Many of you honestly know him. Hes cohost of morning edition on npr. Hes also the author of this great book on jessie and john fremont. How many people are here from fremont . We have a couple, okay great. Thank you very much, steve, for coming. [applause] thank you. Appreciate it. Thanks everyone, and good day. Delighted you could come this afternoon. Im delighted to be here in San Francisco, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and particularly to talk about jessie and john fremont who had so much to do with the creation of california as we know it and so much to do with the creation of San Francisco as we know it. I got into San Francisco about 2 30 a. M. On a delayed flight from los angeles, got a couple of hours of sleep at an Airport Hotel and then woke up again because i was to be picked up by a car and driven up the highway into San Francisco to do a live radio thing on kqed. The thing about life radio is it begins at a very exact time. The thing about going through S
Thank you for being with us organizing todays event in my Live Audience here in San Francisco you can always visit us at www. Commonwealth club. Org and with the upcoming schedule. With cohost of morning edition of npr with jesse and john fremont thank you for coming. [applause] thank you everyone im delighted you could come this afternoon one of the most beautiful cities in the world San Francisco and to talk about jesse and john fremont to had some issue with the creation of california as we know it is so much to do with the creation of San Francisco as we know it. And then on the july a delayed flight from los angeles and then to be picked up by a car and driven by a car the thing about live radio but with San Francisco traffic but really you will not make your exact time. [laughter] but 8 00 a. M. Pacific time and still on the road creeping up the freeway seven or 9 miles an hour but looking out the right side San Francisco bay is out there and the Southern Suburbs with the hills i
I can very much, steve, are coming. [applause] thank you. Appreciate it. Thanks everyone and good day here delighted that you could come this afternoon. Im delighted to be in San Francisco, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And particularly to talk about jessie and john fremont who it so much to do with the creation of california as we know it. And so much to do with the creation of San Francisco as we know it. I got into summer cisco about 2 30 a. M. On a delayed flight from los angeles. Got a couple of hours of sleep in an Airport Hotel and then woke up again because i was to be picked up by a car and driven up the highway into San Francisco to do a live radio thing on kqed. The thing about live radio is it begins at a very exact time. The thing about going through San Francisco traffic is that youre you are really not going to make your exact time. I was supposed to be 8 a. M. That i would be there for the National Radio and at 80 m im still the road in the back of this
Thanks, everyone. Good day. Im delighted to be here in San Francisco, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Particularly to talk about jesse and John Freemont who had so much to do with the creation of california as we know it and so much to do with the creation of San Francisco as we know it. I got in to San Francisco about 2 30 a. M. On a delayed flight from los angeles, got a couple of hours of sleep at an Airport Hotel and then woke up again because i was to be picked up by a car and driven up the highway into San Francisco to do alive radio thing on to do a live radio thing on kqed. The thing about live radio is it begins at an exact time. The thing about going through San Francisco traffic is that youre really not going to make your exact time. And so i was supposed to be 8 00 a. M. Pacific time that i would be there for this National Radio hit, and at 8 00 a. M. , im still on the road, in the back of this car, creeping up the freeway at, i dont know, 7, 9 milesanhour, w
To the civil war when the nation was very clearly divided into two political camps. We live in a politically divided time, although i dont want to imply we are headed for civil war. I dont know what we are headed toward, but there is resonance in the way we have red and blue states today. There were northern and Southern States than that were fundamentally divided over this giant issue of slavery. There are other things. The 1840s and 1850s was a time of enormous technological change. Within a few years of the invention of the telegraph, cities east of the mississippi were connected and there was National Conversation which becomes part of the story i tell. It turns out these communication devices that were designed to bring people closest together drove them farther apart. They were horrified by what people on the other side were saying. There is that, there is also just the fact that it is a story of america. It takes place in the same cities we know today. Sometimes even in the same