Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56382
JennyWahl (right, Carleton College), an econo- mist, kept the audience engaged during a late aernoon presentaon on the economics of slavery and emancipaon, inwhich she argued that itwould have been cheaper to pay slave- owners for the loss of property and freed enslaved people for lostwages than to pay to fight thewar. Graphs and charts helped herwalk the less economics-oriented among the audience through the processes and calculaons she used to reach these conclusions. As they have inmost years, C-SPAN recorded the proceedings at the symposiumand broadcast the talks over the summer. Each talkmay nowbe accessed online in C-SPAN's archives; visit hp://www.uschs.org/251/program-tours- symposium-on-c-span.htmfor links to each speaker's presentaon. MayYouth Forum Examines Compromise in Congress For the second year, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society's Youth Leader- ship Forumwas held in the Capitol Visitor Center's Congressional Auditorium.OnMay 11, area eighth to twelh gradersmet for a day of talks, quesons, and acvies. Washington Gas provided support for the event,which included lunch and gi bags of historicalmaterials for all aendees. The 2012 symposium, "Creang an Army to Preserve a Naon,"will be held on Friday,May 4 on Capitol Hill. Stayed tuned towww.uschs.org for updates, or join ourmailing list for noficaonwhen registraon opens. Washington state Repre- sentaveNormDicks and DC Delegate Eleanor HolmesNorton spoke to the assembled students. Students quesoned bothmembers of Congress who appeared at the forum. This year's aendees came froma number of local schools—including Alice DealMiddle School, Ballou High School, Bullis School, Clarksburg High School, Hyde Leadership Public Charter School, andWashington Metropolitan High School—and also included a conngent of homeschooled students. Michael Hussey of the Naonal Archives led the students through an exercise on compromise in legislaon by examining the issue of child labor laws in the early 20th century. Students viewed pieces of evidence on both sides of the issue and weighed the strength of each piece to determine the course they might have takenwere they in Congress at the me. Staff from the U.S. HouseOffice of History and Preservaon and U.S. Senate HistoricalOffice alsoworkedwith students, leading them through a role-playing exercise that detailed the various steps needed to pass a piece of legislaon. Finally, students studied exhibits in the Visitor Center and Emancipaon Hall. WINTER 2012 THE CAPITOL DOME 31