Palace gate way. From his palace, shah abbas ruled a reborn, expanding persia. He built roads and bridges. But even his empire finally crumbled. Centuries later reza shaw group to power. Land reforms change of old patterns and bring hope to the people. His palace is typical of the architecture of modern tehran. Former rulers lived in the rose garden palace. In its mirrored throne room is one of the worlds most fabulous objects, the peacock throne. This golden seat of state was designed so the occupant sat cross legged with his back against a bolster crusted with pearls and rubies in gold settings. It was brought persia 200 years ago. Above is the jeweled peacock. Tehran is the capital of iran located in the north. Tehran is a modern city with roots in the past. The great muslim religious college is one of the intellectual centers of the islamic world. These young men are studying to become mullahs religious leaders. A woman wearing the enveloping shroud is a reminder that, even here in this modern city, are strong links with eastern tradition. New buildings and modern apartments are among the visible signs of progress in tehran. At their national university, young iranians with a growing spirit of National Pride are becoming the doctors, teachers engineers, and leaders of the future. Esfahan is the art and craft center of iran. As it was in the day of shah abbas. Much of the imperial splendor survives. And in the bazaar, the ancient crafts, like copper smithing continue little changed. Modern machinery has come to iran but it is still far less difficult to hire a skilled hand craftsman by the day than to buy a machine to do his job. The hands of craftsmen turn their special skill to the creation of fine articles of silver. Machinery will never be able to replace craftsmen like these. Their skills are not easily acquired. For 50 years, their hands have guided tiny chisels. None over 1 10 the size of a finger. One of the worlds great silver masters creates things of lasting loveliness. This small case is ornamented with figures of legendary heroes in a persia long ago. The shop windows display other traditional arts. Here are miniature paintings. Themes used today are little changed from those of the great shah abbas. The technique is little changed. Men sit all day, seeming scarcely to move a muscle. His brush is three camel hairs. This is some of the work he does. The best known product is the persian rug. An average rug is made up of at least 1 million tiny knots, each must be made by hand. The knots make the pile of the rug. The foundation of the rug consists of a thread wound between large wooden rollers. Rug industry wages are low. One of these skilled weavers earns less in a week than an average American Worker receives for two hours of work. After the rose have been tied, they are held in place with this hammer. Childrens tiny hands tie the smallest knots of the finest design. Although employment of children is discouraged by new labor laws. As modern industry like this textile mill comes, owners and workers alike adjust to the problems of the machine age. Shiraz is the capital of the fars province. The monumental city gates suggest the beauty of shiraz whose history is full of the names of astronomers and poets. The climate is agreeable. Oranges grow near reflecting pools in which muslim poets saw the tranquility of their faith. With this monument, shiraz honors the poet sadih. 700 years ago he wrote poetry that is still the basis of the living persian language today. The people of shiraz are among the most progressive in iran. Behind the caravans still used for transport rises their grain elevator. They built a fine new Technical School where young men are learning to use machine tools, reducing irans dependence on foreign manufacturers. They point with special pride to their rapidly expanding medical school in which young people are being trained to fill a shortage of doctors. Some of the students are women evidence of change disturbing to the conservative muslim clergy. Energy has not reached much of rural iran. About 90 of the people live in villages. This one exists because it has water. Drawn by a primitive hoist. Three centuries ago, elaborate Irrigation Systems operated. The land fed twice the present population. Today, this voiced reaches only 60 feet. Its capacity is two goat skins about two gallons of water per minute. The Village People come here to wash their clothes. And in the same water, they do their dishes. They see nothing wrong about having the sheep and goats come to drink at the same source from which they draw their water to take home for cooking and drinking. A girl carries on her head the quart of water she has walked half a mile to get. She has not heard of the dangers of bacteria in drinking water. It is cold and dusty in winter and much more uncomfortable in the summer because of the flies. At home, her mother makes bread from wheat flour, which is the familys share of the crop. The land owner owns the top field. Sickness breeds easily. It comes from dust, flies, unclean drinking water, and a lack of soap because soap is expensive. The main food is bread and only occasionally are there vegetables and a little goat milk. Meat is scarce. The diet is mostly bread and not much else. For all their poverty, these people are kind and decent honest, honorable, and friendly. Their bedding is the most precious thing they own. They have a broken kerosene lantern, a teapot, cups and saucers, a mirror, and a picture of the shop. Together with their clothing and cooking utensils, these things are all this hardworking family owns. The house has two rooms, a sleeping room upstairs, and a cooking room downstairs. This is the only stairway. Mother is baking bread this morning. Although iran is rich in Oil Oil Products are still too expensive for this family. So mother walked 15 miles to gather twigs for her fire. Father walks to work and realizes he is neither much better nor much worse off than his neighbors or most of the 16 Million People of iran. As he works in the fields with the landlords oxen, he knows that little has changed in 25 centuries. There is still the old system of Land Ownership that requires tenants to pay 80 of their crops in exchange for the privilege of working the landowners land. The only changes are clothing and the steel on the wooden plow. Change is coming as the great Natural Resources of iran are developed. The most important resource is oil. At one of the Worlds Largest refineries, developed by british interests, iranian oil has been the subject of bitter dispute. With no tradition of mechanical experience, iranian technicians are developing skills to operate complex machinery. High wages have attracted men from all of the country. To work in the unfamiliar field of technical equipment. Men from the highland tribes men from the city bazaars of have put on the workmans helmet. This is the new man of iran, a man who looks with hope to the time when, with further development of industry and her great Natural Resources, iran may know against some of the glory that darius knew. Ruling over persepolis and the mightiest empire the world had ever known. All weekend, American History tv is featuring lexington, home to horse racing facilities that breed and sell racing horses. Horse racing contributes to the economy. City tours recently visited many sites showcasing lexingtons history. Learn more about lexington on American History tv. Gwen welcome to the Mary Todd Lincoln house. We have the distinction of being the first Historic Site in the nation to honor a first lady. This is the girlhood home of mary todd went on to marry one of our greatest president s Abraham Lincoln. Mary todd was born in lexington in 1818, the fourth of seven children. Unfortunately, when she was just six years old, her mother died after complications during the birth of her seventh child. She passed away after childbirth. A year and a half later, robert, who had been scouting for a second wife to help care for his large young family, he remarried a woman named Betsy Humphrey and she became stepmother to the six young todd children who were alive at that time. And in addition to caring for them and raising them, she had more. Nine children of her own in 14 years. This house is almost 5500 square feet. It is a twostory brick home. It is quite large but was originally built as an inn not a private residence. So it is appropriate that it has a large space. We are now in Mary Todd Lincolns bedroom. We know she did not have her own room. Sometimes she shared her room with a sister or even with a cousin. In addition to the children, they had family members who lived with them over the years. Mary todd came from an affluent and educated family and that education was provided for the not only provided for the men of the family. She came from a line of educated women and her education was exceptional. Not because her Family Supported education for women, but because of the Education Opportunities in lexington at that time. She began her education at wards academy. It was within walking distance of her birthplace. They began classes at 5 00 in the morning. She would walk to school for the morning session. Then they would have breakfast and continue after breakfast. Mary is remembered as being one of the brightest people in school. When mary todd was 13 and the family moved to this home, she was enrolled in an academy that was a school in lexington for young women. It is where they would complete their education, sort of an institution of higher education, but she was there from about age 13 to 17. They learned everything that would be expected of women from that area era. They learned french. By some accounts, they were only allowed to speak french at school. They also learn higher level subjects like math and literature and even the sciences. This all means that mary todd became one of the most educated women of her generation. Part of that is because of the Family Support and the opportunities in lexington. When you contrast that with the education of her husband, it is impressive. She had at least nine years of formal schooling but Abraham Lincoln said if you added all of his schooling, it might account for a year or so. Those that remember mary as a young woman the accounts are quite flattering remembering a woman who was attractive, full of life and energy, vivacious, many accounts of her being quite spirited and stories associated with that. One of those stories was when she was 13 she rode her pony from here to henry clays estate. Henry clay being the most important political figure in kentucky at the time. She knocked on his door and requested an interview. He was otherwise engaged, but she put her point across that she was there to see him and he needed to come out because she wanted him to give his assessment of her new horse because he was a wellknown horseman. He did so and her assessment was her pony seemed as spirited as its diminutive jockey. Marys home life is sometimes remembered as having some tension. She was one of many children from her fathers first and second marriages. They had a large household with a lot of children. There are some views that all the children did not receive all the attention they might have wanted. One of the things people have speculated about is that her interest in politics may have been so she can garner some of her fathers attention amidst all this competition for attention in household. The dining room is quite opulent, set to entertain prominent guests of the era. The todd family did entertain other influential families. One of the most notable persons they entertained was henry clay. Hes arguably one of the greatest statesmen to come out of kentucky and was a member of the same Political Party as marys father. Robert actively campaigned for henry clay. Other notable kentuckians include Richard M Johnson who became Vice President for Martin Van Buren and cassius clay, who became Abraham Lincolns ambassador to russia. The art of being a hostess was a real skill in that era and it was in this home and in this room that mary todd learn those skills under betsy todd. Mary todds relationship with her stepmother is sometimes remembered as tents. Theres a lot of drama portrayed around it. Sometimes her stepmother is remembered as a strict disciplinarian, but there is also a take that she did not have genuine affection for her step children. However, within the todd emily among the siblings, they did not notice a distinction between whether they were step or full siblings. Her stepmother, when she married robert todd, she certainly would have known the responsibility she was taking on. She had a very large household and a large number of children. She had nine children of her own in 14 years, so she was experiencing a lot of physical stress due to the endless cycle of having children and managing large households. The room we are in right now is the family parlor. The informal area of the home where the adults and children spent time together. We have the center table that belong to the todds. A center table in the 1800s was representative of the center of family life. The families spent quite a bit of time here playing games and cards. The family was made up of the mother, father and children. In the case of the todds, the household included in slave africanamericans. On average, they had five men and women who provided the Domestic Labor and child care. The majority of the care in the home. So Mary Todd Lincoln grew up in a slaveholding family where she was not only exposed to slavery but exposed to all the debates raging about the topic of the day. The topic of the day being slavery. Lexington and Fayette County had a population that was 42 enslaved africanamericans. She was surrounded by a community of enslaved persons. The topic of the day was very complicated. It was not as simple as being proslavery or antislavery. There were a lot of views on the spectrum in regard to slavery. Her family members held different views. In addition to her father being a supporter of the colonization of africanamericans back to africa, she had a step grandmother in favor of gradual emancipation. So her stepmothers mother, mary brown humphreys, chose nine slaves in her will, but they were to be freed over a time of decades. There are individuals who are still enslaved at the time of the civil war in the 1860s. This is a conservative antislavery position they were not radical such as abolitionists, but tended to be along the lines of grandmother humphries. When mary todd was 21 years old, that was of age. She made the choice to leave lexington to move to springfield, illinois and live with a sister who had served as a second mother figure to mary and some of her other siblings. The motivation for doing so is unknown, but theres a lot of speculation around it. Some folks speculate the choice was speculated motivated by the desire to get away from her stepmother that home life was difficult and might have held her toward springfield. It is noteworthy that mary todd was not the only sister to do this. When they live with their older sister, they did the social scene going through all the parties and political gatherings. All of those sisters found husbands and were married in springfield and made their homes in springfield with their husbands. It is possible one of the motivations for moving to springfield was the opportunity that the west provided. We are in the guest bedroom of the home. Its the largest bedroom in the house and is intended to have the most impressive furniture and wallpaper. It is common in that era. You want to have the most impressive furnishing for your guests. Most important guests were abraham and mary lincoln. They came to lexington several times as a married couple. The most important visit was a threeweek stay in the fall of 1847. Abraham lincoln had been elected to congress and they were traveling from their home in springfield, illinois, to washington d c. They decided to detour and visit their family in lexington. They were here for three weeks. It was the first opportunities for many of the family to meet her husband. Shell have the first opportunity to meet some of her own siblings. They were born after she had moved away to springfield. With the lincoln were there to young sons at the time, robert known as bobby and edward, known as eddie. They were three and one years old. There were no recorded impressions from lincoln on his time in lexington. There are family stories about his visit. Most notable is the story indicating Abraham Lincoln enjoyed the todd library. They had a very large personal library with over 350 books with all sorts of works within it. Everything from politics to poetry. He is said to have taken a book across the shelf to come up to the secondfloor hall way and stretch out to read. Marys upbringing here prepared her for her future. She was educated in lexington and it was a cultured environment where she learned the art of entertaining, conversation, and she began her own political career, becoming knowledgeable about Political Affairs and having an interest in them. This sets the stage for her future in marrying a politician and ascending to the position of first lady. Throughout the weekend, American History tv is featuring mexican lexington, kentucky. Learn more about lexington and other stops at the span. Org ci tiestour. You are watching American History tv. All weekend, every weekend, on cspan3. 70 years ago, the first atomic bomb was tested near los alamos, new mexico. A few weeks later, Nuclear Bombs were dropped on hiroshima and not a sake. Here is part of a 1965 army film describing nuclear capability. And american desert. This is an early test before our country, with 100 other nations decided to cease atmosphere testing of Nuclear Weapons. Our Nuclear Power is such that the combined destructive power of every bomb blown up by man is like a firecracker against the sun. This is the awesome power. The power we have today is more than that of any adversary or combination of adversaries. The fact we have it is the greatest determined for nuclear war deterrent for nuclear war. Helping us are radio installations, part of an Early Warning system. The nerve center of our Defense System is an underground headquarters of Strategic Air command. No surprise Ballistic Missile attack would catch us unprepared. In underground silos enough retaliatory power would ensure the destruction of any aggressor nation. This is the terrible power that stands ever ready. This is the awesome power, always under control, as it is here in scotland. A missile is being lowered into a nuclear submarine. The United States is able to launch Ballistic Missiles in a matter of seconds from beneath the sea. Our Nuclear Weapons can be delivered by air against any enemy troop, any part of the earth. They weapons this air armada can deliver today are capable of even greater to struck the force found in this early Pacific Ocean test. [explosion] this is part of the military strength of the United States, the greatest of any nation in the history of the world. This is power of retaliation that has made and keeps full Scale NuclearWorld Nuclear war the least probable of any contest. Announcer American History tv is featuring cspans original series, first ladies, on sunday nights threat the rest of the year. Cspan produced this series encouraged in cooperation with the historical association. We tell the stories of americas 45 first ladies. Now Frances Cleveland on first ladies, influence and image