Lina Mann

Scholarship

Sculpture, Bribery, and the Founding Fathers

During his short time in America, Italian neoclassical sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi created approximately thirty-six marble busts of prominent men including Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, earning him a place as one of the most prolific sculptors in early American history. In particular he is known for a neoclassical bust of George Washington, currently part of the

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Diversity in White House Art: Isamu Noguchi

Isamu Noguchi was one of the most innovative and prolific sculptors of the twentieth century. He was born on November 17, 1904 in Los Angeles, California, to an American mother and a Japanese father and spent most of his childhood in Japan. When he was thirteen, his mother sent him to Indiana to receive an American education.1After graduating from high school,

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Slavery and French Cuisine in Jefferson's Working White House

President Thomas Jefferson was widely recognized as a Francophile, embracing all things French including art, culture, and custom. While serving as Minister to France from 1784 to 1789, Jefferson developed a particular taste for French cuisine. However, French chefs were very expensive to employ, and Jefferson’s costs regularly outpaced his income. While Jefferson may have been short on cash, he did ha

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From Slavery to the White House: The Extraordinary Life of Elizabeth Keckly

In 1868, Elizabeth (Lizzy) Hobbs Keckly (also spelled Keckley) published her memoir Behind the Scenes or Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House.1 This revealing narrative reflected on Elizabeth’s fascinating story, detailing her life experiences from slavery to her successful career as First Lady Mary Lincoln’s dressmaker. At the time of its publication, the book was

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The Election of 1876

The morning of Monday, March 5, 1877 was cold and overcast as Americans anticipated the Inauguration of Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes after a long, tense, and disputed election. Hayes’ narrow win had only been decided three days earlier, defeating Democratic candidate and New York Governor Samuel Tilden by just one electoral vote, 185-184. The only caveat: Hayes was already the President of

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Spies, Lies and Disguise

“This trip of ours has been very laborious and exciting. I have had no time to think calmly since we left Springfield. There is one reason why I write tonight. Tomorrow we enter slave territory. Saturday evening, according to our arrangements we will be in Washington. There may be trouble in Baltimore. If so, we will not go to Washington, un

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The Origins of the March 4 Inauguration

Today, Inauguration Day falls on an exact day and time—January 20 at noon. Every four years, either the president or the president-elect takes the Oath of Office. Since 1981, presidents have typically taken the Oath on the West Front of the United States Capitol Building.1 This public ritual demonstrates America’s commitment to democracy and signifies a peaceful transfer of power to c

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An Author and a President

Two of the nineteenth century’s most prominent American men, Ulysses S. Grant and Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, developed an unlikely friendship extending from the White House to Grant’s deathbed. The steely, quiet demeanor of the former Union Army general contrasted sharply with the jocular nature of the celebrated author. Nevertheless, over the year

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Celebrating the U.S. Olympic Women's Gymnastics Team at the White House

In the summer of 1984, United States gymnast Mary Lou Retton triumphed at the Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, California. Retton went head-to-head with one of the best gymnasts in the world, Ecaterina Szabo of Romania, in the individual all-around competition. After scoring a perfect ten on both floor and vault, she bested Szabo by just 0.05 points, becoming the “fi

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The Complexities of Slavery in the Nation's Capital

For the first seventy-two years of its existence, the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., harbored one of America’s most difficult historical truths and greatest contradictions: slavery. The city’s placement along the Potomac River, in between the slave states of Maryland and Virginia, ensured that slavery was ingrained into every aspect of life, including the buildings, institutions, and social

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Lyndon B. Johnson: Forgotten Champion of the Space Race

The hot Florida sun beat down on a crowd gathered at Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969. As the Apollo 11 mission blasted off and climbed through the blue sky, on its way to land the first astronauts on the moon, a former president stood in the viewing stands. Looking up into the sky, Lyndon Baines Johnson watched intently as a long-awaited and

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Before the White House

On May 14, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford announced that construction of a new outdoor swimming pool on the White House South Lawn was underway, just south of the West Wing.1 During construction, National Park Service Curator Robert S. Marshall conducted archaeological analysis of the fill removed from the hole dug for the pool. In the fill, Marshall discovered: “seventeen chips, flakes, an