Images here, these images are of three of our noteworthy president s. Every ten years or so, about 700 political scientists and historians across the country rank our president s. Now, who knows how our current president is going to rank . Nonetheless, whenever those rankings come out, generally these three guys here rank at the top. Sometimes itll be lincoln, sometimes washington, sometimes f. D. R. But the interesting thing about this is that we do not know what george really looked like. We have images of lincoln. We have photograph images. And you can follow those photographs over time and see how he changed, how he aged. And of course we have images of f. D. R. We even have some images of him in his wheelchair. And generally the press did not take images of him in his wheelchair. But with George Washington, he was there before photography so we dont have photographs of him. What we have instead are artists representations and those are not always very accurate. I mean, you look at some representational abstract art and does it really look like a cube . I dont know. Maybe not. Well, George Washington, weve spent the better part of 14 weeks already kind of addressing him, talking about him. We know that he is a famous man. We know he was commander of the Continental Army. We know that he had served in the Continental Congress for a short period of time before he accepted command. We know that he is subsequently going to become president , first president of the United States. So obviously he is a famous man in our history. But he is also a man who had faults. A man who had insecurities. A man who had vices. He is a man who was a human being just like all of us. Because he was a human being he was also a complex man. A many sided man. The problem with paintings is they dont show that kind of complex character. What i want to do is spend a little time talking about the myths of George Washington and then we will then talk about how he made choices that ultimately brought him to the point where he became their most revered man in america. Well, you probably know that george is considered the father of our country. But do you know george, when he married martha, he wasnt able to sire children. He wasnt able to give martha children. And could he really be the father of our children if he couldnt sire children himself . I mean, think about when the country decided to make a monument to him. What did they choose to make . The monument is this giant phallic shaped symbol which is kind of ironic for the man who couldnt sire children himself. But even though he couldnt, here is the George Washington shown with marthas children and when he married martha he did accept her children. He became a paternalistic, loving father to her children. So in that respect, you know, it shows the character of a person who accepted her children. It showed paternalism, acceptance. Now, most of the stories that we have of washington came from the first real biography of washington written by mason weems and it was published just shortly after washingtons death. The washington that weems talks about is a man that is like thor, a man who was larger than life. Weems talks about George Washington throwing a Silver Dollar across the Potomac River. A couple problems with that story. The first is there were no Silver Dollars. So how could he throw a Silver Dollar that didnt exist . The second, the Potomac River where mount vernon is, is about a mile wide. I dont care if youre nolan ryan or Roger Clemens youre probably not going to throw a Silver Dollar across a mile wide river. Well, one of washingtons grand sons did say that as a young man George Washington had thrown a piece of slate across his the river at his childhood home, which was on the rappahannock, not quite as wide. You know what happens when you throw slate . If you throw it right itll skim and bounce across the river. So that might have been possible. But what weems is trying to do is give you an image of a man who is larger than life, who had this great, physical ability, this great, athletic prowess. We know that george is a large man. He stood about 63, about my height. He had a long, straight nose, high cheek bones. At his heaviest he was significantly less than i am somewhere in the neighborhood of 220 or so. At his lightest he was probably about 175, 180. That day and age they didnt have the obesity problems we experience today. But virtually every school kid learns that George Washington had what kind of teeth . Wooden. Wooden, false teeth. Yeah. And that is just absolutely wrong. I mean, here you can see his a pair of his dentures. Whats interesting about it, you notice right here, thats a spring. Its a lead base that is Spring Loaded so that when you put this in, your jaw keeps it shut and when your mouth opens the spring pops it open. The teeth, themselves, are animal teeth, human teeth, pieces of ivory, and i am convinced if you had to wear that thing in your mouth it would probably be far more uncomfortable than wooden teeth. Well, those teeth here always play a central role in washingtons life. Youll see right here, theres no tooth there because even at the time of his presidency george had one of his own teeth and the dentures slipped right down over the tooth. So he is able to highlight his tooth as well. That mouth and those teeth become a big part of the story about who George Washington is. Now, this portrait right here, this portrait one of the most famous of washington is done by the artist Gilbert Stewart. Stewart, when he painted washington at this time, he was a young painter. This was one of his earliest commissions, and stewart was just absolutely terrified to meet the great general. So during the setting, stewart tried to make washington more at ease. He said something to the effect of, to washington, general washington, you must let yourself forget that you are general washington and i am stewart the painter. Well, washington gave a well intentioned reply. He said something to the effect that, well theres no need for me to forget that i am general washington and you are but stewart the painter. Kind of insulted stewart. He felt that washington was giving him a backhanded slap. Well, because of that, Gilbert Stewart got to portray washington, one of those images that we have of him, and this is one of the most famous, and when you look at that, what is the central feature of that painting . What is it . The mouth. Look at it. Its kind of clenched. And it looks like hes in some discomfort. Some kind of pain and from that image the view that we have of washington is that he is glum, that he is awkward, he is unapproachable, he is grumpy, perhaps. And that is not so. He wasnt a square jawed stiff shirt as this image of washington by stewart portrays him. I mean, the George Washington that we know, that historians have documented, was a George Washington who loved to have a good time. But you remember what ive told you about washington is that he believed that there is the personal man and then theres the public man and those people who had the personal relationship would not display that personal relationship in public. The private man had a public persona. And youve stayed outside of arms reach. Well, this was a George Washington who enjoyed playing cards. He enjoyed cock fights, horse races. This is the George Washington who loved to dance. It was reported that george was the best dancer in all of virginia. This is the George Washington who loved to hunt and fish. He loved going to the theater. In fact, his favorite play was tragedy of kato and if you know anything about this performance, its the story of a young, selfless patriot who sacrifices himself to the greater patriot cause. Maybe because washington felt that he was that guy. He also liked hamlet. He also liked julius caesar. Those were a couple of his favorites. And this was the George Washington who had an eye for the attractive women. In the 18th century she was considered an attractive woman. Not only was she an attractive woman, she was the widow of a gentleman and she was very wealthy. So george is going to end up marrying up. He is not this squarejawed stuffed shirt. He is not unapproachable. But he is the man that is going to keep himself in proper decorum. Ive referenced this to you several times about how he couldnt control his anger. He always had trouble controlling his anger. And this particular episode happens during the Constitutional Convention and well reference it again on thursday. How Gouverneur Morris a new yorker, a man of questionable virtue, was good friends and drinking buddies with Alexander Hamilton and he was boasting that he could treat washington just like he would treat any other of his best friends. And morris and hamilton made a wager. Hamilton said, if morris could treat him treat washington like any other friend in public, then hamilton would buy dinner and wine for morris and 12 of his friends. Well, on the night in question, a public event, George Washington as we know will become the president of the Constitutional Convention and he was hosting an event that evening and Gouverneur Morris comes in. It was a public event, big crowd. Morris comes in and immediately reaches out his hand to shake georges hand. A gentleman would do that. But as they shook hands, morris took that second hand and brought it up and began patting george on the shoulder and saying, general washington, my dear friend, its so good to see you looking so well. What had happened, that familiarity, washington pulled his hand back. He took three steps back. And he just glared at morris with this evil, angry stare. And the people who were there froze. They simply stood and watched. And morris slinked off into the crowd. Morris later told hamilton that, i had won the bet. I will collect my wine and dinner. But that is nothing i will ever do again. Because morris and washington would never be close enough that morris could come up and pat him on the shoulder and treat him with the familiarity that you would treat a close, personal acquaintance. Well, thats because washington maintained that dignity, that personal space. Now, did that mean that washington had an uncontrollable anger he could not control . No. It just means that he believed in proper decorum. Now, probably the greatest or most famous image of george, which was not done during his lifetime, this image here, does it look familiar . Where is the original . Down the street at the Carter Museum. Absolutely. Go down, take a look at it. But this came from the story of mason weems. Mason weems says that the young george, for his 6th birthday, his father gave him a new hatchet. And the young boy was so excited about getting this gift that he went around and began barking literally every tree he could find. And he barked one of his fathers favorite, english cherry trees. And when his father approached him, according to weems, young george simply threw his hands up and said, i did it, father. You know i cannot tell a lie. Well, thats the image that school kids for the last 200 plus years have been told. This 1939 painting, by grant wood, which as i said is down at the Carter Museum just about a mile or so away from here, shows mason weems pulling back the curtain. And it shows the young george being truthful to his father, but the thing that i find particularly interesting about this image is, look. The same head as you have on the dollar bill. Thats the young head. This is the old head. They essentially look the same. Now, the interesting thing about this story . Never happened. Theres no evidence that this ever happened. Weems had simply made the story up to portray washington as a man of great honesty. That even when the trouble might bring problem for young george, he had to be honest to his father. Well, weems also tells us another story about the young George Washington the surveyor who is out on the frontier and bad weather is setting in. He finds a local tavern where he can spend the night and he goes in and he orders a dram of whiskey. And the barkeep gives him a dram of whiskey and george offers a skin. He offers a coon skin in payment. Well, the barkeep takes the coon skin and in return gives washington 158 rabbit skins. Thats a lot of rabbit skins to carry around. Well, according to weems, george began buying drinks for everyone in the establishment. And during the evening, he turned 158 rabbit skins back over to the barkeep. Now, what weems is trying to tell us in that story is that this is the George Washington who was generous. This is the George Washington who is kind. This is the George Washington that we want to remember. So you think of these images that weems has been telling us. Hes honest. Hes got this great, physical skill. He is generous and kind. He has a temper, but he can control it. Well, this is the man that has come down to us as the, you know, more or less the savior of american mankind. This is the story of the man who, remember how we talked about providential inspiration . This is george as providential inspiration. And even some years later, chief Justice Joseph story made the comment from his commentaries on the constitution that george was the boast of all america, the first in war, the first in peace, and the first in the hearts of his countrymen. So what makes him first in the heart of his countrymen . Well, george, as a young man, before the scope of this course, you know, george is born on february 11th, 1731. Is that the day we celebrated his birthday . No. That was the julian calendar. And in the early 1750s, they changed to the gregorian calendar so it moved his birthday 11 days ahead, so february 22nd, 1731. And as a young man, he was obsessed with becoming a gentleman. And what did a gentleman entail . It meant having wealth, owning property. Potentially owning slaves. Having a spouse. Being successful. Well, the young george when he was 11 his father died. And young george ended up having to live with his older half brother, lawrence. Now, lawrence was a gentleman. He had a grand home that he had named after admiral edward vernon, who he had served under during king georges war. And from that, young george saw what it meant to be a gentleman. He saw that status equated to wealth, so he wanted to become wealthy. And you remember time and again ive said that george is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But he does learn from others. And while he was staying with his half brother, he learned that he, too, could become successful if he made the right choices. So as a young man, he became a surveyor. And at the time, being a surveyor was on par with a doctor, a lawyer, because surveyors were always going out on the frontier to survey land. If youre good at it, you have a trained eye, you see the land that is advantageous, the land that is not. Often times you could take your payment in land. Land is something that could bring wealth for the future. So the young man began acquiring land. Now, the problem is, in 1752, lawrence died. And the question was who would inherit mount vernon . Ultimately one of lawrences daughters inherited it. She died shortly thereafter. And it passed down to young george. By 1753, here was the guy who had the grand plantation home. This is the view that most of us have of mount vernon. That view is the view from the veranda, the porch. Looking out on to the Potomac River. Is that the front of the house . Or is that the front of the house . Thats the other side. You know, its interesting. When lawrence was alive, he considered the front of the house this. Because it was there on the Potomac River. The potomac was the highway to the sea. The sea took you to england and he saw himself as an englishman. As george takes over the home, george will consider this to be the front of the house, because this faces to the frontier. That face to the land that he would eventually own. Well, i think thats a huge difference for lawrence and for george. It helps define really who george is. George saw himself not so much as an englishman, but more as an american. George also had the good fortune in 1758 to marry Martha Dandridge custis who was reportedly the wealthiest woman in virginia. By marrying her, he married the widow of a gentleman, so by marrying her george became a gentleman. With her wealth and his drive and determination to secure wealth, the washingtons would become one of the wealthiest couples in america. He was a plantation owner, farmer, initially growing tobacco, but coming to the realization that tobacco was a crop that was declining in value and so by the time of the revolution what was he starting to cultivate . Wheat. Remember you guys read breams book Tobacco Culture how the Tobacco Culture was playing out. Well, this is the George Washington who by the time of his death will own 11,000 acres. He had this ambition for wealth. It made him inquisitive, sometimes contentious. And even after he had established himself, he would insist upon exact payment of every debt owed to him. In his youth, young george wanted to be a British Military officer. At the beginning of this course remember we had made reference to how young george was the guy who started the seven years war. Theyre at the glen when half king had killed the young french diplomat and then george rescued the remaining french prisoners. But then he himself would be captured at Fort Necessity in july and with that he was forced to sign a document written in what language . French, which george doesnt read. In that dopt he accepts responsibility for the death. In that document he accepts responsibility for the death. Well, because of that, george felt he had to redeem himself. During the seven years war he positioned himself. He negotiated to try to secure a british Officers Commission. In fact, general Edward Braddock promised him an Officers Commission and he was on that expedition with braddock and then of course what happened . The disaster failed miserably. The french and indians attacked. Decimated the british force. Braddock would be killed. Washington would lead the survivors back to safety and braddocks successor, jeffrey amherst, would not honor that commitment to give washington an Officers Commission. And because of that, young george felt he felt that he and other colonials would always remain in a subservient position, subservient position as long as they were british subjects. He would finally get the commission he sought, but it wouldnt be until 1775, and it would not be a british army commission. Instead, it would be commander of continental forces in this revolutionary protest. And as he takes command of the Continental Army, young george told the politicians he would not accept pay for his service, however, he did expect that his expenses would be reimbursed. And, in fact, through the course of the war, year after year, george will be reappointed year after year as the commander, even though people like Horatio Gates and people like charles lee were angling to have washington replaced, washington stays in command. He doesnt take the pay, but he does accept expenses for his travel. And, in fact, every winter martha would come stay with him and, in fact, at one Point Washington even asked for expense her expenses, because shes there. She keeps him entertained. Keeps him happy. And also works to make the plight of the troops better. Well, over the last eight weeks or so, weve talked about how washington was as a military commander. And we pointed out that if you were a football coach here in texas he would be fired. A record of 391. Weve kind of detailed what engagements he won, you know, but if youre 391, how do you keep men willing to fight for you . How do you keep them willing to sacrifice for the larger cause . Well, thats what george was good at. George was good at motivating men, convincing them that the cause they were fighting for was larger than them, themselves. Those three victories he won, of course, you remember the new York Campaign, where he had been beaten, battered, and bruised in brooklyn and driven over to manhattan island, driven as far north as white plains, then rushing south just with lord corn wallaces cavalry nipping at his heels and they crossed the Delaware River in 1776. What washington learned from that, during the new York Campaign, washington had divided his army. And the british had used concentrated force to crush those smaller pieces. The one thing you can say about washington, he is not a military genius, but he learns from his mistakes. And he surrounds himself with capable people and he listens to their suggestions. And what he learned from that new York Campaign when you divide your army, you make yourself susceptible to the enemy. Well, as his army crossed over the delaware, he would begin striking at the divided british army. Remember as i showed you that image that george was probably hunched down in the barge hanging on for dear life, can you imagine one of those ice floes hits the boats, dumps him out. It probably wouldnt be a refreshing experience. But, nonetheless, his army did cross over. They attacked the british. The hessians at trenton. They scored an easy victory. Six americans wounded. A week later, he engaged British Forces at trenton. Pardon me. At princeton. Im sorry. He engaged British Forces at princeton. And wins the viktorary therctor. He has won 2 of his 3 victories. Now, you remember what that tie was. That was monmouth courthouse in the summer of 1778 as the british evacuated philadelphia and marched back to new york. Remember, washington wanted to attack the rear guard of the british. And when charles lee refused to engage the rear guard, washington took command himself. During the day they fought the british to a standstill in that stifling summer heat. That was his tie. The americans held the battle field but the british had a tactical victory because they were able to evacuate their armies to new york. And then that third victory like winning the game on the last play of the game. Throwing that long t. D. Pass. Now, if he had been coach at tcu, and he beat texas on that last play, even at 391 he would probably be retained. But, nonetheless, winning that victory at york town, four years after the great victory at saratoga, that was the event that brought him in. There were still negotiations to take place. The british still occupied. But george had kept the men in the field. He had kept them committed to the cause. He had shown that while he wasnt a military genius he was a competent tactician. He was persistent. He is a natural leader of men. He was a guy who was able to convince those soldiers time and time and time again to renew their enlistment. Remember joseph plumb martin. Time and again, what did he do . Reenlisted. Because the cause was bigger than him. Here is a guy who had built his entire life on acquiring things, becoming richer and holding more land and becoming a gentleman and, you know, grabbing hold of things. And he had been pretty good at it. George makes a name for himself. He cements his place in history. Its not where he grabs things but where he, instead, lets things go. In fact, remember last thursday we were talking about the trials and tribulations of the articles period. The economy was sour and there was political incompetency. There was no sense of political control. And yet, soldiers were still in the field because the british hadnt quite evacuated new york yet. And there north of the city near west point was the encamped American Army at newberg. And there soldiers were grumbling. Especially the officers. They were led to believe that they were not going to be paid for their time. They were not going to be paid for their service. They were going to simply be dismissed and wiped away. Well, washington understood that. He understood their frustration, their anger. And on march 15th, 1783, washington would he would go to the contonment there and meat with officers. There was a letter that had been floated among the officer corps in which they suggested that the officers rise up and march on the civilian government and seize control. In fact, a year before a continental colonel named lewis nicola in may of 82 had written georgia letter in which he suggested that george use the army and seize power and make himself a king, more or less a dictator. And washington had read that letter and was mad as hell. He wrote a scathing reply to nicola. And when nicola got washingtons reply, he sent three letters back to washington over time persistently apologizing for such a suggestion. Now, he was loyal to his commander and he was loyal to his government. So on march 15th, on that day george spent the entire day crafting a speech, agonizing over every word that he was going to say to those officers. And that evening, he went to the officers meeting. And as he came in, these were battle trained soldiers. These are men who had served with george throughout much of the conflict. And as he went in, their cold, icy stares almost froze george, himself. He was friends with a lot of these men but you would never know by the look on their faces. And as george began to speak, he tried to explain to these officers the larger cause they were fighting for and how they should remain loyal to that cause. And he looked out and there was still this icy stare. He remembered he had a letter in his jacket from the Continental Congress. Another letter where the congress was promising the officers would be paid and they would be given their land as promised. So he pulled that letter out. And he opened it up because he was going to read it to them. And then all of a sudden he paused. And he quietly made the comment, ive already grown gray in the service of my country. Now it seems im going blind. And all of a sudden, those icy stares melted. What george had just done, he admitted his frailty. He admitted his weakness. He admitted his vulnerability. That he had sacrificed so much for this cause that even his health was declining. And as he looked out over the crowd, many of those battle hardened soldiers had tears in their eyes. George simply folded up the letter, put it back in his coat, never read it, and walked out of the meeting. The officers then voted unanimously to remain loyal to george and remain loyal to their government. In fact, one of georges Staff Officers, one of his Staff Officers made the comment some years later that the United States are indebted for the republican form of government solely to the firm and determined republicanism of general washington at that time. That was a political performance and george had played it to a t. He had the chance to become king. King george i of america. And he did not accept it. In fact, nine months later, George Washington traveled to annapolis, maryland, and there he would finally once and for all surrender his sword to the civilian government. You can say that, perhaps, this is his greatest achievement. Because as he arrived there that morning, he had already said farewell to his troops, his Staff Officers, and he rode in to annapolis that day alone. He entered into the maryland state house. You can go to this room today. When i taught at the Naval Academy some years ago i took my students there to show them this momentous setting. Well, there the Continental Congress or the Articles Congress i should say, had convened. The galleries were full. What you see there in the background is, you see that whitehaired lady up there . Who is that supposed to be . In the artists depiction, its supposed to be martha. Martha wasnt there. She was back at mount vernon waiting for her husband to get back for christmas time. There were not throngs of women there in the galleries. The building was near full, but certainly martha was not there. And ultimately, when washington arrived, president mifflin, thomas mifflin, the president of the Articles Congress that year, he welcomed the general. And he read a statement, a statement that had been drafted by thomas jefferson. But before that statement, before mifflin read that statement, washington himself rose, having now finished the work assigned to me, i retire from the great theater of action. And bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose orders i have so long acted, i here offer my commission and take my leave of all the ploimemployments of pub life. Mifflin then rose and read his statement. In which he said, youve conducted the great military contest with wisdom and fortitude. Invariably regarding the rights of the civil power through all disasters and changes. What washington had done had not been done in a thousand years. Washington had all the power. He had control of the military. And he had simply turned it loose. In fact, he surrendered his sword, he left the maryland state house. He mounted his horse. Rode off to mount vernon. He was there by christmas time. The idea that the young man who had wanted everything and yet who had given up the ultimate pri prize, so to speak, that atests to the growth and development of that young mans character. A man who made the right decisions for the right reason. And, of course, after this episode we know what will happen as we will see on tuesday a Constitutional Convention and then and then we will see after the extent of this course that george will become the first president of the United States, and he will only serve two terms, even though people wanted him to serve of more terms. He established an unofficial twoterm tradition that politicians would follow until Franklin Delano roosevelt. Of course, that was the crisis of world war ii as well. One of the more interesting scenarios that happened after washington had retired from president , a young painter, a Young American painter named Benjamin West was actually in britain, and he was commissioned to paint a portrait of of an aging king george iii, and george making small talk with Benjamin West, he said, now, this general you had, George Washington. What is he doing now . And Benjamin West said, well, he has retired to private life, and hes returned to his farm in virginia, and he is a private citizen. And george iii kind of looked surprised and said something to the effect, if washington could do this, he is the greatest man in the world. He had done that. He simply walked away when he had everything in his hands, and i think when you combine all these stories about washington and you see the choices that he makes, you start to see the development of his character, the choices that he made for the betterment of his nation rather than for the betterment of him, that is the type of washing that a photograph or even that a portrait cannot portray. So, well open up the floor for questions now. Any questions, guys . You make up questions. Ill make up answers. No . No, no . Okay. Up here. How did they select george to be the commander of the Continental Army . Well, george had attended the Continental Congress wearing a military uniform, and, you know, he had served in the seven years war. He saw himself as a military man. He had read extensively about military treatises, and as he traveled to the Continental Congress most of those in the congress understood at that time, 1772 and 95, that these colonies were on the part to war, so washington was going to be prepared. And as he wore his uniform he was making a statement that he was prepared to be the commander of this military force. And its interesting that john ald amsa would make the nomination, and as he was making the nomination his cousin samuel adams was over there like he had eaten a case with a smile on his face because samuel was convinced that his cousin would nominate him to be the commander of the military but he nominated george because that brought virginia into the struggle, the most possiblelous, the biggest and most important colony, and by doing so it broadened the conflict from new england to the midatlantic in the south. Yeah. Other questions . Yeah. When did like the official recruitment for soldiers begin, and was it george who like initiated that . No. The Continental Congress issued a plea for soldiers. Okay. Yeah, and throughout the world, Continental Congress was constantly year after year making pleas for soldiers and offering different more or less different contracts. As we read about joseph plum martin he time and again would reenlist and get some reward for doing so. Some soldiers would reenlist and then skip and jump their contract and kind of blend into had the general public again and then find in another neighborhood, another place to reenlist to get the benefits. So, yeah, i mean, some people are less scrupulous than others. I know after the failure of the or the calls of confederation that he decided to come back to power. What was the decision that led him to come back . Its interesting that in 1775 george agreed to host had a meeting at mt. Vernon so that they could talk about navigation of the chesapeake and the Delaware River are, and you had a delegate from virginia and maryland and from new jersey there. What they realized as they were talking about these navigation and trade issues, they realized that this was a much bigger question than just the three colonies, so thats why you will get a convention the following year in annapolis where they tried to bring all the colonies together and only about nine or so will show up in annapolis, and what they agree there is that they will have another meeting in the spring of 1787, and you ultimately get 12 of the colonies show up there, 12 of 13. Those Rhode Islanders chose not to play well with others. Other questions . Okay. Guys, on thursday well come in and talk about the contusional convention and wrap it it up next tuesday. Have a great day, guys. Were featuring american historytv programs this week as a re view of whats available every weekend on cspan 3. For our final lectures in history night, we swing through the south, starting in atlanta at emery university. Professor Carroll Anderson discusses efforts in the early 1980s to register africanamerican voters in mississippi. American history tv to the at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan 3. American history tv on cspan 3 looks back at the influenza pandemics of 1918 and 1957 saturday night at 8 00 eastern on lex tours in history. Stony Brook University professor nancy toms compares the 1918 influenza pandemic to whats happening today. When they tell us not to shake hands or to, you know, sneeze into your elbow, thats a social distancing method. Exactly the same stuff they were telling americans to do at the turn of the last century. Why is this important . Because everyon though we have e astounding improvements in the Health Sciences we still cannot cure a virus. And sunday at 4 00 on real america, the 1957 film silent invader about a new influenza virus that emerged from asia. Metropolitan pittsburgh with approximately 1 million people, if we had this flu strike here, you would have approximately 200,000 people who would become ill on a four to sixweek period. This weekend on american historytv, on cspan 3. Well, coming up next, a history professor from the university of texas teaches a class on the life and career of civil rights leader ron walters. He began organizing sitins at segregated stores in kansas in 1958 and went on to academia where he helped to popularize africanamerican studies as a scholarly field. He also worked on Jesse Jacksons campaign in 1984 and 1988. Today were going to be talking about the life of ronald w. Walters and the search for black power, 1967 to 2010