thomas jefferson who helps bring west point into being although he thought he speaks of west point in the same way also for jefferson it's more important in scientific terms of the time of the development that would come out of it. >> is their dissent allowed at military academies? >> yes. and in a place like west point, encouraged is maybe too strong of a word that it's a liberal arts education and a general liberal arts education means that while we want to cultivate certain understandings of politics and certain habit of mind that will be essential for leadership part of the habit will be subject to questioning and that's something that those who think about the national universituniversity are aware oy dawn. on. they want to really sort of each the range of ideas about the politics and government and even while trying to cultivate an understanding and you see some of that at west point and beyond west point in many ways we are very open when we teach liberal arts about the varieties of the experience and we want to be critical of the institutions and get most of them themselves ar

, but he schedules an inspection by george washington so that washington will be in west point at the it over. the war might be over at that point. >> sir, this has just arrived for you. the writer says it requires your immediate attention. >> is everything all right, general? >> what is it, dear? >> it's, uh, it's quite a personal matter. peggy, would you please accompany me to our chambers? please excuse us, colonel hamilton. we won't be but a moment. >> word comes to arnold that andré's been captured, and he knows that he's named in those letters. and so he has no choice but to leave. >> what is going on? benedict. benedict, i... >> they've caught john andré, and he will surely be hanged as a spy. i assure you it is me they would much rather have on the gibbet. look at me. my dear peggy, you must tell them you had nothing to do with my treasonous acts. understand? >> i understand. >> i love you. >> hearing news of a british spy with documents signed by arnold is all benjamin tallmadge needs to confirm his suspicions. >> tallmadge, who has heard these rumors about something afoot wi

he wanted to take west point. if that didn't win the war, he was going to go to london, and he was going to be well paid. i make the case that he was principally interested in money, but other people have a different view. he's an endlessly interesting character, and there's a wonderful book out now by philbrook who gets deeply into that. philbrook is a great historian, great writer. >> do you have a question? >> because you have such extensive naval knowledge -- and because andre was captured, and the plan arnold created to betray west point was lost, but since you understand the difficulty of navigating the hudson, if you could draw a word picture for us about how the river comes up and bends at constitution island and bends back where we have the military academy, but it was a fortification to take advantage of that specific feature, that the british would have to make two turns under the canon aids of the patriot batteries, and that is the reason they never forced the change. at fort montgomery earlier, they h

he graduated third in his class at west point and a fighter pilot with u.s. airforce in korean war when on to earn his doctorate from m.i.t. the first time he applied to be investor not nasa turned him down he has never had much appreciation for the word no the second time he applied he secured one of eight spots out of 6,000 applicants one of the principles he shares failure is always an option when he went to high-school his goal was to become a rhodes scholar he applied twice the wasn't accepted his life and american space program may have been dramatically different heady not fail to become a rhodes scholar and that is an important lesson innovation and a commitment to serve his country has been his guiding principles since the apollo 11 mission that led to being awarded the presidential medal of freedom remains a champion for veterans he devotes a energy to the goal of reaching and exploring mars to draw awareness to the cause he wears the shirt that reads get your ass to mars laugh laugh if anybody believes it is possible it is the soldier in tonight he

emily: yet you ended up at west point.eral alexander: i did not know anything about the military. my dad was in the marine corps at the end of world war ii. i got a full scholarship to syracuse and purdue. my mother encouraged me to apply to west point. i did and i got accepted. i was trying to find out, which one do you want to do, and i found that west point pays you. i thought that is a good deal. i had no idea. how hard could that be? i was there three days, and i called my dad, and i said, these people are crazy, come and get me. but actually what i found is what a great set of americans they were. i had a good academic background in high school. but i learned the ethics at west point about duty, honor, country. and i think my classmates and all that, we joke about some of the things. but when you look at where those people have come from and what they have done for our nation, it is incredible. emily: in fact, there were three other future four-star generals in class with you -- david petraeus, martin dempsey, walter

why did douglas macarthur's mother moved to west point? she moved there for two things, to help supervise his studies. she lived in a rooming house outside of the grounds of west point. c-span: there they are. >> guest: that's young douglas on the right in the force's mother pinking mccarthy is she she -- macarthur. she looks pretty formidable in that picture and she was but when i started this book i was very much led by previous biographers of mcarthur so i think that for us this domineering woman almost like a lady macbeth type and sort of pushing and propelling her son were to discourage you did push and propel them forward but what i came to realize the more i learned about their relationship and how it was built, i realized this was the second thing she did at west point issue provided strong emotional support and guidance for him with the tough decisions he had to make. macarthur throughout his life conveys this image of a man who is totally certain of themselves, completely in command, someone who is sure of every decision that he

did you send the book that he finished first at west point?>> guest: he was probably the finest record as cistern at west point as anyone since robert e lee and a record in many ways still stands on challenge to the state. >> host: can you tell us i know fdr is another near him when he went to harvard, why doesn't douglas macarthur's mother moved to west point? >> guest: she moved there to help supervise his studies, she lived in a rooming house outside of the grounds of west point, there they are, that is young douglas there on the right and of course his mother, mary pink pick me harder. she became known as pinky. she looks for minimal formidable in that picture and she was. but when i started this book i was very much led by previous biographers of macarthur that think of her as this domineering woman, almost a kind of lady macbeth type and sort of pushing and propelling her son forward in her career and she did push and propel them forward. but what i came to realize, the more i learned about their relationship and how it was built, you re

he fell hopelessly in love with her when he was at west point.heir to very large wall street portion, he was very vivacious, she was delightful, she is very sexy. and of course she was enormously wealthy as well. i think she was just a resistible to someone like macarthur. it was only i think after the marriage they began to realize that he had picked the wrong person. she was not going to be this kind of strong, emotional support that he really needed. that is mother who disapproved very much of the marriage was able to provide and who jean was finally able to step up and provide. while at the same time providing that same kind of vivacious, outgoing, sexy personality that made her the perfect companion for him as wife, mother, and is confident. >> host: why did you have access to the oral histories of his wife? >> guest: it's now at the macarthur memorial archives in norfolk virginia where i spent a good deal of time working on this book. it just had not been available. the other other biographies that came up for that was done. she promised to

he spent four years at west point. he spent his entire adult life in the service of the united states army. he loved his country and he also believed in preserving the union. but when virginia left the union he could not fight a war against home and family. that's what he stated in letter after letter after letter. he had great conflict in his heart and soul over making this decision, but in the end that was the only choice he felt he could make. of thethe aspects decision that made it so wasequential was that lee first offered command of federal troops. president lincoln wanted him to command what would bebome -- become the union army. the army that would cross the river to press rebuilding in virginia and say the union. lee turned it down. that decision would be in many ways a great pivotal moment in american history. many historians believe if lee had chosen to accept president lincoln's offer, the war would've been much shorter. certainly hundreds of thousands of lives would've been spared. at the same time the gre

and so he went to west point, graduated second in his class. but following that he turned his , attention on miss mary custis at arlington and courted her and married her and became a part of this family. this room in many ways perhaps is the best room that symbolizes how he was connected to this place. almost his entire life. arlington meant something important to robert e. lee. and almost all of it revolved around the relationship he had with his wife, mary. mary and her father used this room in different ways, but especially as a painting studio. they were both passionate artists. she did two of the paintings you see next to the window on the left. here is also where you see some of george washington parke custis' revolutionary war themes. all of these paintings done to represent george washington as the great hero of the revolution the indispensable man. , you see him on his white horse at the front of the army. literally within just a few feet of the lines of british or germans at the battle of trenton. these paintings glorified washington

his father died when he was quite young, his mother died right after he graduated from west point. he didn't inherit wealth. he didn't inherit property, and so he had in many ways to take life very seriously from a young age and devote himself to a career in the army. and so he went to west point, graduated second in his class, but following that, he turned his attention once again to ms. mary custis here at arlington and courted her and married her and became a part of this family. now, this room then in many ways, perhaps, is the best room that symbolizes how he was connected to this place, almost his entire life, arlington meant something important to robert e. lee. and almost all of it revolved around the relationship he had with his wife mary. mary and her father used this room in different ways, but especially as a painting studio. they were both passionate artists. she did two of the paintings that you see next to the window over here to the left. but here's also where you see some of george washington parke custis' important revolutionary war scenes. all of these paintings

we actually see that beyond west point in many ways. we are very open when we teach in terms of liberal arts about the varieties of political experience and we really want to be critical of political institutions including our own and yet most of the institutions themselves take themselves to be committed to some form of democracy. it's not like were saying we don't mind if we end up producing a bunch of students who are elitist monarchs. we would think that would somehow have been, we would've done something wrong along the way. professor thomas, with the decline in liberal arts education overall in the country, are we losing civics? >> that's a great question and should be a serious concern to us. in fact, at the end of the book i pose that the great challenge in our day really is the potential commercialization that threatens to equip the more robust liberal arts element. when you think about the founding generation, it might've been from religion but in our day it's probably because of the success of american constitutionalism, the

academies who based their curriculum on west point. therefore, i think some of that common experience about what it means to be an officer explains why they're able to share this common vocabulary about when can someone surrender honorably and when can one not surrender honorably. you can imagine this happens all the time if you think about for sumter, you've got andersen insider fort. his student, outside the fort. they are sharing a common military experience, a common expense in the army and a common expense of west point. that is the huge part of why they're able to speak with the same language. >> hello. i'm from california. do you think that the honor that a soldier, like a lower soldier felt was brought upon that soldier by a high-ranking commander, or do you think it was more based on the individual's ideology? mr. silkenat: so, honor, the way i formulated today is primarily about how one is seen by one's community. and so, i think for an individual soldier, what other soldiers in your regiment thought about you. if they though

>> i think one thing they taught at west point was honor. i think one of the reasons why, you know, grant and lee and sherman and all these guys have a common vocabulary about honor is their common military service. if you look at most of the main generals as all of you know on both sides were trained at west point, or trained at military academies that base their curriculum on west point. and therefore i think some of that common experience about what it means to be an officer explains why they're able to shear this kmorn common vocabulary about when can someone surrender honorably and when can someone not surrender honorably. this happens all the time. if you think of ft. sumter, they're having letters back and forth, they're sharing the common military experience, the common experience in the army and common experience at west point. i think there is -- that's a huge part of why they're able to sort of speak with the same language. >> hello. my name is aaron. i'm from california. do you think that the honor that a soldier, like a lower ra

academy that is base their curriculum on west point. therefore, i think some of that common experience about what it means to be an officer explains why they're able to share this common vocabulary about when can someone surrender honorably and when can one not surrender honorably? you can imagine this happens all the time. they're handing these letters back and forth. they're sharing a common military experience, the common experience in the army and the common experience at west point. i think there's -- that's a huge part of why they're able to sort of speak with the same language. my name is aaron. i'm from california. do you think the honor of a lower ranking soldier was brought upon that soldier by a higher ranking commander, or do you think it was more based on the individual's idea? >> so honor i think, at least the way formulated today, is primarily about how one is seen by one's community, and so i think for individual soldiers, what other soldiers in your regiment thought about you. if they thought you fought bravely, that wa

she has been an assistant professor of american history at west point. she's here for 12 years as a commissioned officer in the u.s. army, including three combat tours in iraq. so she brings a certain amount of experience to this project, and i think she'll talk to you a little bit about how personal it is and how exciting it is for her to explore the life of george washington in this way. she's here tonight to talk about her great new book, a powerful mind, the self-education of george washington, and she's doing exactly what we like to try to do here at mount vernon, which is make george washington into a human being. not the person that is just a marvel statue, although we love the great icon of george washington. we also want to recognize that he was a human who lived in the world, and one of the great ways to get at this man of action is through his reading and through his mind. he is not often associated with those things, and adrienne will talk more about that. i did want to say after her talk tonight and, of course, we'll have a chance to have qu

she is a graduate of west point. she has been an assistant professor of american history at west point. she served for 12 years of commissioned officer in the u.s. army, including three combat tours in iraq. so she brings a certain amount of experience to this project, and i think she'll talk to you a little bit about how personal it is and how exciting it is for her to explore the life of george washington in this way. she's here tonight to talk about her great new book, a powerful mind, the self education of george washington, and she's doing what we like to try to do here at mount vernon, which make george washington into a human being. not the person who is just a mar statue. we want to recognize he is a human who lived in the worlds. one of the great ways to get at the man of action is through his rea reading, through his mind. he's not often associated with those things and adrienne will talk much more about that. i did want to say after her talk tonight, we'll have a chance to have questions from the audience,

it was something i carried with me after west point in the army. it was a moment that hit me when i was a brand new second lieutenant. i was 23 years old and in command of my first or leading my first platoon. so there i was. all army stories always start with the phrase so there i was. so there i was. a 23-year-old second lieutenant in the 82 airborne division in what was to become the first phase of operation iraqi freedom. i had the lives of 26 soldiers in my hands, as well as the lives of the soldiers that we transported to and from the back of the trucks to the different missions we were assigned. i was in baghdad where we ended up after the invasion and it struck me after one particular mission that we had. it was an air assault mission that went all night long. after we got back, we narrowly invaded an am bush. we had to fight through traffic. traffic in washington, d.c. or new york city does not compare to what you see over there. it was one of those experiences that you are just drained afterwards. it hit me, how did washington do this? ho

he earned a prestigious appointment to west point, and after graduation became a combat engineer, served as a nation builder in panama. his childhood friend, aaron solano, went down for a visit. >> the stories he told me about the missions that he accomplished, building schools, clinics, roadways and bridges, really had an impact on his life. he finally felt like, "hey, i'm getting to do something." >> reporter: when george left the military with the rank of captain, he took a corporate engineering job, but soon realized that life in an office building wasn't for him. he wanted to work for real people, which is why george put aside that fancy degree of his and went to vegas to train as a firefighter/emt. >> focusing on himself was not how he wanted to live his life. he wanted to serve. that was a favorite word of his, to serve. >> reporter: so while shauna served drinks at the palms, george served as a firefighter and found time to volunteer, do what he could for the down on their luck souls who live on the fringes of so much glitz here. in 2004, they had a baby. >> there's daddy and mam

more patriotic music from the west point band. they're on the plaza as we celebrate our new puppy with a purpose. >> is he not just adorable? we love having the west point band here and of course this is our new puppy. he's going to be eventually used by america's vet dogs. we want you to go to today.com and vote for his name. do you like sarge, charlie or please vote early and often. we have a really exciting announcement to make around here. our family is really growing. lexy rudolph and her husband, scott, welcomed twins overnight. meet brock asher rudolph and sasha brin. absolutely adorable. the only question is how are we going to survive around here without lexy. >> she's our senior booking producer. we have two new young bookers in the family. that's great news. >> we're so happy for you. meanwhile, just ahead, grant will be going for the gold. >> he'll jump into that gigantic ball pit in search of one gold ball worth $25,000. the crowd is hyped up for him. we'll see what happens. >> he's got 30 seconds. and we're going to

she has been an assistant professor at west point. she served as 12 years as a commissioned officer in the u.s. army including three combat tour is in iraq. she brings a certain amount of experience to this project. she will talk to you a little bit about how personal it is for her to explore the life of george washington in this way. she is here tonight to talk about her great new book. she is doing exactly what we would like to do in mount vernon. not the person that is just a marble statue although we love the great icon of george washington. we want to recognize that he was a human who lived in the world. it was through his mind. we do have a chance to have questions from the audience. we have made a special effort tonight to bring out some of the items from his library and you will see two tour it in the holy of holies. you will get a chance to get in there behind the scenes. it is a special evening and it is this an exciting one. everyone give a big hand. [applause] adrienne: good evening everyone. it is a privileged to be here

the thing is getting accepted and west point. what i came away with from ben carson's book is that i almost think we should treat them, you can't do this with normal politicians books, because because you expect those to be carefully vetted and fact-based and checkable in some ways. ben carson's book they feel my more like parables in these nice inspirational stories about a guy came from very difficult circumstances to achieve extraordinary success in his profession. but, and they were a big hit, there publish the early ones by christian publishing houses and it was that kind of intent, it wasn't like this is carefully vetted material, the way he talks about it in the clip you showed, you know i just sorta have a title for a chapter in that i write from the heart. the heart is not always fact-based. >> c-span: do you ever listen to audiobooks? >> guest: i do not. the only time i do is when we're road chipping with my wife and kids to see my in-laws in ohio. we might pop a book or pop a cd in the car and listen. but often with th

he was a child prodigy from a pulmonary class family in philadelphia who entered west point at the age of 15. nelly, whose story has never fully been told before this book was a celebrated blue-eyed beauty who turned it down a marriage proposals including one from: before she accepted his second petition. on their wedding day in may, kind and was president of the illinois central railroad to your half later the 34-year old was general in chief of the united states army in the middle of a civil war. .-dot mccellan were prominent on the party scene in washington dc in the summer-- in the winter of 1862. even as the white house, congress and the newspapers fumed at his delays in confronting the enemy. in lincoln's memorable phrase, mccellan had the slows. in fact, the general had serious mental problems, also. mccellan daily letters to nelly revealed that he was often diluted, always paranoid and narcissistic in the extreme. nelly said her husband this day for lincoln and his cabinet and her letters. mccellan had his own problems to be sure, that she egged him on anti- rates against his c

more patriotic music from the west point band. they're on the plaza as we celebrate our new puppy with a purpose. >> is he not just adorable? we love having the west point band here and of course this is our new puppy. he's going to be eventually used by america's vet dogs. we want you to go to today.com and vote for his name. >>> 8:30 in the morning here we're going to get you back to the today show in moments. we're getting a update on the shooting of syville smith. >> let's go live to the wisconsin center. >> thank you for the opportunity to shed some light on where the investigation is in the case. i haven't had the opportunity to do yet that is express my sympathy to the family of mr. smith. no matter what the end result of this investigation, no matter what we determine are all of the facts of that day this was a terrible tragedy for his family to have lost a loved one. i also want to reflect on the residence of the sherman park neighborhood. the day after these events, and all through this difficult time, their good charact

ho 40s 50s 6 40s 50s 60s in the mountains and points west. highs tomorrow 70s 80s. over the mountains and points west. maybe down a few degrees in the mountains. and back into the 90s. near one hundred degree heat possible here in the south and east. our temperatures here in the tpho*frt north and east easily into the 90s. maybe a couple degrees cooler than what we had today. 64 in the city the storms have passed by. a few clouds for the over night. >> . still summer. hr*erts enjoy it (etc. let's enjoy it. >> . happening friday and saturday. we have a family 4 pack of tickets to give away. enter before 9 a.m. tomorrow. or today. in order to win. and you can do that under the contest tab on kdvr.com. the pharmacy y t is now in the store you love ? ? the pharmacy you trust... is now in the store you love. because cvs pharmacy... is now at target. caught the virus in the womb and born with birth defects. she died a few weeks after her birth. this was a travel related case. mother visited el salvador while when he had a pulmonary epl embolism. he didn't want to wait for

he was a child prodigy from an upper-middle-class family in philadelphia who entered west point at the age of 15. nelly who story has never fully been told before except for in this book, was a celebrated blue-eyed beauty who turned down eight marriage proposals, including one from mcclellan before she accepted his second petition. on their waiting day in may, 1860 mcclellan was president of the illinois central railroad. the urine have later, the 34-year-old was general in chief of the united states army in the middle of the civil war. the mcclellan's are prominent on the party scene in washington d.c. in the summer, -- in the winter of 1862. even as the white house congress and the newspapers fumed at his delays in confronting the enemy. and lincoln's memorable's memorable phrase, mcclellan had the slows. in fact, the the general had serious mental problems. mcclellan's at daly's letter to nelly revealed that he was often deluded, always paranoid, and narcissistic in the extreme. nelly said her husband disdain for lincoln and his cabinet in her letters mcclellan had his own problems

. >> he's charged with killing the four people at a town home in west point community. this arrest comes after a five- hour search spanning two states. emma wright is in studio with more breaking details. emma if >> boon was picked up just before midnight near richmond, virginia. they have been looking for him stolen car when he left greenville. the murders were not random but still working to figure out a potential motive. they say he used to live in the townhouse where he's accused of murdering four people and may have been in a relationship with that female victim. they still haven't released the name of the victims yet because they say they're still waiting to notify family members. investigators are working together to put together a time line when the family was killed. another kerned family member tipped them off that something might be wrong. >> they were called by concern family member earlier in the evening. concerned for the welfare of the mother and children. >> greenville police hope it release more information later this morning. russ? >> thawmg. is such a

he's charged with killing the four at a town home in the west point community. those arrests come after hour search. emma wright is in studio with more breaking details. >> they say boone was picked up before midnight. he'd within looking for him since tuesday when they discovered the bodies of a mother and her three kids. police say the murders were not random but working to figure out a motive. he used to live at the townhouse where he's accused and may have been in a relationship with the female victim. they still haven't released the name of those victims yet. that i say they are still waiting to notify family members. investigators say they're also working to put together a time line of when this family was killed. they say another concern relative tipped them off that something may be wrong. >> after the officers forced entry into the home they did in fact find the mother and three children >> they hope to release more information later this morning. >> all right. thank you. tomorrow, we could learn more about the relationship between a durham man and thre

after the war, superintendent at west point.id you know since we are about to focus on the olympics in brazil, he is the head of the american delegation to the 1928 olympics in amsterdam and very, very typical macarthur fashion, he tells the american team in the amsterdam, "americans did not come here to lose." america got first place in terms of gold medals of the 1928 games, so some people do not know that about macarthur's involvement. athletics were always very important to the general. by 1930, he was chief of staff with herbert hoover and stayed on in the position for franklin roosevelt. 1935, goes to the philippines as military advisor. 1937, recalled in the united states. what will he do? he is still relatively young. he does not want to go back to being a corps commander. he has done that. resigns from the army, stays on in the philippines as philip marshall of the philippines army. he is basically recalled to duty 75 years ago this month in the philippines to be commander of u.s. forces in mubarak east. -- u.s. forces

sherman will call for educational opportunities for their officers beyond west point, so you have the establishment of the artillery school at fort monroe in 1868 and you have the establishment of the cal valerie and infantry school in 1881 and the u.s. army war college. one of the questions that dominates the army after the civil war is the question of tactics. the civil war scholarship, whether it represented the last napoleonic war or the first modern war or is it both? a lot of times this question comes down to technology and how technology influences tactics. war,f you study the civil uc frontal assault. this is a depiction of pickets from the psychodrama. where you have long, linear assaults with thousands of soldiers standing shoulder to soldier. and what you get are incredibly -- the excellence of makes civil war officers questioned the future of that. so what to go lessons does the united states military take from the civil war? note that all three branches of the army question this. -- color he is going through it changes the way the utility very will be used. this is someth

sherman will acall for educational opportunities for their officers beyond west point, so you have the establishment of the artillery school at fort monroe in 1868 and you have the establishment of the cal valerie and infantry school in 81 and the u.s. army war college. one of the questions that dominates the army after the civil war is the question of tactics. the civil war scholarship, whether it represented the last napoleonic war or the first modern war or is it both? a lot of times this question comes down to technology and how technology influences tactics. >> if you study the civil war, this is a depiction of pickett's charge where you have these these at assaults with thousands of shoulder to shoulder like we see here on july 30. what you get our high casualties. the influence of technology whether it the in the infantry artillery makes post-civil war officers question the future of tactics. on is noare very clear more cold harbors. groth -- ulysses grant said this is an assault he regret. what tactical lessons does the united states military take from the civil war? armyhree b

this is all happening at the west point townhomes near the medical school. >> the murders are not random and they have identified a suspect still on the lease.they have not identified victims.do not know if they are students. neighbors are shocked and say this is a quiet area shock because stuff like this never happens so when we find out about news like this, it is very disturbing to all of us. >> we're expecting more information over the next half hour and we will posted in this newscast and also online at wncn.com . >> dangerous heat is expected to stick around for one more day and forcing schools to take action to keep students safe. activities are called out tomorrow. we have a first look at your forecast. >> good evening two years. our high today in the triangle was 95. our high today in the triangle was 95.98 in the sandhills and it will be almost as hard if not just as hot tomorrow and that came with a heat index of 100 for several hours.tonight, it is completely dry. did not have the showers to help to cool us off late hour with the heat index still close to 90.also down in faye