>> welcome to montgomery, alabama, on american history tv. it is considered one of america's most historic cities for its role on the civil war and civil rights movement. today, it has a population of 205000 and is alabama's second-largest city. with the help of our cable partners, over the next 90 thetes, hear the story of montgomery bus boycott and its impact on the city. >> each day that the buses ran empty, the bus company lost about $3000 per day. about 1955.ng three thousand dollars was the average yearly salary of most people in the area. it speaks to the amount of of the busestate because remember the bus fare was only $.10. quite later, we will learn about an alabama governor who made a bid for the presidency. >> when people ask him what the takeaway from the 1958 campaign is, he says, i try to talk about progressive improvement and good and goodgood roads schools, known would listen. when i started to talk about segregation, everyone started to listen to me. >> but first, learn about court square, a spot in montgomery that was about so much of history. >> two most cataclysmic events in american history transpired right here in montgomery. so much of it was right here on court square. two little villages in this ,own, which touched the river near the federal road, came inted and became one town 1819. statesa around avenue. he was a visionary. he was a scoundrel, but it is very scoundrel, if you will. you see the land with a capital since today, given to the city's thing you can never sell it, you can never lease it, because when montgomery becomes the capital, this is where the capital will sit. and sure enough, 1846, 47, montgomery did become the capital, and immediately came to build the capital on capitol hill. slavery was a big issue of course, the abolitionist movement was growing in the north. the two sections of the country were changing in their orientation. because we continue to grow cotton in the south, where the north was becoming more industrialized. and so there was a difference of opinion, and the issue of states rights really overwhelmed the south, if you will. but slavery undergirded the states rights issue. the election of 1860 was the one in which abraham lincoln was elected. the staff -- the south that we had been defeated right here. we will just go ahead and secede. of course, the meetings were taking place in the capital. on january 11, 1861, the secessionists were the one that carried the day in the vote that determined cessation or remaining in the union. with that, the die was cast. as far as our capital was concerned, it in them city of montgomery, we would become the capital of the confederacy, provisionally at first. we wanted to keep it, of course, forever. but the confederate states of america were organized in our capital. justin davis was elected, president of the confederacy. he was inaugurated on the steps of the capitol, the platform there in february of 1861. fort sumter was sitting there, the charleston hall was just sitting there. they re-provisioned the urge to fire on it, which is palpable. you could feel it in the air. and so the confederate cabinet was meeting in the exchange hotel, just on the corner of commerce in court square, directly across the street in what is known internally as the winter building or the telegraph office was on the second floor. there was a young fellow, he ran back and forth, back and forth, from bo regarded charleston the cabin here in the exchange hotel. finally, the decision was reached that they are not going to leave, so we will fire upon the forge. in april, the fort was fired upon. and the orders to fire on it were issued from the telegraph office here. and then across the street was the central bank of alabama. it wasn't a state bank at all. it was a private bank. but it was incorporated, of course, in the state laws. that bank was the first to loan money to the confederacy. so here on court square we had the exchange hotel, where the cabinet met, with the order was given. in the winter building, we had the telegram sent. and the money needed, it was not a great deal of money, but eventually it put the bank totally at the end of the war, -- [indiscernible] right here, so many things that happened at the end of the civil war took place. what was montgomery doing after the capital moved? in may, 1861, the capital moved to richmond. that left us in a little bit of a backwater. we had railroads, we had steamboats, we were a supply store. and we had cotton stored, along commerce street and adjacent streets to it, bordering on the river and the railroads. we don't really know how many bales of cotton. huge numbers of cotton stored. with the yankees are coming. and with wilson's raid, in january of 65, with thousands of troops, they scoured through the whole area, small mining enterprises, little foundries, they were destroyed all those. they destroyed the university of alabama, and they then, the battle of selma took place. what's left, the formal capital of the confederacy. federal troops began moving towards montgomery. there was great anxiety here, of course. winona what's happening. we don't know whether we will be punished, tremendously because we were the founding site of this whole chaos we were existing in at that point. all that con the stored in the warehouse. we have a very small confederate force here in montgomery. they decide there's no way they can take on wilson's raiders, this mass of people that are coming, so they were lean the -- were leaving. but before they leave, they agreed to burn the cotton. and so this great conflagration takes place all through this area on april 9, and the wind is blowing off the river. blowing sparks towards town. there was a good chance the same thing would happen here as happened in other towns and villages and cities around the south, we would be burned. there was a black volunteer sergeant, they were in charge of the fire protection, because most of the white farmers had gone to war. and so the black firemen were able to contain the fire until the wind changed. and they became true heroes here in montgomery, to great acclaim that they had saved the town from destruction. wilson's raiders arrived in montgomery, and they're coming around court square. the fountain was not there at that point. it was just a basin with a metal fence around it. it was around that sense -- that sense that cattle have been sold. they came, interestingly enough him from selma. we had another march the came from selma, 100 years later. they came and marched up market street, at about 4:00 in the morning, they took down the confederate flag and put the american flag on the flagpole on capital ground. we were out of the war. the interesting thing is, as the war began april 12, 13, 14, 15, 1861, it was the same date that the yankees arrived, so for years to the day, the war lasted for montgomery anyways. we had adjustments to make. reconstruction was difficult for us. for anybody. to reconstruct a period of intense loyalty to one state and shift your loyalty back to another was a bit of a struggle for many, many people. the blacks were free. and so a whole new economic, social, political environment, laws, rules, everything changed in a sense. the electric streetcars was one of the first efforts on the part of the blacks to gain special rights, in fact the law was passed by the city of montgomery to cause the streetcars to run separate cars for the blacks than whites. that created a streetcar strike. and right here on the square, all the streetcars in montgomery lined up on that morning, that this law was to go into effect. and so a municipal panic, when you can't get the streetcars in because [indiscernible] the initial effort that was made by the blacks to focus in the changing of that ordinance, that separate but equal on the streetcars, schools, that was affecting the schools. it was affecting all of the economy as well as the social and political activities. bit by bit, it's becoming an issue that has gotten to need some sort of resolution. and so the transportation issue going back again to the streetcars and segregated streetcars, and segregated buses, the buses replaced streetcars. you have the same issues again. just across the square, in the montgomery fair, rosa parks worked as a seamstress. the buses were often crowded lately in the afternoon, she came out of the store, needed to pick something up at the drugstore just off of court square. she went up to the drugstore, made her purchase, came back, and about with alliance heads are today was a waiting shelter for bus riders. rosa got on the bus right there. took her seat in the area that was limited to -- blacks could sit in it if the bus didn't get crowded. she sat down, legally. two blocks up the street, before the empire theater, the bus stopped and more white people got on the bus. rosa parks just sat there. and so began the montgomery bus boycott. right here on court square. there was also some activities that took place here. dr. king, one with the king junior was a minister the next day at the baptist church that was built in 1880's under some question by some of the population -- letter to the editor, are we going to let black people build a church year on market street? it happened. think about it. the civil war began in the capital with the election of jefferson davis and with the organization of the confederacy. and then, within a block, the baptist church was built, and the leader, the moral and spiritual leader to some extent of the whole civil rights movements of the 20th century really kind of spring from that church. so you got a wonderful contrast, and really, one of those strange parallel events that you take place in history. >> all weekend, american history refusedwh torks give up her seat on a city bus to a white manite ma. n -- to a white man. learn more here on american history tv. >> alabama state, a very old, historic facility. from civil war to civil rights for 104 years in between. in thehe most historic united states of america for three reasons. have -- marking the location. stood to take the oath of office to become the first and only president of the confederate states of america. david. the star of the daughter of confederacy, she had the star in place here. the confederate was here until may 20, 1861. one hundred four years later is when dr. king led the voters right march. it was between two columns here where governor stood and delivered the first inaugural address. dustdraw the line in the before the seed of tyranny. segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever. >> the event took place here and onhere else in the world, the ranks of historic places through the interior department. >> it burned to the ground in 1948 and in 1851, the camp was built back on the same foundation. this was 1851 structure. inside and we are very proud of this. a pair of staircases going up three flights. it.re proud to have he played a large role in the design. he was born into slavery. could not get credit for the masterpiece because he was a slave. complete,project was reconstruction, he returned to montgomery, alabama, staged a campaign here, and was the first black in alabama state capital. first and only evere governor for alabama had. elected to serve the state alabama for four years as governor. 16 months into the tour, she died of cancer. we are one of two states in the anted states of america with unelected husband-and-wife team together. the wallace is served alabama in the 1960's. they served texas in the 20's. we have had them all as governors of state and alabama. becomecampaign trail, to governor of the state of alabama. killedson he shot and was his life and lover. it was ruled as justifiable homicide, so he was not convicted of murder. that allowed him to go on and become governor of alabama. the governor married his first cousin. he closed state government down at the age of 39 and married a 16-year-old girl. is a working museum. alabama sinceof 1819. this is on the south wing. the secretary of state, along with the governor and those are the only four elected in alabama state capital. we moving into the old supreme court chamber. the supreme court landed here from 1851 to 1884. today, they meet on dexter avenue two blocks down. it is a historic room. remains fromrrier louisiana to richmond, virginia. for five hours. you can see the casket there in the picture. mrs. davies was a very passionate woman. she wrote, as the train rolled into montgomery, alabama, she felt it was fitting to allow the train to stop in casket amongthe those he loved so much and those who loved him so much. ofare in the third floor alabama state capital. we are inside the dome. i will explain. in 1890. a state drafting of the first constitution and alabama. president of united states at that time. on the other level, they are identical. they have a definite getting and a definite ending. 1865, the61 in confederate states of america were formed. 11 states and the confederate -- our stateginal name is alabama. that is a native american name. most of the cities alabama were native american names. chief. the is where he gets his name. but they did not sell it -- spell it with 18. -- with a t. we have 35 chairs. there are 35 members of the alabama state senate. to 1985. this is the most historic net -- historic room. it is because of the confederate states of america. jefferson davis worked in the 1861 to may 20, forming the confederate state. they are all a lecture five now. the stage above, that is the gallery, where or net people would come to wash the lawmakers make the laws we have to abide by. we housed alabama state senate in the room to 1985. we will tour today is the old house of representative chamber. 105he chamber, there is we housed the representative in the room from this room 1985 area is used on a continuous asis. the main purpose of the room the governor of alabama to deliver his and her state of the state address. -- since 1851, tells the story of not just alabama but the entire southeast. what was done here to focus and bring more people in unity than anywhere else in the world, civil war and civil rights is the focal piece, but american civil war in the most studied subject in the world today followed by american civil rights, they both happened here. early 1861, after the southern states seceded from the union, montgomery host of the constitutional convention for the confederate hits of america. the city was also the provisional confederate capital before it was moved to richmond in may of the year. we worked with c-span's city tour's staff when we traveled to montgomery to explore its risk -- rich history. learn more here on american history tv. >> we are in the museum of alabama, a unit of the alabama department of archives in history. it was founded in 1901. we are the oldest independent history organization in the country. alabama voices exhibit, the centerpiece permanent exhibition of the museum of alabama, and the exhibit opened in 2014 to help us present a new telling of the past. the exhibit provides a nice introduction. europeanuce the colonial towers, and then later the new united states government, who become both trade partners and at times, adversaries. at an looking here artifact that is extremely important to the story of changing relationships in the 18th century. this is a piece metal that was cast to commemorate the signing of the treaty of new york, the first signed by the united these metalsment, treaty wasted in the important for establishing a new standard and a new expectation in terms of who is going to be trading with the american people. the treaty of new york declared quite specifically that the federal government of the new united states would be the only withy that could negotiate the sovereign indian nations, recognized at the time. shape the united states and the nation at the time. it is important at the history of the diplomatic relationship between the u.s. and the people, also quite beautiful reminder of a promise made to the inhabitants of alabama, one in a long series to be made and subsequently broken as the united states continued to encroach on the lands here. after native americans are thised finally from section of the southeast, we move into a section of the story about the dramatic transformation of alabama from teens throughe 18 the antebellum period. decades,an of a few alabama had become one of the wealthiest part of the -- part of the country. settlers coming in from the carolinas and tennessee, a mix who couldarmers afford the poor quality land. there is a quite wealthy group of people coming in on a large scale. they came to plant cotton and with them, they brought in enslaved after americans. stateransformation of the into a very wealthy region in the span of a few decades depends on the introduction of the capital, the arrival of enslaved african-americans to provide the labor, and finally, the piece of technology that becomes one of the very important pieces of the entire system. this was manufactured about 20 miles from here in a town founded by daniel pratt, a new came south in 1830's. he was an industrialist, a visionary who saw the potential to come in and that of a manufacturing operation in the deep south. he arrived in alabama in the 1830's and began producing cotton gin's there, and his or inand later firms continuous operation until about 2013 manufacturing cotton gin's there. extremely important piece of technology that makes the entire economy work even up into the mid-20th century. important to transport the fiber into the northeast or into europe for processing and manufacturing. it is one of the very important pieces of economic engine that joy of alabama at the time p focus on cotton production will shave alabama socially, politically, and economically for decades before the civil war. 1860, thecloser to political temperature of the entire country is going up as the north and the south are future over the expansion of slavery into the western part of the united states. montgomery really being at the center point of these debates, as it is one of the early states to vote to secede from the union and early 1860 one, it invites other slaveholding states to send representatives here to montgomery to consider creating a new can enter government. storyag is related to the in very interesting ways. carried inally jefferson davis' inagrual parade. it is also instructive in telling us about the attitudes of the young men who joined military units forming all over they were expecting civil war to break out in the coming weeks and months. this flag is from the small whereity in east alabama there was a fine academy for young men, many of whom planned to study the law and become attorneys. you can actually read, and the slogan painted on the flag, they proclaimed protection to each new partner for each firm. young law students expecting to go to the war that might last two or three months to go home and go on to practice law. they cannot imagine what was about to happen to them and their family over the course of the next watcher years or more. a portraitng here at of leroy who served as secretary of war from the new confederate state. he played a significant role at the outset of the war. he and other members of the administration were operating here in montgomery and early 1861 out of the exchange hotel, which once stood at the bottom of dexter avenue. the day the order was sent to charleston, walker issued the crossed to runner the winter building where there was an office in the telegraph was available and a telegram was sent from here to montgomery to charleston and those were the shots that started the war. by the summer of 1864, the union is trying to cut off the industrial capacity, especially the capacity that existed in alabama. the action in which the admiral famously anticipated was all soma,an effort to cut off alabama, and its large manufacturing facility from the rest of the confederate military. union forces are coming up down try to destroyto the manufacturing complex. long after that, the tide was beginning to turn for the confederacy. , hemakes the decision relies is he will not be able to continue the fight. the sword along to to a native of montgomery, who later became one of our governors. at the time, he was a major and the morning lee decided it was time to signal his willingness he signaled terms, lee's desire to begin negotiations. we have talked about this as the war that ended the war. in terms of signaling the end of hostilities. we're talking about how it will rebuild the economy after the destruction of the civil war, how newly emancipated after americans were going to make a living, where they would live, what the relationship would be to their former owners, and that all combined for a tumultuous that is fascinating in many respects to her one of my favorite pieces associated with the voteris registration volume. alabama had to adopt a state constitution. registrars went out all over the state registering citizens who were eligible to vote. what makes the volume special and others like it is they were the first state records produced by alabama government that record the names of formally enslaved african american men who are now recognized as free citizens of the state. , in many cases, was the first time they would have put in public record not just the name but whatever surname time ofse at the emancipation. it is also extremely valuable for doing african-american genealogy. it provides important mileposts in terms of african-american families being able to document the lineage back to 1867. to remainder of voices go on tell the dramatic changes that are full in the ensuing decades of alabama history as it becomes the most heavily industrialized state in the south, was heavily unionized, and it undergoes a whole sequence and as we approach the great depression and world war ii. there is a fantastic story that goes on through the mid-20th century related to the civil rights movement and alabama's role. and again championing making it possible for african americans to realize their full civil rights as citizens of our country. we hope our visitors leave with a better appreciation of the rich tapestry that is alabama's history. there are so many fascinating stories here about people who were trying to improve their own cooperationes about but also conflict and we hope they leave with a better awareness of how history has shaped a president that we work with today. >> all weekend, american history tv is featuring alabama's capital history of montgomery. named after richard montgomery. c-span's city tour's staff featured many sites showcasing the city's history. learn more all weekend here on american history tv. >> welcome in alabama. we are so glad you have come to visit us. this is the home of president jefferson davis and his family when they were here federal government was formed across the street at the alabama state capital. president davis and his wife and three children at the time moved into the first white house in the confederacy shortly after they came late in march. the house was built between 1832 and 1835 by a man who was an ancestor of ill, who merits got fitzgerald -- married scott fitzgerald. this was not here. it was down at the corner of -- if you want to look at the map, very close to the river. it was moved in 1921. this was probably montgomery passes first reservation project because the house became endangered. it was going to be torn down in the white house association was formed in the 1900's. come this way. a copy of a painting that hangs in the pentagon in washington when jefferson davis was in washington, a senator from mississippi. he was also in the secretary of war. mississippi seceded from the union. he, regrettably, turned in his resignation and said it was the saddest day of his life. thatis an original piece was in his office in montgomery. this beautiful sofa. it was given to his private secretary when he left montgomery to go to richmond. he did not want to take it with him. family -- when the president and mrs. davis and their family lived here, they had a large number of people come and visit and generally, what they would do, ladies would go into the first parlor and gentlemen would come into the second parlor. they conceal the two rooms off. the ladies would have the piano and they would sing and play and w and a gentleman would come into the room entering cigars -- drink and smoke cigars. this is a very interesting artifact. mrs. davis sent to president two years of sitting on a hard bench. she was finally allowed to send him this chair. she had to work hard to get him out of prison and also these northern men got behind the released ande him help bond of $100,000 signed by arace greeley, augustus, and number of other prominent northern men to release him from prison. the south have the right to secede from the union. this bible is a family bible and it was at its plantation home in mississippi and was taken during the war by a northern soldier. much later, it was returned to the white house by his younger brother. this is the dining room. , president davis had just joined having guests. they had lavish dinners, beautiful, pointed rose to china that was mrs. davis is that we had some of. the south, political and social. they had a wonderful time while they were here. mrs. davis was beautifully educated and was a wonderful hostess. i can just imagine, discussing politics, of course. it is so important that they had dinners and receptions because and hade trying to win all different kinds of social and economic grounds to come together to support president .avis he was the figurehead of the movement of the confederate the and in order for the confederacy to work, president davis had to work with all kinds of people, people from all walks of life came to this house and they would wait to see president davis in his study. follow me into the president's study. the decisionse that were made in this very room by president davis and his cabinet. over there in the corner, the desk was his personal desk. it here in richmond and his retirement home on the mississippi gulf coast. this table right here is very important because it was the table of which he wrote the memoirs. imagine president justice davis sitting here at this little desk in his retirement home. he sat and penned his two volume ofk called the rise and fall the confederate government. he put down everything he ,hought about that has gone on what is known as his apologetic. i can see him sitting here writing copiously. here we are in president davis's room. everything in the rumble want to justice davis and his wife gave it to her friend after he died. these were his bedroom slippers. we call it a little suitcase or overnight bag. outside, around the shirt, the collar and then the collar would be stored. dress every of his day, the shirt, the chair in which he sat, and the most for nothing in the room is is that. the bed is a beautiful button bed. made to order for him because he was quite tall for the day. was extra long and i are wide because of the height. upstairs.o on this level, several bedrooms with family and friends, business members would stay overnight. there is also a picture in richmond, virginia come with general robert ely standing in the middle with president davis sitting in the chair and they called the room the cabinet room because members of president davis's cabinet would stay overnight here and they included stevens,ke alexander -- and this is a beautiful bed here. made by a furniture company in new orleans. in the center of the head of the bed. the curtains and that fishers, all of these made by a wonderful fabric designer here. you can see from looking around at the people who came here were treated to the very best of .verything in the late spring of 1861, the house changed hands a number of times. they rented it. -- it was so dilapidated, it was in danger of being completely demolished. the white house association was formed in 1900 to save the house . it took 20 years to raise the money because nobody had the money to buy the house and buy the property here where it is now to have the house taken apart and sections, and completely restored it and give it to the people of the state of alabama. the history of the house involves him and his legacy. the truth that jefferson davis was a great american, a great patriot, served his country, he served the united states government and the united states war, he after the served his second country, the confederate states of america, which he loved and cherished very much. american history tv is featuring montgomery, alabama. in the early 19th century, settlers -- con production became a major industry. we recently visited many sites showcasing the city's history. learn more about montgomery all weekend here on american history tv. >> rosa parks was an ordinary citizen. felicia bell: she was anybody's neighbor or friend, sister or mother, who started a movement in montgomery that would change the city, the nation, and the world. mrs. parks was a secretary for a local naacp chapter. there was a plan in place to make change within the system of segregation on the city buses. so, they had had this discussion before mrs. parks and i think with her being -- she was a married woman, a working person, she was petite, pulling -- who in the world would want to bully such a nice person? that is the image that the naacp wanted to put forward for media purposes, or whether probably knew was going to get a lot of attention. i think that her purse on a -- persona may have had an effect on their decision to do this. but i think also that it had been building up, if you will. the way that life was in montgomery and throughout the south was a life of jim crow segregation, meaning that everything you could possibly think of was separated. not necessarily equal, but separated. mrs. parks experienced that on a regular basis. when she got on montgomery city bus one day to go home from work, like everybody else, she sat in a seat that was designated for so-called colored riders. at that time, montgomery city bus drivers had policing powers, so they determined what section of the bus where regular -- regulated for white passengers and for so-called colored passengers. and they did this by moving a sign forward or backward on the bus, designating each section. mrs. parks, when she got on, sat in the section designated for colored passengers. and the front of the bus, when it filled, the driver asked mrs. parks and about 3-4 other passengers to relinquish their seats to white passengers. the other passengers did as they were asked by the driver and mrs. parks refused. the brown versus board decision had just passed in 1954, so that is what integrated public schools. it did not integrate public transportation or other public facilities. they were using what was essentially a du jour segregation by law that they had separate spaces on the buses for passengers, however when the driver made the decision to ask the african-american passengers to relinquish seats, that then became a personal decision. a private decision. and now he is de facto segregation, that is when you do something that is not necessarily the law, but you are doing it because it is the social way, the way things are, it is what i want to do. and since mrs. parks refused, he asked her to get off the bus and calls the city police to come and have her arrested. mrs. parks's arrest begin a 381 day boycott, involved a grassroots effort of the african-american community strategizing, pulling together resources for what would be over a year of sacrifice. >> we at the museum here on the campus of troy university, this is the montgomery countess -- campus. she was arrested outside the store. -- door. which was the empire theater. here at the museum, we take people on a journey. a journey through a protest where communities came together. and we will do this by original documents and traveling through those time periods through the footsteps of those who did it. this is a photograph of the bus the day of the boycott. the buses went from having nowhere to sit, to having one person on the bus in three short days. this is an important photograph, because a lot of people are curious as to if it was only blacks that were off of the buses. there was only one person on the bus that monday, but she stated that she was out of town that weekend and that is why she was actually on the bus. each day the buses ran empty, the bus company lost about $3000 a day. we are about 1955. $3000 was the average yearly salary of most people in the area and it speaks to the amount of people who stayed off the buses, because the bus fare remember it was only $.10. here we have a list of demands that the protesters were asking for. as you can see, the first demand was that the writers be treated with -- riders be treated with respect and courtesy. this is important, because a lot of times they were asked to get on, pay the fare, and then get off and go around to the back. some drivers would even pull off and that person had to wait on another bus, pay another fair, and hope that the next driver did not did the same thing. so they asked for respect and courtesy, first. the second demand, first come first serve seating. they stated that they were only asking that the blacks moved -- once they sat down, they would not be at to get up for any reason. they asked that the company eventually higher black drivers, but not for all the routes, only the ones that came through the black neighborhoods. they do not ask for total immigration -- integration, but they asked for reasonable segregation. still, they were not able to reach an agreement with the city. now the mayor at the time, he was negotiating on behalf of the city and he was negotiating against dr. martin luther king it was the spokesperson for the organization at this point. even though he was not asking for total integration, the city felt that they were. that if they gave them an inch, they would take a mile. and that they were only asking for so little to get their foot in the door for deep segregation -- deep integration. so after a short time, a little over a month, they halted negotiations. after many attempts to run dr. king out of town, threatening phone calls, eventually this night around midnight, somebody called dr. king and explained to him that in three days, if he did not leave montgomery and stop the boycott, that he would be killed and his house would be bombed. he said he was so afraid that he decided to pray out loud to the lord. he said that he prayed a special prayer that night, basically saying, i think what i am doing is right and i think that the cause we represent is right, but i must admit i am beginning to get weak and i am losing my courage and i cannot let the people see me this way, because then they will begin to get week also. -- weak also. dr. king said at that moment is when it happened, a voice told him, martin luther, stand up for justice and stand up for the truth. so dr. king said that is what gave him the strength and courage to continue on with the boycott, even if it meant his death. so he continued and three days later, his home was bombed, but nobody was injured. his wife was in the back of the home when the bomb went off on the front porch. and their first child was there, only six weeks old. the city offered a $500 reward, which eventually grew to $1000, but nobody was ever found for the bombing of the home. now a large crowd had gathered in his yard that evening. this was a group of about 300 angry protesters who were there seeking revenge. they wanted to fight back for dr. king and dr. king, knowing that that would be a mistake, stepped out on the porch and decided to play for peace. he told all of them to go home and put away their weapons. he reminded them that even if they received violence, they would not return it. and even if he was stopped, that the movement would not be stopped, because what they were doing was right. at this point, the focus shifted and instead of running dr. king out of town alone, it was attempted to run more people out of town with him, by indicting all of them on the anti-board. these are some of the individuals that were indicted on that law. so you will see a lot of faces you will recognize, like dr. king, or mr. abernathy. abernat. they felt very strongly about being soldiers and being treated like second-class citizens. theuse they were not using buses, they still needed a means of transportation. of the carsplica they used, which is a 1955 beller station wagon. now these cars, some were .urchased and somewhere donated but they use these cars to get back and forth to work and other places. they also set up pickup and drop-off parking lots. so you went to a different parking lot according to the destination you are going to. the police set up a surveillance , trying to stop these cars because they were -- they wanted to show that they were operating like a taxi service and not a church organization. theywas mainly because boycotters were not able to get a business license to operate these cars. through surveillance, they gained enough evidence to in fact show that, to file a lawsuit against all the churches that had these cars in their name. won thely, they lawsuit, gaining an injunction against the cars from operating. but by the ton that they did, the same exact day, they broader versus dale case desegregated the buses. now this case made it to the federal supreme court. the final ruling came in november. but they had to wait until the summer before they could go back on the buses because they had to wait for the mandate to actually make it to montgomery. on decemberpened 21, 1956. rosa parks was not a plaintiff in that case. that is primarily because, when she went to court, she was actually found guilty of disorderly conduct and not violating the segregation law. so she could not be a part of that court case, even though initially it was planned for her to be on that court case. is the victory ride, which took place on december 21, 1956. the leaders wanted to ride first, to show everyone that it would be ok to ride in the front seat of the bus. people werelot of nervous. no one knew exactly what would happen. that there were no incidents this first day. what you see here is attorney frank wright who filed and won the court case. law todayl practicing in tuskegee, alabama, with his son. beside him is reverend glenn smiling, who was -- he told everyone he was a news reporter interviewing dr. king. that is why he was here. thehe was sent from ownership of reconciliation. they sent him here to teach dr. king nonviolent tactics. on the inside is dr. martin luther king. and beside him is reverend abernathy, one of his hostess friends in montgomery. dr. king one the trusted with the responsibilities of the protest when he had to be away. although there were no incidents this first day, seven days after this, they violence did erupt. name of mr. rosen jordan was shot in both of her legs while sitting in the back of the bus. she wasn't killed any there was anybody else, but it happened so often that they suspended the night round until it went away. boycott, for the majority of the citizens of montgomery, they wanted everything to go back to normal. people eventually started writing back the buses and you have testimony of people who were black that were 80 or 90 years old who stated that come after the boycott, for the first time in their lives, they went into a store and are called ma'am or serve as a poised -- as opposed to boy or girl. sir as opposed to boy or girl. is theu begin to see nonviolent protest and the mass array started a new revolution here in the united states. announcer: all weekend long, and american history tv is joining our charter communications cable partners to showcase the history of montgomery alabama. to learn more about the cities in our current tour, visit/-- visit www.c-span.org/citiesto her. -- www.c-span.org/citiestour. corks today, we will be looking georgerial from the wallace collection and from other collections related to george wallace and the larger the 1960'sf 1963 or in alabama. george wallace is probably the most influence in -- influential politician to come out of the state. for four terms, two consecutive terms and then to additional terms. and he is involved in a a lot of what is happening in nearly 60's. he also makes -- in the early 60's. makes runs for president. really shake american politics is the 1968 and 1972 runs. the first thing a want to show you is governor wallace's inaugural address. this is the first one that he presented january 14, 1963. this is the moment where we really see his first stance as sort of a hard-line segregationist. and where we start to see this rhetoric that is going to make him a notable figure, not only in alabama politics, but in national. -- national politics. >> we will not sacrifice our children for any such types. and you can write that down. 1958en we look at his inaugural campaign, we actually see a really interesting shift that happened after 1968. in 19 58, he runs for governor against john patterson. in the first gubernatorial election, george wallace actually runs as a racial moderate. he is still supporting segregation, but he is arguing against klan violence, arguing against this hard entrenched segregation that is holding the state back. and he actually says, in one of his films campaign speeches in 1958, just a paraphrase, he says, if i am not a man that can treat a man fairly regardless of his color, i'm not the man i should be the governor of this fair state. that is very different rhetoric from what we see later on in wallace's campaign. the 1958ened in campaign, wallace really does try to reach this racial moderate and try to campaign for the poor and working-class .labama he gets the approval of the naacp initially. but he loses to a significant margin to john patterson. he is devastated by this loss. upset bys is really this loss. he considers it a failing. when people ask him what the take away from the 1958 campaign tried says, you know, i to talk about progressive improvements. i try to talk about good roads and good schools. and no one would listen. but when i started talking about segregation, everybody stopped and started listening to me. so what you see is he decides he is going to become this hard-line segregationist. so we see that come out in his inaugural speech. on january 14, 1963. what happens in the inaugural speech, george wallace hires a news each writer named asa carter. asa carter is a hard-line segregationist. tois a man that has ties very violent organizations. he has ties to the clan. and he is very extreme and hard-line when it comes to segregation. moment wheree george wallace makes his statement that is probably most well-known. >> let us rise to the call of freedom loving blood that is in answer in ther name of the greatest people that have ever tried this earth. --raw the line in the dust and i say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever. months after his influential inaugural address, things begin to heat up as far as civil rights in alabama. in the spring of 1963 and moving into the summer. of ae wallace finds sort theral person to have states rights, national rights debate with. in the form of john f. kennedy and robert kennedy. so what is happening is the kennedys become involved in conversations with george wallace beginning really in april 1963. they are very concerned about what is going to happen with the integration of schools in alabama because they are trying to prevent what happened in mississippi earlier, from happening again. they are really try to avoid another powder cake and another mob -- powder -- powder keg. they have already seen from conditions he caving in birmingham in the spring of 1963 that there is this potential for violence if integration of the schools doesn't go successfully. what we see here are a selection of telegrams that were exchanged between kennedy and wallace and between others who were interested in what was happening in birmingham. so the conversation between kennedy and wallace is often contentious. wallace is really looking for a way to set himself up as a national political figure. he uses the integration of the university of alabama has a way to bring himself to the national table. so he makes the statement that he is going to go and physically stand in the schoolhouse door and bar the students who are seeking admission from the university of alabama. so what you see in this telegram wallace argued3, that he is the candidate maintaining peace in alabama, that that is his holes that's his sole purpose for going into the university. telegram, john f. kennedy says that the only announced threat to orderly complies with the law, however, is your plan to bar physically the admission of negro students in defiance of the order of the alabama federal district court and in violation of accepted standards of public conduct. stille' response is he is determined to make this public stand at the university of and order, you know presumably for law and order, but also to advance his candidacy as potentially a national political figure. >> the university of alabama campus in tesco lucite is under tight security. armedderal officers are with the proclamation from president kennedy, urging the governor to in his efforts to present -- to prevent two new from registering at the university. madeovernor is adamant he a campaign promise to stand in the doorway himself to prevent the integration of the last all-white state university. >> in this photograph, you see theolas kassebaum, who is assistant attorney general for the united states, he is the kennedy representative center birmingham to make the federal government's argument for integration at the university. doorhen, standing in the at foster auditorium messy promise, you see governor wallace. he stands here and makes a statement and states that he is not going to leave. he is going to physically bar the admission of james hood and vivian want further to integrate the university of alabama. at the event, nicholas katzenbach reads his statement, saying the governor needs to comply with the federal regulations that have been set forth for integration. and george wallace makes a statement that he is defying this intrusion of federal state law and to the integration of state universities. iswhat you see here wallace's reading copy that he read from, his statement from the day on june 11, 1953. in his speech, wallace sets up this debate between states rights and federal right. as we see here on the second page, he makes a very powerful stance against federal involvement. and he says i stand here today as governor of this sovereign state and refuse to willingly submit to illegal use of -- illegal usurpation of power by the central government. the lasting impact of this speech is not necessarily, you know, that he made a successful stance against the segregation of the university. it is accidentally he sets himself up to become a national political figure that is thising the desires of population that feels they haven't gone -- haven't been heard, this group of white southerners, but other middle-class working americans who feel like their views have been overshadowed by the federal government. once the state troops arrived, about two hours later, wallace sees the federal troops arrive. he steps down and walks away. and that is the end of the confrontation. it is interesting to note of contrast between what happens june 11 when george wallace rise in tuscaloosa to make his stance in the schoolhouse door and what happens to days later on june 13, 1963, when the university of alabama huntsville campus is this a creative with very little fanfare and very little fuss. so what you see here is james mcgrath three, who is a mathematics student, graduate nasant, and employee at who is walking into this open desegregateessfully the university of alabama huntsville with very little media attention, very little police presence. it is a stark contrast between what happened just a few days before in tuscaloosa. once the school is successfully disaggregated, he sort of moved on into the national political sphere. he is using it as a political launching point. >> i am pleased to announce this morning that more than 100,000 californians have registered as members of the american toependent party in order give us assistance in gaining a place on the california ballot in next year's general election. >> george wallace makes his first initial run in national politics in 1964 where he enters a few key primaries and does very well. but his first major national run comes in 1968. he has really set himself up through these public appearances that he makes during the desegregation debate and during the stance in the schoolhouse door, he sets himself up to be this voice of conservatism that is standing against all of these changes that the federal government is making. he takes what he has been making, the segregation argument he has been making, and he broadens it for a national audience. --talking specifically about so instead of talking specifically about segregation, he talks about federal tower and how it is overtaking the will and desires of everyday -- americans. and that is a debate that resonates with a lot of people who feel their concerns are not being heard, that feel that they are living in a turbulent moment of american history and feel like the federal government is moving too fast with their theirons and feel like voices aren't being heard. george wallace, in 1968, sets himself up as a very successful candidate for president. he wins five southern states and receives over 10 million votes. speaks to i minority that a lot of politicians didn't realize was out there, that was willing to vote. and so he runs again in 1972 and makes a good showing. unfortunately, what happens on may 15, 1972, he is speaking at a campaign stop in laurel, -- aand when a man maimed man named arthur river fires five shots and paralyzes governor wallace. while you see here are the items that george wallace was carrying in his pockets on the day he was shot. was really remarkable about these is it really humanizes wallace, because these are items that we would have in our -- ors are purses today purses today. he was always carrying around a pack of cinnamon gun. chapstick and a book of matches from a hotel that he picked up. the shooting after and wallace's political career is that he has this moment where he is in constant pain. he is coming to the realization that he is never going to walk again. but he is still very interested in running and campaigning. makes one more presidential run in 1976, which is very short-lived and variance of asphalt and a lot of the reason is because people have questions about whether he is physically capable of serving as president. after the 1976 campaign and in defeat, he moves back alabama and starts making a run for governor again. because he is in constant pain and because he is dealing with the realities now, he becomes reflective on all of the political events that happened before that. in the 1970's, you start seeing him calling up the african-americans he feels he has wronged and asking for forgiveness. lastou see him in his gubernatorial campaign in 1982 making a very emotional reach out to the african-american community and asking for forgiveness and asking for a chance to redeem his political career. george wallace lived for several more years after he retired from politics. but he was in constant pain and had very poor physical health. he finally died in 1998. the nation really are still trying to come to terms with the legacy of george wallace because, you know, as a national politician, even though george wells was never elected, his presidential campaigns are really influential and eight changed the conservative movement and they changed the way that future politicians phrase certain debates. so you see, after wallace, a especiallyus on republican candidates talking about federal government, federal abuse of power and the fear that the federal government has gotten too large and are making large changes. and they couch it in language that is similar to what governor wallace is using. it is still a debate that is going on today in national politics. but in the state itself, we are s.alt with the tw wallaceo we have the wallace that supported improvements to public education. we have technical colleges all across the state that bear the names of george wallace and marlene wallace that have educated generations of students. so that stands to his legacy as someone i was interested in the needs of alabama's people. but we are also still dealing with a very painful legacy of ist rhetoric. one of the wonderful examples of that is some of the speeches that george wallace's family have made recently. what you are looking at now is a speech by peggy wallace kennedy in montgomery, alabama. this is a speech given in 2015, the day after the bloody sunday 50th anniversary celebration was held in selma. so she is speaking to a group of congressmen that are coming down with john lewis to speak with her. i think one of the most powerful parts of this speech is the moment where she directly addresses congressmen john lewis and she says, you know, she talks about this moment in march 2009, where they walk across the bridge together, and they hold hands. and she realizes this is such a wonderful gift that she has been given, to be able to have this moment with john lewis, where they have moved beyond the pains of the past and they are looking towards the alabama the future. speech,inal leg of her as georgebut today, wallace's daughter and as a person of my own, i want to do for you what my father should have done, and recognize you for your humidity and for your dignity as a child of god, as a person of good will and character, and as a fellow alabamians and say welcome home. announcer: in early 1861, after the southern states seceded from montgomery hosted a constitutional convention for the confederate states of america. the state was a provisional confederate capital before it was moved to richmond in may of that year. our charter communications cable partners work with c-span's cities to her staff when we travel to montgomery to explore its rich history. learn more about montgomery all weekend here on american history tv. think about the timeline of a modern-day civil rights movement, the beginning of that movement being 1954 brown versus board of education and the apex of the movement be the assassination of dr. king in 1968, the freedom right is right in the middle of that history. it was the halfway point for those events. what happened here on the streets of montgomery really became a turning point for the movement. rise was a civil rights campaign to challenge the segregated laws in interstate travel across the south. with twoom rides again groups of integrated people, blacks and whites, leaving on greyhound buses traveling through the deep south to test whether the facilities and the modes of transportation work, plying with the recent supreme in which the supreme court outlaws segregation in interstate travel. the groups that left washington, d.c. on may 4, 1961 would travel through the deep south and would arrive in new orleans on may 17, 1961, which would be the seventh anniversary of the brown versus four -- brown versus board of education impaired as they left washington, d.c. and traveled through the upper south, virginia, north carolina, they really didn't run into much resistance. there were a few glares, but nothing serious. as the group entered into the deeper south, into south carolina, rock hill's specifically, that is when they first encountered violence and were attacked. part of the plan for the freedom ride was they would test the ruling by going in and using facilities that were segregated. so black passengers would use the white facilities and white passengers would use the black facilities. inthey got off the bus raquel, south carolina, and proceeded into the station to test the ruling, there were white segregationists that were there and they attacked the freedom riders several were injured. . they were able to continue the ride. as a traveled into south carolina and georgia, there were other skirmishes. in atlanta, the group was able to meet with dr. martin luther king jr., who was at that time president of the southern christian leadership conference. voiced some concerns about the group continuing the ride into alabama. there were some sources that have reported to him that there would be violence waiting for ride andr alabama. sthe group was aware of his concerns but could it -- but decided to continue anyway. there were two groups of travelers, integrated groups on a greyhound bus and h railway. the bus traveled an hour apart. there was a mob waiting for the bus. they attacked the bus. they broke at windows. they rocked the bus to try to turn it over. however, the bus was able to pull away from the station, but not before the tires were slashed on the bus. when they tried to phone for help, the mob attacked the bus again. someone in the mob through a molotov cocktail into the bus. the bus filled with smoke and fumes. as the freedom riders tried to get off the bus, there were members of the mob who held the doors on the outside of us so rs get off the bus. once they got off the bus, they were at the mercy of this model continue to attack them further. the policeom officers was that they would have 15 minutes to attack the freedom rider before law enforcement would intervene. in the meantime, the trailways bus arrives in anniston an hour later. they don't know until they arrived at the greyhound bus has already been attacked. but the interesting thing about the trailways bus, unlike the greyhound bus, several of the segregationists had gotten on the bus in atlanta and were riding the bus from atlanta to anniston. they had not only confident onassed the freedom riders the journey from atlanta, but they had also beaten several of riders while on the bus. eventually, the trailways bus was able to travel on to birmingham where yet another mob formed and was there waiting for the bus to arrive. while all of this was going on, there was a group of students, college students in nashville, that were part of the national student movement that had been working to desegregate lunch counters in the downtown area for over a year. the students were monitoring and seeing what was happening. there were negotiations and discussions among the students and nationals to come to birmingham to continue the ride. that is where all of the freedom in birmingham.ed once they arrived, they convened with the state government to provide protection with the students leaving birmingham and coming to montgomery. the deal worked out is that the buses would be protected with state police from the birmingham city limits to the montgomery city limits. then the montgomery city police would pick up the bus and protect the bus as it arrived in montgomery at the bus station. the bus with the freedom riders in birmingham left may 20, 1961, a saturday morning. everything was going according to plan until the bus arrived in the city of montgomery. then the state police field off and the city police did not pick up the bus to escort the bus to the montgomery bus station. it took about 15 minutes for the bus to arrive here at the montgomery greyhound bus station. the bus pulled into the station and several of the freedom riders remarked that it was in the, that there were not many people around. there are not many people on the street. as the bus pulled in, the freedomrider were beginnings to get off the bus. several photographers and journalists were waiting to interview the students. as they got off the bus and started their interviews, then a crowd formed. they came from behind buildings, out of cars, from across the street. they came from everywhere and ascended on these students. first, they attacked the photographers and journalists, smashing their cameras. some of them were beaten with their own equipment as part of the attack. but after the attack to the journalists, they turned on the freedom riders. there were 21 students on the bus from birmingham to montgomery. none of them were over the age of 23. they were black and white. as they were being attacked, congressman lewis suggested to the students in the middle of all of this that they stand together and try to huddle together and not get separated. two of the people that were most badly beaten were the lone white male on the bus. he was an exchange student at the time from wisconsin. he and congressman lewis were the first to offer bus. the crowd that formed had all which to weapons with attack these students with. there were bats and chains and pipes and crates and just any manner of weaponry that you could think of to attack the students. after he was attacked, the crowd turned to commerce and lewis. coca-cola with a crate. that is the last thing he remembered. a were both beaten unconscious. others caught up in this attack were the assistant to attorney general robert f kennedy. his name was john c installer. scene as thethe students were being attacked and tried to intervene. as anounced himself federal official and someone proceeded to hit him over the head with a metal pipe and attack him. mr. cwhat happened with installer, the other person with -- he went to the federal judge to ask for an injunction. judge johnson issued an injunction, keeping the klan from intervening anymore with the freedom riders. but he also issued an injunction to prevent the freedom riders to continue at the same time. the civil rights leaders came to hold a mass meeting with the citizens of the city of montgomery to support the freedom riders. they held that meeting at this church. this was the church or reverend abernathy. while they were at the church, there were 1500 people inside the church and the mob outside they came to protest was a group of about 3000 people. they attack to the church. they would throw rocks at the church. they turned over cars outside the church. they threw molotov cocktails at the walls of the exterior of the church. dr. king and other civil rights leaders inside the church reached out to attorney general robert f kennedy and asked him to send in federal troops. it's dead of the federal -- instead of the federal troops coming, the state brought in the national guard. a black pharmacist to have been involved on the bus boycott, he had provided some transportation coordination for the bus boycott. rider home, the freedom were given safe haven. s the other decision was at the rise would continue. the next stop would be jackson, mississippi. busloads of961, two freedom writers -- freedom montgomery on the trailways bus. arrived freedom riders in jackson mississippi, they did try to integrate the facilities there and were arrested. they were all charged with breach of peace. between of them serve 30 to 40 days in jail. over 300 riders were arrested and served time in jackson, mississippi. ders never arrive to their destination in new orleans during even after all the activism and all the work that people like rosa parks and dr. martin luther king had done in 1850 -- in 1955, deserted or a the city ofting montgomery, most people's lives that not change. they still suffered some of the situations they had before 1955. it is after the student citizens and the freedom riders and 1961, when the sides of segregation start to come down. that all of these interstate facilities had to integrate. it is really when you first saw the visual changes in the landscape that segregation was on its deathbed. >> iamb the daughter of dr. richard harris. i think everybody now knows the story of the freedom riders. as far as coming to the greenhouse bus station and then going to the church and being surrounded. it is such a horrible scene of people want to harm them. people may not know what happened at my house, my father's involvement with the freedom riders and helping them with that particular situation. there is still a question in my mind of modes of communication to say let's take the people to dr. harris's house. that is silly question in my mind now as an adult. nonetheless, they came into the home at dawn or dusk, but by national guardsmen. there were a lot of people coming in. i remember one mean bloody. but my dad told my sister and i , don't teller anybody. we had to live like normal. but they were in the house this whole time. when you go to school or wherever you go, don't tell anybody. don't share this story. probably because of the fact that the house was a safe haven for them and we did not want any , withity in that house people coming around to visit or, for that matter, their safety. i would imagine for their safety and hours. i'm not sure -- for their safety and ours. theyot sure how many, but were wanting to get under one roof. that is when the number may have increased. i remember john lewis is one of the people that was there. paul dietrich. james farmer with core. reverend martin luther king. reverend abernathy. jennifer -- reverend joseph lowery. hank thomas. .atthew walker those are some of the names that i remember. but how courageous our parents must have been to allow all of this to happen. because we could have been killed, especially when you see what happened to them at the greyhound bus station. and at the church. this was the third leg. i do remember that my mama, the day they were about to leave, they gathered together in the kitchen and dr. king gave the blessing for them to leave to go to the next level. and she said to her they looked like lambs going to the slaughter as they went down the hallway out to the national guard bus stations to go to jackson, mississippi. she was very fearful for them. my house was not a montgomery is event, but so much happened here in montgomery that attention needs to be paid to this leg of that freedom ride as well. because montgomery itself has gotten such a negative stain on it because of all of the things that have happened, especially during the civil rights era. to have places like the freedom writers museum or any other museum that we have here that connection tell the story and share the story i think is very important. i think it is also important to build racial relations. it is much better than it was then. it is much better than it was then. announcer: our cities to her staff recently traveled to montgomery, alabama, to learn about its rich history. learn more about montgomery and other stops on our tour at www.c-span.org? -- www.c-span.org/ci tiestour. >> the supreme court is vested with this great amount of power and with a greater power is greater response ability. you have someone sitting unfettered on the court for 35 years. testesn't pass the smell when it comes to a modern office in. announcer: tonight, dave roth talks about changes he would like to see at the supreme court , including opening up oral arguments to cameras, imposing term limits on the justices, and requiring justices to adhere to the same code of ethics that other federal judges follow. >> the supreme court decisions affect all americans. all americans are aware of the third branch of government. in the last 15 years, it has become so powerful. issues on voting and marriage and health care and immigration , pregnancy rights discrimination, i can go on and on. these are issues that 20 or 30 years ago congress in the executive branch would get together and figure out a compromise and put together a doll. that doesn't really happen anymore. the supreme court is unprecedented in our history. and given that the supreme court is making these very impactful decisions in our lives, we has a public and press them to comport with modern expectations of transportation --