Evan Phifer

Article

President Lincoln's Christmas Gift, 1864

One hundred fifty years ago, the United States experienced its last holiday season of the Civil War. For the past three Decembers, President Abraham Lincoln had been frustrated by defeats on the battlefield and the continuation of a seemingly endless war. This Christmas of 1864 however, President Lincoln had much to celebrate. He was glad First Lady Mary Lincoln had returned

Scholarship

Establishing the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum

When President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone of the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., on February 20, 1933, the president told those assembled, “this temple of our history will appropriately be . . . an expression of the American soul.”1 Twenty-nine years later, President Hoover would be present at another National Archives dedication, this time of his own presidential library.

Scholarship

Grace Coolidge and Great War Veterans

During her husband’s administration from 1923-1929, First Lady Grace Coolidge used her public visibility to support disabled First World War veterans. As part of her duties as first lady, Mrs. Coolidge met with veterans of the Great War and other patients at nearby Walter Reed Army Medical Center. On December 4, 1923, she visited the medical center to view an exhibition of

Scholarship

The Truman Renovation Souvenir Program

As part of the implementation of the Truman renovation, the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion was tasked with disposing excess building materials that could not be reutilized. On February 17, 1950, President Truman approved the creation of a souvenir program. The leftover pieces in question were somewhat limited to materials that had “no tangible value but which were desired by