C-SPAN Recent Events

History of Raleigh, North Carolina

2013-06-16T17:00:00

C-SPAN’s Local Content Vehicles take American History TV on the road. Throughout the weekend of June 15-17 we feature the history of Raleigh, North Carolina.

James Weldon Johnson & the History of Harlem

2013-06-16T09:30:00

Author and professor Jonathan Gill talks about his book “Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America.” To illustrate the scope of the Harlem Renaissance, Professor Gill discusses James Weldon Johnson -- a poet, songwriter, author, educator, diplomat and civil rights activist. This event was hosted by the New York City Bar Association.

American Artifacts: Jackson's Flank Attack at Chancellorsville (Part 1)

2013-06-16T08:00:00

The Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville was fought April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Many historians consider the battle to be Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s greatest victory. Facing a Union Army more than twice the size of his own, Lee divided his forces, sending 27,000 men under “Stonewall” Jackson on a 12-mile march to deliver a flank attack. In this program, we follow two National Park Service historians on a tour as they walk the same ground exactly 150 years after Jackson launched his attack.

New York City Cartmen

2013-06-15T21:05:00

Author Graham Hodges looks at New York City’s cartmen, who hauled goods on one-horse carts and dominated the streets of the city from 1667 to 1850. He talks about how the cartmen developed deep relationships with the merchants and residents of New York City and came to be a part of the civic culture. The cartmen also came to hold political power and can be considered the forerunners of modern labor unions. The Gotham Center for New York City History hosted this event.

Lectures in History: End of Slavery to Segregation

2013-06-15T20:00:00

University of Kansas professor Shawn Leigh Alexander teaches a class on the period following the end of slavery to the beginning of segregation. Professor Alexander discusses the failed Civil Rights Act of 1875, the Supreme Court ‘s 1896 “separate but equal” ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, and African American journalist Ida B. Wells work to expose the horrors of lynching in the United States. The University of Kansas is in Lawrence.

Mary Todd Lincoln Reconsidered

2013-06-15T19:05:00

Many historians disagree about Mary Todd Lincoln - some call her corrupt and mentally unstable, while others defend her as an intelligent and politically savvy woman who played a vital role in her husband’s presidency. Author and retired Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Frank Williams details the controversies, the former first lady’s life and assesses how historians have remembered her. This talk took place at President Lincoln’s Cottage in Washington, DC.

Battle of Gettysburg - Days 2 & 3

2013-06-15T18:00:00

Historians John Marszalek and James McPherson examine the Battle of Gettysburg, with a focus on the second and third days of the fighting. The three-day battle fought in Pennsylvania from July 1-3, 1863, was the bloodiest of the war -- resulting in an estimated 51,000 total casualties -- and many historians consider it to be the turning point of the Civil War. Harold Holzer, chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation Chairman, moderates the discussion. This is the second in a two-part series on the battle hosted by the New-York Historical Society.

History Bookshelf: Terry Teachout

2013-06-15T12:00:00

Terry Teachout discusses his biography of jazz musician Louis Armstrong and his impact on music and culture. Teachout portrays Armstrong as extremely talented and witty, but sometimes difficult with volatile temper. Teachout is the Wall Street Journal drama critic and chief culture critic for Commentary magazine. This event took place at Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, DC.

Oral Histories: Michael Conway

2013-06-15T08:00:00

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.

Senate Debates Immigration Reform Bill

2013-06-12T00:00:00

As the Senate continues to debate the Immigration bill, senators discuss amendments they are proposing to the legislation. On Wednesday, Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) spoke on the Senate floor about their amendments to secure the U.S. borders. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a member of the "Gang of 8" which put together the immigration bill, claimed that the bill addresses border security and argued that Coat's amendment would only sideline the reform act.

First Ladies: Ida McKinley

2013-06-10T00:00:00

On C-SPAN's "First Ladies: Influence & Image," the life and times of Ida McKinley, wife of the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley.

Life Portraits: William McKinley

2013-06-09T21:00:00

In this program from our 1999 "American Presidents: Life Portraits" series we focused on William McKinley's life and career. Among the issues discussed were his family life, his political career, the Spanish-American War, and his assassination. Historians and authors also looked at his correspondence and artifacts at the McKinley Museum and at the McKinley National Memorial in Canton, Ohio. Sam Vasbinder, author of The Architectural Symbolism of the McKinley Memorial, is one of the guests.

President John F. Kennedy's "Peace Speech"

2013-06-09T09:25:00

President Kennedy’s commencement address at American University when he called for high-level negotiations with the Soviet Union, a nuclear test ban treaty and an end to the Cold War. June 10th marks the 50th anniversary of his “Peace Speech” in 1963.

The Presidency: JFK Remembered

2013-06-09T08:30:00

June 10th marks the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s commencement address at American University, when he called for high-level negotiations with the Soviet Union, a nuclear test ban treaty and an end to the Cold War. This is a conversation with two veteran journalists, Tom Brokaw and Nick Clooney, on the Kennedy presidency and the significance of his “Peace Speech.” This program was hosted by American University’s School of Communication and the Newseum.

American Artifacts: Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial

2013-06-09T08:00:00

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial overlooks Washington D.C. from the heights of Arlington National Cemetery. As the nation commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War – and after a six-year restoration effort – the house once again looks much like the home that Lee knew. Built by George Washington Parke Custis, the step-grandson of George Washington, it was originally a memorial to the first president. Robert E. Lee married Custis’ daughter, Mary. It was at Arlington House that Lee resigned from the U.S. Army at the outset of the Civil War. Now it stands as the only national memorial to a Confederate leader, recognizing Lee’s post-war public efforts at reconciliation.

Lectures in History: Post-Cold War U.S. Foreign Policy

2013-06-08T20:00:00

Oregon State University professor Christopher McKnight Nichols teaches a class on Post-Cold War U.S. Foreign Policy, focusing on the period between 1989 and 2001. The class looks at military engagements by the United States during the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations, including Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Haiti and Serbia -- as well as the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia and Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf. Oregon State University is in Corvallis.

Eleanor Roosevelt & Human Rights

2013-06-08T19:00:00

Eleanor Roosevelt biographer Blanche Weisen Cook talks about the legacy of the former first lady and her commitment to human rights around the world. Ms. Cook published “Eleanor Roosevelt Volume one” in 1992 and is currently writing the third and final volume. She spoke at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.

The Civil War: Death, Mourning & the Civil War White Houses

2013-06-08T18:00:00

Author Catherine Clinton discusses how both President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate President Jefferson Davis suffered the loss of a child while in office and how it impacted their wives. In 1862, the Lincolns lost their 11-year old son, Willie, from what was believed to be typhoid fever. In1864, the Davises lost their four-year old son, Joseph, in a fatal fall at the Confederate White House in Richmond. Professor Clinton also explores mid-19th century mourning practices and etiquette. The National Archives in Washington, DC, hosted this event.

History Bookshelf: Julia Scheeres

2013-06-08T12:00:00

On this History Bookshelf, Julia Scheeres presents a history of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, a cult that attracted hundreds to Jonestown, Guyana, where on November 18, 1978, they engaged in a mass murder-suicide. Nine hundred and nine men, woman and children died at the compound, and several others who had been investigating the cult were assassinated at a nearby airstrip, including U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan and three members of the media. This event took place at Books Inc. in Berkeley, California.

Life & Legacy of Civil Rights Leader Medgar Evers

2013-06-08T10:00:00

Medgar Evers was a Mississippi field officer for the NAACP when he was gunned down in his driveway by a sniper on June 12, 1963. To mark the 50^th anniversary of his death, the Newseum hosted a conversation with Evers’ widow Myrlie Evers, former NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, and Jerry Mitchell, an investigative reporter whose work helped convict – some 30 years later – segregationist Byron De La Beckweth in Evers’ murder.