Park Ranger Speaker Series
The Department of the Interior Library is proud to present a series of programs on the background and history of sites of interest in the Washington, D.C. region. The 45-minute programs, presented by National Park Service Rangers, are held monthly in the training room of the DOI Library.
Additional programs will be posted as they are scheduled. Please check this page regularly for changes or updates.
The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the (Civil) War
Tuesday, January 17, 2012, 1:00 pm – 1:45 pm
The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the (Civil) War was formed in response to the death of Senator Edward Baker (R-OR), who fell at the head of troops under his command at Ball’s Bluff in October 1861. The members, comprised of Congressmen from both political parties, focused on Washington, DC area operations despite the fact that Union military forces participated throughout 1861 in dozens of actions from Missouri and Kentucky to the Florida and Carolina coasts. The committee demanded to know why well equipped Union soldiers supported by the might and vast resources of the United States government failed to win battles such as Bull Run and Ball’s Bluff. The patriotic volunteer soldiers were not to blame, the committee thought, therefore the professional generals of the regular army were the ones that failed the nation. In time, the committee questioned not the competency of the generals but their loyalty.
Please join Park Ranger Michael Kelly as he takes a look at the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the (Civil) War. Find out how what started as a routine board of inquiry instead became an all-powerful force that proved a bane to military leaders and a thorn in the side of President Lincoln for the remainder of the war.
Mary McLeod Bethune and Her International Ties
Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 1:00 pm – 1:45 pm
Mary McLeod Bethune is well known for her work all over the United States serving as the Bethune-Cookman College founder, President of the National Council of Negro Women and Director of the Division of Negro Affairs in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s National Youth Administration. Although she is well known for her work in the U.S. much less has been written about Mrs. Bethune’s work abroad. Awarded the Haitian Medal of Honor and Merit in 1949, the country’s highest award, Mrs. Bethune is highly recognized throughout the world for her activism. She would also travel to Liberia in 1952 as a distinguished guest of President Truman. From her years as President of the National Council of Negro Women Mrs. Bethune established an international component that the organization would continue through their work in countries such as Botswana, Ghana and Haiti.
Please join the Ashley Robertson from the National Park Service as she explores the “International Vision” that Mary McLeod Bethune established through the National Council of Negro Women. See how her pioneering work not only touched those here in this country, but indeed reached around the globe.
