Soaking up the sun. And the president is writing to his wife saying what a fabulous place this turned out to be. The cold has disappeared in just a weeks time. As he leaves key west after that first week he promised our city commissioners whenever i get tired i will be back. 12 weeks later hes back. So each november and december and each february and march the president would take up residence a week, two weeks, three weeks, a month at a time. And it becomes literally the functioning white house of the United States. President truman on his first vacation to key west is invited by the navy to go out on a captured german sub. So he and his 16 closest staff go out on this captured german sub. The captain of the sub is a missouri native. Of course as fate would have it they submerged to 450 feet and the sub springs a leak. The logs are on our official website. They werent the least bit concerned. They had a missouri captain. They knew he would look out for them. After time, the instruments reengage, they slowly go to the surface. They open the hatch and his staff scrambles. They all see him with soaking wet trousers. And he said i see you are sitting in your lack of presentation. The navy had not putney money into fixing the place up. By 1949 the president had been here four times. Following the defeat of tom dewey the navy realized the president would be coming back much more often. They hired the premier interior decorator of miami beach, heygood lassiter. It reflects 1949. He wanted to create a timeless venue, something that would be acceptable to the guests that would be coming to the see the president. And he picked colors that were popular at the time. Celedon green walls, taupes, grays, tomato red. It had admirals living in it from 1953 to 1974. Many of the things done for truman were discarded. It was our job to the restore the house as it was. They didnt have to tell us who it was from. So we found this fabric and it turned out to to be a waiverly print. We happened to find a scrap on ebay. We needed 187 yards to complete the task. The paintings on the ball i had been led to believe were stolen until one day we found a location that they had been loaned by the Naval Academy. Well, the Naval Academy had no idea what i was talk building. So finally we found a list of collection from the truman library. We approached the Naval Academy for the paintings. They informed me they were worth a Million Dollars and we were definitely not the president so we werent getting them. They shot High Resolution scans so the paintings are exactly as they are when president truman was here in the house. So is the little white house is is a very, very pure restoration to the time when president truman was using it as his white house. At the moment we are in president trumans living room, library. During the the daytime it was his office. And every evening it became a movie theater. He has a staff of 59. Seven are playing poker. So what do you do with the rest of them . They ran first run films here in the living room. Now, theres many neat things about the little white house. The living room is somehow iconic in the number of pieces that are actually connected to president truman. His piano is in the corner. Rarely did the president have the piano here in key west. He had instead that piano came on board the president ial yacht, uss williamsburg. Thats the way it was when the president was president. He was an extremely talented musician. At the age of 6 they found he had an incredible musical talent. He enrolled in Music Lessons for the next 10 years. They expected him to become a concert pianist. Then he drops out saying he is not quite good enough. We believe he dropped out of the lessons to save the family the cost of the expense. But he regularly played the piano. He played mozart from memory. He is an extremely fine pianist. The president ial yacht was decommissioned. President eisenhower found it a luxury he didnt need. Boeing a navy vessel, all the artifacts were scattered. 1964, so about 10 years later, admiral lou kern put out a directi directive, i want the piano. It was shipped back to key post, had it restored, and he was surprised to find it back in the the little white house. This is where the president came to the relax. Now, the president told everyone he was on vacation, working vacations but on vacation in key west. It turns out it was all a lie. Harry would get up on vacation at 7 00 in the morning, read a newspaper, come down stair, have a glass of orange juice with shot of bourbon. He would then good out walking 10 blocks, 120 paces a minute. Thats cardio if ever i heard of it. And then he would take up his position at this little desk. Every day or every other day, large mail bags would arrive via currier. They would contain legislation and sometimes books. He would literally run the country from this desk. After, he would insist they all go swimming. Because it was important his staff rest. Well, his staff or working like fiends thinking, well, at least the president is relaxing. The president was doing exactly the same thing. Because at night he would take a stack into his bedroom and think at least my staff is resting. He wrote a letter to his cousin ethel. He said it is a farce. Im signing my name 200 to 600 times a day on vacation. The work of the president never ends. It follows you no matter where you go. Which kind of brings back this iconic symbol, the buck stops here. Harry truman made it quite famous because he believed all responsibility ends at the president s desk. The onlier person the president of the United States cancan pass responsibility to is god. It comes from the wild west. In the wild west a bone handled knife, a buck knife was placed in front of a dealer. When it wasnt your turn or you didnt want the responsibility, you passed the buck to the next dealer. Thats who indicated the deer. Well, harry truman being a poker player would know that. And so the buck stops here is the sign that ended up on his desk. This is one of multiple copies the president received. The original of course is at his library in independence, missouri. The one thing, though, that people rarely get to see is the back of the sign. The pack of the sign says im from missouri. Why is that important . It reminded harry truman dont ever get a swelled head. Dont think youre better than the people that elected you. Because one of days youll be going back home. And harry every, ever lost that concept. He never forgot who he was nor where he was going. And he w and he was always one of us. At the moment we are in the harry s. Truman little white house. If youre old new, you might call it a florida room. This is where the president relaxed with his staff after hours. Probably one of the most iconic things in the house is this poker table. It was made in our cabinet shop as a gift from the navy back in 1949. The president had already been here four other vacations prior to that. So the president relaxed by playing poker with his closest staff. They played cards from 7 00 to 11 00 every night. This was a Team Building exercise. This was all about camaraderie and had nothing to do with winning or losing money. We are fortunate that two of trumans staff are still living. Ken heck her and george ellesy. He made 8 of 11 trips to key west. He said when they boarded the plane to washington they threw 50 a month. He would save part of the winnings so if they ran it of money, the banker advanced you money. He didnt feel anyone ever lost more than 20 playing cards with the president. President truman regarded the big white house has the great white scale. He felt he was con standpointly under everyones eye. By coming to key west, he could come with his closest staff, let down his hair. Sometimes they would let their beard grow for a couple days. They certainly at times used off collar stories. And they certainly could have a grass of bourbon and visit back and forth without any scrutiny from the press. We know for a fact that he shared his decision not to run for reelection with his closest staff sitting at this table. For the next six months not one person read the story. President truman shared that information with them so they would have the opportunity to leave Government Service and get a job before everyone else left Government Service. He was close can with his staff. He had great fun with his staff. Though he personally did not like fishing, he would go out fishing with his staff, to get on the biggest fish. A Sportswear Company sent a case of hawaiian shirts to the president with the thought if the president is wearing our shirts were going to sell a lot of shirts. So he wore the free shirts the first year and organized the loud shirt contest. That was the official uniform of key west. It was hunt all year long for the craziest tropical shirt you can find. So the president was often seeing wearing these loud shirts. The press corps. Followed suit. They were known as the one wore club because the press was always, please, mr. President , just one more. If you go to when we were allowed to go to the big white house, the white house is very formal and very president ial. The little white house reminds many visitors of their moms house, perhaps their favorite aunt. It is very humble furnished. It is a very subtle elegance about it. But i think the number one think is we will go, i can live here. This feels like my house. So it really is the peoples house in so many ways. It is not a house, by any means, that they get it. Harry truman was human. Harry truman was one of us. It and certainly would have been so out of keeping with his character had they had guilded furniture. It would have been inconceivable to harry truman to have anything like that. To mark the centennial of the National Park service, American History tv is featuring Historic Sites and National Parks from cspans city tour. For more information, check out cspan. Org citiestour. Youre watching American History tv all weekend and on holidays too only on cspan3. This past august, American History tv marked the centennial of the National Park service. We asked members of congress which in your state has special meaning to you and why . Congressman hill and i representative Central High School. Im at the Central High School museum here in little rock, the centerpiece of the civil rights of the south. This was the Biggest School integration crisis following brown versus board of education decision. The National Park service has this memorial here at Central High School, one of the most beautiful high schools in our country. Im an avid outdoorsman. So the park site that has the most meeting to me is the First National river in our country, the Buffalo National river. Ive been going there literally for about 55 years. I have many, many miles on the river and many happy memories at clothing americas First National river, the Buffalo National river. Teddy roosevelt led the charge to protect americas wild places and special places. He believed in the strenuous life. Now, more than ever our families need to get outdoors and enjoy america. Thats the why if youre watching this show, im in acadia, maine hiking in the northeast participating in the 100mile challenge. So i urge everybody in america this fall to support our centennial for the National Parks and get outside, america. All day today, American History tv is marking the National Park service centennial. And we talked with members of congress about the National Parks and Historic Sites in their states. This is American History tv, only on cspan3. 100 years ago in august 1916, president will signed legislation to mark the National Park service. We continue now with another stop on the cspan cities tour. This is American History tv on cspan3. We are sitting in the former sales room for the ryans mart auction complex. Originally this building didnt have a second floor. It was just a long, narrow building that was part of a complex of four buildings that made up ryans mart. We know charleston played a significant role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and africans coming into what is now the United States. 40 of all enslaved africans coming into this country in the 18th century entered through the port of charleston. But the Transatlantic Slave Trade was abolished in 1908, but there was much smuggling. The majority who were sold here were american born. In 1856 when we see the first slave sale here, 20yearold woman named lucinda, this building wasnt even here. Youll notice this was an alley that led into the larger auction complex. There were three buildings there. The Main Building was a four story jail. Thats where enslaved people were held before a sale. There was also a twostory structure that was used as a kitchen. There was also a smaller structure in the Southwest Corner of the lot that was described as a dead house or a morgue. If the slave trader knew there was an enslaved person in jail that was sick, they would remove that person to this other structure so as not to infect the larger population. Thousands were sold here between 1856 is and 1863. The largest slave sale that i know about that was advertised was 256 enslaved people. In todays dollars, a very enslaved man who is in the prime of his life, strong and ablebodied could be sold for in todays 35,000. Of course if you had a special trade or a skill, you would be worth more. Enslaved people had to be prepared for sale. Especially if they had traveled from a great distance. If an enslaved person, lets say they were coming from richmond, virginia and coming here to ryans mart to be sold that could take weeks or something traveling on a good day, 20 to 25 miles a day. So it could talk a long time. So by the time they got here to ryans mart, they wouldnt be in any condition to be sold. They would be bruised with the shackles and chains they had been wearing. Especially the men who were shackled the entire time. Very thin, dirty. They were in no position to be sold on the Auction Block. A potential buyer wouldnt want to the purchase them. So arriving in a place like this, this auction complex, thomas ryan and then later z. B. Oaks would have a staff of black and whiten slaved and free people here working to get those people who were coming to be sold ready for the Auction Block. Enslaved people were fed very well before auction trying to fatten them up. They would also be provided soap and water here at ryans mart to wash themselves. And sometimes they would also be be given palm oil or some other kind of oil encouraged to rub that into their skin so that they could appear healthier and their muscles would look more defined and bulked you. All of that would happen. Of course the last thing that had to the happen is people had to find out when that auction was going to happen. So ads would have been placed in the local papers. Some of the larger slave auctions would be advertised throughout the southeast. If you were a slave trader in the south and someone said ryans mart, they would know where you were talking about. Enslaved people, you would think that they wouldnt have any agency. They wouldnt have any power in a situation like this. Or maybe as they stood on an Auction Block, no power. They knew they were going to be sold. But there were things that they did the. For instance, if there was an enslaved man on the Auction Block and a potential buyer started bidding on him, a potential buyer who he knew of, he would start speaking up and say if you buy me i will work for you. I will work very hard for you, sir. And maybe start bragging about how strong he was or how skilled he was. And maybe even try to encourage that buyer to purchase his wife and child also. And so enslaved people did that. It wasnt because they were happy with their lot in life or happy about being enslaved or content. This man was trying to keep his family together. And he was going to do anything and say anything to achieve that. The last advertised slave sale here at ryans mart occurred in november 1863. And it wasnt until about 1936 that Merriam Wilson purchased the building. And she knew, and many people knew this was a place where enslaved people were sold. And she wanted to open this building as a museum. So she established the Old Slave Mart museum in 1937. And it opened, i believe, in march of that year. So opened this building as the first africanamerican museum in the country. To mark the centennial of the National Park service, American History tv is featuring natural and Historic Sites as recorded by cspans cities tour staff. All day today here on cspan3. On the fifth anniversary of the Federal Building in oklahoma city, frank peting dedicated a National Memorial on the site where the building once stood. 168 people, including 19 children, died in the 1995 blast. On april 19th, five years ago, another spring wednesday like today, the flag of our nation was flying over th