Undersecretary for strategy, policy and plans. And now live coverage of the u. S. Senate here on cspan2. The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Black, will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Gracious god, our rock of ages and lifes shifting sands, give our lawmakers this day the abiding assurance of your presence. May they strive to be your instruments, accompliing your will and being concluded by your glory. Enable them to experience your contentment and peace, facing lifes chaos with quiet hearts and vibrant faith. Lord, refresh their spirit, quicken their thinking, reinforce their judgment, and empower them to fulfill your purposes on earth. We pray in your mighty name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding
Through the glass doors you can almost see the Supreme Court building across the street. The Supreme Court is many times the last stop when it comes to c human rights, civil rights, after all the work thats been done by the congress but by ther president many times is the Supreme Court that has the last word. In the case of plessy versus ferguson when the supreme fecou held segregation was constitutional the last word was a disappointment. In abversus United States and the Supreme Court upheld the tournament of japanese americans during world war ii it was another disappointment. But other times the court has risen to the challenge the famous case of brown versus board of education which finally struck down the concept of separate but equal where the Supreme Court recognized the right to marriage equality. Today the Supreme Court faced another humans right issue involving another group. Now its become standard and defines a group of americans. People living in america. In their case th
Scholars, andwar they are getting younger by the day. [laughter] we just heard one, and now we will hear another with dr. Paul quickly. Asis familiar to many of you the associate presser o professr of civil war studies. Would saye, and some the pleasing voice, if you happen to be an anglophile, for the centers many public programs, and like his endowed chairs namesake, he speaks often and writes for the popular media and the Wider Community as well as staying active in the scholarly world. Before he came to Virginia Tech in 2013, he was a lecturer at in American History at the university of edinburgh. That is scotland, you got that right. [laughter] he spent many years before that in the socalled valley of humility, earning his ma and phd at the university of North Carolina chapel hill, lecturing not only at unc, but at Duke University and Guilford College , and working for the journal, southern cultures. It was at unc that he met his wife, mindy, now a mystery writer. His doctoral dis
Washington foundation he now inks as an interpreter military programs at the Colonial Williamsburg foundation. Welcoming ryanin quint. [applause] thank you. How is everyone doing . Everyone happy to be here . Not a great answer if you said five minutes into the program. I was excited when the program of announced and the idea the theme, forgotten battles of the civil war. Question became what to do next, and at the time that i worked at the fredericksburg military park, the thing about frederick spur, there were massive battles. Huge. I like to study the smaller engagements. The problem with that, the smaller they are, the harder they are to study. So, dranesville. I was hoping to create a book out of it. To talkpecially excited about it tonight. Has anyone heard of dranesville before . Whoo ok. does anyone know where it is . Less hands, but still a good number. It helps if you turn it on. It is 20 miles west of washington, d. C. The battle the encasement we will be talking about happe
An excellent book i read in grad school many years ago. Most recently, he is the author of the thin light of freedom, the civil war and emancipation in the heart of america, published in 2017. And the 2018 lincoln prizewinner. One of the things he has done throughout his career, he has made a point to speak to public audiences. He is hard evidence that this supposedly gap between academics and public historians there is maybe a gap, but it is ever so slight. It is close in large part because of academics like professor ayres who also does a Popular Program entitled back story, which you can get on a podcast. Please welcome professor edward ayres. [applause] hello, everybody. Did you have a good lunch . I had five carrot pieces and a bag of m ms. I am fired up. I had the peanut m ms. There is little protein in there. I know you folks have been thinking and working hard about this issue. I wanted to be honest. I wanted to come here and be sincere. I owe you an explanation. I had an idea