Join us Thanksgiving Day as American History TV kicks off four days events that help document the American story. Today, we look at events ranging from the two wives of Woodrow Wilson to the Museum of the Confederacy.
During the day, watch a segment on the two wives of President Woodrow Wilson. Ellen Axson, who died in the White House during the summer of 1914. And Edith Bolling Galt, who married the widowed president in December 1915. After Woodrow Wilson's stroke, it was Edith who carefully guarded access to the president and who ignited a debate that continues to this day over how much power she exerted.
We also present the Museum of the Confederacy. The museum is located in downtown Richmond, Virginia and has been in operation since 1896. Its collection of over 130,000 artifacts includes the personal belongings of well-known generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. The museum's Sam Craghead took us on a tour of vintage battle flags, uniforms, photographs and weapons.
Later, a panel of veterans share personal accounts of their service in the armed forces. Norman Mineta, a Japanese American, was sent to an internment camp during World War II and later served as an intelligence officer in the Korean War. Reuben McNair was trained during World War II in one of the first Marine companies to allow African Americans. And Irene Trowell-Harris was the first African American woman to be promoted to general officer in the National Guard. These panelists join Pulitzer prize-winning author Rick Atkinson for a discussion at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC.
Later, we look at the history of Massachusetts' maritime. Follow C-SPAN as we join historian and author Richard Norton Smith lead a bus tour of New England. Here are three stops from that tour along Boston’s North Shore where we learn about Fort Sewall in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Then, the Salem Maritime National Historic Site to learn how Salem figured prominently in shipping, customs collection, and commerce in the early 19th century. And last, the Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial.
Watch all of these segments and more today on C-SPAN's American History TV.