Transcripts For CSPAN3 Ideals Of The Founding Fathers 20170704

Mccollough. But im also very, very happy to introduce his wife rosalie. Because i said to david, is rosalie coming to the lecture, and he said, i cant go anywhere without adult supervision. Rosalie is awesome. Rosalie is to david what Abigail Adams was to john adams. Shes the fabulous [ applause ] its true. Shes the fabulous indispensable life partner. Shes not only beautiful inside and out. But she told me last night when she met David Mccollough, she was only 17, and the first time they went to a coming out party together, they danced until 7 00 in the morning. And she said when she took her heels off to go to bed, her feet her so much she had to put the heels back on in order to sleep because her feet were bent in that shape. They care deeply about each other and each others well being. And they take advice from each other. And she told me that she often reads davids books to him because he likes to listen to his words and see where he might be boring. When you google David Mccollough, youll be blown away. By the richness of his lifes productivity. Im not going to give you a long list of everything but all of you google it. He has had the most extraordinary number of prizes and honors and honorary degrees during his lifetime. And hes received not one but two of the coveted pulitzer prizes. But let me tell you a little bit more i know about david. He has achieved success in every aspect of his life. Hes not only a great historian and writer and lecturer, hes a great husband and father and grandfather. Hes a great man. And a good man. And, you know, i think goodness counts in life. He said [ applause ] last week we had a dear friend visiting us, gordon gund, who is bli blind. And gordon said to stanley and me, i listen to books on tape and rely on them. And he said i would rather listen to Dave Mccollough reading than anyone else. When i listened to the wright brothers, i thought no reader is as good as David Mccollough. He has a mallifluous voice. And i practiced that word. When i was the regent at mount vernon on friday, october 26th, 2006, we opened the exceptional orientation center, Education Center and museum. There was only one man i wanted to deliver the keynote speech and that was David Mccollough. I was beyond thrilled when he accepted. As was everyone at mount vernon. He delivered a memorable speech. And it meant the world to me. And we were launched. And that night at the ball i watched david and rosalie dance and i will tell you fred astaire and ginger rogers, move over. In 2007, i hosted dinner on the piazza at mount vernon. Many american patriots were there. Peggy noonan. Michael novak. Richard melonskaf. Rush limbaugh. The new regent to be. Who are here today. David and rosalie were there and david stood up and said ladies and gentlemen, this is hallowed ground. Just think of where were sitting. And that we see a view across the potomac to maryland. And there are no high rises and no buildings and no lights. And thats thanks to the Mount Vernon Ladies Association who have protected the view shed. It looks almost exactly as it looked in the 18th century. And then he said this is where George Washington and martha entertained hamilton, lafayette, adams, jay, madison. He said, were sitting in the same place. And everybody stood up to toast. All of us were mistyeyed and had goose bumped. I once asked david is it true you do all your typing on a typewriter . He said, absolutely. I write on a royal standard, a 1940 model that i bought secondhand in 1965. I asked him why he never changed to a computer. Gay, i understand my typewriter and i dont understand computers. And also with a twinkle in his eye he said, i like to hear the ping at the end of the sentence. Rosalie told me that wherever he goes, that typewriter is with him. And all he has ever had to do is change the ribbon a few times. She also told me hes a great water colorist. I didnt know that. Hes a fine painter. And rosalie paints too, he said. But she says, gay, he is going to have an exhibit some day soon. After reading john adams in 1776, which david wrote at marthas vineyard, i said how do you get your mind into the 18th century. Oh, he said, i go out the back door after breakfast and im leaving behind the 21st century and i go through a small gate in a stone wall and im in the 20th century. And then i cross by the barn and over the garden and i walk through another small gate. And where theres a stone fence. And i get to my cabin from the 19th century. I open the door and im in the 18th century. And every single book in the room was either an 18th century copy or about the 18th century. He said nobody is ever allowed to interrupt me ever. Except the people who are not as tall as the gate. And he said theyre not really coming to see me. Theyre coming to see that old typewriter. I always go home for lunch, he said, and then back to work. He said, but im not ever working on a book, im working inside the subject. The good news is that means they are still being read. And that is his books. When i asked him, what is your greatest accomplishment, he said, well, i dont know, but im awfully proud of the fact that all my books are still in print. So all of his books are still being read. On april 18th this year, davids newest book, the american spirit, will be coming out. Its a selection of speeches and talks from the past 25 years. All of us in this audience are going to love it. It includes his talk at the 200th celebration of the congress and the 200th celebration of the white house. It also includes he said the hardest speech he ever had to give in his life. Which was at the Memorial Service for our assassinated president john kennedy in dallas in pouring rain and cold. He said the United States Naval Academy chorus was sicking battle hymn of the republic and everybody was sobbing. But that speech will be in the book. And also a speech that he did at lafayette college. And stanley and i went to hear that. I think it was 2007. But it was all about the ties that bind. About lafayette and about frances relationship with the United States. Its a fabulous speech. Stanley and i were having lunch at the breakers with david and rosalie about february of 2016 when i told him about my dream of having this series. He said, gay, thats a wonderful idea. His reaction was positive. Just as positive as joe ellis and newt beginnigingrich and heo for it. But i had an idea and knew the speakers and i had the most amazing positive support from chairman patrick henry, president David Brennan and head of the education. I think her title is president of the education. Molly shalen. Without whom this really wouldnt have happened. It did. Were here. Thank you all for coming. And give David Mccollough a warm palm beach welcome. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Good morning and thank you very much. And, gay, thank you, dear, for all that you said and all that youve done for your country. And particularly in what you did for your country in the work you did year after year at mount vernon. And there are very few sights in the world that harken as much of whats important in our story as a peel as mount vernon. And i think that gay also is a perfect example of someone who understands that the only way to get something of consequence accomplished is to work together. Very little is ever accomplished alone. Its a joint effort. And, boy, can she bring us all together to create good things. Thanks, pal, very much. [ applause ] i also appreciated your reference to my malifluous voice. You never know where compliments can come from in life. And one of them happen to me in boston two or three years ago when we had that horrific winter where one blizzard followed another. We had an accumulative snowfall of nine feet. It was really a disaster. The subways werent running. The buses werent running. You couldnt use your car. And so you would try and get out to the market to get provisions to survival the next blast of snow. And rosalie and i made up a list. We were living in back bay then. And made up a list. And i went to the nearest supermarket, star market, to get everything on the list. And i was doing fine. And the whole place was a mad house. Everybody else trying to get food too. It was like the russians bring on the horizon or something. I had everything on the list except the cashews. And as you know, you cant survive without cashews. So theres this fella going by with a star market label on his shirt. I said, excuse me, could you tell me where i might find the cashews. He said yes, follow me. So we went around a few turns and he pointed it out. And i thanked him and he went his way. And about ten minutes later, i was checking out the cash regist register. And he came up to me. That voice, your voice. Said, were you by any chance of narrator of the ken burn series on the civil war . I said, yes, i was. He said, well, i want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Said, because when that series first came on the air, i was suffering terribly from insomnia. [ laughter ] he said, id hear you talk and go right out. Its also a very great privilege for me to take part in this series with so many other distinguished historians and friends. And its really a lineup. And i wish i had been able to attend their lectures. I admire each and every one. And i know each and every one has fulfilled a void that needs filling in our understanding of our history, our story. And i want to thank gay and others also for what they have said about rosalie. Rosalie and i have been married for 63 years. We have 19 grandchildren. 5 children. And she is mission control. And she is secretary of the treasury. And chair of the ethics committee. And shes the start i steer by. And before i ask you to stand up, i want to just tell you a quick story. As gay also mentioned, i believe very strongly in writing for the ear as well as the eye. Lots of the greats have said this. And so its very helpful for anyone who wants to write something that may have some value to get somebody to read it aloud to you. Because you hear things that you dont necessarily see. Particularly if youre working on a manuscript day after day after day. You hear certain words being repeated more often than necessary. You hear certain sentence structure that gets tiresome. And most important of all, you can hear when youre becoming boring. And you want to cut that or trim it back or do something with it. Well, rosalie was reading aloud to me, as she has everything ive ever written. And since i write and rewrite, shes often read chapters three or four times. Over 50 years now. With my first book, the johnstown flood. And she was reading i think next to the last chapter of my book about theodore roosevelt. She suddenly stopped and said theres something wrong with that sentence. I said, well, read it again please. She read it again. I said no, theres nothing wrong with that sentence. She said yes, there is. I said, give me that. This is not one of my better moments. I read it aloud. See. She said no, theres something wrong with that sentence. I said, well, just go on. Keep going. So the chapter was finished. The next chapter was finished. The book was finished. She sent to the publisher. It was published. It came out and was reviewed. And it got a very nice review in the new york review of books from gorvy dahl. But toward the end of the review, he said, sometimes, however, mr. Mccollough does not write so well. Listen to this sentence. [ laughter ] rosalie, where are you, sweetheart . Please stand. Stand up. [ applause ] i am i feel very strongly that education is one of the most important aspects of life. Not just in preparation to take part in life, but to appreciate and enjoy life. And education is one of the foundations of greatest importance to our whole american way of life. And one of the reasons the revolutionary era, the the war and the whole spirit of the revolution, are so important, is so important, remains so important, is because of the emphasis in that time by those specific people on the importance of education. Jefferson said it perfectly. He said any nation that expects to be ignorant and free expects what never was and never will be. And all of them, each and every one of them, either was an example of the importance of education because he or she had education or because she did it themselves. George washington being a prime example. Abigail adams being another prime example of selfeducated people. John adams was, many ways, in his childhood and youth, living under the same kind of circumstances as abraham lincoln. He grew up on a farm where they had no money. His mother was illiterate. His father we know could sign his name. Maybe could read. Was a bible in the house. And that was the only book. And they worked hard every day. From childhood on. And because but because he got a scholarship to this Little College in cambridge called harvard, as he said, discovered books and read forever, he became the john adams who helped change the world. No question about it. When he was 80 years old, he was embarking on a 16 volume history of france in french. Which he had taught himself. Because he was on his way at one point to become a representative in paris to try to get the french to come in and help us win this revolutionary war. Knowing no french, he decided he would teach himself and he taught himself on the way over on the ship. Which of course in those days was quite a journey. John adams read everything. And he never went anywhere without a book. One of his most memorable lines to his son john quincy was youll never be alone with a poet in your pocket. He would carry a small volume of poetry. Excuse me, in his pocket. The emphasis on education of course also included libraries. I think one of the most emblematic Historic Sites in america in this respect is Carpenters Hall in philadelphia. Now most people when they go to philadelphia walk right by Carpenters Hall. Its right next door practically, independence hall. Carpenters hall is where the Continental Congress first met. Its an exquisite little building. And upstairs in that building was a library created by benjamin franklin. In many ways was a Public Library. Might even be called the first Public Library. Its small. As the building is small. But great trees from acorns grow. And thats one of the lessons of our story. We grew up out of nothing. The whole population of our country in 1776 was 2. 58 million people. Thats all. And 500,000 of those people were in slavery. And we had no money. When we went to war, we had no money. We had no army. We had no navy. We had no officers with extensive experience in the military. And only about a third of the country were for the revolution. We forget that. A third of the country were for it. A third of the country were adamantly against it. The other third in the good old human way were waiting to see who won. And yet they persisted. Now i dont think we could ever know enough about the revolutionary era. I dont think we could ever know enough about the founders. And we have to see them as human beings. History is human. When in the course of human events. Human is the operative word. History is not about dates and memorizie ining quotations. Its about people. Its about human beings. And theyre different from each other. And they all have their faults, their fauilings. None of them ever knew how it was going to turn out any more than we do. Talk about foresight. They talk about the foreseeable future. No such thing as the foreseeable future. And that ought to be remembered. And thats how history should be taught. And in my view how it should be written. Im not oh, thank you. Im not at all one who favors the view from the mountain top, the wise historian who can say they should have done this, they should have done that. Put yourself in their places. And then try to judge what they did or didnt do. Now, i first started out to write a dual biography of jefferson and adams. I thought, this is an amazing story. Its the hour glass configuration. If youre thinking about structure. Theres two very different men from very different parts of the country. Totally different backgrounds. Who come together in philadelphia. Create help create with others this miraculous achievement called the declaration of independence. Then when the story begins to develop beyond that, they go in this direction to the point where they become not only rival also but enemies. And then at the very end, they make up, theyre out of power, and they start to communicate and become friends again. Wonderful story. And, and think about how it ends. If you went into if i walked into my editors office, its wag go to do a novel about amany da adams and jefferson. And said guess what, theyre going to die on the same day. Its going to be the fourth of july. No, no, of course not. That cant happen in real life. That doesnt happen in real life. And yet its exactly what happened in real life. But then i began reading about john adams. I knew very little about john adams comparatively. I knew quite a lot about jefferson. My first visit to an Historic Site was when i was 15 was to charlottesville and monticello. And i came back just thrilled to have seen that. And as gay was suggesting in her remarks, theres nothing like taking your children or your grandchildren to an Historic Site to light the fire of interest in our story as a nation, as a people. It works. Take them to a Historic Site. It doesnt have to be monticello or gettysburg, it can be all kinds of things. But in any event. Pardon me. What did i say . Well, i was plugging you. Yeah. Monticello. Monticellos the first place i went, Historic Site i ever visited. I grew up in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. I was very interested in history. When i went to monticello, things changed. But when i started to believe about adams, i thought, what an amazing story. And when i began to try and get inside jeffersons life, i thought, theyre roadblocks everywhere. You cant get very far into the personal life. You cant get very close to the human being the way you can with others. And particularly adams. Jefferson destroyed every letter his wife ever wrote to him. He destroyed every letter he wrote to her. He would write friends of theirs who might have received a letter from his wife saying if you have any letters from my wife, id really love to have them. And then hed destroy them. Now, exactly why he did that, well never know. We dont even know what she looked like. And contrast with Abigail Adams is phenomenal. Abigail adams in my view is one of the greatest americans ever. And the more i read about her, the more i read her correspondence, the more impressed i am. And you cant understand him without understanding her. And we give you a vivid example of the first seven president s of the United States. John adams was the only one who never owned a slave. Out of principle. Not because he couldnt necessarily afford it. Out of principle. Abigails feelings about it were even more strongly voiced than his. And the next president to not own a slave was john quincy adams. Their son. Now, talk about influence. Talk about setting an example. Talk about not being inconsistent. Lets use a kind word. This was of the utmost importance. Particularly among many of the new englanders who fought. Who did not believe in slavery. Strongly against slavery. Im working on a book now about the settlement of the northwest territory. Which was that territory ceded by britain after the revolution. The treaty of paris 1783. When, again, john adams and john j. Succeeded in getting britain to cede all of this territory northwest of the ohio river which now constitutes the states of ohio, indiana, illinois, michigan and wisconsin. Five states. Wilderness empire. As large as all the 13 colonies. As large as all of france. And there was no settlement there. And this revolutionary war era group put that bill through the northwest ordinance, through the congress, before we even had a constitution. And because of their feelings on slavery, they convinced the congress before we had a constitution there would be no slavery in the northwest territo territory. And immensely important and long influential effect on our history. Because of course it meant all you had to do if you were black was to cross the ohio river and you were free. Hence the union, the railroad, the underground railroad, came into existence. And yet that ideal was perpetrated and made effective by a group of people who were convinced that this had to be done and they would not give up. If there is a lesson to be learned from the revolutionary war time, the story of that time and those people, it is that they would not give up. And they were willing to accept the weaknesses or failures or flaws in others with whom they were working in order to accomplish this noble achievement. And they did. They succeeded. The impempirical method of aproefing problem aproef i approaching problems is a very strong american ethic. You figure out whats going on. Whats the matter. Then you correct that. And then you keep going. And keep going until you do it. This is very different from the method you were taught a very specific way everything must be handled and you only handle it that way and until the job is done. And the most i think one of the most vivid examples of why our system has worked where others the old system has not is the building of the panama canal. The french engineers were the greatest engineers in the world at the time. It was the leading Engineering School on earth. But you had to do everything a certain way. Our engineers came along and the french failed because they failed to see what the real problem was and how to correct it. Our people who came along, many of them had never been to Engineering School. They learned it working on railroads and building bridges. And they saw something isnt working, you try Something Else or you make a correction and you try again. And thats in effect what was happening during the revolutionary war era with our people fighting the war and then trying to figure out what to do after the war was over. And that period after the war was over is too little understood. We had one of the worst depressions in the history of the country. The soldiers who came its of the war were being paid in worthless script. Maybe 10 of what it was worth. And the government had no money. None. But it did have the land. And so of the northwest ordinance. And among the other things, there will be no slavery. There will be public support for public education. All the way through. Hence the state universitieies which were a new thing. And we should never take this for granted. When you think for example about our Public Library system, just that, noer country in the world has anything like it. We just say, oh, yeah, public libraries. Imagine, you can go into any Public Library in this country and in theory or in fact get a complete education free. You dont have to pay anything. And when you think of the importance of books in the development of minds. We shouldnt just read what they wrote. We should read what they read. And what they read had huge impact. The impact for example. The expressions from servontes. We still walk around mouthing. We think thats the way we talk. No. One of my favorite examples of all was i was reading one of john adams letters to abigail. Things were looking very down and dark. Very dark. It wasnt a chance we were going to succeed. But he wrote to her and said we may not succeed in this struggle. We may not achieve success in this struggle. But we can deserve it. And i thought, whoa. We dont think that way anymore. And i thought what a mind, what a man. Well, about a month later, i was reading some letters George Washington wrote. And there was the same line. We may not achieve success in this effort but we can deserve it. I thought theyre quoting somebody. And of course in the 18th century you didnt use quotation marks. So its very hard to know. So i got down the familiar quotations. Turned to the 18th century. Bingo, there it was. Its a line by joseph aderson. And there are countless other examples of this. And we should understand that. And appreciate that. The idea of honor. That all comes from what they read. And these ageold indices of character. Character above all. Strength of character. George washington was not a brilliant general. There were others that were far more brilliant than he was. He made some very serious mistakes. But he had that strength of character, that enduring confidence, that sense of forgiving people who made mistakes who were on his staff, and never giving up. George washington was a miracle. You could say a stroke of infinite luck. And luck is a big factor in history. Just as luck is a big factor in life. And washington never doubted whatsoever in the validity of what they were trying to achieve. In the government of the people by the people and for the people. And he never, ever doubted that once this was achieved, they were going to make sure they were going to have education of a kind that is essential. I want to go back to adams. I want to go through a list i typed up. Just to make sure that i didnt leave anything out. To his credit. Im now at the stage where im looking back on my work in a way i didnt before. And kind of see what if theres any pattern to what im doing. Down the years when i was being asked by friends and if i was working on a new book. I would say yes, i am. And if they were some of my academic friends, theyd right away say, well, whats your theme . And id make something up. I have no idea what my theme was. I knew what i wanted to write about. What my theme was, no. That will come to me eventually, i hope, by the time i finish the book. Im also often asked perfectly good question. How much of my time do i spend doing research and how much of my time do i spend writing. Nobody ever has asked me how much of your time do you spend thinking. And that just happens to be a hell of a big part of it. Thinking. And one of my favorite i think most revealing lines in adams diaries, and adams diaries are phenomenal. He will simply write, at home thinking. Imagine if we had some people in public life today. [ applause ] it may be said of john adams that he was the one above all who made the declaration of independence happen when it happened. That he put George Washingtons name in nomination as commander in chief of the continental army. That he insisted that jefferson be the one to write the declaration of independence. That in his thoughts on government written in the spring of 1776, before the july 4th and the declaration, he outlined a fundamental checks and balances of the system. Of our government. In a way no one ever had. And with direct influence on what followed. He wrote and drafted the oldest written constitution still in use in the world today. The constitution of the commonwealth of massachusetts. Written and approved in 1778. Nearly 10 years in advance of the national constitution. And, and with a bill of rights. He questioned the lack of a bill of rights in the federal constitution whereas jefferson did not. He was consistent lifelong champion of the importance of the independent judiciary. That he was one of the most vivid and appealing letter writers of his day and i say of all time. And this is what most people have no idea about. That he traveled further in the service of his country and its cause than any of the Founding Fathers and at great risk to his own life. That he was the one who stood before george iii after independence had been won as the first representative of the new United States of america. That with franklin and john j, he was responsible for the remarkable treaty of paris that ended the revolution and established the new country of the United States of america. That he was one of the very few men who, in 1776, saw that it was going to be a long and costly war. That he was that he saw early on that sea power would be crucial in the long run. Nobody else did. He thought he ought to be celebrated by the navy and by all all americans for his faith in the importance of the navy and for all that he did to create the navy. That as president he bravely kept us out of a war with france which would have been catastrophic. We had way were we prepared to fight a war with france and yet it was very popular, the idea. That he was one of the most learned and perhaps the best read american of his time. More broadly and deeply read even than jefferson. That as president he signed into law the establishment of the library of congress. That he despised slavery and never owned a slave out of principle. Out of the first seven president s, he was the only one until his own son who had ever owned a slave. That he was the first president to entertain someone of africanamerican descent as his guest at dinner. Not as a servant. As his guest. That he was the first president to be defeated for reelection. That he was the first Vice President to succeed to the presidency. That he was the last federalist president. That he was fluent in latin, greek, french and could get by in italian and he had a little dutch. That he was consistent solvent, personally solvent, hated debt. Was bound and determined of life to stay out of debt. That he had ever been south and never went south of mt. Vernon, virginia. Never west of york, pennsylvania. Never further north than portland, maine. That he was the first president to occupy the white house. That he was the first president to have gone to harvard. That he was the first president to have been a schoolteacher. That he was the first president of massachusetts or new england. That he lived longer than any president of that time. And that he was the first president to see his son become president and that he was married to Abigail Adams. And thats been a partial list. Now, once he wrote in his there are over 1,000 letters. Think of this. 1,000 letters between john and Abigail Adams. Very personal letters. And neither one was capable of writing a dull letter or a short one and they are treasures and theyre all in the library of congress. Excuse me. In the massachusetts historical society. And read one of those. Hold one of those in your own hands is humbling. Humbling. Now, we have to remember that they were living in a different time and, therefore, they were not just like we are. They had to deal with hardships and sufferings. And tragedies. Heart breaks of a kind we dont even have to think about. Imagine standing in a hallway upstairs in your home with a door closed on your daughters bedroom and on the other side of that door your daughter whos middle age is having a mastectomy without any anesthetic. And that she probably wont survive this operation. Imagine. We cant imagine that. Imagine having your teeth pulled with no anesthetic. Imagine seeing children die unnecessarily from disease that we dont even think about anymore. And the hard work, night and day, and for women in particular, from first light to dark. And yet, Abigail Adams when john was away in europe serving the country, she would work all day long and then about 11 00 by the fire all alone, her children being put to bed she would write these extraordinary these extraordinary courage. Backbone. Loyalty. Perseverance. All qualities in abundance in imnumerable people of that time because had to be and they didnt know any differently. But they werent just like we are. We think of transportation and communication as two different subjects. For them, it was one. You couldnt transport any communication any faster than someone on a horse or someone on a ship which was mighty slow. So, correspondence was not only plentiful than much slower than it is now. Imagine your husband is off in europe. You cant pick up the phone. You cant email him and you have to decide whether to take your children to have inoculation against smallpox which might kill one or two of them. You have to make that alone. You have to make that decision alone. Responsibility was larger and more directly personal. I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, porcelain. Think about that. First of all, he said i must do this so that my sons can go beyond politics. And war. But then the next sentence he said, in order to give their children, in other words, he doesnt designate theyre just going to be men, sons. Men and women. That to him is the upward climb. Thats progress. It has all to do with education. And he was right. I was driving down massachusetts avenue one day not very long ago. On my way to an appointment. It was summertime or spring. Warm. And all of a sudden i hit a tremendous traffic jam at sheridan circle. And i have no idea how many people drive that avenue a day. Must be in the thousands. Many thousand. And i look over and theres old Phil Sheridan up on the high horse with a requisite pigeon on his head and i thought to myself, how many people know who that is . Why hes there. Ill bet almost none. And what a shame. What a shame. And i was getting pretty down about it. I was also late and i was frustrated. And just that point, i had the car radio on and on came rhapsody in blue and just lifted me right out of my blues, out of the traffic jam. And i began to think, whens more important to us now from past days, from other times, Phil Sheridan or george gers win . Not much of a question but the point is you cant leave the gerswins out and thats what john adams is telling us way back when long before we even were a country. So that their children have the right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture. All of the utmost importance and in many times what lasts longest. All the way back to the cave paintings. And we have to remember that we need to teach history that way and we need to write history that way. And we do so in the tradition, again, of the founders. I think of the importance of the painters of that time. And what they meant to recording who these people were, what they looked like. John trumibles paintings for the sketches that studies he did for the signing of the declaration of independence. Signing of the declaration of independence is maybe useless. No. Almost totally inaccurate. The room didnt look like that. The doors are in the wrong place. The furnitures the wrong kind. The big emblematic display of flags on the back wall never was there. But what is accurate and of the utmost importance are the faces because about half of them he did by going to do studies, live studies. The real person. And he started off with jefferson in france when he went over to meet with jefferson. And the fact that the faces are accurate doesnt just mean that they are, therefore, identifiable for us. What it means is that the time that the painting, they were accountable. And if you signed the declaration of independence, you were signing your death warrant. Let us never forget. And they all knew it. So, thats courage of a kind and pride of a kind and certainty in the validity of the purpose. As one could find. When i was working on the wright brothers, a few years ago, i got enormously interested in had tremendous admiration for milton wright, the father of the brothers who was an i tin rant minister and he raised those boys, those sons, to have purpose in life. That that was where you would find true happiness. And hes taking that right out of the tradition of our country. You have the purpose of making life better. Better for the next generation and the generation after that. No, we have never been a perfect country. Yes, we have had flaws, yes we have had problems but we have always riz on the the occasion and done what needed to be done in order to correct that. And we didnt play on fear and hatred or any of these other cheap methods of gaining followers that so often come and go with different people in the world of the political scenery. The value of history is not just that we know more about how the Government Works or the civics of it which is all extremely important. The value of history is that it enlarges the pleasure of life. It enlarges your experience in life. You meet some of the most admirable, interesting people you have ever met in your life and who are long gone and you can meet them because they tell us more about in their letters than they ever would in person. And today, nobody in public life would dare keep a diary because it could be subpoenaed and used against you in court. Nobody writes letters anymore. And it used to be considered the obligation of a child that went away to college or whatever to write home. You did that all the time. And if you didnt, you got in trouble with home. And i think it was how we were raised. And if you have any interest, by the way, in immortality, start keeping a diary and writing a lot of letters and when the time comes that you think maybe the curtains is about to go down for you, give them to the library of congress or one of these great libraries because theyll be quoted forever because its the only one in existence. [ laughter ] now, having said all that about john adams, who to my mind is one of the most admirable and interesting of all of our president s, yes, the alien and sedition act was a mistake. Yes, it was wrong. Yes, it was done under pressure of aliens and disloyalty to the country and he knew it and he never enforced it and of course it didnt last very long. But there is no memorial to john adams in our capital. Everybody else imaginable as a building or statue or something. Not john adams. But he did leave a message for us. Thanks to Franklin Roosevelt and later harry truman and later still john kennedy, that tribute, that message is still there in the white house carved into a mantlepiece in the state dining room. In a letter on his first right in the white house, first president ever to occupy the white house, he wrote a letter back to abigail who had not been able to be with him yet. She was still back home. And in the letter he wrote, i pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof. What i like best about that is he puts honest first. Thank you. [ applause ] again, thank you and before we get into the question and answer, once again, a round of applause for mr. Mccullough. Thank you. You know, im going to have to get a Plastic Surgeon to wipe the smile off my face. In order to do this. Before we get into the q a, two quick stories. One is that to do research, you go to Historic Sites, president ial libraries, battlefields, president ial homes and the archivists and librarians there love to talk