was the pennsylvania college not gettysburg college and the lutheran theological seminary in gettysburg. i have a 22-year-old officer. >> is one of functional arm frequencies literally leading a bunch of students who have never heard a shot fired in anger. what could go wrong? >> despite this, despite this he and the 26th pennsylvania 1863 and they're going to take up a position on marsh creek along cashtown north of gettysburg pennsylvania to face lee's keep looking out, looking to the west seeing a long column of guys clad in gray and butternut marching to you. they will be escorted by a battalion of the confederate calvary as they advanced to the pennsylvania countryside. in one of those weird twist of fate weird luck has a weird way of popping up in life and who's in the calvary show? none other than a large white. with two men representing loudoun county. one allowed and borne one but adopted to loudoun county. opposite sides of the battlefield. on luckily for luther slater i say what can be good and what can be bad. now you're turning it around your giving me a hard time for an. >

i see this all the time on the battle of gettysburg. on that battlefield the majority of the more than 1,000 monuments and markers remember the union regiments and units that fought there. and there are some, there are some peculiar union monuments. there's a monument to the 42nd of new york very close to the angle on cemetery ridge -- [laughter] that that shows an indian chief and a tepee. you're thinking, wait a minute, they've got the wrong war? the answer is no, this was the tamany regiment raised by tammy hall and, of course, the symbol is chief tamany. people look at it and they say 42nd of new york. when that was put up, the dedication ceremonies preached the justice and righteousness of the unionon cause and of people who weree there saying, yes, that's right. we were in the right, it was a moral cause, it was marvelous and wonderful, and we embraced it.ca it's a memorial to our troops. all right. that generation dies off. another generation, they come to gettysburg, they look at that monument and they say that's a monument to t

from why was gettysburg informed? two more years of war, more casualties after gettysburg and before gettysburg, or property destroyed and civilians turned homeless, what the heck gettysburg accomplish other than turning back a movement by lee? my was it. let's look at it as leave unit because we are heading to phase two of my copyrighted history of lee. this was his first crisis. as he saw it, he had every advantage in the campaign, he believed the time of the battle's soldiers were fit incompetent, he controlled the top of the campaign and battle forcing the enemy to react to him. he had several clear opportunities to smash the union army that he could not produce a decisive victory at the time made it very clear to him he could not do it at any time. how did we react? 1863, he resigned. jefferson davis refused to accept it but what stood out to me in his letter was when he said i cannot even accomplish what i myself and desire. we mentally regrouped and crafted himself a new mission in place of the great victory wi

it was a close run thing at gettysburg. it's also true about gettysburg. he came very very close to success. it was not a rash decision and it was not an unprincipled and thoughtless decision. it almost worked and i have say this bluntly i for one and grateful that it did not because the consequence of that if we had been successful at gettysburg oh my goodness the army of the potomac having been beaten on so many fields so many times could very likely have gone to pieces. lee had a full and open field in front of him. there would have been a demand for peace negotiations. alexander stevens the vice president of the confederacy was on the boat in the chesapeake day waiting to come to washington and what would he have said the abraham lincoln if he had and we would have had a balkanized north america. if the north and the south divided do you think it would have stopped there? no. there would have been a civic confederacy and we would have had in north america almost a repeat of always on the balkans in the 1990s and then, and then what would have been avai

i'll go back to gettysburg. why is it when we think about the summer of 1863 in pennsylvania, we think of them as a band of brothers. when it came to the temptation of taking against pennsylvania civilians, they resisted. why do we perfect over other facts? the army in northern virginia wasn't army, we know a few hundred if not more african-americans, they were sent back to the slave market in virginia. why when we got to gettysburg and look more, the man who shot at each other, they came to that spring and died not as enemies but american brothers. why does that prevail over matter? july 3 after they made a suicidal frontal attack having to leave their wounded in the middle of the field crying out through the the afternoon and when finally comrades went out to try to carry them off the field, what are the confederate duplex understandably so, they gunned down, shot down the men just trying to provide medical relief. why is it when we are at charge from you want to talk about his military career stressing he was

. >> a better book on gettysburg, what the world desperately needs. [laughter] but of course like everyone, you feel like you're doing this from a different angle and i think that william. and three confederates and - and the idea is that obviously highly biographical and a pickup on july 1st and rather it starts at the end of the campaign. and when we think about the operations we included stories of the rank and file you see the lives almost at that very moment, the point of contact. and rather of course the things that the men carried with him, and the long personal stories that they had and carried throughout the campaign rated so the idea is that these individuals will provide through which we can see broader issues at work and so many of these are cultural and social things and not deeply interested in and i think that throughout the campaign studies in a way that i will be doing the things that will does predict not going to do any evaluations, all of which i think are extraordinarily important and i think that this book will do people may be n

i see this all the time on the battle of gettysburg. on that battlefield the majority of the more than 1000 monuments and markers remember the union regiments and units that fought there there are some acutely or union monuments. there's a monument to the 42nd new york very close to the angle on cemetery ridge and the monument to the 42nd new york shows an indian chief in a tv at your thinking wait a minute, did they get the wrong war and the answer is no. this was the tammany regiment raised by tammany hall and of course the symbol of tammany hall is chief tammany so you've got a monument anthere and people look at it and they say 42nd new york. the dedication ceremonies for that preached the justice and righteousness of the union cause and the people who directed that monuments were the veterans of the regiments and they were there saying yes, we were in the right. it was a moral cause. it was marvelous and wonderful and we embrace it. it's a monument to our troops . followed by the grandchildren of those soldiers. they come to gettys

less than 5 months after union army won the battle of gettysburg there was a dedication ceremony for soldiers killed during the battle, a man named edward everett was feature speaker, he spoke for two hours, no one recalled what he said, abraham lincoln spoke for a few moments. less than 300 words. 10 sentences. that is all-time it took for him to capture essence of the moment, and soul of the country. if we needed a reminder that leadership can be modest, and leaders can be humble. this is this speech, can we imagine a modern political leader showing off anywhere and not expecting to be the center of attention? and adoration and keynote speaker. not really modestez of where, when and how long lincoln spoke but modesty of what we wrote and said and believed. lincoln said, the world will little note or long remember what we say here. but it can never forget what they did here. deflecting praise. those are rare traits in modern day leaders, we're not likely to remember what any modern political leaders said 158 years after they said it lincoln described our nation as conceived in liber

i think about that gettysburg address and i was asked to give the gettysburg address many years ago and i tried to set out whatever i had to say in 271 words. i think i did a fair job, but i would give myself a passing grade at best but it was a complete shock to my audience when i stopped at 271 words and lincoln said that a speech doesn't need to be eternal to be immortal. in our lives as public servants, we are called on to speak very often and i'm reminded of the impact lincoln had to capture the moment, to give people hope and to craft phrases which endure to this day as some of the most masterful use of the english language. i hope tomorrow we can take a moment to recall our childhood education when we're taught the gettysburg address to recite what we can of it and to believe even in these dark times that we face they were even darker when they were delivered and this nation endured. mr. president, i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: thank you. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reed: mr. president. the presiding officer: the sena

lincoln was wrong in the first sentence of the gettysburg address, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, they brought together sovereign state much like the confederacy of 1861, a league of nation. it's really the constitution you are asking about, how long dohi the founders think the constitution would last? jefferson battleship last no more than ten years, every ten years it should be redone. every generation needed to rethink it, every generation needed to be sovereign. of course that could affect a recipe for anarchy in madison was not happy with it. madison himself was asked in 1829, how long will it last? is no man by then and he says if we are lucky, 100 years so that would have meant 1929 so the question is right to think the founders would be stunned we still have the same documentaf they drafted. obviously it was amended and they thought we would have had at least one or two or three major revisions and i'm showing my own personal bias but for example, they be absolutely stunned to believe we still have the electoral college was never none of them really

. >> well we were not a nation and lincoln in the gettysburg address, our fathers brought forth and on this continent a new nation but in the brought together a federation of sovereign states much like the confederacy of 1861. the league of nations and take a bit of almost take to get us to the constitution, is really the constitution that you're asking about and how long did the founders think the constitution would last read and jefferson that should last no more than ten years, every ten years and should be redone in every generation needed to rethink it every generation needs to be sovereign and of course that could have been of recipe for anarchy and is not happy with it. medicine himself was asked the question in 1829, how long will it last. he's no man by then he said if you're really lucky, 100 years so that would've meant 1929 so the question is, the founders would be stunned that we still have the same document that they drafted and obviously with amendments and they would've thought that we would have at least one or two or three major revisions and i'm showing my bias here

in a beautiful proclamation which i urge you to go back and d read, it was just after the battle ofs gettysburg and the tide of the war had turned and it looked like the union was going to win and lincoln talked about americans coming together as one people and celebrating with one voice. it's a lovely image and one that we could heed today. we definitely need it and then and we need it now. >> that's really terrific. >> powerful woman. >> when we took some questions from the audience. we have a quick couple of questions up here. >> he began by talking about yourself as an author. in the book you talk about the influence that sarah josepha hale had on what it means to be an author in america, i was wondering if you could talk a little bit more about that. >> before hale, being an author of the book was usually a private undertaking you either self publish or find somebody who would stake you and publish, for example, ÃÃfirst book of poetry was published by contributions from his fellow cadets at west point. hale's first book was published because of the freemasons, but the money. hale thought

and a beautiful acclamation which i urge you to go back and read and it was just after the battle of gettysburg and there was a time when the war had turned and it looks like a win and lincoln talks about americans coming together as one people celebrating with one voice. it is a lovely image and ones that we could see today. that is right. but after lincoln's death, he did not give up, she was beginning to write the president for the rest of her light in the consonant printed and take a believe and then they all followed suit and then by then the traditions have caught on. >> is a powerful's woman. horrific and when we take questions from the audience we have a couple of questions appear and there is the microphone. >> thank you very much, that was wonderful and he began by talking about yourself as an author. in the book, you talk about the influence that the helipad on what it means to be an author in america and was wondering if you could talk a little bit more about this yes, before hail, being an author was usually a pretty private undertaking and that it was neither self published or you

day in a beautiful proclamation i urge you to go back and read, which it was just after the battle of gettysburg and the tide of the war had turned and looked like the union was going to win. lincoln talked about americans coming together as one people in celebrating as one voice. it's a lovely image in one that we could heed today. >> right. we . we desperately needed then and we need it now. that's terrific. >> and then after lincolns death, hale was indefatigable. she didn't give up. she continued to write to the president's for the rest of her life and that was johnson, grant and then hayes i believe, and that all followed suit. and by then the tradition had caught on. >> a powerful woman. that's terrific. why don't do we take somes from the audience? we have a couple questions appear. kirsten has the mic. >> thank you very much that was wonderful. she began by talking about yourself as an author, and in the book you talk about the influence that sarah josepha hale had being an influence on offer. what if you talk more about that? >> before hale, being an author of the book was usually a pri

a beautiful proclamation which i urge you to go back and read which it was just after the battle of gettysburg and the tide of the war turned and looked like the union was going to win and lincoln talked about americans coming together as one people and celebrating with one voice. it's a lovely image and one that we could heed today. >> totally needed it then and need it now. >> that's right. >> then after lincoln's death hale did not give up. she just continued to write to the presidents for the rest of her life and that was johnson, grant and then hayes, i believe, and they all followed suit and and by then the tradition had caught on. >> powerful woman. that's terrific. let's take questions from the audience. we have a couple questions appear, kiersten has the microphone. >> thank you very much. that was wonderful. you begin by talking about yourself as an author. is this on? in the book you talk about the influence that says just hale had on what it means to be an author in america and i'm wondering if you could talk a little bit more about that. >> yeah, before hale, being an author of a

an active unthinking for learned charge like the light or gade in the crimea or perhaps a charge at gettysburg. it was a practical response to a swiftly unraveling circumstance and it was absolutely the right decision. any other decision would have led to chaos. he tried to turn around back down under the guns of those 42 pounders disaster. once through the minefield without any casualties of farragut squadron easily defeated the smaller confederate fleet and seized command of mobile bay. along with sherman's capture of atlanta farragut seizure of mobile bay help secure lincoln's re-election and i have always believed that as the single most turchie jackley impactful event of the civil war and lincoln's re-election in 1864. it's easy for me to hold up their gut is an example of good leadership for my midshipman my students of the war colleges while commanders and captains for his faithfulness to his mentor, for his instinctive and unthinking loyalty to his country and his quick thinking and a crisis. so what about this guy? i wanted to talk about nemitz this morning partly because he gets to t

he was not mobile and gettysburg wood was festering. he was unable to mount a horse. his men were marching under heat. he it was over 95 degrees that day and they were traversing poor roads and they had such faulty maps that one of his division francis barlow's who you see wandered up in the wrong direction got completely lost and would be out of action. it's not until 5:30 in the morning, 10:30 they start, 5:30 in the afternoon did the division begin to approach the confederate position. at that point couriers arrived from grant and smith urging hancock to support smith's impending attack. hancock is surprised by the urgency of these orders. he's under no illusion at this point that he's expected to participate in the fight and it was almost impossible to find out where smith wanted him to go. there was poor staff work and there were no maps so wartime is a lapse for this. now smith will finally be successful. he identified a routine that provided some depp allayed between battery six and seven. that's where highway 36 goes under the road and his plan was to send a r

it is foremost in people's mind it's easier to memorize 270 towards gettysburg address and it's in the wake of world war i for a lot of interesting reasons it sort of begins to fade. and then the original america first movement of the isolationist and the one run up to world war ii by adopting the farewell address i think fundamentally creates a misimpression it's an isolationist document and its read from an american nazi rally in madison square garden will get to that later. >> will get the foreign policy soon. lindsey can you take us back to the 18th century and some of this language. john gives us a great way it speaks the 21st century. how would this have been read in september 1796? as you said there's an election just around the corner. >> yes i think as john alluded to at the very beginning, this was an intensely partisan will meet think about the challenges we are facing today in terms of misinformation and disinformation. party structures, nativism, fears about foreign interference all the things except they have not done it before. as joe talked about their students of histo

we fought for 234 years to ensure that as expressed by lincoln at gettysburg government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth. but as american philosopher john dewey once said, democracy has to be born anew every generation. it's up to each generation to take up the cause and fight to protect the foundations of our republic. so we are facing a moment of crisis once again when this institution has veered far afield from that time when it was declared to be the world's greatest deliberative body. now it is perhaps the world's most dysfunctional legislative body. i'm willing and unable to even vote on the biggest issue of our time, the defense of our public from the corrupting forces of power, of billionaires buying elections, of gerrymandering. and certainly of barriers to the ballot box. but we have a responsibility to take up this cause, to understand its source, and to address it. to restore the senate as a deliberative body. one of the ways to evaluate our dysfunction is to look at the trend of the number of amendments considered on the u.s