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Taking the Oath of Office
It is probably safe to say that the presidential inauguration is the transcendent public ritual of American representative government. Unlike the coronation of a monarch or any ritual associated with the rise to power of a dictator or autocrat, the inauguration of a president is a cyclical, regularly scheduled event held every four years, and one to which, perhaps thankfully,
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Article
Artists' Life Studies for White House Portraits
Artists often use studies or sketches to develop their final compositions, and this is especially true of portrait painters. Prominent subjects have busy schedules, and few subjects are more prominent—or busy—than United States presidents. Quick sketches capture the angle of the face, the positioning of the figure, the selection of clothing and accessories, and even ideas for the back
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Article
"The Most Beautiful Things"
Theodore Roosevelt’s home at Sagamore Hill sits on top of a hill overlooking the Long Island Sound, nestled between properties once owned by his aunts, uncles, and cousins. Built in 1885, it was Roosevelt’s home for thirty-four years, and his wife Edith’s home for another twenty-nine years after his death in January 1919. The house is filled with an eclect
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Article
"A Well-Ordered Household"
One morning in early December 1802 a Federalist senator, just arrived from New Hampshire, was ushered into the President’s House with some fellow legislators. After a few moments “a tall highboned man” entered the room, wearing “an old brown coat, red waistcoat, old corduroy small clothes, much soild—woolen hose—& slippers without heels.” William Plumer later wrote a friend, “I thought this m
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Article
President Buchanan Greets a Guest of State
By the fall of 1860, the Buchanan administration seemed headed for a tense but dramatic conclusion. Earlier that year, President James Buchanan had pointedly declined the renomination, exhausted by a fractured relationship with Congress and last minute attempts to quash talk of southern states’ secession from the union. He believed that his best efforts at reconciliation between states’ rights activists and abol
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Article
Truman Beach: The 33rd President at Key West
The president’s shirts were loose, comfortable, vividly patterned, and tropically bright. They represented a break from the blue-suit, white-shirt formality that had been Harry Truman’s hallmark since his days as a Kansas City haberdasher. They proclaimed temporary independence from the mansion Truman called “the big white jail.” Some people found them gaudy, garish, and unpresidential. Others simply called them Har
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Article
"Proud Housewife": Mamie Eisenhower Collects for the White House
Every presidential family that resides in the White House leaves a mark on the building and its traditions. The extent of a family’s influence on the physical White House depends usually on its length of residence and its inclinations to take the trouble to make changes. History plays a part as well. While major additions to the White House an
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Event
History Happy Hour: FDR’s Mentors: How FDR Learned to Become a Great Leader
In every poll of the public, historians, political scientists, and experts on the presidency, Franklin D. Roosevelt is rated among the top three presidents in American history. He further ranks among the top five presidents in terms of the number of biographies written about him. While the caliber of his leadership has been much discussed, less attention has been paid
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Video
In Memoriam (Garfield’s Funeral March)
Famous composer and head of the Marine Band John Philip Sousa was shocked by President Garfield’s death: “With the event weighing heavily on his mind he walked all through the night and into the next morning. When he returned home he immediately committed the dirge ‘In Memoriam’ to paper.” The U.S. Marine Band played the march as the president’
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Event
White House History Live: Brief the Chief
Join us in learning more about White House History right from your own home. Our Facebook Live series, White House History Live, delves into the stories that make up the history of the Executive Mansion. In 2024, the White House Historical Association and iCivics launched a new game, Brief the Chief. Players take on the key role of advising the president
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Event
White House History Live: Dear Miss Perkins
Join us in learning more about White House History right from your own home. Our Facebook Live series, White House History Live, delves into the stories that make up the history of the Executive Mansion. Dr. Rebecca Brenner Graham, postdoctoral research associate at Brown University, will join to discuss her new book, Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins's