[applause] good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the newseums night tv studio and another addition of inside media. I am the director of programs here at the museum. As the 2020 residential election rapidly starts to invade our daily newspaper, and with joe bidens announcement fueling the fire this week, what better time to look back at the history of the presidency and to examine the character and dignity of the men who has held office . We dive in deep to that topic today as we discussed the new cspan book, the president s, ranking americas best and worst chief executives. The title tells it all and just a moment, you will hear from susan swain, the coceo of cspan who will discuss how the book came together. Based on its historians survey of president ial leadership. Following susans presentation, i have the distinct privilege of speaking with brian lamb, founding ceo and chairman of cspan, who over the course of many years conducted the interviews with president ial hi
[applause]. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the newseums night tv studio and another edition of inside media. I am the director of programs here at the museum. As the 2020 residential election rapidly starts to invade our daily newsfeed, and with joe bidens announcement fueling the fire this week, what better time to look back at the history of the presidency and to examine the character and dignity of the men who have held the office . We dive in deep to that topic today, as we discuss the new cspan book, the president s, noted historians rank americas best and worst chief executives. The title tells it all and just a moment, you will be hearing from susan swain, the coceo of , who will discuss how the book came together based on its historians survey of leadership. Following susans presentation, i have the distinct privilege of speaking with brian lamb, founding ceo and chairman of cspan, who over the course of many years conducted the , interviews with president
One that i find the most absolutely fascinating and interesting is the one were going to discuss tonight. James garfield. For quite a number of reasons. First of all, garfield is one of the most intelligent president s we have ever had. I mean he is up there in the top half dozen, and when we go through his life by the end of it or the middle of it, youre going to start laughing because youre just going to say no, that cant be. He cant be that good in that field. Its just not possible. And then well find something else, and youre going to say no. He is just incredibly bright, and the hope for his presidency was enormous. And so were going to discuss an absolutely brilliant human being. I was chatting with a friend before, and he asked me if i thought garfield was the most intelligent. I dont know how you test Something Like that. I mean, its not as if you give president s iq tests. Its a lot easier with things that are easy to measure. Tall and short i mean, we all know that madison wa
Its only in recent years that a lot of scholarship has focused on the fact that their the fact of how rocky their marriage was, specifically in its early days. I think in the early years, james found her a bit distant and cold. As the years went by, she had a tremendous influence on him. James and lucretia spent a lot of time with their children. They felt that education was an emancipating factor. Mrs. Garfield adored her time at the exhibition, but she was specifically interested in the latest sciences and technologies of the day. After James Garfields death, a number of prominent citizens raised about 350,000 that was turned over to Lucretia Garfield. In todays dollars, it would equate to somewhere around 8 million. Her character was extremely exceedingly strong. She had a rectitude that was invulnerable. Host Lucretia Garfield was born in ohio in 1832. Her life spans antebellum america to the progressive era of the early 20th century. A supporter of womens rights and deeply interes
Lakefront for a gigantic display to end this day, a truly special day, our countrys birthday. As the last of the rockets red glare fades into the night sky this city looks forward to next year when it celebrates a day in old millwaukee and becomes again americas fourth of july capital. American history tv is featuring cspans original series, first ladies, influence and image, at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on sunday night throughout the rest of this year. Cspan produced the series in cooperation with the White House Historical association, through conversations with experts video tours of Historic Sites and questions from cspans audience, we tell the story of americas 45 first ladies. Now, Lucretia Garfield, on first ladies, influence and image eerie this is about 90 minutes. Its only in recent years that a lot of scholarship has focused on the fact that their marriage was in its early phases. I think in the early years, james found her a bit distant and cold. As the years went by, she had a tr