Pineville residents and visitors joined the thousands who have toured C-SPAN’s Campaign 2008 Bus as part of the “Road to the White House” tour when the bus rolled into town earlier this month. The bus made an appearance on Dec. 17 at the President James K. Polk State Historic Site.
The 45-foot mobile production studio was on the campaign trail to promote and enhance C-SPAN’s comprehensive political coverage, traveling to major political events such as candidate debates and speeches in primary states, touring state capitals, and also conducting educational programs for teachers and students. Since its January 2007 launch, the bus has been to 43 state capitals, 136 universities and 213 schools where 408 elected officials, 5,500 teachers, 40,600 students, and 4 presidential candidates have been on board. The Campaign 2008 Bus was also at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
The local visit, in partnership with Time Warner, was part of the bus’s inaugural “Road to the White House” tour, named after C-SPAN’s renowned political program that marks its 20th year on the air this year. More information is available here.
James Knox Polk, the eleventh president of the United States, was born in Mecklenburg County near present-day Pineville in 1795. He lived with his family for 11 years on this farm before moving to Tennessee in 1806.
After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, Polk entered politics and went on to be elected president of the United States on the Democratic ticket. He had an extraordinarily eventful term in office and was responsible for acquiring more territory for the U.S. than any other president since Thomas Jefferson. In four short years, the nation gained more than 800,000 square miles of western territory, extending its boundary to the Pacific Ocean. This land included present-day California, Texas, New Mexico and Oregon. A firm believer in equal rights for all, special privileges for none and friendship for the common people, President Polk ran an efficient administration and was known for his personal dedication and integrity.
A revamped version of the network’s award-winning School Bus, the Campaign 2008 bus sports a new exterior design wrap in election themes along with interior modifications that include the latest television production equipment.
C-SPAN Classroom, www.c-spanclassroom.org, a free membership service for teachers, offers a selection of free, downloadable video clips picked from the network’s extensive political programming including “Road to the White House” that are updated weekly and “classroom-ready” allowing teachers to readily incorporate a study of presidential politics into their curriculum.
Look for C-SPAN’s political coverage on the C-SPAN networks, C-SPAN Radio and c-span.org.
The state historic site’s mission is to preserve and interpret the birthplace and history of Polk. It is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. from Nov. 1 through March 31 and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through October. Located off exit 65, I-485, James K. Polk State Historic Site is at 12031 Lancaster Highway in Pineville. For further information on programs, call Courtney Rounds at the site at (704) 889-7145, e-mail polk@ncmail.net or check out the Web site at www.polk.nchistoricsites.org.
Administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, President James K. Polk State Historic Site is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history, and culture through such programs as “Telling Our Stories.” For more information, visit www.ncculture.com.