Transcripts For CSPAN3 Dean 20240704

The latest in nonfiction books and authors. Funding for cspan two comes from the television companies, and more. Including cops. Friends dont have to be where. When you are connected, you are not alone. Cox, along with these television companies, support cspan 2 as a public service. I im logan ward a long and logan ward, a longtime feature writer, author of the men more see you every year. I spent with my Family Living in using only the technology from the year 1900 or earlier. But we are here to talk. Ive known dean for decades now. Since my earliest days in new york. I consider him a mentor and a friend. You have this boiler plate. He has written many books and magazine articles. He produces tv series. A description of his books, he brings history to life. Nonfiction writer, of course. One of the things i most mayer about dean is how he turns his personal passions into way back in the 1990s, he fell off the historic maritime novels of Patrick Obrien during the napoleonic wars. He spent the next decade or more becoming the obrien expert, creating companion book, some of which i helped him with. Eventually published the first biography of Patrick Obrien. The tale of the man who pretended during that research, in the new York Yacht Club library that was enough to spark another feature. That was the 1870 account of an American Ship which was wrecked off the coast of africa and dean sent the next number of years working on what became skeletons on the sahara. We are here to talk about his latest story, guardians of the valley, the story of yosemite. Thanks for being here. Thanks for the intra. Lets set the stage. Some words about john moore and what your focus on. John moore is considered the father of our National Parks and he was a scotsman. He was born in 1838, migrated to the u. S. In 1849. Eventually, as we will talk about, he discovered Yosemite Valley and would create the sierra club. And really lay the foundation for our modern Environmental Movement and inspired the likes of president theodore roosevelt, also of stephen emmerson, the poet ralph water emerson would come out to visit him in Yosemite Valley. So, im interested, im always interested in where authors come up with their book ideas. What led you to write this book . In 1998, my motherinlaw booked a cabin for my father in laws 70th birthday. We went out to Yosemite Valley and i took in the view of inspiration point. I dont know if we have images, if we are queuing up the images are not. But anyway, you probably know that inspiration point, when you look out and see the fall on the right, and on the left. True to its name, it inspires me and i knew that i want to spend time there. Then, as i was looking at the history of the valley and how it came to be, one of our Great National landscapes, i discovered that john was the first person who embodied the 70 valley story. He was also inspired by Yosemite Valley. You have a reading about that, want to tell us about your experience encountering it . Sure. I first experienced it, as many people do, through their gorgeous few from inspiration point. He went there, he walked there from San Francisco and went into the valley. It was very snowy, there were bears out, people said he might not make it out alive. But he did he is sorry that he was the ultimate person in the fall in love and decide he want to stay there. Getting a job with working as a shepherd. He went up into the mountains and the passage already for you is when he first looks over Yosemite Falls into the valley. He is looking over the falls, 5000 feet into the valley. There were no guardrails at the time. Yeah. And it is a picture of it in the book. When you get to it. Wishing to be part of this god work is nearly impossible. He took of issues in stockings pressing his feet against the slick granted work its way down untils head was nearly booming, brushing, interchange extreme. Noticing that at levels before that he hoped to lean out over the edge to see down and threw it to the bottom. But when he reached the edge, he discovered it to be false. Another steeper ledge lay below. It appeared too steep to allow him to reach the brink. However, he cannot convince himself to abandon the effort. He could see the cliff fully now and spotted in a rim, just what have to hold his heels. Studying the postharvest of the river wall, he noticed the seam on the steep rock face. A faultline that might provide him they needed finger holes to reach the cliff edge. His nerves tangled, he concerned his next move. The reverberation of the water involved him, he began to feel a part of it. The giddy mix of emotions, elation, wonder, fear, swam in his head. He decided again not to move forward, but then he did. Some inter while this had taken over. He advanced, choosing his steps carefully, it caught his eye. He plucked a few leaves, sat down on them, and soon felt the sudden effect of their bridges. Time slowed the slope was not his enemy. He was a part of it because when he reached the small edge about three inches wide, planted his heels on it, then he shuffled sideways like a crab towards the purposes. 30 feet to go. 20 feet. The water beside him now white and agitated. Ten feet. And at last, the edge was right in front of him. Thanks for, body stiff, arching, he peered over. His eyes poured into the middle freefall, and he watched the spill separate the streamers. Whose tails were reflecting the sunlight. As the creek float past him on his grand adventure, his body and soul seemed to hang their, somewhere in between terra firma and another current, in emersons words, he will new. In the woods, we return to reason and faith, there i feel nothing to befall me in life, no disgrace, no calamity which nature cannot repair. And later cannot remember and retreated from the edge. Although a slip of the heel couldve sent him over with the power creek, the magnificence of the fall, every active and changing form, its rumble incident silence. Its action a refraction. Its immediacy in the distance had him spellbound. So many stimuli bombarded his senses, there is no room for fear. Instead, where earth and water met aaron light, the religious fervor of his upbringing saw god. He saw god in the fragmentation of the stream and in the race of the sun passing through to make vivid rainbow beads. He saw god in the river above the stream, suddenly expelled from earth. The new journey, where it was some minimal tinslee manifest. Thats great. That was a Pivotal Moment for him. He just walked to explore, and heard about it. Did he devote his life to it after that . The valley had become famous. Abraham lincoln actually keep it to the state of california to preserve and protect for all mankind. Photographers were making their way out there. He heard about it, and planned to join a long walk to the south pretty common area. Youve heard of Yosemite Valley, went up there in this moment he had, there id make any of that up, this is nonfiction. He gave me all this material. I read relate to those water beads the light coming through. Hed go back to see the water light reflecting the idea that the stream came there to the cliffs edge to die and was reborn in the river below, kind of blew my mind. I think what he saw there, he had a very strict upbringing, father was an evangelical christian who whipped bible versus and. He had memorized the new testament and most of the Old Testament as a youth. But he never lost his faith and he had this really deep faith. I think he was looking for his own realization of that faith that wasnt like his fathers. You can see that he is finding in here. You mentioned emerson, he had read the transcendental lists and i think of them back east, emerson, throw, others. Hes a real wild man out there on the west coast. If the european settlement was relatively new. Hes experiencing these places early on. In a way, can you talk a little bit about that transcendentals pugilism that he was finding in these really dramatic places . Muir it was something of an autodidact that he did go to the university of wisconsin at madison for two years. Professors there were love for his love emerson and thorough. He started keeping internally emerson at the time, which he wrote his name on one of the journals, john muir, planet earth, the universe. But even early hippie. But he carried a volume of emerson around and also of throw and burns, the point. All these ideas about nature or sort of coming together. Burns, in his poetry, talks about the sorrow of trampling on flowers or the mouse that has been branded, something that nobody wants and how sad that is. Because its a living animal. This would have been a love for the small things in nature in an appreciation for animals and trees, plant life, all this is kind of new. At the same, time america is destroying the passenger pigeon. Its wiping out the bison. Its clear cutting the trees from coast to coast. These are new ideas and muir its going to echo what a person and thorough believed and really bring it to a popular audience. One of the things i was most surprised, by reading a book, i knew about muir from reading some of his writings and his thousand mile walk to the gulf. I love him as a naturalist and a conservationist, but i didnt was how brilliant he was and how varied his brilliance became. Can you talk a little bit about that wisconsin childhood and some of the other interest . And then what led him to become the voice of nature . Sure. You might say he was somewhat peculiar, his father would only let the bible and the house, the only what you would let the house was a bible. But muir its neighbors and with johnson realize, this was a really bright kid. Is working from dawn to dusk in the, fields dug a 90 foot well for the family almost died at the bottom of the well from the gases down there. Hes an amazing worker and technically read something, else because he had an expansive mind, he willed the machine out of wood and used a clockwork that would pull the legs out of the foot of his bed and dump them in a pan of cold water and when i am, so we could get up to read before having to go to work at dawn. Thats a little bit unusual, i guess. And then eventually, the neighbors were like, your inventions are incredible, have to take them and exhibit them in the state fair of wisconsin. So, he went to madison and would never go home after that. He was discovered there and he was admitted to the university of wisconsin. This room was a museum slash freak show, all the other students would come to see what muir was doing now. He will get death get it would also using cloth work to where he lined up his books and every 15 minutes he had moved to keep up custody schedule. Hes a beautiful speaker and had it firm lingo and a scottish dialect. People just want to hear him, talk this professor is where impressed by the puppetry of his language even then. What do you look like at the time . Was he tall and gangly . Im picturing his older years, but as a youth . Its always a winery, lean guy with a big pace, and outdoorsman. At that time, he had a pretty tightly cropped beard, not the long bushy beard that you see. One of my clothes with the book was to sort of bring him out of the woods. We singles portraits of him with a long, crazily beard but he was so much more than that. Thats what i really wanted to show all aspects of him. So, in a really nice review in the new york times, the review wrote to that guardians of the valley is the power of storytelling, the power of language in this way and how can change the minds of lawmakers and tourists like. That heavy turn is writing an inspiration into action. We can thank him for yosemite much others, we continue to talk about that. What him a writer and what continues to make its pros so powerful . Kept a journal, starting at manus and he started keeping a journal. A lot of what we see now are his journal writings. And a lot of what his books where were not actually published until late in his life. Editors were saying, hey, youve got to get this in, weve got to publish this. After he went to Yosemite Valley, he lived there for a couple years through the winter, is when most people would leave Yosemite Valley, it is still a very remote place prone to create snows and some amazing events where it snows and then it heats up and the whole valley is just flooding and hes out there roaming through chest high waters, taking it in. He had no fear. He lacked a fear gene. He started writing stories for, newspaper started studying how the valley was created at the time. The most common scientific theory was that cataclysm had formed the valley in the bottom had dropped out. But he knew and studied various natural scientists and knew something of glaciated and he look for the clues and found out that there was Glacier Movement that had law formed a lot of the valley. He went there and prove to that and put spikes into the glaciers that existed and so he is writing about that. And eventually, he wrote for centuries magazine new york city, which would become his chief vehicle and where he would discover Robert Underwood johnson. Perfect segue to my next question. This isnt just a book about john muir, the subtitle is john muir and the friendship that saved yosemite. He mentioned Robert Underwood johnson. He was he . How did they meet and why is he such an effective partner . Johnson was one of the fun discoveries. Really, i can do this by wanted to do something about Yosemite Valley and discovering muir. I dont know exactly when i started researching it which direction it would go. And it amazing relationship with a woman named jean carr, who is the life of one of his professors. So a botanist and he was very into botany and geology. They begin sort of, soulmates would introduce him to emerson, has been wood and berkeley and in that area would be their guide to Yosemite Valley. I thought maybe thats the story. And when i got part way in the muirs life i thought, Robert Underwood johnson will be the person who would empower muir, but down these mailing ideas of you asked me what made his writing great. At this engineering science mind, kim server, very patient. He could go into the woods in the valleys and state for weeks by himself, just observing. That power of observation in the discipline to put it down on paper, i think muir can be a tough to read a phrase but once you develop a taste for it and realize its almost like reading poetry, everywhere it is meaningful and beautiful and well thought out and the descriptions are incredible. So, johnson certainly as an editor at essentially magazine realized that, and tree magazine wanted anything he could write for them. So, johnson was a man of action, really. Where muir was also meant, action a great adventure and explore. But a political beast was the right way to put it, he eventually went out and met with muir and they would go into Yosemite Valley. Muir would say hey, youve gotta come out here and see the valley with me. Because the state owned the valley but muir could see that they werent taking good enough care of, it logging was encroaching on it. There was still she grazing, massive industrial sheep grazing and from his sheep herding days he realized at the sheep in just eat the foliage, they ate the roots, they ate everything. He quickly realized that, if that happens, hes going to get erosion. In the streams, the valleys are going to die. If you dont save the land around the valley, the valley is not going to last. He took johnson out there to show him how beautiful it was for one and also how it was in trouble. Johnson, they go up on swampy meadows, kind of the north part of the park out of the valley. It wonderful camping experience, johnsons amazed at seeing muir when his real natural habitat, roaming round the rocks taking him and showing johnson around. Finally, johnson around the campfire says, muir, you write me two articles and all published them in century and bring them to washington, d. C. And put them on the desk of every Congress President there were going to get a bill passed and creighton actual park. One bold Great Stories even though hes skeptical, because he had net any success in the political realm. Johnson publishes that make of his down to d. C. And i get this bill passed. Its a rolling so easy . Much of the book is johnson back on the east coast saying, muir, were stalling, youve got to get me more stories. Those are the things that caused the politician to act. I was really struck by that. Johnson with a real urbane guy, he was an east coast are and a city person, savvy savvy and house of congress. Johnsons own right was an amazing guy. And one, point i wanted to call the book mr. Johnson administer muir. The publisher was, like you cant do that. Muir comes first. But because i was so taken with johnson, most people dont know who johnson is. We became an ambassador to italy. We also stumped for and had International Copyright law passed. And he lined up mark twain to fight for another literary luminaries of the day. He took part in what is probably our best history of the civil war, where century magazine, for three years, interviewed leaders on both sides of major val battles and publish to those. Thats what made century magazine go from circulation of 125,000 250,000 and really be a leading voice of the nation. It empowered johnson and would be been a great place for years voice to go. Johnson grew up in indiana, and he eventually would go to chicago, where he worked for scribner and books get sales. Is that when the great chicago fire happened and he was one of those kinds of guys who seem to be at a lot of central events in history at the time. Hes really taken with him. Its a four decade correspondence between muir and johnson, it takes six days for letter to go across country but it is a conversation they held for four decades. From the 70s up to then 1914, when muir died. It is an amazing relationship that i wanted to capture in the book. One of the great pleasures of this book is stepping back from our contemporary world, where we all know that the instantaneous media, and thinking about the media and the communication across the country back then. How important have powerful century magazine was and how they would carry on, like you said, these conversations. Almost sounded like they were emailing each other but theyre sitting down and probably using a depend and writing these letters and sending them across the country. So, i hinted at some of your work to bring history to life. Receipt searching your previous book, you process a hair of camels and land rovers, you tracked a long march trail western china. Huge gunfire in appalachia on an atv. I saw from books that took place potentially decades if not centuries ago. What you gain from going to these places today . Where did you travel for guardians of the valley and how did that inform this book . Its kind of adventure, travel its a reward for spending four years behind the computer. It is the gm and i realized, when i do the skeletons on the sahara and i went to africa, i realize that going to the sahara was maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity. Its about coming early on in the writing, process to get, information comes later. And the time manuscript lineman to the, desert i know the questions i want to ask. That worked really, well i could ask mike i. Many where the details. Thats part of my, technique i guess, as i do a lot of the Book Research and write a lot of the narratives so that i know what im looking for when i go there and what i want to find. That has worked well with all the books, and West Virginia was a little easier, getting shot that wasnt great. That led me to go to an innkeeper that i had met in the town of may go on and said hey, you need to meet a real hadfield, not a forest ranger to take me in. Because we got a shot at. The family real hadfield and once they got to me they took care of me. With this book, when you go in, you can win as a writer to to smell the smells and to see the sites and really get the feel of the place. Hear the, language meet the people. History sticks, and still with the people today. The stuff i discovered in the desert are in West Virginia that happened related to what i was writing about, my books are about a century ago perhaps. But a lot of the culture is still the same. The same when you go into this year in, nevada theyre pretty remote. You go into Yosemite Valley in that area and you have people who are really devoted to that region. He can pick up all kinds of Insider Information and go out on hills. Spent time with the sequoia tree you cannot read about that or look at a photograph or painting and really grasp what thats like. Its like sitting with a dinosaur. He was can imagine the intensity of it. Last october, a research for this got a little messed up by covid and the forest fires. Its hard finding a time to go on a deep dive. Also the weather, with the snow sometimes you cant go in through the tioga pass and that northern part of the National Park. For july or august, past trip went to Sequoia National forest, drove in on a dirt road for two or three miles. Hiked a mile and a half to the wool tree, which is in the congress basin, just wants the largest collection of sequoias. And muir that they look at the trees and right and assess them. But they were mel set up there, theyre taking it in these trees and he talked to the middle owner and the male owner said, look, these are magnificent trees. Can you get me a deal for some other property, ill swap it with the government. He relayed that back to johnson but they couldnt get the deal done. This entire converse basin, probably 2000 giants acquires were cut down. Except for number one, the bulls tree which is still there, ironically named after the guy were in the law operation. Left 199 sequoias but left one standing. We were there for an hour having lunch, not another person came there because it was still pretty remote. We still have that kind experience in that area, this is quite a national forest. To me, the spending that time with the scars and the trees, the place where the squirrels had squirrels away. The tiny little sequoia code that the saving for winter. A living entity understanding that cant look at a photograph of that tree. We took all kinds of photographs and only one really sort of expressed how gigantic it is. Because im like a tiny little and next to it. You cant even realize until izium in that its a person. But these kinds of experiences, i think, are invaluable for somebody writing a book like this to bring it alive for readers. There are lots of pleasures on this book, but one of the biggest pains or the most difficult was reading about the lawyers who killed those giant trees. It was tragic. Health about that at the give of passage that kind of gets at it. I read this passage because it is a pretty good, joe biden relies hour of this little passage ultimately did a virtual reading for our discussion for the mark twain house. And museum. The moderator there who works for the museum said, ever this passage three times and it nearly brought me to tears every time. They realized, what kind of effect it could have on her. This is the beginning of chapter 12. As the general noble tree fell and the converse basin grove in 1892, the after twains namesake met its demise. The giant sequoia lurched back against its stump in its death throes, as if admonishing the jubilant lumberjacks who it just severed the last fibers of what is believed to be the largest tree ever cut down. The massive 3000yearold sequoia, named after the sitting secretary of the interior, but if until the last moment very much alive, sent the men leaping as it smashed scaffold and rigging. A fell on the wildly vibrating stumps some 95 feet in circumference. The chicago stump, as it would become known. They found themselves balancing on wobbly knees in the midst of their own self induced earthquake. They would make a three foot tall across section of the tree, cleanly cut at both ends, hollow it out and then prepared for transportation to chicago. , where during the upcoming world colombian exposition, erected in the white city, in the rotunda of the government building ranked by benches and outfitted with a spiral staircase. It wasnt just the logging operation, it was the institution. Its really interesting to think about what motivated these men to cut these trees down. Its depressing. Its, ironic he mentioned they named the tree after mark twain and then kind of down. He was in europe at the time, struggling financially trying to make a living. They cut the tree down. I tried to find anywhere where he mentioned it but he never talked about it. I dont think he even knew that he had a tree named after him but it was the mark twain tree. Here is the secretary of the interior, who had this great tree named after him and it gets whacked. Its kind of surprising. The tribune muir crazy, he understood the importance of these trees. Not many people, did the giants a quiz or anything Good Building would. There is would but it was often brittle and used for fence posts and roof shingles. When they fell, it would splinter. That put a bed down and branches were to fall on so it wouldnt shatter. You should definitely buy the book for the photos, alone but by for the amazing story. Its about 15 minutes left. I thought i would open the floor to questions. Does anyone have a question for dean . Weve microphones going around. Heres one right here. Im just begun your sahara book, i havent read this one, but the question is for both of them. Now that youre moving on with your life and doing your next project and all, how has your philosophy of life or how is your vision changed as youve let these experiences, those two and im true the other is of what she spoke. Patrick obrien too. Im just, wondering when i read something a year later off i think, first of all, 16 is the best animal story, its not about yosemite. But you get the gist of the question. I think id like to go back into history and, as you said, bring it alive. I could point out a lot of places where time seems telescope history. Constand was a maybe a couple lessons. And i, often when you go back and look at history, its not black and white, its messy and more beautiful and fun and relate will. If we try to crystalize it, becomes almost untrue and itself and i think when you are, particularly a lot of cases where muir was of some purist trying to keep people of nature to protect nature. Its all about bringing people to nature. This year a club that was created at the same time these two trees were cut down was created to bring people into the sierra nevada, to experience what, was to him, the greatest manifestation of god. He could bring people to the mountains, they would fall in love with the mountains and the trees. And then they would protect nature. I think all kinds of mythology and legend develop and so, for me, my phone is going back and living with history in finding all but pieces, almost a great story. You look for Great Stories where they still evidence or record, written record, whatever documentation. If you go back and live into helen there and look at those, records they can be interpreted so many ways. Reinterpreting that material is really fun. I think. Ive learned a lot about history and the way we interpret it and what lessons we take from it. In this one in particular, i think i swore my appreciation for nature and what were going through now in dealing with our planet is enhanced. Heres one here, not a microphone right here. In the year 1999, i wanted to go to california. And they did. A friend of mine was still living there. It took me to the deerwood. Amazing, because there is one tree that had an area where a car could go through the tree. I dont know if that still there. That is amazing to see these beautiful, huge trees. Who got i got to see them. Then you will appreciate deans book. I was going to buy the book. I dont want to have to walk all the way over there in all the way hand all of that. A 30 got him on amazon right here. It is a question right behind you, is that a question there, sir . A little nervous about my question. Known him from way back in new york. Question today in. First, headed to pick your moderator . We get to that in a minute. The book is entitled how he saved yosemite, i would kind of way to get an elevator pitch of the story of why you think he saved yosemite. And how did mountain men pay for his living out there . What was he doing . Just writing for later . I assume it was writing, but how did he live . Those are good questions. Theres a lot in this pork. Muirs life was brawling, he was an inventor, a writer, he worked in factories and created the most efficient process for making wagon wheels. , so a very complex person if you think in terms of their cutting down trees. Thats really a wonderful story, i think, in its complexity. Part of the complexity there is that Abraham Lincoln saved the valley during the civil war. Was under pressure from long in coming up. Mining, shepherding and everything. Hes fighting the battle to save the area around. Well, they did that but then you had a National Park around the valley. For the next 15, years he and johnson fought to have the valley receded to the federal government to create the National Park that we know today. Ultimately then, San Francisco, the whole second half of the book its battle for hatch had chi. San francisco, after the great earthquake of 1906 and the fire that destroyed San Francisco, they want to be part of this National Park to create a National Park. They, father that they lost the battle but they won the war because from that the National Park service was created. Which would then make the National Parks and viable and ultimately save the park, even though that was a dammed up. Thats really sort of where the title comes from. It really saved all the National Parks for preservation. The way we know them. [inaudible] he actually married into the fittingly of a fruit rancher. For ten, years ran a very prosperous fruit ranch. His father in law was a botanist it is creating better fruits. They were very effective. His fatherinlaw built a bid big mansion muir would move into. It was also draining him and his, wife who was devoted to his wife was devoted to her fathers work in but ranch in the love to. But she realized that muirs its demanded that he returned to the mountains in the woods. She insisted that he go back and still go under this climb mount rhyneer v ascension of honey or and go back to his writing and advocacy. Johnson may come start this here clip in at one point he says, johnson, and youve turned into a lobbyist. Dragged on it. He was, proud hit the head of the sierra club for life. They created a great grassroots movement, would take the hit or road was about camping, taft camping. Its influences all over the modern environmental, movement the creation of the other National Parks and national monument. Really the precursor, johnson and muir, what happened in the 20th century with the uterus, well Franklin Roosevelt and creating the National Park system as we know it. Thats a great place to end. Sorry, were out of time but i did want you to talk about teddy roosevelt. He began the book with this fascinating scene of awe muir taking teddy roosevelt, former president . Getting ready to run for the second term. 1930 . Late tina three. Take some camping. Roosevelt was really taken with muir, inspired by him. We consider resident the conservations president. Talk olivia his influence on him and maybe read a brief passage about if we have time, id love to. Roosevelt went out on a whistle stop tour after taking over the presidency midway after mckinley was assassinated. Getting ready to run for another term and he needs to go out and johnson convinces muir to not go in a world botany tour, to stay, their take theater as well. Camping president wants nothing would get away from his handlers and go off. Its, like get away for, me im going out with muir. For three days, they go camping. They have amazing conversations of which we have various reports. Up to interpretation. But i think one of the great examples of muirs sins on roosevelts Roosevelt Speech immediately after coming out of yosemite, having been with muir. You can hear muirs words echoed in his speech. Sure below read here to you. Thats a good little stab, cooler was about made use of freshly inspite allocution in the vein of his new friend, muir. Cling sacramento is lying and at night under the giant sequoias and been lying in a temple built by no hint of, man grander than any human architect could buy any possibility build. I hope for the preservation of the groves, giant trees, simply because it would be a shame to isolation to let them disappear. They monuments in themselves and in california im impressed by how great the states. But even more impressed by the immensely greater readiness allies in the future. I ask that youre marvelous Natural Resources be handed on an impaired to your posterity. We are not building this country buys for a day. It is to last through the ages. The president s deeds would be even more impressive. He would signed into existence five National Parks, 18 national monuments, 55 National Bird sanctuaries and wildlife refuge is and 150 national forests. Camping with the president was a remarkable experience, muir later said, i fairly fell in love with him. The two of them together, i think, did a lot of good. Thats, great thats a great place to end. Thank you, dean. Thank, you appreciate it. [applause] American History tv, saturdays on cspan two. Exploring the people and events that tell the american story. At three pm eastern, watch the second part of the caliphate coolidge centennial conference. Marking the centennial of the 30th president s ascension to the white house. And a 9 30 pm eastern on the presidency, pete susan, former white house photographer for president S Ronald Reagan and barack obama, text with the daytoday workiof