Transcripts For CSPAN3 AHTV - Food And The Culture Of The Su

Christmas million optional museum, here in washington d. C. Its just over an hour. So its absolutely a thrill to see so many people here for this kind of a program, my name is johnny gray, and i have the wonderful privilege of being the director of your National Museum of American History. Particularly on nights like tonight, and which we really can look at American History in unique and unusual ways. We are really honored to be joined by tonight panel Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg applause Supreme Court Justice Sonia sotomayor, applause catherine fit, applause and Supreme Court Society Publications director claire kushner, applause it is now my privilege to introduce the 13th secretary of the smithsonian institution, doctor david horton. Hes on Board Certified cardiologist a jazz musician, and doctor scorching with most recently the president of cornell university, and previously served as president of the university of iowa. Doctor gordon has interest in learning as wide as the smithsonian and most importantly tonight, hes a pescatarian. Thanks don for the introduction, and thank you on behalf of the American People for the great job to do so innovative and creative at this amazing museum. applause especially in such an interesting election year, we all appreciate everything you and your colleagues are doing this year so many aspects of the story of america, and to inspire us all with that story. Esteemed colleague and friends, welcome to this unique opportunity, a word i dont use lightly, to find out more about the highest court in the land. And how its members have worked and died together. The Supreme Court, and the smithsonian have long had close ties. Since the 19th century, the chief justice has served as the chancellor of the smithsonian board of regions. I am indebted to chief john roberts for his work and his capacity and for the guidance that he has provided me in my transition, my first year at the smithsonian and the education about the smithsonian and for his ongoing leadership. Justice sotomayor and Justice Ginsburg, i thank you and your colleagues on the court for your crucial work that underpins our democracy. Thank you. applause i know a thing for everyone by saying you are pioneer, role models, and exemplar of the nuance and principal thinking that undergirds the american rule of law. I am glad to say, friends of the smithsonian. Justice ginsburg and sotomayor have each share the fascinating stories with us as part of our smithsonian associate program. They are both represented in the National Portrait gallery on Nelson Shanks painting for justices. Which also features Justice Kagan, and former Justice Oconnor i invite all of you if you havent, to see it. Its on display at the portrait gallery through october. The National Postal museum, has dams that feature legal giants like Justice William brennan, grand ice, and this very museum has a nice collection, the rogue saturday oconnor roe wore when she was sworn in as the first woman justice on the Supreme Court. The seismic shifts and our nations history, have typically been characterized in part by struggle. The politics have been contested as this years contentious unfolds its good to remember that politics can and at the edge of a plate, this is because food brings us all together. It is communal, it is ritual food has always bound civilization as is evident in a centuries old phrase and tradition of breaking bread. One of my favorite variations of this term is, its hard to remain enemies when you broken brought together. Nothing exemplifies that sentiment more than the close relationship shared by justice, ginsburg and the late justice scalia. The picture of the two of them on top of an elephant in the trip to india for me was worth many thousands of words. These brilliant colleagues put any differences aside with or traveling the world are simply breaking bread together right here. Convenient people to explore our shared humanity in her measured of. Shared wisdom is what the smithsonian is all about from discussions of current topics to educations of current programs to events like this one and examine our common bonds, the smithsonian is that hard where people can come together. Thank you for gatherings we could hear some fascinating stories and take some food for thought. John . applause thank you very much. Thank you to our partners at the Supreme Court society for the support of this program. We also welcome the staff of the Supreme Court and the offices of justices ginsburg and sotomayor and many other distinguished gets. Guests. We are honored to be joined by two members of the nations highest court and they have come together to talk about food. In fact this is one of those rare and special times where the justices will speak publicly on topics outside the law. We are the home of julia childs kitchen and so many other National Treasures related to food and its consumptions and productions. We do so for a reason. We help our nation to help understand the passed in order to make sense of the president and shape and more humane future. Food history, food stories and our own love of food and wine first, please limit your photography to the first two minutes of the discussion after i leave the stage and please remember to turn off your cellphones. And its not our honor to introduce tonights paddle on the fascinating, delicious topic of the importance of food at the Supreme Court. Please join me in welcoming our distinguished panel, justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, previously as part of an extensive and legal career, she was appointed to the u. S. Court of appeals for the district of columbias circuit. Justice ginsburg attended Harvard Law School and receive her and will be from Columbia Law School and served on the law review at both schools. Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined the Supreme Court in 2009, previously as part of an extensive and distinguished legal career, she served in u. S. District court, Southern District of new york, she earned a jd from Yale Law School where she served as editor of the law journal. Catherine is the curator of the u. S. Supreme court. Thank you all for joining us that our table and we look forward to the discussion. Thank you. applause thank you for that introduction. On behalf of the Supreme Court Historical Society, i would like to thank the smithsonian for partnering with us at this event and for hosting us in this beautiful room and especially to the staff for organizing it. On a cold february nine instant 1790, the justices met and held their first session of the Supreme Court in new york city. After they adjourned, they went to a tavern in Lower Manhattan and ate dinner. They dined with new yorks district judges and had a really good time. Name a 13 toasts, including one to the president , went to the constitution, and one to the new national judiciary. So since its very inception, the Supreme Court justices have found ways to come together and share meals as they are appointed for life, they often said on the bench together for years, if not decades. They look for ways to enhance cordiality and cooperation by, as you said, breaking bread together. Tonight we are going to examine the evolution of some of the courts customs and evolving food, from the early 19th century and then hear about what some of these distinguished justices have to say about current practices. Let us start with the Marshall Court era. When jean marshall, the great chief justice from virginia presided over the court from 1801 to 1835. He sat on the court. There were six and then seven justices, and they were appointed from all up and down the eastern seaboard, from boston all the way down to georgia and eventually out west of kentucky. They came to washington to the Supreme Court sessions alone. They left their wives and children in their hometowns. They did not move their families to washington, because the court term was very short. During the jon Marshall Court era, it was usually about two months long. Accordantly, chief Justice John Marshall arranged for them all to live together in a boarding house, and they took almost all their meals together. So catherine, why did John Marshall want the justices to live, dine, work, and socialize together . I would say, i think the primary reason was that he wanted to build a bond between the justices. It also goes to say that the courts started out with a very nomadic existence. They were in new york and that was the seat of the nations government. Then they moved to philadelphia and then they came to washington. I think also at the time we have to remember that in washington, it was not the city that we remember today, so there were very few places for the justices and members of congress to come on this transient schedule to washington. So they lived in the boarding houses to kind of gain that fraternal bond and to also come together. I think John Marshall also wanted the justices to come together and speak in one voice to try to give the court some stature. When they were eating in the boarding houses, or they in a private room or what they with other guests . I think at times they probably shared some meals with other guests. But when they met when they deliberated their cases they met in private for those discussions. So they actually ate dinner and deliberated cases at the same time . According to stories, that is the case. So it was there no Conference Room available to them at the court . Was what was the situation like in the capital . I probably should have practiced my remarks with that. When the court moved to washington, there was the president s house, the capital, and even though we had a third branch of government, there was no place for the Supreme Court to me. So graciously, room was made available in the basement of the capital, but that was just a little Small Committee room. I think it was 30 by 35 feet. And eventually in 1810, the Supreme Court had their First Chamber on the ground floor of the capitol building. That is the era that John Marshall comes to washington and leaves the court. Joan marshall had a great fondness for a fortified wine imported from the portuguese island of moderna. He was not alone. Modera was not alone. It was popular with many of the Founding Fathers including thomas jefferson. Apparently, the shaking and funnellike conditions in the ships hold gave it a very complex, caramel flavor that they liked. Catherine, tell us a little bit about John Marshall and madeira. Catherine i think he gained his taste for madera in a richmond. I hope i pronounce it correctly, he was part of a club in richmond that was essentially a Barbecue Club for gentlemen and John Marshall is one of the founding members and they had their own punch and madeira was one of the primary ingredients. Cognac, rhum, sugar, and madeira was one of the primary ingredients. They played a long game similar to horseshoes and through iron rings and one of the reasons they got together was to have this bond, and John Marshall had a role that politics and religion were not to be discussed and if they were caught discussing it they were fined a case of champagne which was consumed at the next meeting. [laughter] clare and apparently you have bottles labeled that he brought . Catherine i think there were merchants who played on John Marshalls on this form madeira. And there was a Supreme Court labeled madeira which gave the seal of approval of John Marshall that it must be good. Marshall had a great ally on the court. A man who was appointed from massachusetts. Apparently, the story had a week stomach and he was a says teetotaller when he arrived in washington. I did not last long. Look what he wrote to his wife that the justices tried really hard not to drink too much wine. They had a rule that only on rainy days and for medicinal purposes with a imbibe. But apparently this was not a bright line rule. This is true. A there are various versions. They drank only when it rained. The chief justice said, he looked at the window and the sun was shining brightly, and he said somewhere in the world, its raining. laughter Justice Ginsburg, you have an anecdote about stories about sarah. She didnt like being away from the capital city for weeks at a time, so she decided she would come along with him. That made chief Justice Marshall rather uneasy. He said it would be all right if she dined with them. She would have a civilizing influence, but she must not be around when they were discussing cases. She did not want to distract the justice from the work he was to do. As it turned out, sarahs stomach was no better than josephs, and the boarding house fair did not agree with her. So she left before the term ended, but it was the beginning of the boarding house the beginning of the end of the boarding. House one justice or another decided, why should i have this boarding house when i can be living with my family . And i think johnson left, and then another, and another, and what happened when the boarding house style of living ended, the sense began to appear within the court. John marshall did a remarkable thing. The tradition was, that he inherited from england was that each justice wrote his or her opinion. Say there was a panel of five judges, there would be five opinions and then the lawyers would have to figure out what the decision meant. Marshals idea was that there should be only one opinion. He would speak for the court. There should be no dissents. And he would write the opinion. laughter its remarkable that the early Marshall Court, almost all of the decisions are written by the chief justice. But when the boarding house system broke down, so did the unanimity. There is evidence that the marshal Court Justices liked to share Food Products with each other. They were very proud of the fruits of their hometowns. For example, jon marshall sent virginia ham up to josephs story in boston and it was reciprocated by being sent shellfish caught. Along with salted cod. Its not easy. You have to soak it. He was not sure that virginians would know what to do with it. My question is for both justices, starting with Justice Ginsburg. Are there modern examples of justices today on the Court Bringing food from their hometowns or back from their travels . Hunting trips. We had an intrepid hunter on the court who would bring everything back from fish to fowl, to bambi. To wild boar. He was very generous in sharing. Justice breyer, not so long ago, decided he needed to introduce his grandchildren to the game caught by our colleague, presented the pheasant, presented it and cooked it. But he said it should be careful because there might be pellets in the game. They refused to eat it, so he ate it alone. Another favorite its called beef jerky. It was made by sarah day oconnors brother. At the family ranch. A couple of times she would bring large supplies of the jerky and distribute it. Quite spicy . Very spicy. I would have loved it. I understand that Justice Breyer and Justice Kennedy have brought wine for the court to share. Only on very special occasions. It was the traditional dinner before the state of the union message. One year, Justice Kennedy came with a couple of bottles of wine from california. He also brought duck from california. That was the first time i felt i fell asleep during the state of union. laughter Justice Sotomayor, i understand when you first joined the court you brought a treat with you from new york for the other justices. I should not be telling tales, but the colleague on the panel with me, i was told enjoyed sweets. So i brought a box of new york patriots pastries with me for our first conference together. Only learned later that the treat she is most fond of was muffins. Now we have our own pastry chef in the court. Many justices have had food related traditions with their clerks. Harry blackmon, famously liked to have breakfast with his clerks every morning in the Supreme Court cafeteria, and chief Justice Warren burger, he was a great