how world war i impacted african americans. she argues the promise of a better life because of military service in the war was largely denied by the reality of jim crow america. the national world war one museum in kansas city, missouri posted this hour-long talk. the museum with the commission produced a newsletter that focuses on the best resources available to teachers and learners. those that are created here like the videos of the lectures which will later be available both on c-span but also the youtube , this is the first symposium come you can go back to the channel and see some of the previous lectures. we also focus on those excellent resources of some of our partners like the national , stanford history

education group, and the recent newsletter addressed americans all, and how in our diverse nation groups and individuals affected the war and were effected by it. will be mathieu speaking to just that. african-americans and the promise of 1917. dr. mathews specializes in 20th century american and african american history with an emphasis on race, war, globalization, immigration, social movements, and political resistance. keep your eyes peeled, she has a new book that will be coming out. , ae glory of their deeds global history of black soldiers and the great war era." she is also --

has graced the stage of the famous is gerald theater -- fitzgerald theater. let us welcome her to our stage, dr. saje mathieu. [applause] dr. saje mathieu: good afternoon. thank you for that wonderful introduction. i am new to the club. i have to embrace the reality i cannot get as much done without them. i think most people really want glasses until he actually need them and that it is not fun. my name is saje mathieu. this afternoon i will be moving at quite the pace so i can squeeze everything in our 45 minutes and have plenty of time for questions. i welcome them. if they popped up while i speak, write them down.

we're talking about african-americans in the promise of seven -- 1917. one of the enduring myths about the great war both at the time and in contemporary literature is the idea that african-americans did not in fact think very much about or care about world war i, or at the least, they did not until late 1917, or 1918. that is absolutely not true. seductive appeal of a leaving african americans had not thought about the war fits into the notion they were able -- either too simple or to navelgazing to really care about what was happening abroad. in point of fact, african-americans had been writing extensively about the great war as early as 1914, even before the war breaks out. they are already starting to keep an eye on what is happening and reporting about it

extensively and regularly in the african-american press. before i move any further, i firstou to remember that and foremost african-americans are americans. something that we forget far too frequently. this afternoon i hope to hit on these main areas. first the import of the war for african americans. how african thought about and talked about the war globally. how for them it was a local war. this idea of a french utopia and in rapture with france, and the cost of war for african americans. what do i mean when i say that african-americans are first and foremost americans? like other americans, they too wondered whether peace was a viable path. questioneded and to, exactly was their duty

as americans, but also as african americans, did they have any actual duty in this imperial conflict between european kissing cousins? how, the war, should we support it, should we get into it, how would that war derail the civil rights work that african-americans were involved in before 1914. this would have included in particular challenges to jim crow laws and by 1915 african-americans are pouring their resources, money, attention, they're educated young people into fighting, in particular the grandfather clause and obstructions to the vote. in addition to these questions, of course, african-americans are really consumed by the pivotal importance of jim crow in

american life. it is important for us to remember that by the time the europe jimegins in crow, this set of laws and practices that reinforce segregation, jim crow is about 20 years old, right? this firsting about generation of african-american men who are born and raised under the jim crow jackboot, if you will. what do they make of them? is this the assessment of the future? thing afternoon americans are thinking about are things like, the reality that -- they are rounding the 300th anniversary of the first african encounter with the americas. they are thinking carefully and writing about 50 years since the end of the civil war and in some respects reconstruction and its failed possibilities.

-- theytalking about are looking at the end of slavery in puerto rico. they are talking to a lesser extent, but nonetheless it is happening, the end of the war of 1812 and 1814. there were promises. they are especially concerned with american encroachment in the caribbean, especially in the case of haiti. they are thinking both locally and globally. probably the thing that dominates african-american concern in this era is the spread of racialized violence. we talk about lynching and it is apparent, in terms of how much of a problem this is, how it comes to define unfairly, in many respects an entire region of the country, where lynching is happening almost everywhere in the country. the additional practice of

racial terrorism that people -- deeply concerned african americans, in fact terrorizes ,hem, is the bizarre macabre deeply disturbing practice of lighting african-americans on fire. not just their property. arson is a problem, but lighting black people, in particular on fire. so again, these are the kinds of things we're talking about. an important backdrop for how then african-americans will compare and contrast their position with what is happening in the rest of the world. even before african-americans suited up for war, they were aware of other black people involved in the great war. in particular, african soldiers who are normally referred to as -- number regardless of where they are from there called the same.

there called that by people all over the world. they are concerned about them, about black people in the caribbean who are now, as a result of being a part of the british empire, drawn into the war and canadians. i will come back to that. these men articulating, and women articulating beast -- political concerns are known by coins that the veb voice dubois coined. after the war, it captures the sense of urgency for a lot of asking americans. aboutday dr. king talked how african american organizations like the naacp are in their stage of infancy at this time. it is important for us to remember that so to our african-american newspapers. for these men and women who are

professionally trained, college educated, usually elite college educated, the newspaper will become an important way of not only legitimizing and explaining the war, but also legitimizing and explaining their professional voices, as these intellectual activists, these soldiers without swords. the man on your left is mr. trotter, who makes everyone seem soft, harvard educated, unrepentant, he becomes a thorn in wilson's side because he holds the president's feet to the fire. he's in particular known for opposing, or at least questioning the terms under which african-americans will enlist in the war. also, really coordinating an international campaign to quash the relief of birth of a nation, the oman to be -- home on should the clan -- homage to the clan.

one of my favorite quotes on the war am a written before the united states enters the war officially, he says, absolute loyalty in arms and civil duties need not for a moment lead us to abate our just complaints and just demand. americans, like other americans, they will say, against the accusation that they lack patriotism, they lack a robust understanding of a citizenship duty to the nation, he will say instead, it is precisely because i understand the true meaning of patriotism that i say that my country must listen to our urgent needs, and must respond in exchange for our support. this is exactly what women are doing. be clear, war is a perfect

time for concessions, or at least to ask for them, as you are needed. it is true. it is totally true. person who is, i describe her as a little lady who packs a lot of punch, ida wells. she had in fact made the case for the urgency and alarming practice of lynching, long before her male counterparts understood this problem. ida b wells is another journalist who is writing about the war and writing about this crisis, both moral and physical for americans -- african americans. in the case of wells and dubois in particular, though not exclusively, it is important to remember that they have connections overseas. they went to school overseas or lectured overseas, so they are into thoses

alliances to find out what is happening in europe come in to find out what humanitarian responses might be needed, and to bring that information back to african-american communities. this next picture is of african-american journalists who are gathering at a conference in washington dc and trying to outline what will be the key issues that may press with the president. you will notice that there are, in the front row, some french soldiers who are already there. some french diplomats are involved in this war. and monroe trotter at the center. sos meeting proved contentious, wilson has one of his many conniptions and decides he will no longer have african americans come to the white house to air their grievances.

the man could hold a grudge by the treaty, the negotiation, he also refuses to hear or have an audience with dubois in particular but african americans at large. my second point was this question of a global war, and what does it mean for african-americans. this political cartoon captures perfectly, for me, how african-americans thought -- fought globally and also use this global language to reflect of the american -- african american express. this is from the crisis magazine. the script that was on the bottom, it might be too small, i retyped -- voice of the congo: if you only left us our hands, albert, we could be of more use to you now. this, to me, is powerful because it makes clear both an interest

for african americans and these absolutebates, and understanding of what is happening, and indictment of what was happening in the belgian congo before. americans warning for of what could happen here, in their own time of need. there are a few countries that african-americans talked about repeatedly leading up to 1917. they used these as platforms for a sublimation of the -- their own political concerns. this, of course in addition to a genuine humanitarian concern for these locations. it is serving double duty. in the case of belgium, african american intellectual activist would say that in some respects what the germans were doing to the belgians with a comeuppance long overdue. belgians continue to do.

exploitationbrutal that reserved for the congolese was the very essence of a belgian moral and spiritual decay. that is what awaited americans if they did not pull back from their commitment to racialized terrorism. ,or many african-americans south africa is in a close second, especially given its growing commitment to apartheid. we see a lot of comparable editorials calling attention to the brutality that south africans and especially the separatists in south africa are starting to do in that little pocket at the bottom of africa. poland and ireland are frequent guests in african-american newspapers, in part because

african-americans will hold onto those two countries in particular as kind of a hope for an independent, successful independent future for otherwise oppressed europeans. sometimes, in the case of poland they will even talk about how they are europe's the growth --negores. is especially important because there it is religious and in some senses, as they cut -- ethnic, especially with poland. russia is very important for african americans prior to 1970 -- 1917, both because again the patterns that occurred in russia leading up to the war, and because of the revolution in 17, this becomes a place where it seems possible to topple the impossible. so for african americans it will become a way of talking about

what they might want to consider for themselves. finally, the armenian genocide. a matter that african-americans take up as early as 1890's. maybe even earlier. i have a separate piece on that in particular. echoes betweenny the experiences of african americans and armenians, including this bizarre practice of lighting people on fire. in the case of all of these countries, african-americans cool very but limited resources -- cool very limited resource and create campaigns to help these imperiled europeans. for example, by 1917, african-americans will have a campaign to raise money to send enough baby food to take care of belgian babies for three months. they will pledge, by 1917, to

million for african orphans and their widows. constantere is this peace in the newspaper of what is happening to african soldiers. they are in artillery units. still debatingis whether african americans should be part of the war in 1917, african americans will say, the french and british have been doing this for three years, why are we still talking about this? there is even a very bizarre case of a jamaican born turned austrian fanatic who wins the iron cross for the austrians in 1917. he is celebrated in the african-american press as again, a possibility of what can happen when you take jim crow out of the equation.

we are talking about a population that is overwhelmingly working in a cash poor sector. cotton farming. thatke the few dollars they do get when they get them and to make the decisions to annd them on -- in effect abstract concept, african soldiers all the way over there. to make that decision as early as 1914, is for me, another way that the war is something that african-americans start to contemplate a lot earlier. course african-americans will talk about the caribbean is a cautionary tale. believe anddubois would be in that crude that the united states is stretching itself into the caribbean, trying to make it yet another deep south. under the distraction of four.

haiti, puerto rico, even the panama canal the companies hotly contested racial spaces. african-americans think this is only the start. the attraction are the deep theseavailable in some of islands like the danish west indies, st. kitts. there is another problem, the british. enemy. candidate was making the hard sell to great britain to have jamaica given to them as a thanks for coming out with this war gift. we nearly got jamaica is a province but instead got newfoundland. the argument made consistently, both in the press and in official military documentation is that canada needed its own deep south. it needed to prove its modernity by having black people they could control. there is a lot of concern over

what to do with the vote if we have this extra island because we don't necessarily have a legal jim crow structure, like the united states. african-americans are keeping an eye in all of these places as the war unfolds. one of those spaces is france. where african-americans are joining the war before as individuals, just like other americans. who we have eugene bullard joins the lafayette espadrilles. what is important here is that african-americans are seduced by the same language of patriotic martial heroism as all other americans. in particular because successes like his gives a lie to the core promise offered by jim crow. by segregation. that is, when racial lines hold

violently, if necessary blacks and their inescapable inferiority will be confirmed. -- when we bullard see him here, what is dangerous is not that he is an ace pilot fighting alongside ivy leaguers, it is that we see this healthy awards, theed with very embodiment of manliness --t is not a compliment cosmopolitanism that is supposed to happen, this is a mistake. worse, the french celebrate him. this question of black men in uniform will be such a prickly one that after the war we have an uptick in not just black veterans being singled out for attacks, we know that some are even lynched in their uniforms,

but there are also these small-scale attacks, spitting on them, ripping off parts of their uniform. the canadians are so distraught by what they see happening in the unit states they take the added precaution of requiring their black soldiers to take off their uniforms before they even board the ship and great britain to come back to the americas. spreads beyond the simple american borders. images like this would have been problematic. these are the elite cavalry. we are working with training with african soldiers that i mentioned earlier. it is translated to african sharpshooters. and at least 500,000 african soldiers will have served under the french flag alone.

that does not even yet account for the british, the west indians, the black canadians who also joined the armed forces. americans enter world war i having already thought about a black martial experience before they reach european shores. here we see a picture of canada's number two construction battalion, attached to the tryst record -- forest corp. you are looking at largely americans. african-americans accounted for at least 40% of black men serving under the canadian flag, not that we actually have one. includes not even yet descendents of african americans who would have come -- whose ancestors came as black loyalists or who came during and after the war of 1812.

ais is also an army that has robust representation of west indians. the british will float them up from the caribbean to all gather up at halifax and have one shipment. from what i have seen with charting the borders and when these that are coming, they are theving largely from detroit -- detroit area, but not exclusively. many of these men are coming from georgia, florida, alabama. they are citing at the border that is joining the army is a correction to unemployment. what does this mean to me? first of all we are getting a concrete reminder that the great migration expanded beyond chicago and cleveland in the way that we normally talk about it. these men continued seeking work wherever that work was available. if it meant crossing borders, they did. crossing the border would not have been easy for black people

at this time. a ban onopted african-american immigration in particular in 1911. they did not stay on the books for long, but it was there. the spirit of that law never went away. shady, toall of these use current street parlance of keeping these men out. what i love is that canadians were not very good at identifying race, though they wanted to be. they did. had, at uc on these and lisman trekkers, i am not sure. -- i think he is black, but i am not sure. they will describe them as yellow, as perhaps not well cleaned. at the end of the summer, they have tanned. my brother would fall in that category. desire toto this

identify race, but inability to do it as well as the americans. bizarrely, once the canadians serve, -- everyone must they actually send headhunters down into the united states to bring back canadians who had moved and west indians who had moved to the united states and forcibly marched them back to canada to serve. the last thing i want to say, about the candidate he and -- about the canadians is that the reason cited for not wanting black soldiers were comical, including my personal favorite -- they would not look good in kilts, because so many were in highland units. one often overlooked way that african americans had been engaging in this war physically physically is that

african-americans had been cutting across the atlantic since 1914. , mending,rking ships caring for the horses and mules that the british and the french were buying by the hundreds of thousands. new orleans and newport news virginia were awash in black people, southerners in particular who had not only been keenly aware of the war, but had it navigated -- but had navigated these waters back and forth throughout the months. there is a great case of a sinking that i cannot -- i don't have time to talk about. i spent the summer writing about it. there's something weird for all of us who are historians. when you find a great story, you are still excited. it seems wrong, but you are like, i found a sinking, 200 people died, it will be great. i was definitely that happy.

war.ourse the punitive that is what war meant to african-americans before we turn to europe. the quote under this cartoon says -- uncle sam did you send the so you see them cowering e-. so african-americans were seasoned soldiers. in fact, but to see our constant references to having been in the boar war of independence. they had been in the philippines. there is no question of their patriotism but there marshall heroism. they found it quite insulting that it took -- that there was any public debate about it. but that it took so long for the wilson administration to make some decisions. there were 10,000 career

soldiers and another wife thousand african-americans -- another 5000 african-americans. especially after the mutiny in houston. the houston -- the united states does the exact opposite of what would seem logical. the few american soldiers who had field experience, who even had some inerience with the debacle mexico. rather than send them to france, we send them to the philippines concernii to quell the that if you taught black men to shoot they would turn their guns on white people. so this is an added insult because they feel that there are well positioned to serve their country.

of the expedition, pershing had singled them out as their right-hand men. there were even some attempts at informal integration during the punitive expedition. otherng had turned the cheek when it came to integrated brothels in mexico. total opposite but it comes to france. there were some heroes for african-americans. charles young, the west point graduate. for most he seemed like the logical choice for black officer who could lead african-americans or whoever wanted to work with him into battle. we note the war department would have none of it. they forcibly retire him. one of the concessions that we get instead is officer training

camp in fort des moines, iowa. selected because it was in the middle of nowhere. 400 acres landlocked in iowa. iowa, because it had no people, had no racial tension. and because they were in the middle of nowhere, it would make it harder for white women to get to these men. this officer training camp becomes the embodiment of that hope and promise for african-americans in 1917. what is important for us to remember here is that it is not just soldiers. this is also a camp where nearly 1000 african-americans oedipal professionals are being trained and hoping or commission. though none will get to be -- none of the medical corps will be in charge of black troops. andcrow requires commitment resources.

this is a photograph of african-american dentists who are being prepared to be sent to france. when you're talking about a country that has only 478 black dentists for 10 million people, the impact of a single loss is felt greatly. in the 50 years of howard university's existence, it had peopleed roughly 4500 and half of all of the doctors .n the country howard was the university that sent the most doctors into this war. nearly 20%. the impact on the cost for african-americans is great and for them then it is a measure of their commitment and contribution to the nation. so, black fraternities historically black colleges and universities are the first to

respond to this call to war and in particular this calling of the nation for officers. women respond as well. while the red cross initially banned lack women, once influenza outbreak began, they realized they are going to need help. -- theyally admit 2000 ask for 2000 black women. as with white women, these were not just nurses, but they were educated crest of educated society. they spoke french, german, and were translators, cultural conduit, and far more important given their small numbers. 16 blackd, they got for 50,000rance

soldiers. get as our starting ,oint for 1917 is a replication prayerfully -- carefully crafted for jim crow. black white, black white and not necessarily together. even the hostess huts or hostess houses that the ymca set up over seas were separated by race. we have here again a photograph of black women who were at that officer training camp in iowa. here we have motor corp. women who are driving around helping wounded soldiers as they find them. we note that there was a lot of concern about what to do with these black men socially. if nothing else, the women are

white in france and the friends -- the french are looser in many ways. with a lot of photographs reassuring americans that we cannot let the french ruin our need gross. negroes. it is an ideological ruin. they are exceptionally worried that communist will get to the black soldiers. disgruntled russians who are still stuck in france. that they will have all of these ideas. we know that during the st. louis riots, there is also a concern of not just germans but japanese and mexicans getting into african-american mines. --minds. thee we concerned about

black people? they are on the move. they are leaving regions where it is no longer possible for them to achieve a healthy lifestyle. because floods and other types of collapse of cotton prices -- have made a barely sustainable life altogether impossible. monthmy's pay of $30 per in cash will be a very seductive -- will have its own seductive appeal for people leaving the region. ofy about 5% african-americans left the south in 1916. they are still largely southern, rural, farmers. even into world war i. fact, the army's ability to

pay in cash will be a reason why i'm african-americans could not be excused from service. $30 you will the make with us is more than you will make on farming. even if you have dependents, you still have to go and do your bit. here, i wanted you to remember that the way african-americans move will be determined by the pathsisting networks and available to them. the mississippi and steamship is still the cheapest way to get out of the south. rail lines and actual roads. there are several real lines that go along the yellow line. this beats up the migration. the ability to get your money in your pocket. captureserful painting

that promise that we are talking about. it is children, old people, people in top hats, and people with a rag on your head. it is an opportunity for african-americans, like to follow their dreams three migrant experience. however, 1917 is also a year of extreme violence. these are just five locations where we have race riots between of 1917.ate fall as we are asking them to die for their country, they are being killed in their country. the one best known is the st. louis. it is written about as a labor -- unions had been opposing or calling attention to back that african-americans were

being brought in as strike breakers. in truth, it is much more complicated than that. more disturbing is the role that women and children had in particular in the st. louis crisis. ripping peoples hair out and hitting them with trying pans and so on. it indicates the level of vitriol. african-americans sped out of the region just during the early days of this race right. response i the local press government, the response that the germans are whispering in their years. this is not something they would have done all by themselves. they have always been happy with their oppression. all.ey had an opinion at

this turned to a mexicanr japanese, or a plot allow for greater surveillance of african-americans under the espionage act. unless it is the work of an enemy, then there is not as great of an emergency. this is a. for african-americans where there is a heightened surveillance of their talented. and, it is said of hoover that he cut his teeth trying to silence these african-americans. they are no fools. alternative adopt ways of making themselves heard. this is the silent parade that we get in 1917. emphasis on the word parade. not call itately do

a march. celebration of what is right. negro.shed by eight me the politics of respectability. these are church women. children. they are wearing white. the color of mourning but also a color of protection so that if staffed, it is continued through the 1950's. parts of society, african-american children are mobilized in support of this war. who was news boy selling war bonds and judging by

his missing front teeth, he is about six or so years old. a reminder of how young it is. we have posters, poems, recipes, reminders of how lack women could stretch a dime into a dollar with respect to their food during the war. by the same measure, all of the support from those communities that we ask of other americans. the committee for public information, cpi run by george creel. even develops a neat row section for its propaganda and has black four-minute men, black film, black posters, postcards like this one here. meant to make african-americans feel as though they are part of an important moment. so my next to last point,

france, this utopian space. 89% of african-americans who went over to france did so as in particular. when you got to france, whether you were an american or other allied forces, what you saw were all black people manning them. so in the north there were about 40,000 african-americans. westernny town on the coast that today if you go, depot.s a huge car they become contested terrains where we have curly brace riots. as a result of these encounters on the docks. just african americans. in the united states in the case

of philadelphia, 50% of longshoremen were jamaican. in the case of miami, they control the union and they are bahamian. they're working those docs. these posters, these images are contrast.i our prideful soldiers. youthful, healthy looking, and manly. this cpi poster produced in 1918, but note here the african-american soldier are keeping the germans at bay and .ctually killing them nobody is wearing overalls and lifting a great. this disjunction between propaganda and what african-americans are after doing is complicated and the lack press addresses it.

when these african-americans arrived in france, what do they encounter? a continent that has spent a lot of the war thinking about fighting over race including -- this one was a german postcard. that is what they call a savage. this idea that african-americans came to france that welcomes them and was happy to see them is nonsense. the french had been using their own tropes to encourage black enlistment and denigrate their german enemy. will arrive in the aftermath of the disastrous offensive of 1917. lossesffered very high a the idea championed by

general here on the right that france's secret is its black force. it's black power. the ability to call up and blackustible number of people from the colonies who would be thrilled to do their part for the empire. it is the least they could do as a thank you gift for france's civilizing mission. and the gift of language in relation. this is what he actually said. unsatisfying, he told africans they had a blood oath to france. it was their turn to step up for a collective led letting. letting. 10 black mener see dead to one frenchman. by 1917, that is the french

response. are like the black body will stop a bullet just as well as anyone else. they can catch a bullet as well as anybody else as well. we are happy that you are helping. get in there. it's not some deep passion for americans. at the civilian level, you hear much more of this. we have plenty of examples of the next location of americans as green. there are a lot of reports of overcharging black people for food. the germans had been crafty in proving themselves capable of manipulating the race card in this war. pointing out that black people were cannibals and that's what they would do. and a warringaric people. turning this language of lynching on to americans saying,

why are you fighting for this people? they lynch people who look like you and we do not. you should join our side. there are all of these debates about race in europe long before the african-americans get there. when they do, they fall into them of predictable ster eotypes. sometimes to play for dignitaries or people who are in a hospital and are sick. the canadians quickly put a black band together and sent them on a tour as well. they're like we can do this. we have a lot of these pictures of african-americans instruments, rarely with actual weapons of war. it becomes a way to make light of their contribution. not because fewer saw combat,

but the works they did work in labor battalions -- women's work, cooking, cleaning, and .igging toilets that is not the stuff that gets you a vote. that is not the stuff you can lean on after a war to be taken seriously as a citizen. i will end here with the pictures of captain stewart alexander and lieutenant frank robinson. they were two of many african-americans who earned the french decoration for bravery in battle. that they had on their shoulder will become, for african-americans, another powerful measure of a failed possibility in 1917.

that, for many will be the real shame and the real loss of the war. i promised i would talk about the cost of work for african-americans. how timely that i am on my last slide. the impact ofwith war. the gene loss that we get. haltse thing, the war civil rights campaigns. the money sent to support legal cases and legal challenges. pay for black teachers. instead it gets redirected up forsuiting these guys work, making sure they have the socks that they need, the candy they need, the care packages

they need, the right kind of rifle, the right kind of thing to keep them warm and happy. it is a strain on already limited and meager resources. in terms of income and also food. we are talking about people who barely had food to begin with to ration more because of the war. it is a dramatic loss of that talent. to have made it through school, who have sat through medical .chool or law school the professionals we need in order to keep up the fight against jim crow. those with the know-how are left in europe. it is a tremendous loss of medical professionals that we cannot afford. it will take entirely too long to replace. a greater police surveillance of african-american communities especially in the north. that will slow civil rights.

gives us a spike in lynching and race riots and arson attacks. such that it will become the main thing that exudes -- that consumes african-americans through 1920. there is a tremendous amount of promise in 1917. that is what they carry when they cross the atlantic. you will have to come back next year to see what happens. [applause] >> we have just a short amount of time for a question. >> you had a couple of but given to pershing his -- what can you say about it. did he acquiesce or what were his views? >> oh, pershing what a mess.

[laughter] his experience with african-american soldiers predates the spanish-american war. he was involved with the buffalo soldiers in the indian war. and before the philippines cuba. he has a mixed experience. n one hand, he is called blackjack pershing. but i have read this man's biographies. i have read more than i ever cared to you and he never particular affinity for black soldiers. neither is he concerned or disdainful of them. but when it comes to world war i, he is obsessed with having a perfect army no matter the cost.

so black dots are not a part of it. blackllingness to send combatant troops to the french -- it is an easy solution to his problem. if they fail, it is openly over here and no one will write about it or talk about it. it's over, the experiment is finished. -- we go back and say can't have an integrated army because you sucked. do,hey succeed, which they then it's all the way over in france and with censorship, the news never quite made it over. it's a convenient solution. he gives the french what they want which is american soldiers that they can control and train, but he has no particular regard for them i world war i. morew that there are questions in this auditorium. the pleasure of being in the room where it happens is --

thank you for the one laugh. you will have the opportunity during our break to ask those questions. i would encourage you, most of your nametags have two tickets offerir two use those or one of those in a conversation with dr. matthew and asked her those questions -- >> you think i fell for cheap. is why you don't want to be watching it on tv or online. you want to be here in person. dr. e join me in thanking mathieu. [applause] a tweet from madmen across the water. asking about an issue that resounds today. how many people were fathered by

gis in vietnam. how are they treated 45 years after the u.s. departure? >> you could be featured during our next live program. join the conversation on facebook and on twitter. ♪ >> c-span's washington journal is life every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up sunday morning, we will discuss the upcoming vote on the final republican tax reform bill with americans for tax reform grover norquist and andy greene. also, ran corporations seth jones with threats to the u.s. homeland over the holiday season. c-span's washington journal live begin and 7:00 a.m. eastern sunday morning. join the discussion. >> this sunday on american

artifacts, please visit the willard hotel. located two blocks from the white house, it has been a witness to history for 200 years. here's a preview. >> this is a very historic spot. it has been a bar in this corner going back almost 200 years. henry clay came to washington in 1808 and along with him came barrels of kentucky straight sour mash whiskey, otherwise known as bourbon. they were stamped with bourbon county for tax reasons. that's how the name was involved for bourbon. he discovered that washingtonians were drinking their mint juleps with brandy. he showed them the proper way to make a southern style mint juleps. with kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. senator henry clay was known as the great compromiser.

what better way to compromise after legislative battling than to retire to the bar at the willard hotel and >> you can learn more about the willard hotel sunday at 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. eastern on american artifacts, only on american history tv here on c-span3. next on lectures in history, a university of notre dame professor teaches a class on some of the intellectual ideas such as natural rights, underpinning the american founding and constitution. he discusses what makes a right inherent, and the relationship between individuals and government. his class is about 70 minutes.