't get it anymore. what we have to be about in this country is equality of outcomes. we have to design public policy around the forgotten man for sometimes he said around every man, not around individual freedom. this i think is precisely the debate today. when people talk about income inequality and how we need to raise taxes on the wealthiest and we need to raise the minimum wage, what they are really arguing for is this equality of outcomes kind of society. this is the way, the forum in which that debate is continuing today. and so we go into this in our book. i don't have enough time to go into it in depth today but if you look at the data, the data is not as clearly supportive that there are massive income inequality problems at its is sometimes claimed that i'm sure you rush out to see robert raache's book about income inequality. it's hot in california and maybe it's not so hot in washingto

so roosevelt of course used them both. and kennedy and so on. so one of the things our reader has to do is drop our belief about democrats one time and republicans another. their idea progressivism is about as liberal as you're going to get it. there was a brave thing that makes today's tea party look like a bunch of gentle hippies. it was a different time. so that's what fascinated me, was kind of getting batted in. >> is there anything today commemorating the house this? do we still know are some of these places are? >> we know where some of them are or were. the house of truth still exists on 19th street and is being rehabbed by its current owners. it's going to be kind of a museum. >> thank you very much for your time. >> nonbook cv, david davenport, research fellow argues that the debate over the new deal in the 1930s lay the groundwork for today's conservative movement. this program is 45 minutes. >> -- conservative them. so it's a pleasure pleasure to introduce david davenport. [applause] >> thank you, christy. it's great to be with you t

so this was roosevelt's the. the irony is, if you look back on the new deal, there were no constitutional amendments that were part of this new deal revolution. the constitution says this is how you're supposed to change. you are supposed to change by passing and adopting amendments. there were no eminence in the revolution you do. the only amendment in that time for is a the president can only have two terms after roosevelt have multiple terms. hoover's speech is quite different to hoover starts with the first 10 minutes of the constitution and he says what this reminds us is that one of the main purposes of the constitution is to protect the people from the own government. it's exactly the opposite of roosevelt's view. the rest of his speech is about federalism. he says we have this great system of federalism. checks and balances, ounces of power, making sure nobody can really get behind the wheel of the government and start running over people, or running headlong in one particular direction. he said all of th

but the kids there didn't think of him as president roosevelt. the thought of in a stock roosevelt. that was the nickname they gave him. that was the point of the story because roosevelt could've had european rehabilitation anywhere you wanted to as a wealthy man, but he kept going back in order to give an example to the children. i was always a wonderful story. eleanor felt the polio case in empathy with the country and that helped make him a better president. one other quick point about roosevelt. he realized that since he couldn't get around the country as the one at two, he relied on eleanor, his wife, should you afford it. he became what she called his eyes and ears. she cobbled on the country, go to places never before. sure to make that labor camps, inner cities. she went to the coal mines is a famous case where she went down in the mindset to pennsylvania wearing a miner's outfit. she would report back to franklin. so she was serving almost as a reporter. she found a way to connect with him as president, but they were having troubles of their marriage. this is the way she co

eleanor roosevelt looking at you when you wake up. as i have studied your work and admired you from afar and spent some time with members of your family, these are my words, you are a humanist of the first- order. i'm not suggesting one can't be a humanist coming from a family of privilege but help me juxtapose how you turned out to be the brewster and you are having come -- the bruce dern you are having come from a family of privilege. you did not turn out arrogant. unless you're fooling me. >> i ran from it all. lack,because there was a when you grow up in that environment, you are taught you are privileged and you have a lot but you still have to prove it every day to everybody in the household. people in the household had major things accomplished. i was always, i would take my supper after dinner when i could not eat or something like that. i would go into the kitchen and eat with our show for. they were fabulous. i did not understand why they could not eat out with us. i did not think it was right. that started at six years old.

sarah roosevelt sat at the head.lin was at the other end. >> this was the bedroom that 18ey shared as adults until 19 until infidelity. rooseveltme, mrs. chose the bedroom right next to this room. it has a doorway coming right in. this was an area where she could be by herself. it was a bit of a private face for her. the furniture was used by mrs. roosevelt. one of the few areas where she could get some privacy. roosevelt was in hyde park and franklin roosevelt was in here, it was a given that they would sleep in the big house. if

one other quick point about roosevelt.e realized that since he couldn't get around the country as he wanted to, he relied on eleanor his wife to do it for him. she became what they called his eyes and ears. she traveled around the country and she would go to places that first ladies have never gone to before. she went to migrant labor camps in inner cities could she went to the coalmines. there's a famous case where she went into a mine shaft wearing a miner's outfit and she would report back to franklin. she was serving almost as a poster reporter and she found a way to also connect with him as president because they were having troubles in their marriage. this was the way she can you partner with him. he looked forward to her coming back from her trips and giving him these fact-finding three-hour dinners. she was a very blue notetaker and he valued this. in the beginning, he felt he had to give her some instruction on how to do this. she would say i was at this home for the elderly and they treated people wonderfully. yo

roosevelt knew this and could not bear it. both roosevelts were very prudish.eekly the cabinet wives met with her to discuss various matters of concern in the administration. names came up. [laughter] if a man and a woman were misbehaving, the first lady sent an aide to call first on the man advising him that if the affair did not stop he and the woman would not be allowed at the white house. before diplomat rejection from the entertainment ceremonies, she seems to have had her way. except with one man. charlie shonbron was about 30 and he was a direct descendent of lafayette. lafayette the diplomatic always had a lafayette in it and charlie was born here and from here and he was the legal adviser to the french embassy. he was in fact a cousin to lars anderson distantly. some of the family had married in cincinnati. blonde headed and youthful at 30 he was today what we describe as a womanizer. to say the least. he pursued women with no shame. poems flowers candy all were in his repertoire. even alice roosevelt was one time the object of his ardor and she confes

why did roosevelt do that? was it his ego?k there were two things that made roosevelt do it. one was he truly did believe that taft was not carrying the progressive legacy out as far as he had hoped it would be. but i think it also was that he missed being president. he loved it. he said he would have cut off his hand at the wrist not to have made the promise, not to the have had a third term. >> now, have you written over the years about kennedy and lbj, about both roosevelts and now about taft and lincoln. what is it about these presidents who you call your guys? what is it about them that as f fascinates you? >> it began with lyndon johnson when i was a 24-year-old white house inzpern i got to know him in the last years of his life. i became interested in the inner person behind the public figure. if you are going to spend eight, ten years, as i did, i rather learn about something new each time. what a right to learn about the civil war or world war ii or to learn about the progressive era or the 1960s. i wouldn't change th

he thought that he could pull off diplomatic resolution if he met roosevelt in person. so he promised too much at home to the military. you can prepare in the meantime because you never know but you have to allow me to go see roosevelt and say hawaii or alaska. he thought in the military stock that was going to happen until quite late, until september, mid-september and even earlier october. and then they sort of notice that americans were not going to come to the negotiating table. so china was central. your second question was about tripartite? >> particularly the german successes. >> i think they were mesmerized by the german successes. not that they understood the lethal aspects of nazi ideology or embrace it because the japanese were relegated to second-class citizens. the yellow race was not -- the japanese themselves wanted to be the people who -- and the original germans didn't know the truth of hitler's pronouncements. that was not so much the embracing of the ideology but the sword of martial aspects of the nazi success and also the fact that the shock factors

why did roosevelt do that? was it his ego?> i think there are two things that made roosevelt do it. one was he truly did believe that taft was not carrying the progressive legacy out as far as he had hoped it would be. i think it also was he missed being president. he said he would have cut off his hand at the wrist not to have made the prom po is, not to have made a third term. >> now you have written over the years about kennedy and lbj, about both roosevelts and now about taft and lincoln. what is it about these presidents who you call your guys? what is it about them that fascinates you in. >> you know, i guess it all began with linden johnson when i was a 24-year-old white house intern. i got to know him in the last years of his life. he opened up to me in ways he never would have had i known him at the height of his power. so i became interested in the inner person behind the public physical. if you are going to spend eight or ten years as i do, i'd rather learn about something new each time. so what a treat to learn abo

>> i realized so many good books were written about roosevelt.ame problem with abraham lincoln. when i dealt with franklin roosevelt, it was franklin and eleanor on the homefront so it expanded to be taft. i learned when i started the research, they had a much stronger friendship over many years and had written over 400 letters to each other and when the two of them ran against each other in 1912 it was much more emotional than i thought it would be. >> you write how extremely close they were and the fact that roosevelt was the campaign manager for taft in 1908 but four years later roosevelt comes back and decides to run against taft and sabotaging both of their chances and opening the door for democrat woodrow wilson. why did roosevelt do that? was it his ego? >> i think there were two things. i think he believed taft was not carrying out the legacy and that he missed being president. he loved it. he would have cut off his hand at the wrist not to make the promise to have had a third term. >> you have written over the years about kennedy and lbj

his other subject frank and roosevelt -- in explaining things. what do you think he would make of president obama in the current health care moment? >> i will go first. >> lets let's talk about the first four years. he would say that he is saved -- of his presidential role that my father said makes a great president. he had use of power in the executive office and to get around this. obviously it's a terrible republican congress but he's not the strong president that my father believed him. >> i'm idea for a little with that because i think when you look back at his first term he did pass this health care at which is having a tremendous impact on american society and one that presumably will work in the end and solve all the -- once we solve all the problems with the web site is what he will be remembered for. in the great tradition of the new deal, lyndon johnson with his programs and civil rights, it's something that he didn't have to pursue. he could have dismissed it as a lot of his advisers wanted him to and just focus on the whole job situa

especially roosevelt, he was a let's get them go bully.nd here was coolidge, prissy and cold and not giving out favorites. so he looked as though he had been weaned on a pickle. he was from new england. farmers don't talk a lot or waive their arms about because a cow might kick them. and it was temp mental of temperament. he was a shy person. butted the a political person. he knew if he didn't talk a lot people would stop talking. and a political leader is bombarded with questions. and his silence was his way of not giving in to special interest. >> go back again to the college experience. you say he learned to like to speak. how did that come in and did he ever get in a fraternity? >> he got in a fraternity at the end, very end of senior year and it was a new one on campus. and he was proud. he wrote a letter to his father. the letters are beautiful. they were published and they are hard to find. i hope we can publish them again. he wrote his father. his father wasn't rich but wasn't totally poor. an important person in his town. i need t

and certainly than my wife wanted it to, i loved living with the roosevelts. i don't want to keep you on a rainy night. thank you very much for having me. [applause] you've you're watching 48-hours of non-fiction author and books on c-span two's booktv. >>> well, booktv is on location at the smithsonian newb museum. nder we're joined bit undersecretarye of the smithsonian who has a new book out. sonnian's history. first of all, mr. kern, what's your day job? >> great question, peter. well, my day job is helping take care of the smithsonian and the legacy that the american people give us. you know, we host over 30 million people to the museum. my job is to help make the museums work, help the directors do their job. i have to take care of budgets and politics and public relations and things, but also the content of the work, what we do, what we show, the kind of ways in which we want to help americans and people around the world understand the american experience. >> how long have you been with the smithsonian? >> i first worked here in 1976 for the bicentennia

it wasn't until the democrats under roosevelt passed the minimum wage that she began earning something more than she had earned before. and you know what happened in the first place she worked, onette? s a little lunch when the minimum wage was passed initially, her boss, who wasn't such a nice guy, would cash her check and then pocket the difference. between what she used to earn and what she then earned in the workplace. and that was before we had the department of labor fully developed and we had inspectors on the job and so forth. this is what american working women have dealt with for generations. and so i have to say, i am so proud i am standing on the shoulders of families like my own, to be a voice for these women and these families whose economic struggle is excruciating. it is excruciating. many of them don't have cars. our own mother, she was brilliant. she should be here, not me. she never got her high school equivalency until after she went on social security. and there were two things she had in her billfold when she died. one, was her library card. because she was brilli

the best environmental record since teddy roosevelt. the idea of the new democrats is not abandoned democratic principles but to make sure we can further them. you have to further them with new ideas. the candidates in 2016 are going to have to have a new version, a new set of ideas. the basic principles is a core regressive democratic value. the idea that people have a responsibility to take advantage of that opportunity and to give something back to the commonwealth is a core democratic value. and a lot of so-called progressives like to ignore this. criticalvernment is a liberal value. , part of thebook intellectual roots of our movement came from franklin roosevelt avenue from senator ed muskie. he did a speech at the liberal party in new york where he said that efficient government is not an abandonment of liberal goals because ifal to them government is the vehicle that progressive want to use to achieve big important social end s, and people need to have faith in government. people lost faith in government and we had to come in an

it was franklin roosevelt and francis perkins who led the charge. it was fiorella la guardia, enacted the bill on the city level, battled wall street and championed a progressive income pack. it was new yorkers who challenged the status quo. who blaze aid trail of progressive reform and political action. who took on the elite. who stood up to say that social and economic justice will start here and will start now. let me be clear. when i said i would take dead

but jackson's credo of opportunity, kennedy's ethic of responsibility, civic responsibility, roosevelt's thirst for innovation. and my first job is where i learned all this, that those principles really worked. and that was in the war on poverty. i had the greatest job ever. sargent shriver didn't trust the bureaucrats telling him what was going on around the country, so he hired young reporters to go around the country and write about these, what was happening in his programs. long new york magazine-type pieces. i happened to be hostly in the south -- mostly in the south where the civil rights movement and the war on poverty were really joined during that period, so i knew everybody in the civil rights movement. i met ginger in camden, alabama, when she was working for the

kind of reminded me of franklin roosevelt, you know, being against corporatism, especially fascism that seems to be rampant in today's government. and i'm just going to keep an open mind on his group and be interested to what they have to say. i just think that the republicans would be making a real good move in not being as mean and against so many things, and for an inclusive to as many people as possible. i think it's a tragedy that we lost a great senator like dick lugar. and it's time to come you know, get these key bill is out of office. i'll let it go from there. thank you so much for letting me speak. >> guest: i think one of the points that the caller was making, there is a frustration in the country with the idea the

as franklin roosevelt was on tv at that time in 1939, rca and nbc broadcast baseball games. you can only imagine what they looked like on this. it was perfected technology as i knew in the 50s, and, of course, we know now with wide screen tvs, but you can see the case. this is an art decco-type design. he designed all sorts of thicks, lunch counters, restaurants in new york, art decco was very big in the 1930s, 1940s. had a short wave radio in it, had various controls, and now here you're seeing this model at the smithsonian that we acquired later from an rca executive who owned this in the 1930s. there's -- up fortunately, it does not work today. >> 5,000 built? >> not many. there was a little watch. they went for, at the time, 600 bucks a piece. in the 1930s, that was a lot of money. very few people could afford it. you had television broadcast in new york and then los angeles, and in world war ii, you had six or seven cities doing television. again, very, very limited. television does not take off until the late 1940s after world war ii, in the 1950s when my parents watch

casualties nothing comparable so we had this tremendous advantage after world war two we did it and roosevelt saw that if he had lived another three months i think would've kept that alliance we had with the with the with the soviets alive because he did not want to become the british empire he saw the problems of the brochure he did not believe in colonialism colonialism was to be eradicated is that and and it was not because truman and i've treated roosevelt's position took a pro british empire position right away winston churchill was one of his biggest allies convinced him of the necessity to take on the soviets as well as old hardliners from that point on the us went on this rollercoaster and it just got worse and worse and worse and we have a minute left but you guys point to figures in history like kennedy gorbachev moments in time that were completely squandered and you guys posed the question what would be ready when these moments face us again and take the right course of history what do you think that answer is but i think the answer is if they if everybody who watches untold histo

and it was not because truman and i have to be to roosevelt's position took. pro british empire position right away churchill was one of those because i was convinced about the necessity to take on the soviets as well as the old hard line so. you were. going on this rollercoaster and it just got worse and worse and worse and we have a minute left but you guys point to figures in history like gorbachev moments in time that were completely squandered and you guys posed the question will we be ready when these moments face us again and take the right course of history what do you think that answer is i think the answer is if everybody who watches untold history i resort book that's why we wrote this because we want we know that that as i would like to say the curve of the ball can break differently in different situations especially after the world series and we have to be ready we have to learn the lessons of the past learn where we messed up in the past learn why we made the mistakes of the past and begin to think differently we've got to begin to envision the

of course franklin roosevelt was on tv at that time in 1939. rca and nbc had brought cast baseball games. you can only imagine what it looked like on this. this wasn't perfect the technology yet as i knew in the 50s and now of course we have widescreen tvs. you can see the case. this is an art deco type design designed by john boss lich who designed all sorts of things, lunch counters, the neatest restaurants in new york. art deco was very big in the 1930s and 1940s and a short wave radio in it. it has various controls. here you are seeing this model at the smithsonian that we acquired later from rca executive who owned this in the 1930s, so there are number of parts missing. unfortunately this doesn't work today. >> and five or 6000 of these were built? villa, not very many. they went for the time i think $600 apiece. in the 1930s that was a lot of money so very few people could afford it. you had television broadcast largely in new york and in los angeles and then during world war ii you had six or seven cities doing television, again very li

the operations were ran by head to door roosevelt's grandson, kermit "kim" roosevelt, and was assistedy this cousin, archie roosevelt, chief of the beirut station. he also reports these actions would lay the groundwork for current foreign policy r

might as well give it to franklin roosevelt, right. [ applause ] the u.s.l service is in the news again. gosh, i don't know about this. i'm starting to not like them. i don't know what's going on. why do they raise the price of stamps. every year they raise the price a penny. 49 cents for a stamp. just make it 50 cents. you want to wait in line for people wanting your change back, i gave you two quarters, i need a penny back. just make it 50 cents come on. anyways, clearly i'm on my own on that one. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ no, no, no. >> steve: it sounds like you've been licked. [ laughter ] stamp. >> jimmy: 50 cents, that's it. anyways, the postal service is testing a new program it's going to open mini post offices inside of staples stores. so, if you love staples and the u.s. postal service, you are the most boring man in the world. honey, let's go to staples. 49 cents right there. there you go. what's that? >> steve: 'cause if there is 50 cents everybody in the club is getting tipsy. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> jimmy: you can retire. tonight is your

a great length in biographer once said that if you compare him to teddy roosevelt, woodrow roosevelt, theodore roosevelt he did not do all that much, but what he did do was important. my approach was to be selective in the kayfive key episodes. one of the reasons is is possible to do this is there has been a genuine and astonishing boom in lincoln scholarship, and they don't just mean the quantity, but the quality of books coming in right now. of want to explain how scholars have done this. because there been so many biographies of lincoln some of the greatest historians have written about him had become themselves figures of the importance. they leave their research materials, note cards to university libraries are libraries of congress or other scholars who can flip through the end of cards. yet to be careful, fact check, but is useful because historians can look for bids that ended up on the cutting room floor the an old newspaper clippings, net cards conditions of the primary sources admit that were to offer me of a project like this mary lincoln, and images for is a difficult per

he couldn't have been a commie socialist like roosevelt. this guy is a heartland painter. this guy is from the heartland of america. >> no, he's been misappropriated by right wingers. they was man who believed in equality and tolerance and voted for j.f.k. in 1960 and lbj in 1964. >> stephen: that's one of the things why i didn't want to hear a critic talk about it. >> stephen: you should also know he painted the defying image of the civil rights movement, the problem we all live with, the the people who want to turn him into a cartoon version of an all white boring america don't hold much credence. >> stephen: he did paint a lot of white people. >> he did. he did. >> stephen: let's go to the next one. one that's this called? >> "saying grace." >> stephen: this just sold on sothebys for $46 million. >> that is correct. >> stephen: the highest price ever paid. >> stephen: we don't know who -- for what, for that painting? >> for an american painting. >> stephen: well, for an american painting of that period meaning we're looking at artists like rockwell, edward hopper and ge

kermit roosevelt, archie roosevelt, the grandson of teddy roosevelt and miles coppola.'t guess or recognize in its early expression in the middle east. so how could things have been so rational and sensible and clever and be what it is today? >> that is right. what you mentioned was some of the cia's offices in the u.s. had very little official presence in the region before the cia itself had only been just created. and so they change this wanted to do something different from the previous western powers in the middle east. and it was a former alliance with progressive national tweeters and a set of allies in an area that was crucially strategic. lou: with american representatives through the eyes of those three urbanists. respect for islam and the muslim culture, wended change? >> these men inherited a positive attitude towards some british arabists and also american missionaries in the region who have been there since the 19th century. so they were really quite pro-arab. and partly because the secretary of state is unreliable. also because some of the leaders themselv