Gallery
Presidential Pastimes
Gallery
New Year's Day Receptions
Scholarship
Baseball and the White House in the Nineteenth Century
“Baseball is the hurrah game of the republic!” said poet Walt Whitman in 1889, near the end of a century that saw baseball emerge as an enormously popular spectator sport. “More intriguing than a horse race,” noted historian Eliot Asinof, “more civilized than a boxing bout or a cock fight … a pleasant, even exciting afternoon in the sunlight[.]”1
Scholarship
A History of Presidential Vacations & Retreats
In this series of video clips, Historian Lawrence L. Knutson talks about presidential vacations and retreats. He offers anecdotes for presidents including Abraham Lincoln, Grover Cleveland, Lyndon B. Johnson, and William J. Clinton. Remarks are taken from his book Escaping the Gilded Cage: An Illustrated History of Presidential Vacations and Retreats. Knutson is a journalist who retired in 2003 after a 37
Article
Music & Dance at the White House
First Lady Dolley Madison is considered to have introduced social dancing to the White House–notably the Waltz, which critics at that time called "the hugging process set to music."The United States Marine Band played at the first reception on New Year's Day in 1801 and has performed regularly at the White House ever since. From the time of Jefferson, th
Article
Foreword; White House History Number 30
President Taft, a frequent theater goer, was seated in his box at the National Theatre with his aide Archibald Butt, when he rose and said, “Archie, this is hot!” He led the way out, believing it undignified for the president of the United States to appear to condone a risqué show.Nearly all the presidents have enjoyed theatrical performance and sough
Collection
Presidential Retreats
