The 2024 National History Day (NHD) theme is Turning Points in History. The White House Historical Association offers a variety of resources to assist students working on NHD projects.
The White House Historical Association is a nonprofit educational association founded in 1961 for the purpose of enhancing the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the Executive Mansion. It was created at the recommendation of the National Park Service and with the support of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. All proceeds from the sale of the Associations books and products are used to
The White House Historical Association, Artsy, and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation partnered together in the late spring of 2016 for an unprecedented opportunity for university students in the United States to engage with the artwork and artifacts in the White House by creating a short video about the historical and artistic context of a particular work in the Executive Mansion. The
Barbara A. Perry is the Gerald L. Baliles professor and director of Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, where she co-directs the Presidential Oral History Program. She has authored or edited 17 books on presidents, first ladies, the Kennedy family, the Supreme Court, and civil rights and civil liberties, including Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Fr
Read Digital EditionForeword: "A Changing Portrait of America" by Marcia Mallet AndersonThe Official White House Portraits of President and Mrs. Barack Obama: David Rubenstein’s Conversation with the Artists, Robert McCurdy and Sharon Sprung Introduction by Stewart McLaurin The Peales in the White House: America’s First Family of Artists by Carol SoltisWhen Harry Met Pablo: The Strange True Story of t
Jill BidenJill Tracy Jacobs Biden was born on June 3, 1951, in Hammonton, New Jersey. Growing up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, she graduated from Upper Moreland High School in 1969. She attended the University of Delaware, receiving a bachelor’s degree in English in 1975. That same year, she met Senator Joseph R. Biden of Delaware. On June 17, 1977, they were married in New York Ci
Read Digital VersionForeword: Absorbing the Reality and Imagining More by Marcia Mallet AndersonHow Television Depicts U.S. Presidents and the White House by Kenneth T. WalshTelevision Comes to the White House to Stay by Rebecca Durgin KerrThe West Wing Takes Television into the White House: Behind-the-Scenes Memories of the Reinvention of Political Theater by Marc FreemanGetting to Sesame Street with
Curled up on the living room floor, eyes full of anticipation, I awaited the results of the 2012 presidential election. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were familiar, as I had met both as a little girl attending the Iowa caucuses. While waiting to see if they would serve another four years, I was also waiting patiently to see
The White House Historical Association has established an endowed position, the Marlyne Sexton Chair in White House History, in honor of Marlyne Sexton, cabinet member on the National Council for White House History. The endowment will provide financial support for the Chair in perpetuity.
The National Council on White House History was established in 2017 and is made up of 115 members
The White House Historical Association began an oral history project in 2010 under the guidance of Maria Downs, the Association’s public affairs director and the White House Social Secretary during the Gerald Ford administration. Ms. Downs recognized that important insights into White House history were slipping away with the passing of social secretaries. They rarely wrote or spoke of their ex
What are the responsibilities of the social secretary?
The social secretary works with the first lady in the overall planning, arrangement, coordination and direction of all official and personal social events given by the president and his family. This includes the form and wording of invitations, the compiling of guest lists, the setting of menus, the seating, the choice of
The 1600 SessionsThe 1600 Sessions is a podcast hosted by White House Historical Association President Stewart D. McLaurin, that explores the history, untold stories, and personal accounts of America’s most iconic residence and office – The White House. Drawing on his own experiences, relationships, and knowledge he provides listeners with a front row seat to history at the White House. Through these conv