Transcripts For CSPAN Indianapolis IN PAAHTV 20240713

You can watch more of a revisit at cspan. Org citiestour. We are here in indianapolis at the home of Benjamin Harrison. And this is a very iconic spot. This is where he stood and greeted crowds of people that would come to hear him speak in 1888, when he was running for the presidency. He ran a unique campaign, a front porch campaign. However, he didnt have the same from porch you see here today. There was a stoop at the front door, which is still there. He stood in that area and spoke to the crowds of people that would come hear him speak. Harrison is probably one of the most under known of president s, 23rd president of the United States. He falls right in the middle of Grover Clevelands two terms. Oftentimes, people find him confused with his grandfather, William Henry harrison, who survived a month into his. Office Benjamin Harrison was only seven years old when his grandfather died. He served a full four years. And as president , he has a phenomenal legacy that is a little understood, but we think there is great opportunity to share that story more deeply and to investigate what it means for the modern presidency. We were very lucky that our collection contains a lot of items that actually belonged to the harrisons. We have over 10,000 items in our collection. The family was very good at saving those items. We have things back through the generations. We have things that were seceded with adjuvant harrison the fifth, the fourth, and william harrison. There are things Benjamin Harrison was given to keep and treasure for his family through the years. Were very lucky to have that large collection. The harrisons are immigrants from the u. K. In the early 1600s, and almost from the start, when the harrisons came to the United States and settled in virginia, they were involved specifically. So there were harrisons that served in Public Office from the early 1600s through the 1970s. Hisor Benjamin Harrison, greatgrandfather was Benjamin Harrison the fifth, who was a signer of the declaration of the independent desk declaration of independence. His father was Benjamin Harrison, ninth president of the United States. And his own father served in congress, represented ohio. So Benjamin Harrison came from a family that understood the greater value of serving in public life. Benjamin harrison grew up on the border of ohio and indiana. He studied at miami university, oxford, ohio, and studied law in cincinnati. As he was finishing his law studies, he and his bride to be, carolyn harrison, were trying to decide where they wanted to make their lives. And so they consider staying in cincinnati. They thought about indianapolis. They thought about chicago. And decided their prospects were best in indianapolis. Carolyn harrison joined him and they had two young children, had really just started to find some measure of success at the outbreak of the civil war. So for harrison, he had a difficult decision to make, as a lawyer and Supreme Court reporter, whether he would hire a substitute, whether he just would wait and see what happened, but he was called into governor morton, the famous indian war Governors Office, and was talking about lincolns call for 300,000 new troops. An harrison heard this story from governor morton and thought about it and said, if i needed, i will go. Morton said no, im not asking you to serve. I just need help raising additional troops. Harrison made it clear if you were to ask others to serve, that he himself would serve. And so harrison went on to lead the 70th indiana, and had started off as a Second Lieutenant. By the end of the war, he had risen to brigadier general. He was riveted by lincoln just a few weeks before his assassination. We are now in the library. This was probably the room Benjamin Harrison spent a lot of time in, actually. When he wasnt in his office, this is summer he would come to read or look at his law cases and different things. Thenow that he sat here in bay window on a hot august day. He wrote a letter to what would saids second wife, and that the sweat was rolling down his chin, it was so hot in august. We know he spent a lot of time here in this room. We have a lot of items that relate to him. We have his Civil War Commission here in the case. So Benjamin Harrison, Second Lieutenant when he ended the war, by the end of the civil war was a brigadier general. It was signed by Abraham Lincoln not too long before lincoln was assassinated. This is Civil War Commission for that promotion. His time in service in the gir later, the grand army of the republic, were very important to him. The pensions were important to him in his presidencies, civil war pensions. And he preferred the title of general the president because he had risked so much more to earn that title. Very important time, very important. Over here on the desk, other items given to him. We have a key here that was a centennial item. Vitamin harrison was president 100 years after George Washington, so an artist made this cane for him. It has Benjamin Harrison at the bottom and George Washington at the top and all the president s in between on both sides. Then we have his cigar box. He did smoke cigars on occasion. One says the president. That was a gift to him. The statue over here is charles reagan, a United States sailor. Harrison was all for expanding the navy during his presidency. Ct riggan was killed in hile. But the newspaper at the time collected dimes to make a statue of him. And harrison was smoothing things out diplomatically and we did not go to war with chile during that time over this incident. And this bookcase we know is here in the house from about the time the home was built. It was built by a german cabinetmaker, who mr. Harrison had won a case for, and has stayed here ever since. It doesnt get moved often. We found original pieces of wallpaper when we were doing some work, so to have the sample for the room to make it as authentic as possible. So, i think that harrison came to greater renown, in part because of his tremendous speaking skills. He had a way of articulating some of these greater ideas, or ideals, of being an american. He certainly was called upon, even during the civil war, to speak to troops during lincolns reelection campaign, to be able to call people to action to their civic duty. And a thing as he continued to build his career through the 1860s and 1870s, there is high demand for harrison to speak in support of candidates because of that. He just had this tremendous gift of articulation. We actually have moved into the bath parlor now, but were standing between the back parlor and front parlor. You have the two doors you can close between the rooms that are original to the house. This is the spot where harrison was standing when he accepted the nomination to run for the presidency in 1888. So during the convention, the Republican Convention in 1888, it was actually held in chicago. Benjamin harrison actually stayed here in indianapolis. His son, russell, and other friends and family went to chicago. So he actually was receiving information from them and then the Nomination Committee learned early on, after they had dominated him in chicago, they had a marcher to the house, and notified harrison. He was standing right here in this spot between the parlor doors when he accepted that notification. So, Benjamin Harrison ran against Grover Cleveland in 1888, and had decided that he would give a front porch campaign. Based hison, he truly entire campaign here in indianapolis. So, with increased connectivity of trains, people were able to move about. They were also excited to move about. So what youre able to see is these in normas crowds of people kind of swelling in indianapolis. So he gave more than 80 speeches over 300,000 people, starting from the front porch of his home here in indianapolis, which of course, you can still see here today. But to be able to give the speeches enter groups oneonone was a tremendous boon to him. It helped him better control that narrative, and so he would have someone transcribe these speeches and he could wire them to make sure they were recorded appropriately. The result of the 1880 eight campaign was that Benjamin Harrison won the electoral college, but he lost the popular vote. And it was a fairly narrow margin. And its interesting as you look at the 1888 campaign in 1892 campaign, how much Voter Suppression may have come into play. And Charles Calhoun references, a number of his books and articles, about the suppression of the africanamerican vote, and certainly at that time, the majority of that vote would have gone to Benjamin Harrison and to the republican party. So for harrison, it clearly would have played into his thoughts with that campaign, and awareness of how important it was to protect africanamerican Voting Rights, not just because of the calculation of the larger percentage of that vote, perhaps, coming to his party, but certainly, going back into the 1850s, harrison was firmly and outspokenly in favor of africanamerican rights. He was fiercely antislavery, even precivil war. He was outspoken, and many public speeches about protecting africanamerican Voting Rights as equal citizens. During his campaign, he actually spoke to 300 men who called themselves the harrison club, that came to harrisons front door to congratulate him on receiving the nomination for the presidency. And harrison just gave a deeply moving speech to them, talking about his own experiences as a child, encountering a fugitive slave in ohio. But thinking about this for harrison, he did everything within his power, both as a candidate and as president , to try and protect africanamerican Voting Rights. Caroline harrison has a fascinating story of her own. So, she and Benjamin Harrison met during college. Caroline harrison was collegeeducated. Her father was a professor. For the harrisons, education was always deeply important to them, and especially with their own children. So, for Caroline Harrison, she studied language. She studied music. She studied art. I think that really carried through in her priorities. So, the harrisons, as they were building their home here in indianapolis, were very tasteful in doing so in the way that it was decorated. Certainly, Caroline Harrison had a flair for art, and we know that she loved water painting watercolor painting she loved china painting. We have one oil painting by her. And its just really remarkable to see her work, especially with the china painting that shes done. Shes probably best known as first lady for having protected the white house china collection. So, she actually went through the white house when they came to washington, at a time when the white house was in total disrepair. She drove forward plans to significantly restore and build upon the white house, expand it. And while she wasnt able to get those plans approved by congress, she did get funds from congress to be able to remediate the great dilapidation that the white house was in at that time. We are now in the dining room, on the first floor of the home. And the dining room, we have a lot of special china, in particular, that belonged to the family. So on the top shelf of the china cabinet, we have some of the Harrison White house china. She actually wrote a letter to the daughter, Mary Harrison mckee, saying she wanted the Harrison White house china to have an eagle in the center that was similar to the lincoln china. And actually, the purple and white pieces here on the second shelf or some of the Lincoln White house china. And the eagles are very similar. And then she wanted 44 stars around the outside edge of the rim for the 44 states that were in the union during harrisons presidency. Six of those actually coming in during his term. Harrison white house china, the lincoln. And then in the middle shelf, we have some of Caroline Harrisons handpainted china. She did quite a bit of hand painting. That was her favorite. She never knew there was an element of chance have things were going to turn out. If you look at her china painting, its not just a hobby. She is very devoted to her china painting and does some exhibitions and shows. But its very delicate. She outlines things with a very thin line of gold, which is very difficult to do. I think that its really compelling when you look at Benjamin Harrisons legacy and how unknown it is. I think many of his accomplishments were foundational and the credit has gone to subsequent administrations. Harrison has a fantastic quote to that effect about those who wish their deeded styles can seek that kind of recognition. So for harrison, with so much of what he did as being foundational work, calling for and signing the Forest Reserve act he understood the longterm implications of protecting National Resources and not letting them go to ruin. Also, his advocacy in his inaugural address for africanamerican Voting Rights, came within a couple of votes of what would have been very significant civil rights legislation, really unmatched until the 1960s. Its also interesting to see harrisons investment in the countrys infrastructure, so being very mindful of the need for tuition for national defense. And so commissioned the first u. S. Battleship, the uss indiana. He also was very cognizant of the need of the country to honor its promises to veterans. And so four and signing the pension act, i think, was one of his proud achievements. He was also able to break the logjam, nationally, admission of states. So, six states were admitted to the union during his administration. There was a lot of National Debate about the surplus of one the budget was passed through congress. Somebody complained about it being a 1 billion budget, and the retort was this is a 1 billion country. And it was the first time the budget had crossed that 1 billion rush holt. Threshold. But harrison said it was wise to make investments back into the country. He appreciated the need for the country to do so. But he was greatly stymied in that election of 1890, when the south grew fearful of the legislative changes that harrison was making, and especially of being able to protect africanamerican Voting Rights. And so it created a backlash against harrison that carried through to that 1892 election. And again, as Charles Calhoun has written at length about this, how much that Voter Suppression in the election of 1892 likely suppressed the africanamerican vote in the south. But it certainly didnt help with Caroline Harrison, the first lady increasing illness, and it became apparent she was on her deathbed, fighting tuberculosis. So she actually died in eight october of 1892, so harrison, of course, was consumed with that loss, had already committed he was not going to campaign for himself for reelection. Grover cleveland, at respect for harrison, also declined to campaign. And it was a very somber election of 1892. So harrison returned to washington, and the results of that 1892 election, shortly after Caroline Harrisons funeral in indianapolis. So post presidency, Benjamin Harrison, first of all learning upon news of his defeat, so he felt like a man released from prison. He appreciated the significant contributions he could make to the country, i think he also appreciated that he had more to give in life beyond serving an office. And i think he was relieved after the loss of his wife, caroline, to be able to return to indianapolis to have time to think and reflect on what the next steps in his life would be. Actually remarried in the mid1890s and had one of the few president ial children, a child born postpresidency. Its interesting because you end up with a 19thcentury family and a 20 century family in that respect, because he had two grown children, and at the time of his death, he had a fouryearold, elizabeth. We are now in the president and misses harrisons bedroom. So here on the second floor of the home, here in the president s bedroom, we have furniture that belonged to the bed, the dresser, several items belonged to the harrison family. Another interesting piece we have here in president harrisons bedroom is his home gymnasium. It was made in new york and actually belonged to the harrisons before they went to the white house. He actually took it to the white house with him. It was his own little exercise equipment, his home gymnasium. It has wooden dumbbells, wooden indian clubs that you would do arm exercises with, and then a pulley system that has a model dumbbell metal dumbbell at the bottom of it. We dont know how often president harrison used this, but it doesnt show up in a white house photograph here and after his presidency. And after his presidency, we know the young daughter, elizabeth harrison, recalled that she was playing with it one day. And you would have to attach it to the wall to use the pulley system. And apparently, he did not have it attached to the wall while she was playing with it. She pulled it over on herself. So, Benjamin Harrison died here in indianapolis, actually in this house that he and his wife, caroline, had built in 1874. He died in 1901, in his bed. It was actually a certain illness, passed away fairly quickly before his Adult Children were able to arrive and be at his bedside. So, hes is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery here in indianapolis. Its inappropriate to for harrison, tomb for and i think it speaks to harrisons modesty, both as a leader and as a person. How understated it is. It is an extremely wellbuilt house, but you can see what phenomenal care has been taken of the structure since harrisons departure in 1901. But i think you get a real sense of character and personality about the harrisons themselves, just moving through the space, that is not ostentatious, that if anything, speaks deeply of quality. And i think that thats harrisons character through and through, understated but of quality. [crowd noises] could you lower those signs, please . I have some very sad news for all of you. And that is that Martin Luther king was shot and was killed tonight. [crowd reactions] king dedicated his love and to justice between fellow human beings. Were actually standing at the intersection of 17th street and broadway in indianapolis, indiana. This is the spot where, on april 4, Robert Kennedy gave his impromptu speech, so to speak, informing the crowd of Martin Luther kings assassination. I was in a position, on this side. So if you look at the picture of Robert Kennedy at the speech, theres a collage. But that was the angle from which i was looking. And i was no more than 25 feet away. So i was relatively close, being here as early as i was, so i got a good spot. We did get here early, 24 years old at the time. I had just got out of the navy the year before. I came home and indianapolis had changed somewhat. This is still a predominantly black neighborhood. I had spent four years in the navy and had become a tournament printer. And i came journey man printer. I came home and i couldnt get a job based on experience because it was 1968 and i was a young black man, basically. So i was here with a group of young people, about my age, some of the younger. Some a little younger. I wanted to see and hear for myself what he had to say. Kennedy was in indiana to enter the indiana democratic president ial primary. Just a month before, on march 16, kennedy, and washington, d. C. , had announced that he would be trying to win the nomination for the democratic president ial race. It was pretty crowded field at that time. The incumbent president , lyndon johnson, was still in the race. And another senator, this one from minnesota, eugene mccarthy, had also thrown his hat into the ring for the nomination. And really the indiana primary was the first opportunity for him to test out his message and his campaign with voters. So, although it was a long shot, indiana, which is a more conservative state, even among democrats, didnt seem like the right state for kennedy to start his campaign in, and it was a bit of a gamble. But as kennedy himself said, Michael Campaign is my whole campaign is a gamble so were going to start in indiana. Following his speeches in south bend, university of notre dame, and at the university, kennedy was supposed to, according to his schedule, flight indianapolis, come in at the airport as it was then known, from there go to downtown indianapolis, open up his new campaign headquarters. After that event, he was supposed to come out here to the Broadway Christian center, 70th and broadway street, which is in the heart of the africanamerican neighborhood, give a Standard Campaign speech, talk about what he was going to do if he won the nomination. And he was also signing up voters, registering people to vote because they needed every vote they could when they may 7 primary came around. Indianapolis, when he was at the airport, there were a couple reports that kennedy heard the news that king had been shot. Not the news that he had died yet, just that he had been shot. So when he arrived in indianapolis at the airport, kennedy finally learned that king had died. Confusionwas a lot of about what the Kennedy Campaign should do. Should they cancel the speech . Should they go ahead with it . They knew that they were going to cancel their appearance at the campaign headquarters. That was a given. But they didnt know what to do. And there were people here who got word back to Kennedy Airport that youre going to have to come out here and Say Something because if you dont, there might be some trouble. Already, news was filtering out that a lot of the major american whens, violence occurring, people heard the news about kings death. So kennedy was thinking about who could speak to people directly and give them bad news, and be counted upon to do the right thing. So they decided that kennedy would come to 17th and broadway street to address the crowd that had gathered there. Kennedy had no prepared text from his campaign speechwriters. He was with his key campaign was, fred dutton, and there kind of, what am i going to say here in that car . What am i going to say here . Kennedy didnt know and dutton didnt have advice to give him. This street were standing on, 17th street, it actually did not end the way it is now. It actually continued all the way through. So the sidewalk would be just about where youre standing. And the flatbed truck was maybe 10 feet, 1020 feet beyond the sidewalk. Actually, i can tell anything. It just seemed like normal hustle and bustle of getting something together, except for the fact that you could hear him say, do they know . Do they know about Martin Luther king . You know, of course, the answer was no because the majority of people here hadnt heard it. So that was his first thing i could hear him say, you know . [crowd noises] could you lower those signs, please . I have some very sad news for all of you, and that is that Martin Luther king was shot and was killed tonight. [crowd reactions] when i was here and listened to his speech, the pendulum of my emotions, i could see it swaying, and it was in a matter of a minute, because i think the speech lasted no more than six or seven minutes, but it went from when he first made the announcement, one of anger and revenge, and the sound of that, the collective moans and the sighs, it could not only be heard, but to me it could be felt. I felt the wave of emotions that came through that crowd. For those of you who are to be and are attempted filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, i would only say that i can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I i had a member of my family killed. But he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond or go beyond these difficult times. The speech, like i said, it didnt last but six minutes, but i could feel my emotions move from one of anger and revenge to remorse, feeling sorry for this country and his family and his kids, 21 finally, by the time he got to the end of his speech, the words he spoke brought another level of understanding. After his talk here, kennedy went back to the hotel. He was scheduled to meet with a group of africanamerican leaders. After his speech, that meeting went on. It was highly charged atmosphere, as you can imagine, with kings death. But kennedy kind of smooth things over, made sure that they know they had a friend in him and his campaign aides. They can always call on them if they had any questions or problems while he was going to be in indiana. I think they were mainly upset, of course, they lost a beloved leader. They were upset about that. And heres an establishment figure in Robert Kennedy, and i think they took out a lot of anger on him because he was there at the time. Kennedy took it with good grace. He did point out that, you know, he didnt have to be there. He was wealthy. He was an established person. He had his own family to worry about. He couldve stayed home at his estate in virginia, but no, he was out here talking to them late in the evening and listening to their concerns. So i think that really nullified most of their concerns at the time. Robert kennedy wins the indiana primary. He goes around the state, very happy with the way hes treated by indiana voters, felt that they gave him a chance. They listened to what he had to say and they resonated with his message. From there, kennedy went on to win the primaries in nebraska. They go on, mccarthy and kennedy, out to western primaries. Mccarthy actually defeats kennedy in the oregon primary, the first time any kennedy had lost an election. So it comes down to the california primary, the big prize with the most delegates. Kennedy ekes out a narrow victory in early june. The evening after he wins the california primary, he is at the Ambassador Hotel in los angeles. He takes a shortcut through the kitchen there, and is shot and assassinated and dies a few hours later. I think kennedys coming to indianapolis shows you the part that chance place in history sometimes. You have all these things that had to come together to bring kennedy to indianapolis on april 4 to make those remarks to the crowd at the Broadway Christian Center Following Martin Luther king jr. s death. Words have power. And if words spoken with sincerity and meaning, people get. And i think he had a way the trip impromptu speeches might have been were weaved together so well, like a needle, it pierced the hearts and minds and, speaking personally, the soul, to make me think deeper about what this was so that it was easy for me to see the change of my emotions from the first one of anger and revenge, you know, moved to remorse, you know, to than finding, come to the understanding that dr. King realized that the message she was bringing was one that called for sacrifice. Ultimately, the ultimate sacrifice. He understood that. But he also understood that it had to be done. Dedicate ourselves to what the greeks wrote so many years ago, to tame the sen. Schatz of man savage nest of man, to make gentle the light of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Thank you very much. [applause] were at the steps of the indiana state house in indianapolis, where cspan is learning about the citys history. This is the fifth building to house the government. Up next, we take you inside for a tour. Became theolis capital in 1825. We had a couple of other cities in indiana which served as capitals. Wabash river was actually the capital of the indiana territory. And then we moved the territorial capital to another city on the ohio river. An cord and became the state capital when indiana gained statehood in 1860. After a few years, it became obvious that we needed a new capital city in the middle. So, we built one. We built the city of indianapolis here on the white river and we had two statehouses here. Ll, they had a contest when they were building this particular building. They were replacing a building that had not been well built, and actually had torn that building down. And so they had a number of architects submit the drawings. In this particular blueprint by an architect named edward may won the contest. The building was under construction for 10 years, 18781888. This building is primarily made of Indiana Limestone. And Indiana Limestone is used around the country. The impaired state building is Indiana Limestone. Empire state building is Indiana Limestone. Inky stadium is made out of Indiana Limestone Yankee Stadium is made out of Indiana Limestone. The building is built to last a long time. I suspect it will be here another 131 years and longer. In 1888. Has opened it was built at a cost of less than 2 million. The legislature had authorized 2 million for the statehouse and the governor told the architect, mr. May, if you go over 2 million, you pay for the rest of the building. So the architect inscribed in marble over here, the cost of the building, 1. 9 million. And so the building is really quite a bargain at that price, even in 1888. In the next major change was in 1988, when the building was 100 years old. They did some restoration and we spent 11 million doing that. They front of the building is actually the south side, and it was built to face the old national road. That was a huge thing in the early days. We now call it washington street or u. S. 40. They would be facing the south side of the building. Theres a gold eagle at the top of the building on the capitol grounds. We have a number of statues on the inks just east side of east side of the building. We have a statue of one of our most significant governors during the civil war. We have a statue of another governor, thomas hendricks, who later was Vice President of the United States. When you walk into a building like this, your eyes go up to the heights, and you feel as though youre a small part of something larger. Well see the beautiful stained glass and the dome, the dome is 105 feet above our heads here. And then above the glass is the dome itself, which is another 130 feet. So the building is to a to 35 feet in height 235 feet in height. This is the Indiana Senate chamber. There are 50 indiana senators. They sit in this room. They serve fouryear terms, no term limits. A common question is, whats the seating chart . Its obviously not alphabetical. They are seated here by party. Republicans are on one side, democrats are on the other. This chamber has stars in the carpet. And if you took the time to count the stars, you would find 19. The reason for that is indiana is the 19th state to join the union. The windows surrounding their chamber leads into the offices of the senators. The senators primarily have their offices surrounding this room. We call this the horseshoe set up. The states leg is way high above us there. We can see where the president of the senate stands. That would be Lieutenant Governor susan crouch. And she served presides over the sessions. She has the tiebreaking vote. 26 es votes will pass a bill here. Yes votes will pass a bill here. So the senators are not here yearround. Like most states, we have a parttime legislature. Legislatorss are here just a few months or year. Theyve gone home now and they will be back in january. Were in the Indiana House of representatives, which has 100 seats, and the members serve twoyear terms with no term limits. This is a larger chamber, of course, and we have a huge chandelier right above us, the largest chandelier in the statehouse. If you took time to count the bulbs, youd find 100 bulbs, one bulb for each member. Above us is the gallery, the balcony for the public. Of course, the public is invited to sit in the gallery of the house and the senate. Theres a mural in back of us there on the wall, and thats called the spirit of indiana, a mural painted back in 1963 by an indian artist, eugene savage. And well start in the middle. We see a young lady there with a golden dress. Thats miss indiana stepping into statehood. We moved to the right side of the mural. The artist is depicting the business and industry of indiana. We see the goddess of agriculture. The big bucket of gold and yellow stuff pouring out, that represents the steel industry. Yes, indiana produces more steel than any state in america. As we moved to the left side, we see how we spend our money, primarily music, art, and education. If we move down below the mural a little ways, we see the great seal of indiana. That goes way back before statehood. Theres a bison jumping over a log on our seal. We do have bison in indiana. Theres a man chopping down a sycamore tree. Thats what you do. You have to clear a lot of forest. So the great seal is on all the official documents. Its all over the place in the statehouse. Its on the rugs. Ts on the chairs the seal is also on the door knobs. Were in the office of the indiana governor. This has been the Governors Office says the building opened in 1888. Indiana has had a total of 51 governors, and the last 30 or so governors have used this space. Were going to stroll around here and see some of these portraits. The portrait on the left here is William Henry harrison. Hes the governor of the indiana territory. He became the ninth president of the United States. When he ran for president , the Campaign Slogan was to begin new and tyler too. On my right here is tyler jennings. Hes the first governor after they gain statehood in 1816. Over the fireplace is oliver p morton, considered one of the most significant governors in indian history. He was the governor during the civil war. We have portraits of other important people from indiana. On the corner here is a portrait of that governor holcomb says will always stay. And thats madam cj walker, an africanamerican businesswoman from indiana. She made 1 million or so. We think shes the first woman or so to be a millionaire with the cosmetics business. The table over here gets a lot of attention. This is the governors conference table. This table is 16 feet long, six feet white. It weighs 950 pounds. Its a beautiful work of art, solid wood. The state of indiana is embossed in the middle of the table. Indiana has 92 counties. Each county has a different color would. At the far end of the table is the indiana state fair like state flag, and at this end, the state feel. This was made by inmates at the indiana state prison. We are in the indiana Supreme Court. This is one of the oldest state Supreme Courts still in regular use. Many states now have a newer judicial building. This is the 1888 Supreme Court. Most of the furniture here has been here since opening day in 1888, all that cabinetry up there, so this room is still well used by the indiana Supreme Court. A common question is, where is the jury box . Well, this is not a trial courtroom. There is no jury box. There is no witnessed and. What we have here are oral arguments. We have attorneys arguing one of the courts made a mistake and there asking the judges to rectify the mistake. Theyre filing an appeal with the court. So the public is invited to sit here in these chairs and watch, and its all streamed online at indiana. Gov. The building still houses all three branches of government. The Governors Offices here, all the executors are here, the legislative branch is here, and also the judicial branch. And i think the building stands for the democracy that we have here in indiana, the solid pillars, the solid marble, the limestone represents the permanence of our government. And we welcome visitors from everywhere. Were proud of what we have your. Have here. Lieutenantgovernor, thank you so much for joining us today. It is my pleasure to be with you. Give us some perspective on your state. Where is indiana located, and wha for what would you say your state is best known . Let me start by saying that hoosiers are risk takers. We believe in those will blaze the trail for others, we embrace the american dream, and we know that through hard work our dreams can become a reality. We see the evidence of that in the explicit growth going on all over indiana. Here in indiana, we understand that our future is being built today. Years oflt of 14 fiscal conservative leadership at the state level, our economy is strong and getting stronger. Leave the country in investment fracturing, we are number one in the midwest, fifth in the nation for our business environment. State, andmost according to cnbc, in july, indianas infrastructure was ranked number one in the country. But our tech sector is growing at two times the National Average. Our Unemployment Rate is 3. 3 , well below the National Average. These are incredible accomplishments but they cannot be credited to government alone. Butrnment may light a pass, it is hard working men and women who are taken risk and make in the sacrifices that have put our state on the path to prosperity. We are what i call humble hoosiers we work hard, do whats right, put our nose to the grindstone we dont celebrate our successes. We dont tout what we have to offer like we should. That is a scenario we are be more on, is intentional aboutellin our story. Because people dont know what indiana is like, they dont know what we are known for, and to share with them all the treasures we have here in to liveis a great place and to work and to raise a family. It is affordable. Our cost of living is second in the country. You know, we have so much quality of life and so many quality of place and you can get a job, but is never a problem. So we really have to do a better job of telling our story. Sticking with the economy, you mentioned manufacturing and the tech sector. But you also have a lot of agriculture here. How does agriculture play a role in your economy . We are the 10th largest agriculture state. I know that because i am secretary of agriculture and rural development. When i am talking to chambers and rotaries, they dont automatically think of this business but agriculture in indiana is big business, it contravenes over 31 billion to the state economy. Five in ourtop ,oultry, in our livestock tomatoes, so much more. Agriculture is really a way of life here in indiana. Is either geography farmland, woodland or forest. What are the biggest issues affecting the state now . There are a number of issues we are doing with as are all other states. One is, we want to create the [indiscernible]. We have jobs that go unfilled because we dont have the trained, skilled workers to build them. We are in the process of continuing to create a culture within our schools and within our community that every child who graduates from high school has the career path. Whether it is a fouryear college, Community Skills training, apprenticeship, the military, we want every child who graduates high school to be prepared for that next step in life. That is a huge challenge facing our state and other states, but we are attacking it boldly and innovatively and we believe that we in the future will be able to continue to maintain that strong workforce. Because we have that strong work ethic. We have to mention that the Vice President is from fear, former governor. How does the federal government play a role currently in indiana , and what would people in indiana like to see at the federal government . You know, it is interesting, because we believe here in our partners at the federal level are important, but we also believe that there should not be that overreach, that we should not have the kind of interference from an allpowerful distant capitol. So it is a balance. We want to be strong partners. We have sent so many hoosiers out to washington, d. C. That are now serving in the federal government. Our Surgeon General is from hisana, the head of cmf from indiana, we have a number of prominent hoosiers that have gone on to serve in washington, d. C. So we want to continue to be a partner, but we also want to be a state that is responsible for itself. We have to look ahead to campaign 2020. Indiana is in an interesting position with mike pence being from here, but also, wood peach buttigieg being from here. The pollsents go to in 2020, what are they looking for from a candidate . What will get them to cast their vote . I believe hoosiers are not concerned about the partisan partisan bickering that goes on at the federal level, they are more concerned with issues that affect their everyday life. May want to know that the have a safe and secure a job, in the money to support their family. They also want to know that their communities are safe and that the have that quality of , deserve,they should and be a would to have. , we areindiana pioneers. T is kind of in our dna we are always looking to the horizon for a brighter tomorrow. Hoosiers arer involved in working every single day in their businesses, in their community, to make sure they are better for their children, their grandchildren, their friends and neighbors, they want candidates they know will walk alongside them and work with them to ensure that together, we can build a better tomorrow for future generations. Those are the kind of candidates they are wanting. They are wanting those candidates about care about them that care about them and the issues that affect them in their daytoday life. This is the 100th anniversary of womens suffrage in indiana. What role do you think women will play in the next election . Women represent over 52 of our electric. Unfortunately, best of our. Lectorate unfortunately, we dont represent that percentage in congress or in General Assembly is across the country. I believe the National Average for women in general assemblies across the country is something that 28 or 29 . ,he bright spot in indiana is out of our seven statewide officeholders, five of them are female. That is 71 of our statewide officeholders. That compares to a twentysomething percent in other states. So we are a leader in that regard. But women are going to play an Important Role just as they have ever since they had the vote in 1920. I currently chair of womens Suffrage Centennial commission, and the fact that women found 1920, they have been using that voice ever since, and we expect women to grow in numbers and to grow in influence in general assemblies and in congress and in governorships and in presidencies. Thank you so much for joining us today, Lieutenant Governor. Announcer the Indiana State Museum houses artifacts that tell the history of the hoosier state. Coming up, we go inside and learn about the people who helped make indiana what it is today. Welcome to the Indiana State Museum. Looks atm as a whole indiana from hisarliest geological beginnings up to the present. We will be focusing on those sections about explore the time when humans first came to indiana. And the first peoples were here at least 12,000 years ago. We will start looking at indianas first nations. The very first thing you will see when you come into the gallery is a case filled with beautiful objects that show how these cultures were not only surviving in indiana but really thriving. Here you have that entire span of representing everything from projectile points that were used for hunting, very practical vessels, to really beautiful objects. I would highlight the pipe in the center of the case here which is one of the first artifacts in the museum collection. It is actually a very beautiful pipe in the shape of a wolf. It shows the importance of pipes for ceremonial purposes in those early cultures. This one was probably made 500, 1500bout 100 years old. Vessel, is an enormous probably from the period right before the europeans came to indiana. It holds 14 gallons. We have food storage probably a food storage part. It was found in fragments and archaeologists reconstructed the beautiful shape. You can see the detailed patterns as well on the surface. The hind me is a map that gives an example of just how sophisticated and well traveled these cultures were. They had extensive Trading Network that covers most of north america. Map, itook at the represents a middle woodland culture. They are getting shells from the gulf coast of florida, getting materials from canada, obsidian from areas near montana, going thousands and thousands of miles, importing Raw Materials and finished goods, and well. Ing materials as we have moved to contested territory, where we explore who ultimately control what became indiana. That was a contest between european powers, france and britain, and even spain, and it was also a contest between europeans, and after we became the United States, the americans, with the native peoples, who were trying to defend their lands. We are looking at one of the earliest settlements here in indiana. In fun the french town ncennes. It was both a military outpost and a Trading Center that was central to the economy. It relied on excellent relationships with the native peoples who brought the far in. When the french came in, they were another trading who in. Ght the fofur the french were a great trading partner of the native peoples. They and other european powers claimed the land for themselves and ultimately, it was that aspect of the relationship that would make all of the difference here in what became indiana. It was also in this later period , an intentional effort to make the native peoples more dependent on trade goods so that they could be economically thepulated again, toward end of ultimately getting the land, whether through treaty or force. In the american revolution, you have very complex alliances between the british, the american colonists who are fighting, and other powers. After the revolution, britain seized on a norm of what is now the u. S. An enormous part of the u. S. The americans and edes an enormous part of the u. S. To the americans. But natives still own much of the land and that would lead to conflict. Initially, after these conflicts began in the wake of the revolution, the native peoples are very successful. They win many major battles. After the battle of fallen timbers, where the british make it clear they are not a reliable ally to the native peoples, many of the leaders of nations realized they are going to have to negotiate some kind of settlement. That leads to the treaty of anenfield, which cedes enormous amount of land in what is the Northwest Territory to the americans. The treaty of greenville is one of the earliest major treaties in the Northwest Territories that seeks large amount of land. It is just the beginning of a increasingre, with speed and frequency, treaty after treaty will take place, so that more and more land is taken from the nations . Control to the americans. Harrison was a very ambitious military and political leader from virginia. Late 20s, he is made territorial governor of indiana and almost immediately accelerates this process of treaty making and moving native lands into american control. William Henry Harrison would continue to have a great influence on the early years of what became indiana. He came from virginia, and wanted to create indiana in the model of an aristocratic, slaveowning society. But he had a lot of opposition. That opposition was led by a man named jonathan jennings, who had been pushing for statehood even before the war of 1812. With the war over, the push resumed. Jennings led a faction that really wanted to emphasize the likes of the common man, much more democratic and also outline, as the northwest ordinance, any form of slavery outlawing, as the northwest ordinance, in a form of slavery in the state. Budgeting faction would prevail and determine the course of indiana over the next decade. Iniana achieved statehood 1816. Most of the settlers were from the south, kentucky, virginia, north carolina, and they came to indiana for a better future. One family that moved to indiana was absolutely typical of pioneer families at the time. They moved from kentucky where they had just lost another farm because they can get a clear land title and they were looking for other opportunities. Whofather was a carpenter was moving into the community as who couldperson build furniture, cabins and buildings. He brought with him his wife, his son and his daughter. That son would become resident of the United States, thus that son, Abraham Lincoln, would become to president of the United States. We will look at a cabinet like the one they built when they can to indiana. We have pieces of the cabin that belonged to the lincolns or relate directly to them. As many people know come ats mother died when he was quite young. When lincoln went back to kentucky and brought back his stepmother, sarah, she insisted on a few improvements. That is what you see in this floor, they had to cut the windows, whitewash the inside and make it more livable. Many people thought pioneers brought only the necessities with them, but they wanted to live a better life, so they always brought treasured possessions. In the homes, there would have been furniture made by Thomas Lincoln, is a very skilled carpenter. Here you see two examples of his corner cabinets. They relate to the maximum you get what you pay for so on one side, we have a very simple, very practical corner cabinet that would have been something that was extremely utilitarian. In the other corner, we have a very much more highstyle corner cabinet with beautiful fine inlay that shows the level of detail and fine craftsmanship Thomas Lincoln roster his work. Finally, we have a mallet that belonged to Abraham Lincoln. He spent his formative years in 21. Ana, from ages seven to in this mallet, we like to refer to it as the railsplitter. Because at one time it was an actual railsplitting mall. You can see a groove in it with a barrel that was split in half, and lincoln reposte repurposed t into a bench mallet. He put his initials, a. L. And the year, 1829. Transportation was always a challenge. The earliest transportation was along rivers come up with there was always a need for roads. The federal government had started the national road, leaving cumberland, maryland. In the 1830s, it came into indiana. What you see behind me is a recreation of the national road, which shows you how difficult it would have been to travel on. Stumps inas that the the middle had to be shorter than 18 inches so that the axles them. Clear so it was a constant push to improve roads and to improve transportation not only within the state of indiana, but also link indiana to the rest of the nation. Indiana was cente centrally located, so some of the first roads crossed indianapolis. Railroadsoast crossed indianapolis. More and more transportation came through indiana so that it was ahab that was transportation so that it was a. We had one of the best realworld networks in the the early 1900s all the way up to automobiles come in in the 1920s. Aen today, we are still center for transportation and logistics, and a lot of people, if they havent been to indianapolis, they have been through it or flown over it. Here in enterprise, indiana, we explore the rise of industries 1840, and820 and foremost was the automobile industry. We have more than 80 towns and cities that have some element of automobile manufacturing in them, and more than 200 Companies Either made cars or were suppliers to those manufacturers. Here, we have two of the earliest cars that were made. These are both 1910 models. The yellow car was manufactured by john lambert, who made a variety of internal combustion engines for industry, then went into car manufacturing. 1891 is one of the earliest vehicles in the midwest. The other car was made by Elwood Haynes of kokomo. He made his first car in 1894. However, he was quite the promoter. He sent his car to the smithsonian, saying it was the first car made in the United States. Now, we are in global, indiana. That looks at the cultural explosion and Economic Growth after world war ii. You have the baby boom, the rise of youth culture, and new consumer goods, from transistor radios made here, to popular music, all varieties of culture and everyday life. One of those things central to indiana, which actually predates the postwar he bump, was indiana basketball. We were one of the first states where basketball took off. You could play with a small team , so even a tiny school surrounded by farmers could compete. And it has become a nationally famous. Most prominently through the movie hoosiers. Hoosiers fictionalize his the story of a tiny town in indiana and their high school became the state champion after beating one of the Big Powerhouse schools. Mylam made it to their championships and after a lastminute shot, won the game, a shot made but a man named bobby plump. And here, we have the kboard off of bobby plumbs the quintessential best low artifact. Over and overere again so that he was able to make that when he shot and ultimately went on to play basketball for Butler University here in indianapolis. Finally, i would like to focus on another famous indiana export, the jackson five. They came out of gary, indiana. Here we have costumes from a 1976 tour as well as their traveling trunk. They had a prime Time Television special. Their records sold millions. Individual members of the Jackson Family then went on to even greater stardom. When people come from indiana from all over the world, they recognize the jacksons. They are one of the biggest exports of indiana in terms of boast cultural and musical influence both cultural and musical influence, and we continue to see that today. I call this our aha gallery goes there are so many people from india and other people had no idea what from the state. In some ways, that summarizes what we hope you will find would you come to the museum, that you will be surprised what you find out about indiana, you will see how it fits into the larger current of our country and our world and you will see those elements that really make indiana a fabulous place by its own. Walker modem cj madam cj walker was considered the wealthiest African American woman of her time. The madam cjisit walker empowering women exhibit. In the early 20th century. Was mainly known for being an entrepreneur, of having her own hair care line and cosmetics company, and being a millionaire. She was born in 1867 in delta, louisiana. That is two years postemancipation, so we are talking about the throes of the vestiges of slavery and enslavement. She was the child of enslaved parents who then became sharecroppers. Poverty was a way of life for them. Working hard and diligently from sunrise to sunset from a very early age was part of her life. She was orphaned very early, around the age of six, moved to vicksburg, mississippi with a sister. She in turn then moved once again to st. Louis to work with her brothers, who were barbers. Many american women worked on farms, and many were sharecroppers but most were not able to get educations and could not have the job of your dreams cause of discrimination and segregation laws. These were laws, as opposed to just biases and feelings, they were codified laws that prohibited women from in general from living and working with you wanted to, but particularly africanamerican women. She left vicksburg and decided that it was not a Strong Enough base for her. So she came to indianapolis, the crossroads of america. At the time, this was the crossroads for railroads, distribution into the south, into the east, into the midwest, west. E far so she thought this was a great location to start and grow her business. And it had a decent sized population of African Americans. The growth of her business was because she empowered not just herself but her employees and agents,. She sold her wares by way of madam c. J. Walker agents, and. He also had beauty culturists she started Beauty School and she trained her agents to go out and sell not just for her, but for themselves. So now, women who were maids ands, cooks, other types of menial positions were able to get dressed and sell one to another. And she went all around the country to create this network of women who were selling her products. Madam walker was about uplifting and encouraging her race as well as her employees and her agents. Here you see on original document of a diploma in forgnition from the College Teaching madam c. J. Walkers method of beauty culture. This is not given to one person in particular, this is a stock one that was in her collection. This is what it would look like. The women who were part of her agents, she had conventions for them so they could come together and bond, he could continue to learn and to make sure they understood that they were special too, she created these very pretty National Convention of madam c. J. Walker agents, complete with members and a photograph. And because it was all about her and it was her branding of herself on her business. Myth, and we can distill that right now, that madam walker invented the hot comb. She did not. One of her agents used these hot combs. These are circa 1950 in courtesy of her great great granddaughter. With that, what she did use, these are examples of her work and her products from the 1920s. This is what they looked like. This was the original drawing for her wonderful hair grower. Through her earnings, she became a philanthropist as well as an activist, and they were tied handinhand. So she was very generous with her employees and her friends, and her agents. Active inso became civil rights of the day. She eventually left indianapolis because she thought the treatment here was pretty oppressive, even though she had so much going for her, she owned her own property, her own land, her own house, her own property, it was still in the throes of jim crow segregation, and it was rather punitive. She thought people in new york were more inviting and interested, so she moved to harlem. This is one of my favorite items in the collection that we have in the library. In the exhibit. It is a letter to the president of the United States, and congress of the United States. It went to president woodrow wilson. Protest,ut the silent the negro silent protest parade that happened along fifth avenue, where you could see in the background on the bottom, all these women dressed in white. The children marched with them in front, dressed in white. This was a planned march to talk about and to protest against all the lynchings, and people who were being lynched by mobs without trial. It is signed by madam c. J. Walker. To date, there is still no law law in an antilynching america. History is often based on the stories that people tell. And the facts and the documents and the papers that are culminated to get to that point. What makes history so poignant is who tells the story. Storiesften hear people by people who are not them. So it is very important to hear africanamerican womens stories, womens stories told by africanamerican women. As well as africanamerican men to elevate an iconic person like madam walker from soundbite history, is important because her legacy not only touches all and it is American History as well as black history, it reframes her life as a woman, and that she was more than just a pretty face, she was more than somebodys wife, she was the entrepreneur. She was the president , she was the chairman, she was the philanthropist, she was the activist. We are driven around downtown indianapolis with keisha geomet with the Indiana State Museum. Role with the museum, and what will we be looking at today . I am the curator of social history at the Indiana State Museum, which means i spend a lot of time doing research and particular research on African American history. We are going to visit some of the historical locations that help to tell the story of africanamericans in indianapolis. Africanamericans coming to indiana and indianapolis specifically . Many africanamericans were coming to indiana because we were a free state, although we did have laws that did challenge those freedoms for africanamericans coming here. 1825ow that as early as and previous to that, there were africanamerican settlements here. We know that as early as 1827, there were about 55 africanamericans living in the city and that population continued to grow, at times, a very slow growth, but it did continue to grow. We are entering what would have been the significant heart of the american community. Right, you to your will see a lot of activity going on. You will see a large brick. Uilding in the back ground that is Bethel African Methodist Episcopal church. Tos building dates back 1869. However, the congregation dates when William Paul Quinn and Augustus Turner established what was then known as indianapolis station. Tos building dates back 1869, and the congregation worships here until 2016. The congregation was more than just a place of worship, it was a place for social activity, a place to gather. It had a school, so it was educating the Africanamerican Community that would have lived here. This is indiana avenue. Indiana avenue was the heart of the Africanamerican Community. Even today, you see a lot of things going on. Imagine going back to the 40s and the 50s, you have jazz clubs, you have madam walker theater, w which had been there since 1927. Madam walker was born sarah in a december 23, 18. 67 she passed away in may of 1919. She was a woman who was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, someone dedicated to helping others. She became well known because of her Beauty Products and what she was able to build within that company. She definitely wants someone who was very important to this community. She moved to indianapolis in 1910 because of the network. There was a strong africanamerican population. Location. Ood physical she moved here in 1910 and a established a lab here, she had a Beauty School, and provided opportunity for a lot of women here. Not only here, but across the country. Before her death in may of 1919, madam walker had began purchasing land here in indianapolis to expand. Her daughter would see the completion of the madam walker theater, which would have the , afee pot, the theater ballroom, a casino, it was a true gem and a welcoming place for africanamericans. Indianapolis was not technically, the gilly a desk legally legally a segregated city. But there were places in the city that seems to have limitations for people who were living, the africanamericans living there, and the madam walker tear up provided a place for everyone to go. Where are we turning into right now . J street. This neighborhood is an area where individuals build their home with sweat equity. This neighborhood is the winter house home district. A lot of these homes go back to the 1950s. Would take about 20 hours a week or more and would do work on their homes, constructing and building. This took place after world war ii. There were over 100 homes built, and again, very much within the Africanamerican Community. When we turn left here, you will see the home. To the right, you will begin to see crispus addicks high school. Attucks was built and it opened september 12, 1927. Prior to that, you had students attending other high schools in indianapolis. They had planned for 1000 students and ended up with a total enrollment of over 1300 when it open. You had teachers who were theymenal teachers because werent necessarily able to get a job somewhere else. Yourave a school within community, you have amazing teachers. Crispus attucks became a source of pride. In 1986, it closed as a high school and became a middle school, and now it is a high school again. Again, they hope to continue that tradition of sharing the history of the school. And as we continue on indiana what would have been the heart of the Africanamerican Community, you will see to your left, knoxville gardens. Was built asardens a public works project. Between 1935 and 1938. Of thismuch neighborhood, it was a place where africanamericans could come and find a home. Units, 24ut 748 buildings. You had families living here. You had several individuals from today who remember and talk about growing up. At a time,was financial limitations for individuals who could live there, but again, there was a school there and you could have a home. What were some of the challenges for the people who were living in indianapolis at that time period . Adequate housing was a challenge. Which is why you had Something Like a locke field gardens, because the properties that were destroyed, demolished to build this apartment had been labeled as slums. So you were able to now have a home through that. But what were the jobs those individuals had . Andwere people surviving, how were they making it through . Locke fieldlocks gardens closed, and in 1983, all but seven of the original buildings were torn down. Now, we are going to go into ransom place. We can go ahead here on camp street and turn right here. Ran some was the attorney for madam walker, and this neighborhood is named after the ransom family. They have a lot of the original structures, but also, new construction. This neighborhood very early on, you had european immigrants. But after the 1920s come you have a very strong africanamerican presence. You can see that we are right part, inom a pocket recognition of the ransom place historic district. It is part of the National Register of Historic Places since 1992. You have an individual in jean spears, she moved to the neighborhood i believe in 1987, and she worked hard to help with the preservation of this neighborhood. This park is just a great place to recognize that. You will see the images there, you will see madam walker. You can see her from here. Had an george, who africanamerican newspaper from the indianapolis freeman. Booker t. Washington is also there. He was here because they were in 1913. G the avenue y it is interesting because madam walker had donated money to help , just continuing her philanthropy. What is it that you hope people you take around in annapolis, what is it you hope they learn about the africanAmerican History is this city . That there is a rich history, that there is an absolute rich history. That there are buildings that remain and stories that need to be told, that they recognize that it is a story about owerment, and even those even though there were limitations, there were reasons state iniduals i that community, and that of the community continued to thrive. But there was success, there was progress. My district is in indianapolis, indiana, the crossroads of america. We are the second largest city in the midwest next to chicago. We are a blue dot that means blue in a sea of red. The district is probably about 26 percent africanamerican, we have a growing latino population that is around 10 , a growing south asian population, arab population, Eastern European population. Veryr district is vibrant in terms of its cultural richness and diversity. Indianapolis really encapsulates midwestern sensibilities. Whether you are republican or democrat, we are playing within the 10 yard line if i could use the football technology. We still Want Better Health care , better educational system and better communities. Hoosiers,about the even in 2008 with the obama election, awww won indiana by 1 . We had a republican governor who won as well. That republican governor won indianapolis and other parts of the state in the greater indianapolis area, you had people who voted for the republican governor and also voted for president obama. It shows that hoosiers, oil we may be democrat or republican, there is still this huge libertarian streak. Rear at the indianapolis motor speedway, home of the largest single day sporting event in the world, the indianapolis 500. Next to me is the car that won the first indianapolis 500. We learn more about the race and why it is based here in indianapolis. Tomorrow, the speedway will be quiet, waiting for the next running of the worlds greatest race. Quite a race. Race. A it is not just a race, there is all kinds of Community Events going on here, a memorabilia sale, it is just nonstop entertainment for an entire weekend. Once the race begins, i think a lot of people look at it as, we threw a big party and now we can get down to watching a serious race go on and see who wins. Everyone is kind of let down after the race is over because you have to wait another 364. Ays final lap, and it is a threeway shootout. And of the home stretch, less wins the a mile, he indy 500 the indianapolis 500 is the largest singleday sporting event in the world and has in for many years. Speedway track is attracts about 300,000 people here for the race year after year. If you look at that literally, it is a 500 mile race, 200 laps of this 2. 5 mile track. More lot of people, it is than just a race, it is family reunions, reunions with friends, a very traditional event that puts in annapolis in the spotlight, obviously during the month of may. For a lot of people, it becomes something that is really transcending sports. The motor speedway was founded in 1909 is a company been built andeen march of 1909 basically completed in august of that year, although they find americas greed that they had to make some major modifications. But it was an entrepreneurial enterprise. There were four founders. A gentleman named carl or was the chief under. Jim allison was the number two guy, president of the speedway for a while. Two other gentlemen were the other cofounders. The reason they built this place was they saw the potential of the automobile and there was a lot of automobile manufacturers in indianapolis. They needed a place to test those cars. The idea was to have this big test track here where automakers could test their products. Then they started to realize, you know what, race them on the weekends then sell them on monday. So that is kind of how the idea of racing here started. When carl fisher and his track,tes build this indianapolis was actually number two in the nation as far as the number of auto manufacturers within the city. Number one was cleveland. So indianapolis had a burgeoning auto industry. Companies needed a place to test their cars and a lot of roads were dirt paths, nothing that could really get up to speed. So this place was built and testing began in that regard. However, there was a guy named anry ford that came up with process using that assemblyline to build cars. So when henry figure that out, and the model t started being built in detroit, any manufacturing hubs in automobiles shifted from indianapolis, cleveland, you name it, to detroit. The first event of any kind, any sporting or competitive event was a balloon race that took place in june of 1909. They launched out of the infield just a few feet from where we are now. One of the balloons actually made it all the way to tennessee and was the winner. The second event to take place year was in early august of 1909 and that was a motorcycle race. You had two wheelers here refer you had the race cars. They had a very hard time with the surface before you had the race cars. They had a hard time with the original surface, crust, hard rock. Unfortunately, the event was cut short because of accidents. The following week, the weekend of august 21, 1909, that was the first time he had automobiles racing here. That was a little more successful. The truck started to break up, however, by the third day of racing. That is when the bricks were laid down in fall of 1909. At car we are standing two right now is the wasp because of the long yellow tail of the back of it. It is the inaugural indianapolis 500 winner, very significant in global motorsports history. This car was built in 1909, races in late here in the speedway in 1910, and actually crashed during the 1910. They took it back to the factory and rebuilt it. A gentleman named ray harroun took this car to victory lane in 1911. He was very smart about it, very methodical. Everybody went out in the race to go as fast as they possibly could. Raid came to the conclusion that if he had a steady 75 Miles Per Hour pays for the entire 500 miles, he would have two fewer pitstops than everybody else and he could get by on two sets of tires. So he stuck with that plan and won the race as a result. So the average speed of the inaugural 500 was just under 75 Miles Per Hour, 74 Miles Per Hour and change. Compare that to todays track record for the 500 miles, which is 187 Miles Per Hour. It is amazing to look at the difference in the engineering of these cars versus what you have today. First thing you probably notice, the tires are very thin. These firestone tears were the staple at the 500 for many years. Firestone still races here today from a historic standpoint, the most important part of the car has to be the Rearview Mirror. Because when all these competitors showed up for the inaugural, you had 42 cars that started the race, everyone of mechanica ridein except for mr. Ray harroun. The idea was not to be a mechanic but to be a next a set of eyes, safety for the driver. Everybody thought ray would be very dangerous on the track because he did not have a ridei n mechanic. Being the engineer he was, he came up with the idea of, i will cut out a piece of glass frame it in metal and i will have a mirror so i can see everybody coming behind me. Truth be told, he probably couldnt see anything anyway because of the vibrations, but he satisfied everybody and was able to race in the race. As it works, you have the first car with a Rearview Mirror anywhere in the world, but also won the 500. Carl fisher, the primary funder, his first inclination was to build a five mile oval testing ground. He actually looked at doing that in Southern Indiana near french lick. It is very hilly down there and he couldnt find enough level a five mileild track, so he settled on the idea of a three mile track. The track designer, the engineer he hired came to realize that if he had two long straightaways 90 degree turns between the north and south turns, you could put a three mile track in here in the ground but merely. So he told fisher, if you ever here, you wantrs to put grandstands up there will not be room for them. So they decided instead of three miles, he would have two long 4raightaways, a 5 8 turn, turns that were a quartermile each, and that is where we are today. The early races were cut short because of the problems we have today, there were potholes. The surfaces started to break apart. When you are driving at 70 Miles Per Hour especially circa 1909 cars and you have a pothole, it will not end well. So there were a couple of pretty accidents. That is when the call went up to cut short the race is on the last day and seek out a more stable surface. Again, that is how he came to the conclusion that bricks would be the best way to go about it. The car we have here, a number 14 miller entry, is if intermission after ray harrouns big win in 1911. It is a thoroughbred racing car. For jiggly from 1928, it is kind of cool particularly from 1928, it is kind of cool, from the art echo era. It was built by a gentleman named harry miller out of california. He became a famous designer of engines and cars. Won many indianapolis 500s over many years. Another piece of this car, the driver of this car in 1928 was a gentleman named louis meyer. 1936. In 1928, 1933 and when he won. His. Third race, he became the first driver to win three times he was also the guy that asked for a bottle of art of milk in victory lane. Bottle of buttermilk in victory lane. That is a tradition that lives. O this day when the winner comes in and it has been the case since the 1950s when the traditionalist firmly established, the winner he, a glass of milk, they take a chug of that milk and they get 5,000 from the American Dairy producers. The milk all over his face didnt waste anything there. The bottle is already gone you could say this is a pretty good example of the. Hirdgeneration some people may argue with that. He went from the race on sunday, from monday kind of car 1918 to the purposebuilt thoroughbreds in the 1920s. You have the roadster era. This is a perfect example. It was driven by a legendary driver out of fresno, california. This car, when bill drove it in a 9052, he was leaning toward the end of the race, had the race wrapped up, and the steering failed. But het win in 1952 came back in 1953 and 1954. His crew is still trying to slow him down. Absolutely dominated the race. Hutee is coming down the c of the last lap. Not a lot of difference visually than what you saw in 1928 other than obviously a lot lower to the ground. The reason is that a lower center of gravity is much better at getting through the corners. They were thinking of the weight more than anything. The engine was transferred over to the side to better help the car get through the corners. All they had to do was turn left. So you had the engine on the left side for better way to transfer. Same thing with how the axles protrude more to the right side, again, better for the cornering. Everything was done really with turning left in mind, really, again, these are thoroughbred race cars. Really, the roadster is what defined in the 1950s. The brick pavement less than a very long time. The first coating of asphalt was put in 1939 just in the corners. Then gradually over the years after that, more of the bricks were paved over with asphalt until finally, the last strip of brick on the track was a couple hundred feet on the main straightaway, and it was paved over in 1961. Probably the most important link to our pastor that is out here and visible everyday is the yard of bricks. 36 strip of brick at the finish line. It is vintage 1909 bricks. They may not have originated at the starting line, but as the track has been repaved over the years, those bricks have been saved, and when they are done with repaving, they will put another strip of brick, they are vintage 1909 brick. We have a good example of cars all from roger penske, the industrialist. He has been very successful and a major force in indycar racing for 50 years now. Team penskes first entry into indianapolis 500 back in 1969, this was lola, built in great britain. The chassis is similar to the roadsters from the 1950s but you can kind of see a wing on the back of that as well. Just started to figure out how the aerodynamics worked on these cars. You come here just three years later, and all of a sudden, we have wings on the front and a huge wing on the back. The difference in qualifying speed for a car like this and a car like this in 1972 is about 20 Miles Per Hour. Speeds went up tremendously because you have wings on these cars are basically act like the opposite of airplane wings. Whereas airplane wings create lift and get the plane off the ground, indycar wings are designed to keep them on the ground so they can go through corners much faster. What you have here is a modern indycar. This is actually built, a chassis built by the company out of italy. Interestingly, these chassis were actually built about a mile from the track here in speedway, indiana. This car won the race in 2018 with an australian driver. These cars, about six and 50 andepower 650 horsepower about 220 Miles Per Hour speed. The best thing about these cars is the space age materials. The entire car is built with carbon fiber. A lot of influence with airplanes with ms. Car, not only because of the wings but also the safety standpoint. Drivers are cocooned in the car these days all for the sake of being it would hit the wall at 220 Miles Per Hour and come out of a crash safely, which i times out of 10 is what happens. The name of the game in terms of refining the car is to improve competition. You have very reliable in jeans, very safe cars, and the competition has been better than it has been an many years. This is his best chance so far. There is a lot of differences in auto racing and the stick and football,s like baseball, basketball. But if theres one thing that holds true in all of them, it is the competition, the desire to win. Some kids when they start out early in their life, they want to hit that ball and they werent to get a guaranteed contract they want a guaranteed contract and be a major star. There are other people mom and dad take them racing in it is much a family sport. A lot of names over the years have all been involved in the sport together. The desire is to win, just like any other sport. This is the super bowl of auto racing. As ofis only 73 people 2019 that have that qualification. If you have grown up around autoracing, that is a big deal. It is what has made indianapolis recognizable for many years. Fortunately, we are in a town that has really grown over the last few decades in that they indianapolis 500 is no longer the only game in town. We have a lot going on, a lot of amenities, the indiana pacers, the indianapolis colts, but this is the gradual as far as Global Recognition when it comes to sporting events. People know indianapolis because with a healthy sport, with the healthy track, i dont think that will ever change. [sound of cars racing] our visit to indianapolis, indiana is in American History tv exclusive, and we showed it today to introduce you to cspan cities tour. For eight years now, we have traveled to u. S. Cities, ringing the literary scene at Historic Sites to our cspan, your unfiltered view of government. Crated by cable in 1979 and brought to you today by a television provider. Coming up, tonight on cspan, President Trump discussing Border Security with the National Border patrol council. Then the Councils President brandon judd talks about the approach you Border Security. After that, senator Elizabeth Warren holding a town hall in arlington, virginia. Today, President Trump addressed members of the