Congress, Politics, Books
and American History

Energy Secretary Steven Chu testified today before the Senate Appropriations Committee on his Department’s budget, which contains billions in programs to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, like oil and coal. They will also look at clean energy in the United States.

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Our daily Live program provides a forum for leading journalists and public policy makers to discuss key events, and legislation.

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More than 60 leaders of countries and organizations that work with NATO travelled to Chicago for a summit, which focuses heavily on military, humanitarian and financial aid in Afghanistan. President Obama delivered remarks Sunday at the opening plenary session.

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From the Milwaukee meeting of the Organization of American Historians, Columbia University history professor Eric Foner and University of Iowa history professor Linda Kerber discuss the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the "birthright citizenship" provision.  The historians argue that birthright citizenship dramatically changed American history for the better, and that the provision is unique to the United States. Professor Kerber also discusses women's citizenship in U.S. History.

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Time Magazine Editor-at-Large David Von Drehle talks about 1862 and the 37th U.S. Congress.  While the Civil War was being fought, the 37th Congress passed the Homestead Act, the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act, the Pacific Railway Act, the Revenue Acts, and established the U.S. Agriculture Department. The University of Nebraska in Lincoln hosted this event.

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We tour the restored 1892 mansion of Captain Frederick Pabst in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The sea captain not only founded the world famous Pabst Brewery, he was a philanthropist and real estate developer and had a great influence on the growth of this Midwestern city on Lake Michigan. Historian John Eastberg shows us examples of craftsmanship, original furnishings and art which teach us about Pabst’s German heritage, Milwaukee’s history, and America’s Gilded Age.

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Our daily Live program provides a forum for leading journalists and public policy makers to discuss key events, and legislation.

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Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), who has been mentioned as a possible running mate with Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney, was the keynote speaker Saturday at the South Carolina Republican Party Silver Elephant fundraising dinner.

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Ball State University history professor James Connolly looks at Immigration and the Roots of Pluralism in the United States. Ball State University is in Muncie, Indiana.

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Historians and authors discuss ongoing legacies of the Civil War — the issues and controversies still being borne out today. Yale University’s Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition hosted this event.

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