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Inauguration of 1861
On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the United States. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed soon after. In the midst of an unprecedented sectional crisis, President Abraham Lincoln entered office on March 4, 1861, to assume leadership of an anxious and worried nation. The Baltimore Sun commented that the “close of an old and the beginning of a new administration of
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Picketing the White House
In the second half of the nineteenth century Americans headed west to seek greater opportunities for themselves and their families. As settlements and territories emerged, new residents actively participated in creating the political systems they lived under. In fact, it was in these sparsely populated areas that the women’s suffrage movement quickly gained momentum. Near the turn of the ce
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Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C.
Congress passed the Compensated Emancipation Act to end slavery in the District of Columbia and President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill into law on April 16, 1862. Three years later, after the Civil War ended and after the 1865 ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution officially abolishing slavery nationwide, African Americans in the District began to celebrate April 16 as a holiday.
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A Coolidge Christmas
In 1923 holiday anticipation grew among Washington residents, especially among the First Family. President Coolidge and First Lady Grace Coolidge awaited the arrival of their sons Calvin, Jr. and John, who were to be home for the holidays returning from school in Pennsylvania on December 18. Mrs. Coolidge had completed her shopping and the Washington Post reported, “just what she bought for Jo
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A History of White House Flowers and Florists
April showers might bring May flowers, but White House florists keep the Executive Mansion in bloom year-round. Today the White House Chief Floral Designer and her staff have a flower shop in the basement of the mansion, beneath the North Portico. They create and maintain arrangements for display in the public and private rooms of the White House and design
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History in White House Silver
One of the most interesting collections of silver of which this country can boast is at the White House. It was begun by President James Monroe in 1818, after the war with Great Britain, and has grown over the years, remaining in continuous use by the Presidents and a constant parade of guests. Considering the duration of its service at s
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A Very Hoover Holiday
Christmas of 1929 was a snowy season in the nation’s capital. President Herbert Hoover and First Lady Lou Hoover planned to celebrate the holidays without their family, including their grandchildren Peggy Ann and Peter who lived in California. The grandchildren were Herbert and Lou’s pride and joy, and Mrs. Hoover shopped around town at the “five and dime stores” to buy g
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African Americans Enter Abraham Lincoln's White House, 1863-1865
The New Years’ Day reception became a White House tradition with President John Adams in 1801 and ended with President Herbert Hoover in 1932. A gala social occasion that attracted the interest of dignitaries, journalists and the general public, it eventually generated crowds of several thousand people who crashed the White House gates for a glimpse of the president or, best of al
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Martha Johnson Patterson: Hostess of the Andrew Johnson White House
Of her family’s role in the White House in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, Martha Johnson Patterson, daughter of President Andrew Johnson, admitted, “We are plain people, from the mountains of Tennessee, called here for a short time by a national calamity.”1 One of the five children of President Andrew Johnson and First Lady Eliza McCardle Johnson, Martha
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Arts Advisors in the Kennedy White House
President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s advocacy for the performing arts endures as a vital part of the Kennedy White House legacy. From 1961 to 1963, the White House became a focal point for arts and culture as the administration hosted numerous concerts and performances. One of the most significant White House concerts during the Kennedy years took pl
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The Arts in the Kennedy White House
Historians of American music, art, and dance often explore their subjects through different topical categories such as genres, schools, and periods. This approach involves studying the individuals and groups responsible for various trends, fashions, and styles. It also means examining how these contributions broadly shaped American culture and artistic expression. Presidential historians tend to focus extensively on a respective administration,
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A Friendly Voice
Marian Anderson was a successful American contralto singer known for her enchanting performances in the United States and throughout the world. But it was her 1939 Easter concert at the Lincoln Memorial that brought her national attention and fame. Charmed by her voice and personality, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt cultivated a relationship between the White House and Marian that would last