until five weeks after voters went to the polls when the u.s. supreme court stopped a florida recount. this ultimately awarded the state's electoral votes and the presidency to governor bush. tonight we begin with al gore's concession speech from december 13th, 2000 followed by george w. bush's victory remarks later that same evening from austin, texas. watch beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern and enjoy american history tv every weekend on c-span3. 20 years ago one of the most highly contested races in america took place, the contest between texas governor george w. bush and vice president al gore. saturday morning at 8:30 eastern we look back at the election with columnist a.j. dion and

william kristol, the bulwark editor at large. watch saturday at 8:30 a.m. on c-span3 and c span's washington journal. ♪ microbe. and now, let us go back 300 years to miles peeps.

we read history of the preceding ages. an epidemic of the plague that had been raging in europe broke out in a huge frenzy in the capital in 1865. hundreds fell ill every day. many of them died. people were stricken on the streets. everyone fled from the victims for fear of the dreaded disease. but by far the most horrible element of the tragedy was the mystery that no one knew who or what carried the plague. the solution finally came by way of this odd little connectictra. does anyone know what this is? >> it looks like a can opener.

>> no, it isn't a can opener. it's the first microscope. its importance to human life is tremendous. it's the connecting link between our science and the distant past when the world of germs was unknown to man. in 1683, not very long after the london calamity, thomas vinhook looked at the microscope of that day. he put this into a crude frame and thus constructed the first microscope. he examined drinking water. imagine the astonishment of his friends when he showed them tiny animals swimming around in the fluid. he even examined the teeth of human beings, too small to be seen with the naked eye.

this started the common germs of which we come in contact every day. he had discovered a new world but did not understand the importance of his discovery. in the following century, many scientists studied these germs. in 1762, a doctor contended that these diseases were caused by living things, but nobody wanted to hear about the visions of a dreamer. the medical man of the time demanded proof, but science had no proof. they were still waiting for the genius of the microscope. it took 100 years to find him, but when he came, he revolutionized the entire field of medicine. the germs had been based on the fundamental research of louis

pasteur. in a test he proved that germs would not develop in a germ-free flask. he recognized the fact that these cells cause fermentation, but they ruined the beverages. he found he could peel the organisms. this may be demonstrated by placing an active culture bacteria under the microscope. applying heat and then observing the germs forming in clusters as they die. this form of heat and pasturization is today safeguarding many of our foods, particularly milk. disease is eliminated by passing

the coils so we have nothing but good health. in england, dr. lichter conceived the idea that germs might be responsible for wounds. in those days, there was a gamble with death and blood poisoning. he thought he could combat this by killing the germs in and around the wound. he bathed the tools in the same chemical solution. he destroyed the germs with chemicals just as pasteur had done with heat. this was the second of the methods discovered in killing germs. antisept antiseptic.

the sheep were dying in large numbers of the disease known as anthrax. the great pastreu found the germs responsible for this scourge and found methods to destroy them. he also founded the vaccine for the anthrax germ. this is the third method for combatting germs. it was by this method that he achieved something in his brilliant career, the successful fight against rabies or hyd hydrophobia. this was a sign of medicine and one of the greatest benefits of the human race. the position of the microscope in scientific medical observation. in the next 50 years, more progress was made in medicine than in the previous 2,000

years. it's hard to believe that as late as 1832, new york was fighting many infectious diseases such as cholera and smallpox. the new york post headed to quebec in canada. dipheria arrived and spread its disease over canada. they found the germ responsible for cholera. in 1883, the germ was discovered that caused diphptheria. on christmas eve 1891 in a

hospital, a little girl was fighting for her life against this murderous disease. one bit of hope lay in the skill and genius of a renowned surgeon who would be making experiments under dr. koch. he had successfully discovered dipheria in animals. he was now ready to take that next step from the laboratory to the vaccine. he brought his wonderful serum. in a moment, it had been completed and that little girl on christmas eve would be his lasting legacy for goodwill to

men. once again they had combatted disease activity. he thought the way to cure the disease would be to prevent it. this ideal has now been achieved, and today we have ant itoxin. children are proud to receive this treatment which provides a shield against this disease. but not all of these infinitesimal drugs were known to man. it lived in the soil, possible to grow fruits and other things kp existing for mankind. but the things not due to germs

were destroyed. many of these causes were known in the last 50 years, but there were others that still allude the eye of modern science. the common cure for infantile paralysis, rheumatic fever and cancer are among the baffling mysteries to survive. year after year in the struggle unrelentingly, sometimes sacrificing their own lives to find a new way to combat disease. they are fighting man against micro so those with the scourge of sickness may achieve life and happiness. you're watching american history tv. every weekend on c-span3,

explore our nation's past. c-span3 created by america's cable television companies as a public service and brought to you today by your television provider. weeknights this month, we feature american history tv programs to preview what's available every weekend on c-span3. in the 2000 presidential election, texas governor george w. bush defeated vice president al gore in one of the most highly contested races in u.s. history. the outcome was not decided until five weeks after voters went to the polls when they stopped the florida recount. this ultimately awarded the electoral votes and the president a to governor bush. tonight we begin with al gore's concession speech in 2000 followed by george w. bush's victory remarks later that same evening from austin, texas. watch beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern and enjoy american

history tv every weekend on c-span3. 20 years ago, one of the most highly contested presidential races in u.s. history took place, the 2000 presidential contest between texas governor george w. bush and vice president al gore. saturday morning at 8:30 eastern, we look back at the election with white house columni columnist e.j.dionne and william kristol, editor at large. watch bush v. gore on saturday morning at 8:30. from washington, the combined radio and television industry brings you a special report on the polio vaccine. the public service of the department of health, educat