We are actually standing in front of a series of president ial limousines, which tell the story of the development of president ial transportation over the last 117 years or so. Right behind me is the 1902 carriage used by theodore roosevelt. The automobile really becomes a force in the United States starting in the 1890s. But by the time of roosevelts administration, it is a common occurrence to see cars moving on public streets. Roosevelt, interestingly enough, for all the reputation he has as a real forwardlooking progressive, really never cared much for automobiles. He wanted to remain in horsedrawn vehicles. I think partly he thought there was a formality involved with horsedrawn transportation appropriate to the dignity of the office. He also had a man of the people image she wanted to protect. At that time, automobiles were seen as playthings of the wealthy. It would not be good to be caught in a car. So he remained in the bromance use that for his primary transportation when moving around washington, d. C. Vehicles like this would have been fairly common, particularly in larger cities. We had a vision in our head from western movies that everybody had a carriage, and it was the equivalent of the family car in the 1860s and 1870s. Not so much the case. If you are in the city, you were most often walking on foot, perhaps bicycling by the 1890s. Certainly streetcars were , available at that time. Out in rural areas, you probably had some kind of a generalpurpose carriage. Not really a buggy that resembles this, but a farm wagon or something you could use to take into town if you are going. In larger cities, you would see these used for personal transportation or taxi services, but certainly for the president , he would be of a certain station that he would be able to use one of these, as roosevelt did throughout his administration. Next, we are going to look at a vehicle that along to another roosevelt, one of Teddy Roosevelts cousins, franklin roosevelt, who would be president a few decades later. Teddy roosevelt preferred a horsedrawn vehicle throughout his administration, which led to his successor, William Howard taft, to mobilize the white house fleet. He had an electric car, a gasoline powered car, and a Steam Powered car. From that time on, president ial transportation the vault quickly. The car behind us now is a 1939 lincoln model k, perhaps one of the most significant president ial vehicles in that it is the first car specifically modified for president ial use. When i say that, i dont mean armor, necessarily. Notact, this car was armored at all when it was delivered to the white house. Nor was it modified to be more luxurious or flashy. Instead, it was modified for practical purposes. For example, the upholstery is thicker than it would be on a standard lincoln, because a lot of people were getting in and out of the car, putting a lot of where on the seat. This car is most often associated with frankly roosevelt, and it has a popular nickname, sunshine special, which comes partially from roosevelts preference to ride with the top down it is a convertible whenever weather permitted, but also because of roosevelts sunny optimism throughout the depression and into world war ii. He retained this optimistic persona throughout his public appearances. This car was, in fact, modified even more after pearl harbor was attacked in 1941. In 1942, it went back to detroit, where armor was added to the vehicle. There is armor plating in the door. There is bulletproof glass along the side. Curiously, though, it is still a convertible, so there is a weak spot in the protection. Nevertheless, it does represent an important turning point in president ial transportation. Look at sunshine special here, there are modifications you would not see and other vehicles. It has got some wide running boards, still somewhat common in the 1930s. They were starting to fade away from popular to. If you look at the back of the car, there is a lit sign that said police, do not pass. In other words, if you, behind the car in a motorcade, you should not pass it. The president should always be in front of the group. There were also grab handles on the back and along the front and side for secret Service Agents to hold on to the vehicle, and a couple of platforms built into the rear bumper for agents to ride to protect the president and his passengers. President ial motorcade square motorcades were evolving at the time. They could still be fairly modest affairs. He would be in the car with perhaps a few police cars as as escorts. That is now the greatest honor and status symbol would be to be able to ride in the car with the president himself. Particularly important dignitaries or people roosevelt was trying to woo, perhaps members of congress, would ride in the car with him. There are also a couple of cabinets built into the rear of the front seat that can be used to store weapons in the event of an emergency if the secret service where to need them in order to protect the president. Several things you would see on a typical car. A siren in the front, red lights as well, so they could be used to get attention and get people out of the way as the president was coming through. With that, we can look at another car that came after world war ii and was used by a few of roosevelts successors. We are looking now at a 1950 lincoln cosmopolitan that was used by president harry truman and even by president john f. Kennedy for a short period, but it is most often associated with president dwight d. Eisenhower. As originally built, the car was a convertible. It did not have this plexiglass top. That has been credited to eisenhower himself. Supposedly, he had seen vehicles like this being used in europe during the war and thought it might be handy for the president ial vehicle. It is not armored. The war was over. There was no thought of security, or a least it is not thought to be a vital concern. But it does provide protection from weather, so in the event of rain or snow, the president can have some protection in there. Otherwise, you see it is sectioned. All those panels could be neatly stacked in the trunk, but it doesnt have to be used. That would allow the president to stand up in the car. There were a couple of handrails on the back of the front seat that would allow eisenhower or truman or kennedy to stand and wave to crowds as they pass by. Which also explains the shield upctangular there as well. That is a bug shield for the president standing and waiting to crowds. But this vehicle is really just a standard lincoln that has been searched a little bit and given perhaps a little more rigorous upholstery to hold up to the wear and tear of people getting in and out. There are platforms built onto the back for secret Service Agents, and some flashing lights, spotlights, sirens. But still fairly modest in terms of its appointed. But certainly served the president s very well of until the kennedy administration. Primarily, there was always just one main parade car for the president. That car certainly would be used whenever he was traveling in some kind of motorcade in washington, d. C. It might be taken with him when he was traveling. At this time, this car could have traveled by rail or even by airplane at that time. They start to move cargo planes to move these cars by the time eisenhower is president. But often, a president might use a vehicle furnished by a local dealer. They would just go to the local agent that looked convenient and , that was it. These state cars were really used for special purposes or very high profile events. President s wouldnt be driving themselves in their official capacity, not in motorcades, because their point was to be seen. These cars were always meant to provide an opportunity for the public to feel as though they were getting close to the president. However, president s did enjoy driving on their own. Perhaps on the white house grounds, more often in their private homes. I think of franken was about, who had a ford model a modified that allowed him to drive it with hand controls. Of course, he didnt have the use of his legs. President Lyndon Johnson sometimes went down to his ranch. He had several cars. He had one of those cars that turned into a boat. He loves to drive that into the river on his ranch and drive around in that. President s certainly did drive for fun, but not in their official capacities. The president ial vehicle behind me is undoubtedly the most famous president ial vehicle in our collection. And arguably the best known president ial limousine of any sort. This is the 1961 Lincoln Continental, used by president kennedy through all of his years in office, and it is, in fact, the car in which he was riding when he was assassinated in 1963. The car looks very different to whatnedy used it as we know today. We think of it as being a deep blue color, and it was a convertible, and it had no armor of any kind. This was the time after world war ii when, despite the cold war heating up, we do not think we did not think there would be that kind of risk or danger to a president s life. But this is also a time when the automobile is in everyday life. Just after president eisenhower signed the legislation that would create the interstate highway system. People are now traveling on summer vacations, traveling for business or work, going by car. To some extent i airplane, but the family car is very much a force of life. This lincoln was a perfect fit for president kennedy. If we think about large cars, like cadillacs and blinkens the 1950s, we think of those tailfins and the shiny chrome. By 1958 and 1959, it got a bit excessive. Perhaps, we went past the point of good taste. So when these lincolns were redesigned in they really were a 1961, breath of fresh air. The chrome is not overstated. This car is clean, very elegant looking, very formal. The Perfect Match for president kennedy, because we think about him as being very elegant, very modern, very forwardlooking as he leads us into the new frontier. The made a Perfect Match, two president kennedy and the vehicle. Everything about the car changed after november 22, 1963, when the president was assassinated. There had been a roof for the vehicle, even though it was a convertible, but it was a roof like the one we saw on the earlier 1950 lincoln, the bubble top, acrylic to protect from weather. It would not provide any protection from any kind of weapon. Of course, the car was in convertible configuration that day in dallas. After the assassination, the car was immediately sent back to the white house, where the fbi and secret service conducted a thorough investigation of the vehicle, took many photographs, and documented what they needed to for evidence purposes. After that, the car was sent back to its modifiers in cincinnati to be completely rebuilt as an armored vehicle. People are always astounded to think this car was put back into service after the assassination. They assume it was destroyed or locked away in a warehouse. The simple fact is, the president needed to have a vehicle, president johnson at this point, and there simply was not time to go back to the drawing board and build something from scratch. So the most expeditious thing to do was to rebuild the scar. That said, they thoroughly rebuilt it. Should it down to its frame and rebuilt it with titanium armor plating behind the doors, steel plating underneath the back seat to protect from a landmine or a grenade. There is a special filter put into the truck, so that if there was a gas attack, it would filter out and take out the harmful gas to take out the president , and there was this large wraparound rear windscreen, which at the time the largest piece of bulletproof glass which had ever been made. These cars always have this tricky sort of dual mission. One, they have to protect the president , but they also have to make him as visible as possible. It is tough to find the balance between those two things. We see the car now. We notice it is black instead of that elegant Midnight Blue we think of with president kennedy. That was done at the insistence of president johnson. Obviously, he was in the motorcade in dallas that day. He was always very uncomfortable riding in this car, for obvious reasons. But one thing he insisted, sort of at the last minute is that , the car be painted black. He thought the blue would be too associated in the publics mind with the tragedy in dallas. If we look at it now, we would notice there is a hatch built into the roof that wasnt originally there. That hatch was put there at the insistence of president nixon, who wanted to be visible. He wanted the president to be able to get outside of this armored double, if you will, and wave to crowds. So there is a sort of constant strain between the president and his protectors. The president wants to be seen. They thrive on that interaction with the public. The secret service would just as soon have them hermetically sealed. Of course, you could not have it both ways. Another thing with this car that i do not think they got it right, with all of the glass and the roof, it got very hot in that car. Of course the original air , conditioning, which just ran off vents in the front, would be sufficient to keep a car this size cool, so they added a second air conditioning unit. Even still, it would get sweltering hot in that car. This car was used all the way through 1977 into the carter administration. It was no longer the primary president ial vehicle by the early 1970s, but it might be used if the primary vehicle wasnt available for some reason. But it is kind of remarkable to think that it was used for that long before it was retired from service and came here to the Henry Ford Museum of american innovation. I should point out these cars, at this time, were not purchased outright by the white house or the secret service. Frankly, they did not have the budget at that time to be buying expensive vehicles like this. They were instead leased to the white house by lincoln for a nominal sum each year. Lincoln thought it was worth it, because they got tremendous publicity out of it, and it was a good deal for the white house, too, because they would not have to use tremendous amounts of money. The problem with these cars, as is all cars, at a certain point, they get too dated. This car would have looked modern in 1961, but was decidedly out of fashion in the 1970s. At that point, it had to be retired. And also, there was a new president ial vehicle, the primary vehicle. That is the one we can look at next. We are looking now in the last of our series of president ial vehicles here at the Henry Ford Museum of american innovation. This is a 1972 Lincoln Continental that was used for president nixon and used by every subsequent president up until george h. W. Bush. The first president bush. This car represents the final step in the evolution of president ial transportation. Weve done all the way from that chrome carriage used by teddy roosevelt, up through the sunshine special and john f. Kennedys lincoln as transitional cars, where the car modificationssome but this car is built from the ground up as an armored vehicle, designed from the get go to provide maximum protection to the president. You have a plating behind the doors, bulletproof glass, you have what they call runflat tires, reinforced with steel inside so if the tire gets punctured, it can still drive to safety. This car is built for president nixon and is used after 1976. But it is most often associated with resident reagan. He, of course, was shot in 1981. He survived, but it was perhaps more dangerous than we thought perhaps at the time. He was giving a speech at the Washington Union when he was shot. It is almost ironic. As the president was getting into the car, or more properly being pushed into the car by super Service Agents, he was actually not hit by a direct bullet but by a bullet that ricocheted off of one of the armor panels on the car. Through a gapt between the door and the body. If it moved a fraction, it was possible he may not have been hit at all. He was pushed into the car and then sped off to the hospital and was able to make a recovery. The car continued to be used. Any damage the car would have received that day would have been minor. It is something we do not think about. We think of these cars as glamorous, but they did live very rough lives, being bumped and pushed around in airplanes all the time, strapped down, banged up, scratched. There are also getting hit by paint, or by rocks, by protesters. It is part of the american way of life. We are free to speak our minds in protest, and these cars would have been on the frontlines of it. Of course, they did get a lot of tear. The secret service had a garage located near the white house where they can paint them, wash them, change their oil, all those things to keep them in top condition. Even with that, the cars did simply just age after a certain point. They fell out of fashion, the styling looked too dated. If you look at photos, the front and looks different than what it does now. They changed the front end to try and make it look a little more current. Whenever they could, they would try to do that to make these cars look fresh. They were still just become dated. Some of these cars are associated not just with the president s, but with the passengers they cared with them in these cars. Really almost any world leader and dignitary you can think of from the middle part of the 20th century would have ridden in one of these cars. We think of the roosevelt sunshine special. He certainly had Winston Churchill riding in that several times. Eisenhower had president charles de gaulle. Queen elizabeth rode in that car, as well. Any number of dignitaries would have been in these cars, too. Being in a president ial car is a real perk and a real kind of point of pride for folks. Anyone from perhaps a bigcity mayor to someone in the congress who the president is trying to woo in order to get legislation passed may get a ride in the car just as air force one is treated , as a perk today, something the president uses as a tool to persuade people to vote in the way he might wish them to. This is the most recent car we have in our collection, even though it was built in 1972. It is several decades old. The fact is the cars really arent going to museums much anymore. Not the primary cars anymore. Part of that is because they are not just building one primary car, they are building several copies of the primary car so , there are more of them out there. And partly, too, these cars are really destroyed at the end of the service life. That is perhaps, partly to keep , the technology from falling into the wrong hands, but also to keep the effectiveness of the armor against different and more modern weapons. So it is rare to see them in museums anymore. And we may not get anymore, either. Of course, we got these vehicles from the lincoln motor company. They were leased to the white house by lincoln. When the lease expired and the cars became too dated, lincoln took the cars back and turned around and gave them to us. No,w the cars are provided by cadillac and are purchased outright by the white house. So they will not go back to cadillac or General Motors or whoever. They remain property of the government to do with as they see fit. Visitors always have a lot of questions about these cars. The question they ask all the time about the kennedy car is, of course, is this really the car in which the president was assassinated . Because it is just hard to believe that it would have been put back into service and used for several more years after the assassination but it is. , it was simply a matter of the of time. They needed a car for the president , and it was faster to rebuild that one that to start from scratch. They ask about the reagan car, what looks like a spoiler on the with back. That is what they ask. Likeis car have a spoiler a racing car . That is actually a handrail for secret Service Agents. The bumper folds down to make a foot platform, that lifts up from the truck to make a handrail for them to hold onto when they are riding with the president in a parade. I think some people are surprised by the technology in the cars. They assume there must be rocket launchers hidden behind the headlights or special trackers or homing devices. No. Really, the technology is pretty basic. There might be a pa system in there with a microphone so the president could talk to a crowd. There might be a radiotelephone that could be patched in so the president could make phone calls. Thats really about it. These were transportation vehicles. They were designed to get the president where he was going to allow him to be seen in parades and those kinds of situations. Beyond that, the technology was fairly basic. If i had to pick a favorite car, i suppose it is the one a lot of people would pick, but i think of the kennedy car. Because that represents, really two worlds of president ial , transport. You have what starts as just a modified lincoln. It has been stressed and given a larger engine, but beyond that, it is just a car you could buy from any dealer. After the assassination, it is completely rebuilt with titanium planing, filters for gas attacks, steel plating but it needs to protect from grenades. But that is really a car that represents a changing moment where we really have to start thinking about protecting our president. It is surprising that it took that long and something that tragic to make that realization happened. Of course, president lincoln had been assassinated in the 1860s. It seems to be that for a time, we thought these would be abstractions. That people would not harm the president. That it couldnt happen again. Unfortunately, it did several times, even before president kennedy was assassinated. So i think of that. I also like the sunshine special, because it is so associated with president roosevelt and so perfect for his sunny optimism during the darkest years of the depression. And he loved that car very much as well. He enjoyed riding it and insisted on the top being down when it was nice. Both roosevelt and kennedy are charismatic leaders that thrived off interaction with the crowd. They loved to be able to reach out, shake hands. They really did get a lot of energy out of that. So both of those cars are really associated with that. Our president ial limousines are a permanent exhibit here. All of them, with the exception of the kennedy car, i have it on the floor and, since the day we got them have remained on the , floor. The kennedy car was off display for several years out of sensitivity of the tragedy associated with it, but it has been on display on the floor since the late 1970s. These are some of the first things people see when they come in, very prominently displayed in the front because they are , the first things people are looking for. They want to see them. I always have fun seeing people pose for pictures with these cars. They always pose with the sunshine special, with the kennedy car. A few years ago, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the kennedy assassination, we moved the car to the front, so it was closer to the entrance of the museum. That was one of the most remarkable days in my professional career, seeing people lined up out the door, waiting for an hour or more, just to spend a few minutes with that car. They left flowers, they left cards, they left notes. It really kind of shows how these are real, physical, tangible links to our own memories and our own personal experiences, and i think that is what makes these cars so special. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] you can watch this and other american artifacts programs by visiting our website at cspan. Org history. Cities tour is in spokane, washington as we explore that citys rich history and literary scene. Today, book tv features the history spokane was built from the money district. They had the gold strike and gold rush in 1883. That led to a silver strike. It was one of the largest producing silver areas in the United States. A lot of the mansions and eight buildings are all built from the money lanes. And the life and father of the National Park system. John meara was probably one of the most significant environmental thinkers, leaders. He is basically the protagonist for the National Park system. Sunday at 2 00 p. M. Eastern, American History tv features the history of expo 74, 1 of the most first and by mentally themed world affairs. Spokane was the smallest city in the world to ever host a world fair. But it was the first environmental world fair, to use the environment as the theme. If followed close on 1972 was the very first birthday. It was a great consciousness around the world about environmental is him environmentalism. We will also visit the childhood home of spokane native bing crosby. Tour today from 7 30 p. M. On book tv. The cspan cities tour. Working with our cable affiliates and visiting cities around the country. Labor day weekend on American History tv on cspan 3. At 8 00 p. M. Eastern, tonight, fears about overpopulation. Some of the issues talked about our pesticides was a big one. Pollution was a big one. Nonrenewable resources. Things like oil and gasoline. But the super big one, the thing that really overshadow that first earth day was the prospect of global famine due to overpopulation of the earth. Sunday on the presidency, the friendship between president s hoover and truman. It is easy to overlook the fact that they both had roots in farming communities. They had known Economic Hardship and selfreliance. They were transformed by the confederation of world war i. And they lived in the shadow of franklin d. Roosevelt. And monday, the 1967 detroit riots. We prefer to think about it like a rebellion. All of the energy and anger and activism that went into that moment had long been predicted. People had been begging for some remedy for the housing discrimination, the police brutality, economic discrimination. That frustration cannot be understood as just chaotic and incoherent. It was a rebellion. Threeday Labor Day Weekend on a mac tv on cspan 3 on American History tv on cspan 3. Unday night on after words, mark lvein talking about his book. We reached the point where we cannot get back. Where we are now overwhelmed in the culture, in politics, in the media, with this progressivism notion, centralized government, phony egalitarianism, of the smothering of individualism. Has it become so entrenched in our institution that there is no way to rip it out . I say this we have to do everything we can to confront to ourate it, explain fellow citizens what is taking place. We simply have no choice. Ordstch after after w at 9 00 p. M. On cspan 2s book tv. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the death of buffalo bill. Coming up next from the Buffalo Bill Center of the west in cody, wyoming, historians discussed william codys life before he performed in his wild west shows. They discuss his experience as a soldier in the civil war and indian wars, and his relationship with fellow marksman and showman captain jack crawford. This is about 90 minutes. Thank you, jeremy. Thanks to the Buffalo Bill Center of the west for holding this symposium. Thank you to cspan for filming it. This is a wonderful opportunity to get the story of buffalo bill and the west out to a broad american audience. That is the goal of all of us in this business to try and inspire others with a story of the American West and show why we love it so much. This morning, we have three folks who are going to inspire you and make you fall even more in love with the American West. We are going to have them speak in alphabetical order
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