Arlen Specter died Sunday, October 14th, 2012, at the age of 82. Specter left the United States Senate in 2011 after a 30-year career. Soon afterwards, he sat down for a series of extended oral history interviews with the Pennsylvania Cable Network. Specter reflects on events that take him from his Russian immigrant roots to his involvement in some of this country's most momentous events, from his work on the Warren Commission investigating President Kennedy's assassination to the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton. In the first excerpt from these interviews, Specter recounts his family's arrival in the U.S. and his formative years during the Great Depression and World War II, and how his personal experiences later informed his politics.

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Arlen Specter died Sunday, October 14th, 2012, at the age of 82. Specter left the United States Senate in 2011 after a 30-year career. Soon afterwards, he sat down for a series of extended oral history interviews with the Pennsylvania Cable Network. Specter reflects on events that take him from his Russian immigrant roots to his involvement in some of this country's most momentous events, from his work on the Warren Commission investigating President Kennedy's assassination to the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton. In this excerpt, Specter recounts his arrival in the U.S. Senate just as President Reagan began his first term and he describes the culture of the institution he would call home for three decades.

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Arlen Specter died Sunday, October 14th, 2012, at the age of 82. In his 30 years representing Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate, Specter participated in the confirmation hearings of 14 U.S. Supreme Court nominees. Soon after leaving the Senate in 2011, Specter sat down for a series of oral history interviews with the Pennsylvania Cable Network. In this interview, he recounts his experience as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee as it considered the nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.

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Arlen Specter died Sunday, October 14th, 2012, at the age of 82. Specter left the United States Senate in 2011 after a 30-year career. Soon afterwards, he sat down for a series of extended oral history interviews with the Pennsylvania Cable Network. Specter reflects on events that take him from his Russian immigrant roots to his involvement in some of this country's most momentous events, from his work on the Warren Commission investigating President Kennedy's assassination to the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton. In this excerpt, Specter recounts the events leading up to President Clinton's impeachment, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Patriot Act and the Iraq War. 

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Arlen Specter died Sunday, October 14th, 2012, at the age of 82. Specter left the United States Senate in 2011 after a 30 year career. Soon afterwards, he sat down for a series of extended oral history interviews with the Pennsylvania Cable Network. Specter reflects on events that take him from his Russian immigrant roots to his involvement in some of this country’s most momentous events – from his work on the Warren Commission investigating President Kennedy’s assassination to the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton. We’re airing a selection of these interviews here on American History TV. In this excerpt, Specter talks about the 2008 financial crisis, the health care debate, his cancer diagnosis and his decision to switch political parties.

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This May marked 40 years since the Senate Watergate hearings began. We are airing oral history interviews from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library that provide a new look into the Nixon impeachment inquiry. After a silence of four decades, key staff charged with investigating whether there were grounds to impeach the president have recorded their part in history. These interviews were conducted by the former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Timothy Naftali.

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This May marked 40 years since the Senate Watergate hearings began. This is an oral history interview from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library that provides a new look into the Nixon impeachment inquiry. After a silence of four decades, key staff charged with investigating whether there were grounds to impeach the president have recorded their part in history. These interviews were conducted by the former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Timothy Naftali.

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This May marked 40 years since the Senate Watergate hearings began and we're airing oral history interviews from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library that provide a new look into the Nixon impeachment inquiry. After a silence of four decades, key staff charged with investigating whether there were grounds to impeach the president have recorded their part in history. These interviews were conducted by the former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Timothy Naftali.

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Last June, as the 40th anniversary of the Watergate break-in approached, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library released interviews with key staff charged with investigating whether there were grounds to impeach President Nixon. These interviews were conducted by the former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Timothy Naftali. We hear from Jeffrey Banchero, who was a research assistant for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee during their impeachment inquiry. Mr. Banchero talks about transcribing tapes of the president’s private conversations, working with special counsel John Doar, and the reactions of congressmen as they listened to the secret tapes. Mr. Doar admonished his staff not to talk about the proceedings – a warning they heeded for four decades.

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At the direction of Congress, the voices and experiences from the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century are being documented in an oral history project. This effort is a collaboration of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, the Library of Congress and the Southern Oral History Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

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