Transcripts For CSPAN3 Comparing Approaches To Historical Na

School history teacher and i will try and probably feebley fail to do him justice in describing this beautiful room youve chosen for your 25th lecture. You have chosen a remarkably historic room. But first, i have to thank the offices of the senate cure rater and historian who prepare histories of our art and rooms. Without them this introduction simply wouldnt be possible. So to begin. In the early 1900s the house and the senate decided they had outgrown their space. They commissioned two architects from new york. To build them a house and Senate Office buildings. Those have now become the Cannon House Office building and the russell Senate Office building. Interestingly, if you know theyre sort of mirror images from above. But those two individuals were educated in paris and a part of that education brought this beautiful art that you see around this room. They took great care to design this room. In fact, they spent over a year finding this black vained marble that came from new jersey. Which is very interesting. This was originally known as just simply the caucus room. It was intended to be a room for Political Parties to meet and caucus and determine their leadership and priorities for their parties. But over time it became a very popular and preferred place for congressional investigative hearings. Among them being the 1912 hearing on the sinking of the titanic, the crime hearings. Nd the watergate hearings of 1973. Now, im a rules Committee Staffer so i find the following interesting facts far more interesting than that because there are no circumstances under which we would allow these things to happen in the United States senate today. That is that nine United States senators announced their candidacy for the presidency and that includes john f. Kennedy, robert f. Kennedy, George Mcgovern and hubert humphrey. Those activities would not be permitted here today. Then the second thing i find quite interesting about this room and i have seen this movie the 1961 film advise and consent was filmed in this room. It has to be a d. C. Cult classic because its actually to my knowledge one of the only commercial films ever filmed here in the capitol and the rest of the russell Senate Office buildings. If you havent seen it, you should. Its very interesting. Today the caucus room is not used much as a Committee Hearing room. Its available should they want to use it but they choose not to by and large because we have larger and more technologically advanced rooms so what we use this room for today is primarily legislative seminars and educational seminars like this one. So we are very happy that youve chosen this room for this lecture. Now it is my honor to introduce mr. Don carlson, a member of the executive committee. Thank you. [applause] thank you, stacy. And good evening to everyone who has joined us tonight. I am don carlson, a new member of the executive committee of the u. S. Capital Historical Society board. We were founded in 1962 and chartered by congress in 1978. We are a private nonpartisan Nonprofit Educational Organization that communicates to the public the Rich Heritage of the capitol and congress. I am pleased to welcome you to our 2016 National Heritage lecture program. We are honored to work with the White House Historical association and the Supreme Court Historical Society to enhance the knowledge and appreciation of the american system of government and the principles upon which it was founded. Tonights topic doing history comparing approaches to the historians craft is a very unique look at the historians craft. I want to thank my fellow board member Cokie Roberts and the other distinguished panelists for sharing their personal insights and to the work of telling American History. These are highly accomplished people have received numerous prestigious awards including an academy award, an emmy, the edward r. Murrow award and the critics circle award. We have a distinguished audience as well tonight guests representing members of congress, the architect of the capitol the Senate Historians office, universities, journalists, museums, think tanks and others. Im sure that the round of questions we will have will be engageling. We are very pleased to welcome several speakers to share in the program tonight. First we are honored that dr. Sandberg director of the david ruben stine center and Senior Vice President of Educational Resources is here to add some words of welcome on behalf of the Historical Society. [applause] good evening and welcome to everyone. Im very grateful to don because i have this very long title and now i dont have to say it. T im delighted that our association is a longstanding friendship along with the Historical Society and the United States Supreme Court Historical Society that were reunited together. I was thinking, on a person note i began just a year ago directing the ruben stine center. It was jist at the time of the last lecture and the last heritage lecture. For me i think this is going to become Something Like halllys comment. Its noteable er year it will come back. As don said its the 25th and very near and dear to our heart. This topic of doing history and considering the craft. History never goes away. I think all of us are all Kindred Spirits and there is the cyclical quality to history. It is important to know these things. Its important to be able to tell stories to contextualize them. So tonights panel, this is extremely important at all times and this time. Last year again the lecture was calvin coolage in our Carriage House and the decater house courtyards. So after the Supreme Court has it next year we look forward to having it back. What an amazing place. The titanic. Thanks. The association was a private Nonprofit Educational Organization. We have a terrific mission which is to enhance the understanding and appreciation of the executive mansion. Its a lovely history. We were founded in 1961 by first lady jack lynn kennedy. She was 31 or 32 years old. The goal then and today was to help the white house collect and exhibit the best artifacts of American History and culture. And this grew and grew and continues to, to include acquisition, preservation, research, education. We have a very robust education program. And some of you will know our publicication arm with the White House Historical journal and books and on and on. And not to forget the white house ornament. Christmas is coming up. So wrapping up on behalf of the Association Im also here with a number of my colleagues including dr. Edward lingle who has just begun as our chief historian a couple of days ago. Were delighted to be here. Its a marvelous partnership. Thank you. [applause] thank you. I am honored to introduce dr. David pryde, executive director of the United States Supreme Court Historical Society, and we are so pleased you could join us. [applause] dr. Pryde thank you for being here. The National Heritage lecture was instituted in 1991 as a consequence of meeting between Staff Members of the historical groups serving the three branches of government. I was privileged to be at that meeting, the agenda of which was to ascertain how three organizations of similar mission could work together. We settled upon a rotating lecture series. Each of the participants would take turns every third year as a principal sponsor for the program that would appeal to the members and friends of the other collaborators. The first of these was a lecture at the Supreme Court by Justice Anthony m kennedy on fdrs 1937. My apologies, of course, to the unrepentant new dealers. Who referred to that as the court enlargement plan. [laughter] Justice Kennedy did a masterful job that evening weaving together the historical threads of three branches involvement in that legislative process. That has been a hallmark of many of the National Heritage lectures ever since. Some have focused on the expertise of the primary host in any given year. Offering the cosponsors insight into the history. Each approach, i think, has been well received and hence the continuation of this important series. The board of trustees has asked me to convey its gratitude to tonights principal sponsor, the u. S. Capitol Historical Society , for putting together this latest installment in what has been a venerable tradition. Similarly, i want to convey our thanks to the White House Historical association for its Outstanding Program on Calvin Coolidge which took place faster at the decatur house. The Supreme Court Historical Society is honored to partner with each of you and looks forward to many more years of cooperative programming and hosting again next year. Thank you. [applause] thank you, david. It is my extreme honor to introduce my fellow member of the board of the capitol Historical Society, Cokie Roberts, who constantly amazes me about her long service on the board and her inability to say no to any request we make of her. [applause] [laughter] she is a political commentator for abc news and npr, with many years in broadcasting. Won countless awards. Long ago, i was taught the greatest introduction in washington was a short one. I intend to honor her by doing that tonight. Here is Cokie Roberts. [applause] ms. Roberts thank you for being here. I anticipate this to be an interesting evening. I was thinking when we had that history of the room, when some of us were young, there was only one Senate Office building when we were kids. It was this building. There were two house office buildings. The Senate Office building had towels that said s. O. B. [laughter] i do feel one other thing in terms of our introduction. The capitol Historical Society also has christmas ornaments. So. You sure dont miss those. I have spent an inordinate amount of time in my life in this room, not only because it has these big events, like president ial announcements. I was here for ted kennedy and al gore. But also all of these hearings, including the endless iran contra hearings. I can tell you every greek key on this ceiling because really, they went on. I do complain today, i am complaining a lot because i did not get any sleep watching that edifying debate last night. [laughter] the truth is, many of us have had the great privilege i have had the credentials where they give you a pass to make it easier of being eyewitnesses to history. Wehave lived long enough, have been in this city, connected to these institutions where we have had a huge privilege. And that is one approach to history, is to live it and to record it as you go. It is always the saying about journalism, the first draft of history. It has been an exhausting privilege to be able to write that first draft. It is also true the other drafts that are more thoughtful, the drafts that have some perspective, are very, very not only interesting, but important and useful and we do have three approaches and i am going to stick with the idea of short introductions. You do have some biographical information in your programs and also misses google will be able to help you with anything you need to know. Starting on the end, we have michael hill, who toiled in this venue working in government and politics, including as a press secretary of Walter Mondale when he was Vice President. And then had the serendipity of meeting David Mccullough and started this wonderful ride. Of working with david and ken burns and john meacham and evan thomas and lots of other people, writing books and movies and traveling the world, learning all kinds of wonderful things and he has also written and edited the diary of washburn, the United States minister to france, 18701871, which fascinated me because that is when of my approaches to books like to read that, we have had taken the diary and annotated it, which makes it easier for me to do work. [laughter] thank you. That is one way of writing and reading and producing history. Grace guggenheim has taken another path where she has produced so many wonderful historical documentaries, including the Academy Awardwinning johnstown flood. They go on and on and on, theaters, tv museums, tv, museums where they live forever, from president ial libraries. She has been the creator of so much visual information that we can absorb and have access to our history in a way that would not be true if she had not been doing the work she has been doing these many years. Her most recent work is sharons story where it is a treatment designed to cure cancer where she was the producer, director, and narrator. The full job, and she is the president of the guggenheim productions, where she has been overseeing the preservation of her fathers film legacy. I must say that her Fathers House on nantucket marthas vineyard, my mother and lady bird would hang out there. Honest to god, i was dying to be a fly on the wall. The best i ever got was to deliver my mother there and then i had to leave. And they always made me leave and it was not fair. Did you get to stay . Sometimes. You got to stay. They probably did not talk as much with us there. Tom mallon does these wonderful models, these nonfiction histories that the rest of us do, but also creates historical fiction. Another way of making history more accessible. And having people actually read it in ways the rest of us dont. His 2013 novel watergate was a finalist for the faulkner award and he has won many other awards. He also had a guggenheim fellowship, so you can turn to grace and say thank you. [laughter] in addition to his wonderful fiction, and i am told i must read finale as soon as this dreadful election is over. He has also written two books of nonfiction that interest me. A book of ones own part of and then 25 years later,. Ours ever i part of the reason that interests me is because that is how i do my history book. I need the diaries and letters in order to write the history. I am very eager to have other people help me find the letters and the diaries. I also loved the fact they were published by ticknor and field. When john fremont ran for work of theish the women i write about in the 19th century and that was something to do. Nobody did that, but they published fremont, an incredible person. When john fremont ran for president at the first republican candidate for president in 1856, nobody knew who the Vice President ial candidate was because all of the posters were fremont and jesse. Jesse, and she was the most famous women in america, period, but also the most famous and politics for a very long time, and incredibly powerful. When he won the nomination in philadelphia, and at that point, the candidates did not go to the convention, all of new york showed up at their house and said, show us jesse. When she fell on hard times, she started writing. Ticknor and field came through with publishing for her. They also published grace greenwood. Known to Abraham Lincoln as grace greenwood the patriot. Her name was sarah jane, the first woman to write for the New York Times in the 1850s. And she wrote from europe. And she wrote such things as her admission to the house of lords where she went to hear Queen Victoria speak and she said the queen displayed more rosy plumptitude than regal attitude. And then she went to dinner at Charles Dickens house. She said he had a simple and elegant lifestyle, and she knew this because her servants were no livery. I wonder how her american readers reacted to that, servants wearing livery was pouring in this republic, but i know what she wrote because i read it in the New York Times. One of the wonderful things about writing history right now is you can read the newspapers online and be able to be in the moment where the people you are writing about were so you are reading what they were reading. It is fabulous because it is not just the stories, but all the ads, so you have a sense of society in a much broader sense because you know what they were buying and what it cost and what childrens books people were reading and magazines and all of that