American history tv. It is not as the gate city because of its ties to transportation. It is located in the piedmont region of central North Carolina. With the help of our Time Warner Cable partners, we will look at the history of greensboro. Visit that woolworths counter at the center of the civil rights count movement. Is that at the counter and ask to order coffee and pizza. The response was really mixed. Another waitress was saying something like, we dont serve colored people here. They came here to sit down and take that first step. Later, here about a deadly clash in 1979 between members of the kuklinski plan and ask ku klux klan and communist party workers. I think it is so shocking to watch the film of the event of november 3. You have a group of people standing on the sidewalks, cars driving by a close and reach the sides of the cards. You have men running back and forth. Its hard to tell when you watch the film who represents the klan or cwp. First, get an up close look at a 200yearold dress worn by first Lady Dolley Madison and hear the history surrounding the dress that dates back to the british. The trunk was a large leather carriage trunk reinforced with iron and large nails. Inside it was printed cotton fabric and red leather. Inside this trunk, where gallons, gowns, a trademark turbine, a beautiful gold leon silk slippers, pieces of fabric and muslim, and treasures that many of us which keep that were mementos of the past. They all belong to Dolley Madison. This is probably one of our most popular first ladys. She was born may 20 1768 to a quaker family. She lived in American Life which took her to eventually become one of the most Popular Figures in our early American History. She had Seven Brothers and sisters. After a stay at a farm here in Guilford County, they moved to virginia. Eventually moving to philadelphia when dolly was about 15. It is there that she married her first husband, a young attorney and had two sons. She experienced the tragedy of loss during the yellow fever when she lost her son and husband and inlaws. She moved later to the Washington City at the age of 25, aaron burr and James Madison introduced her. She was married. We know that she had an outgoing personality and made up for the shy of her husband during his presidency. She helped receptions for all of the citizens. She felt like the dignitaries and citizens alike were as important. She had an intuition to make people comfortable, and it was often said that you did not know who is a friend or foe. After james died, ali began to return on and off to washington dolley began to return on enough to washington. Her sons thats where mounting and she was as bit it was evident she was becoming vested indestitute. A trust fund was set up for her by members of congress so that she could be protected as she began to age. When she moved back to the city as a widow, and alone, she had a nice anna, who lived with her. When Dolly Madison died, she had cash to leave anna and her son, but keep left it to her son. He began to squander those and at his death, there was in austin auction. And i and her husband purchased as much of the madison items as they could. If you fast forward a little further, some of these treasures and items they left to their daughter. In 1899, mary decided she also would have an auction. It is through this that we are able to document the items that we have in part of our collection. The items that did not sell or maybe were mementos that were cap eventually ckept, and eventually ended up with her son and his wife. When john passed away, she became a recluse, often saying she had treasures in her home to neighbors. Eventually she passed away and when her body was discovered, the house was a trashy, full of wood and no power, uncashed checks and barrels of trash. After months and months of cleaning the house, charles halpern, who had been given that task did one more walkthrough. And in the attic he saw an envelope with a green seal on it and walked over. He noticed the date was 1832. He removed a single mail from a panel in an upstairs attic room and discovered a trunk and books and portraits stuffed under the eaves and was this treasure of Dolley Madison things. A local group in greensboro, Guilford County, formed a Dolley Madison association. Their task was to acquire this collection. On her birthday, may 20, 1963 they donated the collection to the historical museum. Since 1963, we have had this story available to the public. Displaying different items from time to time but trying to include her life story from her birth to her death. Some of the items we currently have on display is a medallion that was given to mrs. Madison and daughter of james cooper and John Quincy Adams notes in his diary, that these awards and medallions, several were struck and only one within the silver that was given to mrs. Madison. A carved ivory calling card case with a card and closed with dolleys signature and her maid. Some small cut glass perfume bottles, and a pair of silk slippers that have tiny little ribbons. The portrait is of john vander ling a john vander ling of dolley. The two dresses are reproductions of a silk gown she wore earlier in life and a red velvet down, which is intriguing that it has lasted. There is also a legend that accompanies the stress. We are currently in the secured storage area where we had housed some of the madison collection that we want to share. Some of the highlights from this trunk of treasures. This is one of our most special and intriguing legends. It is a red velvet downgown. It is protected under special tissues and laid on a tray that was specifically designed along with support elements. The gown is quite fragile, and was worn often. You can tell by the wear and tear. The date of the dress is probably about 18151820. We can tell it is in the empire style because of the highways high waist and puffed shoulders. In the back is a lot of detail with gathering and a six button closure. What we also know is that it was altered overtime. There was a long train attached at one point. That train was sergeant. We can also that train was shortened. We can also see the fullness of this court the skirt. There was some gathering to make more space at the bottom. Maybe it was altered for someone to have more room to move. What we know through some letters, of people who visited dolley late in her life, and commented that she was still wearing the old style the velvet gowns with puffed sleeves from her youth. But everybody loved her anyway. She continued to wear this empire style throughout her life, are vestiges of that particular. Of particular era of her life. The dress, which is 200 years old, is in very fragile condition. You can tell from the wear, under the arms and some of the scenes,seams, light damage over time and the inherent nature of the textile to become weaker. This dress that we discovered has a legend that perhaps it was made from the draperies that dolley saved in 1814 from the president s house before it was burned by the british. Let me try to recreate what we know and maybe what we dont know. We know that alleyDolley Madison war and enjoyed fashion. We know that when james and dolley where redecorating the president s house through correspondence with the designer, there were discussions about the drapery. The decision was made to use a red velvet drape for one of the rooms. If we fastforward to 1814 as dolly is planning to lead the president s houseleave, and is packing up things, she mentions in correspondence that she packs china and sober and red velvet curtains and puts them in a wagon. To the bank of maryland for safekeeping. We know there is a portrait she saved of george washington, which is really what she is known for as well went to new york. We know she mentioned that the draperies left the house that was burned within minutes of her leaving. If we fastforward a few more years, we know that there was someone doing research on the madisons and their furnishings. When they looked at the dress, they made a comment that this was drapery weight fabric. We have been doing tests comparing fabric samples, and looking at many aspects of the dress. What we would like to know is to find out what happened to those streets drapes the night they left the president s house. There are some things we are still exploring in the story. Some other treasures and a trademark of dolleys were her turbines. She had quite a fashion influence on new capital city. The turban was a popular headpiece in the early and late late 18th and early 19th century. This was made of french sharpness silk. She was also known to add jewels or plumes, and could be seen across a reception hall. That is how you could find dolley. What is incredibly special about this particular turban is, in a way we can authenticated is the type that were made in Matthew Bradys studio before her death. When it dolly was on her way to the groundbreaking for that washington memorial, she stopped with her niece anna, and had this image made. She is wearing the turban. Also, you see these black curlsshe used to wear a headband that would give her these lovely curls that would cascade from her headpiece. She is wearing a paisley shawl. All of these are from her younger days as far as fashion is concerned. There is another silk cap that is part of the connection collection. Her niece, anna, is one of the main characters who is so important in a so many of these items. They descended through her family. Her daughter and then to her grandson. And here is the infamous trunk that was found under the in the house of pennsylvania. It is leather bound and probably dates about 1845. It was a trend that would have been used much later for dolley and possibly by her knees and husband later. Niece and husband later. You can see how beautiful it is inside with a roll of fabric and red leather. This would have been full of the objects and clothing. There were about 90 objects that were in the trunk or laying beside the trunk as well as letters and documentation. The back panel has a little brass hook that drops and reveals another platter pattern and a deep well for storing documents. Maybe unmentionables. And then this envelope. It would have been used probably to hold perhaps tickets are other important documents. There are so few things that exist of dolleys due to the circumstances and the end of her out life, that you have these pieces and items is a real treasure. There arent very many pieces that exist that can be attributed to her and her family. Since dolley is North Carolinas only first lady, and was born here in Guilford County, we feel honored to able to be able to share and share dori her story as well as other items from other family descendents. All weekend long, American History tv is joining our Time Warner Cable partners to showcase a history of greensboro, North Carolina. To learn more about the cities on our 2015 to her visit cspan. Org cities to her. We continue with the look at the history of greensboro. This is American History tv on cspan3. The International CivilRights Center in Museum Opened february 1 of 2010. It tells the story of the citizens that happened which launched a wave of antisegregation sitting across the south. This building once housed the will worth store. What happened here in 1960, four young men from North Carolina amt university chose that day to make a stand and take a seat so the rest of us would be able to do that. They took a stand against jim crow, and a segregation, against whites only access, and to being seen as a firstclass citizen. They came here to this will Worth Holding building and be treated like a firstclass citizen and he served against policies. This enemy the m is the actual lunch counter area that has been preserved. There are seats that have been taking out in other areas in other museums. The gentleman that that in here the four young men that sat in here, a lot of the things you see here are the actual advertisements and different menu items. These four young gentlemen were mccain blair, mcneil, and david richmond. They were freshmen at a historically black college and university here in greensboro. They came to the will worth store, set at the counter, and asked to order pizza and coffee. The response was very mixed. One waitress said we dont serve colored people here. They came here to sit down and take that first step and demonstration. The word spread quickly. That this would be ongoing and other people wanted to get involved. There were adults that would show up and other students that also wanted to be part of this. Students from Bennett College and at the time, womens college. Other students and Community Members that wanted to get involved and then behind his rate and courageous step. They waited their consequences. They talked about being afraid, but they also talked about what i would say, that courage is not a lack of fear. It is the way that i think they finally decided to come here and take that step. They talk about that and lawenforcement and the police what would be the reaction. They talked about the dangers and consequences. They talked about their futures. They had been advised and counseled and encouraged. They had been trained about what would happen. They would go through these mock experiences where people would be calling you names. People would be spitting on you, and grow food on you. People may be chanting things and getting in your face. There may be some physical experience. There were mixed reactions in greensboro. A lot of people felt like this is just the way things are. And you keep the peace and accept that this is the way things are. I think other people feel like this isnt right. So there were mixed reactions to this. There were some people, white and black, that i encouraged and said it is about time. And lent their support. And other people said you are just starting trouble and this isnt good. It is just going to create more tension. There were mixed reactions. When the sitting sparked this dialogue and discussion about what is it we are going to do, there were requests made that when we are in negotiations if we could not have a demonstration. The negotiations went on for some time. All parties agreed they would not participate in the demonstration that the point and the decision was made to desegregate. Once you set a precedent, it could be used as leverage. It could be used as leverage to change peoples minds and actresses. I think those kinds of things are catalysts and important to start the domino effect of equity, quality, access, and justice. The fact that this happens in greensboro is is an incredible immediate sense of how to interpret and understand what we are going through today. To come to this needs him, go on the tour, look at the different exhibits, here reenactments and see photographs and to have an incredibly personal experience is very compelling. I think i guess us the courage to say, what must we do Going Forward . I think this place revised contextual information to understand why we had racial inequities today and why there is an achievement gap for students of color. Why do we had racial and ethnic disparities in health care . Why do we have overrepresentation in the criminal Justice System . This is here where we can put our hands on it and be not only the physical place at the interpretive space. The actions those young men took on that day and the fact that we can memorialize that here, gives us an opportunity to ask ourselves, what is my opportunity . What would i be demonstrating, and it those young men were here, what would they be seeing about what needs to be addressed . And what would be the strategy for that . All weekend long, American History tv is featuring greensboro, North Carolina. Home of the Guilford County courthouse. Although American Forces lost the battle during the revolutionary war, the writing left British Forces weekend weekendweakened. Together with our Time Warner Cable partners, we visited many sites exploring greensboros rich history. Learn about greensboro all weekend here on American History tv. In these mass marches going through down down streets, some of them and water dumped on their heads from building. It never got to the point where it was like, isnt this nice . It was never nice. It was just more than the city could handle in the final amount. It was about unanimity and solidarity and we are all in this together. I grew up in ohio. Ohio was a little less segregated. Not less racist, but less segregated. So while i grew up in ohio and i understood that things were different in the south, i also grew up in a family that was very sophisticated about politics and what the situation was. I knew both sides of the coin and how i felt about it was that of course it was unjust and it needed to be changed. My father was very much involved in africanamerican rights as a social worker. He worked for the National Urban league. I was not unaware of any of this and what this meant to black americans. Essentially, life was like what it was for the rest of africanamericans and particularly in the south, it was a matter of jim crow segregation. That is, if we went downtown to the movies, we had to sit in the balcony in the closed section. If we went to a place to eat, we may or may not and probably not will not get served. What happened at woolworths, they enjoyed selling you snacks but you had to stand up at the end of the room. You couldnt sit down at the counter. In most of the places, you could not eat in the restaurant. In some stores, clothing stores, you were not welcome whether you had the money or not. Basically it was life and apartheid. It was life that was secret and segregated and secondclass citizenship. When people begin to think the same way and somebody else begins to think the same way and ideas take off for reasons that nobody quite understands. I think it was time. You know, people were fed up and sick and tired of being sick and tired, of being secondclass citizens, and so they all had that same kind of sense, it is time to do something. Dr. King came to Bennett College and spoke in 1958. There were things going on school desegregation, which was a big deal in america in 1954, 1955, the Supreme Court decision. All of that is going on. Here on this campus that was a student naacp chapter. The naacp has always had student chapters, and particularly in historically black colleges, which is what this is. Of course we had a chapter. The chapter had an advisor, a couple of advisors. In the course of meeting with the advisors and the students who are members of the chapter a lot of conversations took place about what can we do to make things better, do we need to be doing anything, other people are doing things in other parts of the country. Over a period of more than a year, there were conversations about what we could do and it kind of boiled down to sitins lets look at woolworths, lets look at what can be done. These meetings took place right here on this campus at the student union. And they were combined, Bennett College and a t and the Bennett College advisors as well. There were plans made to start the sitins. Those plans begin in the fall of 1959. Somewhere along the way they were advised by the president of Bennett College, who happened to be my auntie, who said you should really not do this until after christmas vacation because if you start this and you go home for christmas vacation, the momentum and energy and enthusiasm will be broken and you will have to kind of start all over again in the winter. That is why it got put off from december of 1959 and that is why when the guys came back from christmas vacation in those days, you had a long break on college campuses. Most of january, people were gone. We got back at the end of january and the a t fellows decided they were going to go downtown and sit in without having a meeting with us. They kind of jumped the gun. The planning for it was essentially done and it was not it was spontaneous in the sense that those decided to take the bull by the horns. It is not that they suddenly woke up that day and it was a new idea. I went there on the third day. The guys had gone down on the first and the second, and here is the third day and they are expecting us by this time. They know something is going to happen. Number one, it is quiet. Number two, the lunch counter, which was very long and lined up, but it was quite intimidating because most of the seats were empty. I remember when i got there, except for College Students. Except for a t and Bennett College, most everybody else was like im not going down there because anything might happen. There is this empty seat and it is quiet and we going sit down and wait, you know, to see what is going to happen. A waitress came by with a tray of knives. She was so nervous that the knives were rattling. I was a little nervous, because i did not know what she might be doing with those knives. I could tell that she was scared. She was as scared as i was. We sat there with our textbooks trying to study. I remember her saying, we cant serve yall. We dont serve colored. Im going to have to ask yall to leave. We had instructions. Just dont say anything. Keep sitting, dont say anything. If they asked you what you would like, ask for a cup of coffee. But they never asked for what we wanted because they want going werent going to serve us. I sat there for at least an hour. I think we had our shifts. We had planned so that if you went at 9 00, you were back on campus at 10 30 for your 11 00 class. We had cars that went backandforth for transportation. I dont know who was driving. To this day i dont remember. I think i was to nervous to remember who was driving us and dropping us off in front of woolworths, and that same person would be there in an hour to pick us up and bring us back. It was quite a nervewracking, exciting, you had the sense that you are doing something very important and very significant. They werent hostile. I dont think they wanted to provoke anybody. It was just deadpan. In terms of people where they came from, i dont know. You had a lot of young white guys hanging around, yelling making bad remarks. The day i remember that happening was the day i was picketing in front of woolworths with picket signs and these cars of young tough guys drove by and said of the ugly things and racial epithets and all sorts of things. And that was very unnerving. That was like, are we going to get out of this ok . You know. There were incidents within the five and dime stores as the weeks went on. The incidents got to be very scary. There were people who tried to provoke, especially the men were sitting in at the counter. Somebody got burned with a cigarette stub. What they were trying to do was provoke us out of nonviolence. Jostling people. I was not present for that. But all of that is in my book. I interviewed a lot of people. Many of them have received nonviolent training and were very committed to this way. This is the way you do this. We are very connected to dr. Kings philosophy and even some of them had been in demonstrations in other places. They called on that discipline of dont hit back, dont provoke them. There were techniques that they had to use and they believed in nonviolence, so it was not like in a vacuum. They knew what could happen and some of them had experienced what could happen. I think it was a remarkable exercise in discipline and commitment to the movement. It was not a matter of one nice day, they are going to let us eat. This went on until april. In april, they arrested 45 College Students and that was, i think, 13 bennett women were arrested in april and the rest of them went from a t. I dont know. I could not find the numbers exactly, the names and numbers. I do know that the newspaper says at least 13 women from bennett were arrested in april. And then there was a moratorium and a time to cool off and try to discuss things. But it was actually july before woolworths integrated. It was a tough fight, a tough fight for that particular store. Once woolworths was open, that did not mean that greensboro was open. It was just one fight after another until 1963. Greensboro was not the first sitin. It was wichita where the first sitin took place. The difference is it did not take off in the sense of National Media and people copycating yet. But greensboro, everything came together. People became galvanized and imaginations got sparked. There were sitin in South Carolina and florida and all across the country after greensboro. The fight had just started in greensboro. What are we going to do about other restaurants and movies . They try to keep hope alive, as Jesse Jackson says, by having meetings and energizing people. It was very difficult for a while. People graduated, they went home, got jobs. You have a small group of students and faculty who are left here to try keep things moving, and a lot of that is in the book also. A lot of those people were bennett people. One of the original sitinners said if it had not been for the women of bennett after the woolworths sitin, we would not have been able to move forward. Things quieted down in 1961 and 1962. Until around 1961 and 1962. Then it picked up again. I cannot tell you why. There are mysterious things that happened. People began to say, ok, and the national organization, the congress of racial equality sent some National People down the greensboro to help and they began to have organized sitin at the mayfair cafeteria and the movies. The more they did, the more people joined. By 1962 you have this continuing pressure on the city and marches and so on, which are growing and finally this culminates in the Police Department beginning to arrest people for trespassing. That is when you have 250 bennett women who get arrested in 1963. It is kind of a huge push for integration. Meantime in washington, you have president Lyndon Johnsons efforts to support the Civil Rights Movement and all the things that are going on nationally, so it looks to us in internationally so it looks , to us in greensboro like this is really it is passed time for you to open this city. What happened in greensboro is this growing Mass Movement with adults, Community People clergymen, teachers, workpeople, all kinds of people, and students all converging in mass marches downtown and volunteering to get arrested. We filled up the jails to the point where they had to start begging people not to get arrested. That was a struggle. Here at Bennett College, they tried to call my aunt to tell the girls to call off and she said i would not do that. They believe in their right and if i have to give exams in jail, that is what i will do. A and t guys had to struggle. With their president. They finally had to call them out of jail because a t is a state school and there was pressure from the governor. It became a tussle between the city and the colleges in the africanamerican community, and we were not going to give up at that point. They could not keep arresting 200 people. They did not have anywhere to put these people. They were housing the girls at bennett not downtown at the Police Station but at an old hospital where the polio epidemic had been in out of the armory because they did not have anywhere to put them. They had 30something girls in a room with five mattresses. When you are doing this kind of movement and youve got them on the run, its like, there is no way we are going to make it easy for you by not getting arrested. As long as you have this position that if you go in this restaurant you are trespassing and we are going to arrest you so we go in the restaurant knowing theyre going to arrest you. If you stop going to the restaurant, you have said that we are wrong and you are right. Ok . So that is your problem if you do not have anywhere to put me. All you have to do is stop arresting me for trespassing and serve me in this restaurant and the whole thing will be sold. Solved. That is how nonviolent direct action works. You dont do anything wrong. You just put people in a position where they will see they are wrong. You will be interested to know that greensboro was the last city of any major size in North Carolina to integrate. Having been the first to experience it, when you talk about a formative experience opening the door and getting in that car was like, ok, this is it. That particular moment said to me, this is a huge part of who you are. That you will take a stand for what is right and you will not worry about the implications of this and the risk you are taking. You will be this is who you are, and you do this out of love. You do not do this out of rage or anger. You do it out of love. All weekend, American History tv is featuring greensboro North Carolina. Television commentator and journalist edward r. Murrow was born near greensboro. He is famous for condemning senator Joseph Mccarthy and toris catchphrase, good night and good luck. Posted by Time Warner Cable partners cspan recently visited many sites visiting the citys history. Learn about greensboro all weekend here on American History tv. We are in greensboro, North Carolina, standing on the battlefield of guilford. During the revolution, the british had moved their campaign to the Southern Department and had captured georgia and South Carolina and were moving into North Carolina to try to what they called, restore wrought authority. Which meant, they would conquer the land. That is how they end up. Guilford courthouse. It was march 15, 1781. General Nathanael Greene was pitted against the british army under lord cornwallis. Cornwallis was making his march to North Carolina, conquering the land. General greene wanted to stop that. Nathanael greene was George Washingtons most trusted general. He was sense out. He was sent souhe was sent south. The Southern Army had lost two major battles and lost many men. There were very few soldiers left. General washington sent general greene south with the idea to try to stop cornwallis. Charles cornwallis with the commander of the british army in the Southern Department. Here in guilford courthouse, each commanded the british army. They were made up of veteran soldiers. In the Southern Campaign, this was the first battle in which cornwallis and green met each other on the battlefield. Both of the generals were different mindsets, cornwallis had this mindset of move forward and hit hard and continually hateit. General greene had a mindset of hate and backup or retreat. Hit and backup. By the time it occurred, general greene had raised an army almost twice the size of the british army. He felt pretty good about his odd. General cornwallis was encamped over deep river. General greene found out he was camped there. General greene brought soldiers and militia here at guilford courthouse. He sent his lines of defense to wait for cornwallis to come. General greene had thought about attacking general cornwallis while he was on the march, but that ended in disaster at the battle of canned him camden in 1780. So he thought was the militia he decided to make a stand that guilford courthouse. In the meantime, general cornwallis, who had this mindset of smashed the continental army, took out from presentday highpoint and marched from there to here at the ford courthouse. He did not have any intelligence. General cornwallis, that is. By intelligence, i mean the scouts were not out finding out where greene was or how his army was laid out. All he knew was that greene was ahead of him. So he marched the holy whole way. From deep river to here at the courthouse. General greene decided he was going to establish three lines of defense. What we call is defense and depth today. He was going to put his North Carolina militia on the first line, about 1000 soldiers, and put at about a thousand virginian soldiers on the second line and the third line would be greenes strongest troops. Continental soldiers. This map illustrates the battle against the courthouse. While we have at the bottom are the british troops coming onto the field. Then we have the first, second and third american lines. The first line was may have been of North Carolina militia. It faced the open farm field. The second line was makeup of virginia militia in the woods. The third line was made up of the continentals. They faced open fields and some would woods. The british moved forward and attacked the first line and then the first line pulled back from the battle, and ran away for the most part. Then the british moved on to the second line, and the second line made a stand. There were british moving forward, and it was the 23rd regiment the 71st regiment, and they had a heavy firefight at the second line. Then they pulled back and the british moved up to the third line. To attack the continentals on the third line. We are now standing at the third line field. The American Army was posted on this line. The two cannons anchored the flanks of the americans. The british came from that direction there, across the field and attacked the americans , charged up the hill. The second regiment fled, the first maryland regiment guy into handtohand combat with the bidders. While they did that, the american caverly came in and swooped on the british and had them up. Hacked them up. They rode through the british line and looked at the opposite end of the field and saw lord cornwallis and his staff near the British Artillery. So the american e charge cavalry charged towards cornwallis. Cornwallis reached the British Artillery and the British Artillery fired into the american cavalry and stop the advance of the americans. With that, the american officer in command of the troops, decided it was enough and he pulled off towards the north end of the battlefield in retreat. The british army then emerged from the woods and pushed the americans off the field. The british took the field, so they technically won the victory. In 18thcentury terms, if you took the field than you want. But the then you won. But the differences, the british lost a large percentage of their army. They could not get more soldiers because they would have to come from new york or charleston. They were too far away. Although he lost 25 of his army, over 500 men, he was able unable to put those armies back. General greene on the other hand, although he lost the field, kind of won the battle because greene retreated with his army intact and then he got more militia to come back from the end of the battle into his army. I the end of the army, greene was back up to almost 4000. Cornwallis didnt have any men to come to his aid. Cornwallis had to go off in retreat. He of course went to wilmington North Carolina. Then he had to make the decision as to where to go. If he went back to charleston, it would look like to feed. If he came back into the field, he wouldnt be able to fight again. Cornwallis decided he was going to virginia and take the british army in virginia. He took command of the british army in virginia and then ultimately he wound up in yorktown surrendering to the forces of the continental army. General greene was still retaining command in the Southern Army. He would ultimately march as a conqueror into charleston. The city of greensboro is a name for Nathanael Greene. Of course, we had this wonderful statue behind me of general greene on the horse at the time of the revolutionary war. General greene was one of the major heroes of the revolutionary war. His conduct in the war was exemplary. He was able to put men into the field and keep them into the field, and the militia saw that general greene was not going to sacrifice their lives needlessly. Following the war, greene had not only the respect of the general and the politicians, but he had the respect of all of the common militia soldiers that were involved in the war. General greene thought what would have been a total british victory fought what would have been a total victory. He was the one man washington could trust to keep men alive in the field and had washingtons confidence. He proved that his work in the Southern Campaign his worth in the Southern Campaign. All weekend long, American History tv is draining our Time Warner Cable partners to showcase the history of greensboro, North Carolina. To learn more about the cities on our 2015 tort, visit cspan. Org cities to her. Stuart. This is American History tv on cspan3. We are in blend with mansion in greensboro, nine lineup. North carolina. It is the oldest structure, it is today and Historic House museum. The only welding listed as a National Historic landmark building. Is the home of governor John Morehead here in downtown greensboro. Today, many historians look back on governor morehead is the father of North Carolina. Governor morehead was the governor of North Carolina from 1841 to 1845. He was a popular governor through his ideas of reform and industry and human rights. His political career really began late early through his education in law. After he graduated from the Caldwell Academy in greensboro he went on to university of North Carolina chapel hill. He graduated from there as a lawyer settled temporarily in Rockingham County to the north but quickly found more business here in greensboro, and he found his life here in greensboro. He quickly found a place in government as an elected official in the North Carolina house. When he was here in greensboro as an elected official, he worked closely with the large Quaker Community in Guilford County, and his wife had a quicker background. He took on issues of internal improvement in the state. He took up issues of slavery which was unusual for a politician in the south, working with the quakers, and he adopted other important issues, such as education. That really began to form his political platform. Governor morehead was one of the first candidate that ran a statewide candidacy. He would travel throughout the entire state of North Carolina, and he was a great orator. He was very personable. He actually won by a good margin and started his term as the governor of North Carolina in 1841. Governor morehead operated on a platform with four different areas of promoting the state economy. One of those was through improving transportation. He did that, for example through rail. He improved state industry. He did that by creating a manufacturing complex and enabling infrastructure. He thought it was important to expand Educational Opportunities to more citizens, and he wanted North Carolina to be more in the arena of new york and philadelphia in terms of design. He was able to do that by attracting architects like aj davis from new york to come to this state and design facilities, including his own home of blandwood. What aj davis proposed to morehead was a very fashion forward architectural style that related to italy. It had low roof lines, like you would see in tuscany. Instead of the building being faced in brick like you would have seen traditionally in North Carolina, it was stucco. What we have with blandwood is the earliest example of the tuscan villa style of architecture in the United States today. North carolina by the 1830s have become the rip van winkle say, as people call it. It have sort of falling into a slumber. Though it was one of the first of the 13 original colonies in the country, it was losing population as people moved to places like indiana and illinois, especially quakers and other people were moving to the Old Southwest of alabama and mississippi and louisiana to expand their fortunes. Governor morehead was challenged how to provide an opportunity to keep people here in North Carolina. One way to do that is to provide manufacturing facilities and farmers with a larger market. As he was running around the state, running for office, he was challenged because, if a farmer raised a great crop of corn or cotton, unless you could tell it to their neighbor, and the neighbor could pay a high price for it, they werent fully rewarded for the great crop they had grown. His solution to that was to extend a railroad from the coast into the heart of the state. The North Carolina railroad was something he was not able to accomplish until after he was governor but he certainly lobbied for the railroad. The railroad terminus on the seacoast, he established a new port city for the state, and that city was named in his honor as morehead city. It enabled people here in the central part of the state a broader market, and once their goods were parked in the port in morehead city, they could be placed on a ship and sent to philadelphia, new york, or london. He thought that it was important that more people have access to education, rather than just the very highest income residents. He began to lobby for an open school system. He thought it was important that women have access to education especially since he had five daughters. To that end, he opened a school in greensboro called the edgewood academy, and that was an extended Educational Opportunity for women. It offered courses in mathematics and writing and more accelerated subjects than what traditionally would have been offered women, especially in the american south. As he was governor, he maintained this as his residence, but he and his family did live in the executive mansion in raleigh. I bet that he had several favorite is, but i bet his favorite room was probably the west parlor where we are right now. It was probably his favorite because it is very much like him. The architecture of the building is a bit overthetop for North Carolina. The ceiling of the room is cast plaster. It was designed by aj davis. It incorporates North Carolina. There are magnolia flowers. There are vines, which are indigenous to North Carolina. This was probably one of the most elaborate rooms the state of North Carolina when it was completed in the 1840s. The doors are greene grained. They are painted like finer would, woods. Aj davis incorporated mirrors into the backs of the doors on the west facing sides of the doors so that as the doors were shot and as the last rays of sun were setting in the western sky, politely be reflected in the room and provide a warm glow and extra white. Fortunately at blandwood all of that has been retained. Weve never lost the original doors. They even have a little bit of cold paint gold paint around the outer side just to add a little more sparkle to the room. In time, he ended up having five daughters and sons three sons. It was an extensive victorianera family. The oldest daughter was leticia. She was quite capable and helped her mom and running the house. She was the first one to be married here in the parlor of blandwood. She did great things in her own lifetime. It was a dynamic family lots of kids and lots of guests running in and out. Governor morehead loved their family dearly. A lot of his accomplishments later in life were driven by his family life. We do have evidence that governor morehead did enslave people. That is in census records and documentation we have today. We simply dont have a lot of information today because the records just were not retained. We have researchers who are currently investigating this, and im hoping we will be able to find more information on the people that were working here and living here, but we dont right now. What we do know is that many of the enslaved people were working on a cash plantation, cash crop plantation about 40 miles north of here in Rockingham County where they did grow cotton, and he also had sheep, which were unusual in the south, to provide wool. We found that the number of people enslaved by governor morehead was a little lower than the average for someone of his wealth. We think that was likely the influence of his quicker wife quaker wife eliza lindsay. She was probably not comfortable with the idea of slavery and probably influenced him and not investing as much in slavery as his pure group probably would have. As the civil war began to rear its head in politics in the state, governor morehead was reluctant to see the state of North Carolina joined the confederacy. He had built transportation in the state that would have connected to a larger system of railroads and on the eastern seaboard a place greensboro in a favorable location halfway between new orleans and new york city. He saw that as a great opportunity, that greensboro could be the buckle of the belt from new york to new orleans linking washington to atlanta and philadelphia and baltimore. By breaking the country in two, that began to act that Strategic Vision that greensboro had. He saw opportunities and wealth diminished. He was very reluctant to see the state leave the country. To that end, he was elected and attended a peace conference in washington d. C. To try to broker a solution. Sadly, that failed, and when hes he saw all options for the state falling by the wayside, as states all around North Carolina joined the confederacy, he began to see that there were fewer and fewer options. Reluctantly, he joined with the confederates and decided to see the state join the confederacy as North Carolina was one of the last states to break away from the union. As the war began to wind down, energy began to focus in central North Carolina, as battles moved into the central part of the state. Jefferson davis, the president , fled richmond through greensboro. Governor morehead solving, but he also was able to have it able to have an open dialogue with union generals, schofield and cox. Governor warhead morehead welcomed them. He knew they could pretty much take what they wanted. He was welcoming to them. In fact, when the governor thengovernor Zebulun Vance sought to broker a truce governor morehead was called on to be the broker of that peace. Morehead discussed how to surrender the state with both sides and was able to