Really understands. Its a great combination of things. This is the fourth position secretary bunch has had at the smithsonian. Something i dont believe any of your predecessors could claim in 1978 secretary bunch began his smithsonian career at the national air and space museum as an Education Specialist 11 years later he joined the National Museum of American History. He most recently served as the founding director of the National Museum of African American history and culture. As the founding director he led an 11 year effort in constructing the 400,000 squarefoot museum and helping raise the matching publicprivate private funds that match public funds and came up with the museum that tells an incredibly powerful story of that part of our history. And a lot of our history. Congress established the smithsonian in 1846 through uppercrust by a british scientist James Smithson who never visited the United States but he generously left his estate to the United States government to found
War museum, is relevant today. Many of you are regulars to the events, history buffs who love to study the lessons of history. I would like to add a special welcome to some of you who are new to the preservationists who have joined us today in the audience. As we have over the decades in our existence, as the museum of the confederacy and the American Civil War center which combined to form the American Civil War museum, we have always thought that it was our responsibility to engage constructively with public issues arising from the subject of the civil war. Whether that subject be monuments, the confederate battle flag, or the discussion of slavery as the cause of the war. Our purpose today is to promote a constructive and civil consideration of civil war monuments. We have organized a program that features scholars who come from diverse academic backgrounds and bring diverse viewpoints to the subject. Collectively they will provide background and perspective on monuments and give us
Many of you are regulars to the events, history buffs who love to study the lessons of history. I would like to add a special welcome to some of you who are new to the preservationists who have joined us today in the audience. As we have over the decades in our existence, as the museum of the confederacy and the American Civil War center which combined to form the American Civil War museum, we have always thought that it was our responsibility to engage constructively with public issues arising from the subject of the civil war. Whether that subject be monuments, the confederate battle flag, or the discussion of slavery as the cause of the war. Our purpose today is to promote a constructive and civil consideration of civil war monuments. We have organized a program that features scholars who come from diverse academic backgrounds and bring diverse viewpoints to the subject. Collectively they will provide background and perspective on monuments and give us different viewpoints that will
Virginia. Explore anere to aspect of the civil war that is very much in the news. It has been in the news for several years. Some of you have found these rancorous debates about civil justonuments traveling and wish the debates will go away. But you know it wont just go away. The constructive thing to do is to accept the debates is evidence that the subject of our institution, the American Civil War museum, is relevant today. Many of you are regulars to the events, history buffs to look learn you love to study history. I would like to extend a welcome to those of you who are new, the preservationists, in the audience. Museum of the the American Civil War center, we have always audit was our response thought it was our responsibility to engage constructively with issues arising from the civil war, whether that subject be monuments, the confederate battle flag or the discussion of slavery as the cause of the war. Today is to promote a constructive and civil consideration of civil war mon
Captioning performed by vitac the most popular among the smithsonian, and inside among the displays, america by air, from our earliest days of flight aviation with air transportation and mail carriers to the jet age of the 1950s through today, Space Operations and missiles, its all here. And i want to share an article in the Washington Post earlier this week on the spirit of st. Louis, one of the iconic planes that Charles Lindberg had. Its been in the news because of findings and notes on the plane. Jeremy kinney is joining us. Talk about the spirit of st. Louis and some interesting things you found over the last year or so. The spirit of st. Louis is a true milestone of flight. The epic trans atlantic flight and its been a significant artifact of the smithsonian and national air and space museum since the building opened in 1976. This opportunity to redo this gallery, looking at this airplane and seeing the elements left by the people who made the airlines in san diego, the actual fl