Be here and humbled and honored by the turnout and look forward to taking questions and comments from the audience. Goare here because, one year today, president obama created the First Ever National park site devoted to reconstruction. We have dozens devoted to civil war. Of 2017, wenuary one devoted to reconstruction. People who one devoted to reconstruction. We set up this roundtable to bring together some of the played crucial roles in making that happen. To understand the process by which it came to be and give them a chance to tell historians and we should learn from it how we can be helpful and interesting partners. And to hear tales of how it came to be. I am crackdowns of the university of california. Im going to do a sound test. Bear with me. Hooray. We are in good shape. I am kate may serve from Northwestern University and im going to introduce the panel and go ahead. We decided every person on this panel is extraordinarily accomplished. To cut to doing that, the chase, we would to a short introduction. Michael allen was not able to be here today. In case you are going from your written program, mollie ross is here. She has done a lot of work for the park service. No one can take michaels plays but she will speak from the perspective of someone who was in the park service. Eric was not able to make it but he will come later for video that he made specifically for this event. He will be hearing from him virtually. Om the governor of arizona from 1978 to 1987 was the u. S. Secretary of the interior from 1993 until 2001. He is acting as counselor to Governor Brown of california working on issues of water reform. Eric stoner is a professor of history at columbia. His book was a reinterpretation of the. Mollie ross spent over 35 years in leadership in the National Park service i4 retiring. She helped president obama established 15 National Monuments including this one. Billy kaiser ling is the mayor of Beaufort South carolina. Prior to his election he worked on capitol hill. , we will asker do the first, we will ask the first question it began when i left law school. I had always kind of what the historical antecedents were of the revival of the civil rights on the american agenda. Beginning a promising. Right after the civil war and it disappeared from the agenda. Some years later, i am secretary of the interior, thanks to bill clinton. And we are in the monument business. I got acquainted with a academic who, in my judgment more than any other person has brought reconstruction back into its place in American History. I got acquainted with them and he said we ought to go down and i will show you around. Beaufort Port Royal Center as the best a living example of all of this reconstruction history. So we trekked off to South Carolina. Eric was my guide. , met all of the usual suspects the irrepressible mayor, mike allen from the park service and got a nice view of what this was all about the this seemed to be agreement that this was the right place to memorialize the reconstruction. Beginning terrific and all went downhill from there. Washington washington and looked at the clock and realized i was in the last few months of my administration and there was on a chance of getting this the agenda in the last 60 days of the administration. Reconstruction had no meaning. Most people thought reconstruction must ports refero highways and urges and highways and bridges and ports. Back andnally came checked around and gradually got with their work. On. There was not much going on. The park service, mike allen and South Carolina and his people were really jazzed by this. At the top of the park service in washington, no one had ever heard of the reconstruction. Comesars ticked by the Obama Administration. Andnearly 10 years have gone bd i thought we were back in business. I thought it was a slamdunk. But it was not. The people and in charge of these issues did not have much urgency. The peopleit was kind of still n the past. There were interesting objections. Was that we have to have a specific place owned by the federal government in order to ground legally ground the proclamation of a National Monument. So i call billy up governmentsoy what is down there that is owned by the federal gecko not a popular idea. Second obstacle was the Obama Administration was saying, before we use the antiquities, we want legislation sponsored was saying, before we use the antiquities, we want legislation sponsored locally to provide a platform of public discussion. And wonderhe atlas whose Congressional District. Dad news. The Congressional District representative was mark sanford. Nice enough guy but he was not going to connect with this. To bring this towards momentum, talking with these folks i said we have to think out of the box. Maybe the sponsor does not have to be a congressman from the district. Who else is down there in South Carolina . All of a sudden, we see the obvious. Clyburn, a wonderful, well known congressman. , he had, during my time been a champion of preservation. The clock is ticking. It is now 2016. The clock is ticking. It is now 2016. I picked up the phone and made an appointment to see a congressman clyburn. That was the end of my real yes. Vement i will do anything. That was the end of my real involvement in. He lit up and saidbut you said n to penn center, go talk to dr. Lawrence. I spent a day in penn center. Ok. Me back and said, then it happened. That is the end of my story. Here is a lot more asked eric to speak to his role with secretary babbitt. Now we will cross our fingers that the magic of technology is on our side. [inaudible] the story begins 1, it 18 years ago in 2001 received a phone call from the secretary of the interior. He said he read my book on reconstruction. I responded i found this surprising. Washington politician was and scholarly tones. He invited me to washington to discuss how this might be remedied. I flew down, had dinner with him. Of the next couple of months ive prepared report on possible venues for a site. Reconstruction took place in innumerable places. Concluded buford was the ideal spot for recognition of that pivotal aero. As Willie Lee Rose pointed out, reconstruction begin in beaufort and the surrounding areas during the war as numerous groups, former slaves, cotton growers, others triedy and to work out the others tried to work out the news that is of the emancipated slaves. Every key issue related to reconstruction black political power, the rise of black areation and many others played out in microcosm in the buford area. Reconstruction lasted longer. Ere than anywhere else here because the unionbecause the und the island early in the civil war and the white population , little fled destruction took place. This area was the perfect spot to educate the public about the spot in our history. Icretary bob lynn and discussed the idea to gather support. Wasthing i learned historians are to get involved. Need to navigate the comics world of local and washington politics and a symbol an array of support. National park [inaudible] page Putnam Miller who was historians cannot accomplish anything without allies. We also learned that congress, in some ways, operates like characters in the godfather. Every member has his or your own territory. The congressman from the buford had no interest in or real knowledge of reconstruction. Had no interest in or real knowledge of reconstruction. When confederate veterans pressured them to do the project, they agreed to work even the congressman from the area proved unwilling to press the case in congress. Mark sanford, who represents buford although he is more buford although he is more famous for other activities, lent his support to promote the project under president obama. Also, when the Bush Administration took office in we also learned that congress, in some2001, his successor was e in. While healing from colorado, he likelyexpressed sympathy for td confederacy and state sovereignty. Not views to encourage enthusiasm for reconstruction. The project languished for years. Project languished for years. But a new generation of and new leadership at and new leadership at the park service succeeded in bringing it to fruition. Reconstruction is too big and important a construction to be confined to a single site. Everyone knows that without some familiarity it is impossible to understand issues central to us who should be a citizen, what rights they should enjoy, who is responsible for enforcing them s responsible for enforcing them, how to protect americans against terrorism, who should vote. We need more reconstruction monuments. I am more interested in erecting new site then dismantling ones that exist. The public presentation. It needs to be brought in and diversified to reflect our contested history. My experience with this project convinces me that most americans are anxious to encounter new ideas. We have an obligation to disseminate the fruits of uptodate scholars in as many venues as possible. Let me close by saying i regret not being able to greet secretary babbitt again. The photo will not be shown of the two of us in late 2000. The secretary delivered inspirational, short speeches about the importance of this project. Knowing full well that in 1988 he did seek good nomination. Good nomination. I tried, he said. I could not one with only the npr vote. Ii compliment that his eloquence and said he should run for president. Said you were only three years older than bernie sanders. I say go for it. We have to make an announcement. Next, mollie ross. Given your involvement in the establishment of National Monument throughout your career, what did it take to get the reconstruction monument proclaimed by obama . I am so honored to be with this group. Be the historian. My job was a great one for me. It took a village and some of the village leaders are here to get this proclaimed. There are legal and policy requirements that must be met before the president can exercise authority under the antiquity at. The reconstruction era National Monument demonstrates how much more is usually needed to protect the place and tell its story. Lets focus on the policy. Fin been 1906, Congress Passed the Antiquities Act in which the congress delegated some of its power under the property clause to the president. In brief today, the president is onhorized to proclaim national on National Monument objects of historical or scientific interest. Located on federally owned land here 16 president s, republican thehim or crack have used act to create over 150 National Monuments. What are the objects of historical or scientific what are the objects of historical or scientific interest in this National Monument . Read the proclamation as the objects are described in the narrative. The objects include the baptist paul. And beryl on st. Helena island. The former camp sachsen where the first africanamerican regimen mustard and trained and and the emancipation proclamation was ready and celebrated on january 1, 1863. Located on navy land in port royal. Firehouse was, too many historic properties. Actll that the antiquities says the objects must be on land owned by the federal government. Of the objects i just mentioned, only camp sachsen, on the navy ground, belonged to the federal government just before the National Monument was proclaimed. Through the remarkable several, including penn center, the buford baptist and rick activist churches and the kaiser ling family, donations of land have been for theand were made federal government. All of these land transactions had to be completed before the president could act. Beyond meeting these legal requirements, the administration wanted to know whether there was public support for a National Monument. Thanks to the efforts of many, we were inundated with the letters of support from private and public individuals and organizations. Including historians, with almost no dissent. Two representatives introduced the bill to establish the reconstruction era unit in may of 2016. Local and not National Newspapers carried compelling auditorily. On december 14, 2016, the New York Times carried a wonderful op ed by none other the nk and greg and eric. All of this effort, needed in a Public Meeting posted by representative clyburn on december 15, 2016 at the brick wrapped his church. Here is how i describe this. Approximately 200 people packed the Historic Church and over 40 speakers representing a broad, diverse spectrum of local community expressed strong support. Said this isndance a story that must be told now and offered their assistance. Tick tock. Take tock. Could we get everything done . Bibliographies, deeds all had to be readied. The reconstruction and run National Monument was the last monument created by president obama on january 12 and published in the federal register on january 19. That is where you can find any of these. Administration we had not been sure we could complete so many plotrk but heart, soul and bring into this effort and it happened. President obama, secretary sally jewell and the park service director, john jervis wanted to tell the full story of america. The National ParkService Really wanted to tell the story. Michael allen has been working on this. Focusing on reconstruction was necessary. For the susquehanna centennial remembrance of the civil war. Luckily, the basis for this god created billy cars doing. Luckily, National Park service was able to work out an arrangement with the department of the navy to include camp sachsen. Jim clyburn worked long and hard hard. Thanks to everyone. Everyone has talked about the. Entrality of locals or without support on the ground, this could not have happened. What did it take to bring together a local effort . What lessons did you and other people learn from the early 2000 that got stalled . What can historians learn from your experience of trying to pull together that kind of support . Lesson, and i say this in just isnt sometimes you cannot rely on highlevel government officials and historians. When they started this fin bank 2008, they did not understand they had our Pressure Cooker in terms of local politics. And, in that Pressure Cooker, you do not take the top off. When they trusted congressman wilson to carry the ball in the house and they took the top off. Put they got burned, top back on, and we waited. In 20 years, a lot changed. The reality is, the local politics was not so much our problem as a question about whether or not we could get something going fast enough. If the biggest obstacle was time, frankly. Thesecond part of it was antiquities process. People and say, would you donate a building today . And we are hoping the president will sign a proclamation within the next week to use that building. The park service was in an awkward position. Under antiquities, they had to be quiet advocates. They could be facilitators but could not be out front. When you go to someone to give a orlding or give an easement take a restrictive covenant out of a deed, everybody had to act in good faith from the park service. They were not allowed to say where they were going. They had to be cautious because they were not allowed to solicit. Someone has to offer. The Antiquities Act was difficult. When i setport he isis Journey Holding us together because we got bigger and better ideas. Then, there is the converse another foundation that secretary babbitt was involved in. They were involved in guiding people through the process. Buford and i did not understand the Antiquities Act. They had been there and could guide us. Because i had been interested in a grantly, i hired writer to help us. Dolores frenkel is here and will do a panel tomorrow on where we go next. But, we were able she said lets build the foundation. So we god National Endowment for a teacher ands institute. In buford, there was a buzz about reconstruction. Peoplewere staying in hoping houses, eating at the restaurants. We created a buzz. I don the phone. Michael allen could not ask people to do things but he could tell me who to ask. 167 historians from all over the country wrote letters of support. Theot to the point where deputy chief of staff called me and said enough with the letters. If i have to keep reading these letters, we will never get your work done. It was africanamericans. We even went to confederate groups and said this is a new world. There is a chapter in our history that has never been written and it deserves a chance. I think the most telling moment two or three days after the declaration of the monument, i got a call from sally jewell in said is itboth fair to say this gecko . They both said we never thought you could get this done. The amount of work on top of the work for the two other monuments that the park service was doing in a region i think they had never done a monument before. There was a huge learning curve. But we did it out of drive. It is passion. Ollie was there we had the public hearing. It was very important. Since the public is supposed to drive the antiquities process. We added the brick church across from penn center. To most peoples surprised, except me, the church was overflowing. To a lot of peoples surprised we had people from schoolchildren to old people, black, white, every kind you could imagine. The passion that emanated into that church shocked the director. That we were able to crystallize this sense of hope. It really was a sense of hope. Someone fr