When this area was selected as the side of the university, there were no town or village here. There were neighboring farms, a chapel located on what is now the side of the caroline in, but there was no town to speak of. On the day they laid the cornerstone for the First University building, they also had an auction of town lots. They understood that if the university was going to succeed, there needed to be a town around it to provide businesses, places for people to live. The town of chapel hill and university were born on the same day. In university was chartered 1789. The ground broke for the first building in 1793, and about a year and a half later, in 1795, when the university opened, they january, 1790y five. They had events on campus here, no students showed up. It took them a few weeks before the First Student arrived. He came over 100 miles from the coast of North Carolina. He was the entire student body for about two weeks before more students gradually drifted on to campus. So for its first century, it was a school for white men only. It was only until the 1890s, women were first admitted and in africanamerican students, they werent admitted until the 1950s. Enslaved people were involved in the construction of all the early campus buildings. The earliest building, the South Building construction and subsequent renovations behind me. We also know that slavery played a role in the financing of the university, and this was due to the fact that the state legislature did not originally for the university. A lot funding and they provided instead, they provided funds and this meant that any unclaimed property. So if somebody in North Carolina died without a legal heir, that property would become the property of the university, they would sell it, and take the proceeds. So it is usually to the form of land, but there are a couple of cases where the university inherited and enslaved people and immediately ordered them to be sold to finance the university. So leading up to the civil war, slavery was an integral part of life in the town of chapel hill and at the university of North Carolina. And students and facility were overwhelm fully on the side of the confederacy. Campus life dwindled in the years up to the civil war. A lot of students left to enlist. The University State opened, but barely. Only at the end of the war did troops make it into the village of chapel hill, and the universitys administrators and other state leaders managed to negotiate to prevent the university from being destroyed. But there were, you know, soldiers from many United States regimens, housed on campus and nearby towns. So things really began to change for the university and the town in 1880s and 1890s. In 1880s, a branch of the railroad came to town, west of chapel hill. A couple of textile mills developed there. So finally, industry for the town and nearby communities begin to develop outside of the university. In the 1890s, the university really began a drive toward becoming a modern research university. So this meant expanding enrollment, developing you your graduate school, and making a concerted effort to be involved in positive way for the entire state of North Carolina. So the university really began to grow in prestige and in national reputation. I would say in the 1920s and 1930s. And this was when it was embarking on an ambitious building and growth campaign. In some extents, inspired by state universities in the midwest and other parts of the country. But university really begin to engage with not just the state of North Carolina but also the region. And those kind of academic programs attracted students from all over the country, and they also brought a lot of attention to university facility, and begin to develop this reputation as a regional leader, certainly, but also a National Leader and also in public higher education. The university, today, is dramatically different than how it was founded. Some of the buildings are here, but it is hard to imagine the rustic, isolated place from 200 years ago from the bustling area it is now. What u. N. C. Is now is a modern Global Public university. It is deeply commited to the state of North Carolina but also has ties to programs and Research Facilities all over the world. So its still located in the heart of the state, and it is at the center of public life in North Carolina. I think that something that is really important. You can watch this and other programs on the history of communities across the country at to spend. Org citiestour. This is American History tv, only on cspan3. Next, on American History tv, historian mona siegel talks about her book, peace on our terms the global battle for womens rights after the first world war. The Sacramento State history professor argues that a great diversity of women from around the world pushed for greater rights in the wake of the great war, and some of these women that were attending the 19191920 paris peace conference helped push president Woodward Wilson to support the 19th amendment. The National World war i museum and memorial hosted this event and provided the video. Mona it is such a pleasure to collaborate with the National World war i museum, and i am