Pam donaldson. [applause] thank you, thank you. Ladies and gentlemen welcome to this mornings program. You know there are states that all of us have that are very personal and there are dates that we have as a country that we all share. In my lifetime december 7, 1941, november 22, 1963, 911. These are three terrible dates for the country and then theres november 9, 1989. Good news, the fall of the berlin wall. Its a subject that we are going to discuss today. How did it happen . What are the consequences . He did this . Who knew . For a look at whats in store for us this morning its a pleasure to welcome andrew card who served in three administration with Ronald Reagan as Deputy Assistant to the president and director of intergovernmental affairs. George Herbert Walker bush, the secretary of transportation and with george w. Bush he was the white house chief of staff. Andrew card. [applause] thank you very much, sam. I wanted to be here. We are grateful for Georgetown University and t
Weve got another 15 months to get more than our fill of 2020 president ial campaigning. Here we are going to take a few moments to remember a man who won it in 1988. Thatemed the longer he led lived, the more loved and appreciated became. I was struck like many others i think by this national outpouring of respect in the days leading up to and through the funeral of George Herbert walker bush. At the funeral of his wife barbara, seven months earlier, al gore said he served our nation with extraordinary integrity and grace. [applause] the country seemed anxious to separate those qualities last november and december. A world war ii hero before he began his long political career. By and large, history looks back pretty favorably on his residency. Brookings institution surveyed nearly 200 political scientists earlier this year asking them to rate all 44 president s, the elder bush came in 17. He drew praise for foreign policy. His popularity sank as the economy sank. He did not win reelect
Plate when he was president. The civil war. That dominated most of his attention. Underneath the surface of the civil war, some important events involving American Indians. Events that might make Abraham Lincoln a bit more of a problematic figure then he ordinarily is. Lets consider some major events that happened during his presidency. It was during his presidency dakota war of 1862 occurred. Conflict in the state of minnesota. Settlers and they faced the wrath. Culpritswn suspected trying and convicted. 303 men. Lincoln commuted the sentence on most of these individuals. Remains ing and what what remains americas largest mass execution. It was during the lincoln presidency that the navajo were made to endure the long walk. To a barren in new mexico. American soldiers burned crops, destroyed lifestyle, and sacked their homes. They suffered immensely from the lack of food, diseases and rate from other indians. It was during the lincoln presidency that one of the most atrocious episodes
Events are strictly nonpartisan, they are not intended to offer any kind of policy recommendations or agendas. They are simply meant to give greater insight into how we got to where we are, which we believe helps us to understand how we can solve problems. So a few thanks, and then i will turn it over to alan. First of all, the Mellon Foundation funds this program. We are very grateful to them. Secondly, the room has been booked for us by congressman jerry connollys office, and we are grateful to them. Finally, i want to thank my reiger,t director, jeff who is at the table outside but will be coming in shortly. Now i will turn it over to professor alan kraut from the american university, who will moderate the event. Before i do, let me say, most of you will find these index cards on your seat. The intent of these is that as the discussion proceeds, if you have questions, write them on these cards. We will collect them after formal remarks and use them to initiate the discussion. Think
Inspire us to investigate and archivesur nations that among the holdings are documents going back to 1775. We have been handing out raffle tickets. That some books. Please welcome hello, im going to introduce myself. Randy will be giving most of the presentation. A little background about myself , i volunteered. After i got my ba in history in 2010 i began volunteering at the National Archives at riverside and then in 2012 i became a student archives technician at the National Archives at riverside and then i got my masters degree in library and Information Science at that same time from san jose state university. And then in 2014, i moved to st. Louis and worked at the National Archives at st. Louis as a preservation technician and then in 2016 i moved back to california and then in my current role as an archives specialist. Im going to turn it over to randy here and he can give you his bio. Thank you, james. Welcome, everybody. I want to thank mr. Garza for his wonderful introduction