Thank you for having me. Its a pleasure to be here. A century since world war i, there continues to be a debate about which nation was responsible for the start of the First World War. Take us back to america in 1914. 1915, 1916. Was that debate about who was responsible taking place in the United States at that time . It was not necessarily the most important question in u. S. Politics. I think probably for the Woodrow Wilson administration, the key thing was to keep the United States out of the war. I think certainly if there had been a different president in the white house, possibly theodore roosevelt, might have taken a different line. He was quite clear about the fact in 1914 that i think he saw the germans as, if not necessarily to blame for the war, then certainly a greater threat for the United States than the entente powers, france, britain and russia. As far as 1916, again once again Woodrow Wilson was running for office, in part on the pledge of keeping the United States ou
Of Josephus Daniels, 41st secretary of the navy who held office between 1913 and 1941. Daniels decisions helped prepare the u. S. Navy for its eventually involvement in world war i. And his talk today entitled Josephus Daniels in world war i will share the research from his most recent book. Please join me in welcoming dr. Lee craig. Well, as as dr. Orr informs you during the introduction, i am a college professor, and we are scheduled to do q and a at the end of my presentation, and so i always know, as a professor, what the first question will be, and what the answer to that is. And the answer is, yes, and the question is, will this material be on the final exam. So, yes, it will be on the final exam. In fact, anything i say is say potentially material for the final exam. So i expect to see a lot of note taking during the talk. So my talk today is about Josephus Daniels and his role during the First World War. While you were enjoying lunch i was being interviewed on cspan. The first
On world events. Thats this Christmas Day on cspan networks. For our complete schedule go to cspan. Org. Coming up next, former Intelligence Analyst for both the state department and the cia mark stout explores the history of espionage during world war i. He focuses on four american agencies that participated in spying. The navy department, War Department, state department and the Expeditionary Forces abroad, including the u. S. Army. The Kansas Public Library and the Truman Library institute hosted this hourlong event. Well, thank you for that very warm introduction and very warm welcome. Wasnt planning on talking about ufos, but when the topic comes up, its irresistible so briefly ill say, back in the 1990s the cia declassified an internal history that theyd written of the u2 Spy Plane Program and they had written back in the 70s, if i recall correctly. And one of the findings in this is they had very carefully gone back and correlated domestic ufo reports with thenclassified u2 flig
World war i centennial symposiu is on its lunch break. F until they return were joined by Sean Mcmeekin, author of july 1914 countdown to war. Mr. Mcmeekin appreciate you orlw joining us on American History tv. Sponsibl thank you for having me. Its a pleasure to be here. A century since world war i, there continues to be a debate about which nation was responsible for the start of tha First World War. Hat time take us back to america in 1914. 1915, 1916. It wa was that debate about who was responsible taking place in thee United States at that time . It was not necessarily the most important question in u. S. E politics. The wh i think probably for the Woodro Wilson administration, the key thing was to keep the United States out of the war. I think certainly if there had been a different president in the white house, possibly theodore roosevelt, might have n taken a different line. He was quite clear about the fact in 1914 that i think he saw the germans as, if not necessarily to blame
What i have seen tonight is probably much worse than the worst night we ever had in august. I said several months ago what would be the worst thing that could possibly happen. And the fact of the matter is i said to tear the fabric of this community apart. And frankly that has happened here tonight. Good morning. Im jose diaz balart. Fire still smoldering in ferguson, missouri after a night of chaos, arson and looting. Chaos erupting after a grand jury decided not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. They determined that no probable cause exists to file any charge against officer wilson. The announcement sparked an angry rea, from the crowd in downtown ferguson. Demonstrators attacked police cars just after 10 00 president obama called for calm. I join michaels parents in asking anyone who protests this decision to do so peacefully. Just the the opposite, however, occurred as the night wore on unrest spread throughout the city. Buildi