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19th Century White House Staff
For most of the 19th century, the structure of the White House staff remained generally the same. At the top was the steward, a federal employee who was bonded; the Congress created this position to safeguard the silver and furnishings in the house. The steward was on the government payroll. He functioned as the manager of the house. The job
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Colin Powell
On August 10, 1989, President Bush announced his appointment of General Colin Powell as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Powell became the architect of Operation Desert Shield, a staging operation that moved American and international forces and materials to the Middle East to launch Operation Desert Storm. As President Bush’s trusted advisor, Powell helped shape a global alliance that ex
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E. Frederic Morrow at the White House
E. Frederic Morrow was the first African American to serve in an executive position on a president’s staff at the White House. Morrow was a minister’s son who had graduated from Bowdoin College and was employed by the National Urban League and the NAACP before entering Army service during World War II. After the war, he obtained a law
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Marian Anderson Performs at the White House
One of the most memorable performances in White House history was Marian Anderson’s rendition of Schubert’s "Ave Maria" as the culmination of a gala "Evening of American Music" presented by Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in 1939. The entertainment was planned for a state visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England. Anderson’s powerful voice soared that evenin
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President Truman and Civil Rights
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball on April 15, 1947 signaling a historic step forward in the movement to end segregation. However, a less conspicuous event of greater significance to African Americans was President Truman’s controversial 1948 executive order desegregating the military and banning discriminatory hiring practices in the federal government. Issued in an election year, the executive or
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William Monroe Trotter Challenges President Wilson
Civil Rights activist and journalist William Monroe Trotter caused a stir in 1914 because he strongly protested President Woodrow Wilson’s support for segregation of black federal employees in the workplace. Trotter came to the White House as a founder and representative of the National Independent Political League, a militant organization that fought for racial and social justice, and the publisher of
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Italian State Dinners at the White House
January 14, 1964: State Dinner for Italian President Antonio Segni was hosted by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Featured entertainment included Robert Merrill of the Metropolitan Opera and the New Christy Minstrels. President Segni and his wife were given a silver box, engraved with maps of both countries and a sentence from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (“Italy remains to all, the land of dreams an
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About Our Authors
JAMES ARCHER ABBOTT is the Executive Director of the Lewes Historical Society in Lewes, Delaware. His publications include JANSEN, JANSEN Furniture, and Baltimore’s Billy Baldwin. He is the co-author of Designing Camelot. (WHH #60) WILLIAM ADAIR is a frame historian, conservator, and gilder in Washington, D.C. (WHH #54) MATTHEW ALGEO is a writer and journalist. He is the author of se
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White House History Table of Contents
NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 6 (COLLECTION I) WHITE HOUSE HISTORY • NUMBER 1 1 — Foreword by Melvin M. Payne 5 — President Kennedy’s Rose Garden by Rachel Lambert Mellon 13 — White House Album: History in the Camera’s Eye by Oliver Jensen 23 — The Association’s Twentieth Year by Nash Castro 29 — History in White House Silver by Joseph D. Carr 39 — Stone Walls Preserved by James I. McDaniel 46 — A Colored Man’s Reminiscences of
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Book Awards
2023 2023 Best Book Awards Furnishing the White House: The Decorative Arts Collection, Finalist, Art Life in the White House, Finalist, History: United States The Official White House Christmas Ornament: Collected Stories of a Holiday Tradition, Winner, Novelty & Gift Book Rocco at the White House Easter Egg Roll, Finalist, Children's Nonfiction Rocco at the White House Easter Egg Roll, Finalist, Children's
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About Our Authors
Authors JAMES ARCHER ABBOTT is currently the executive director at Wright’s Ferry Mansion in Columbia, Pennsylvania. Abbott has served as director of Johns Hopkins University’s Evergreen Museum & Library, curator of American and European decorative arts for the Baltimore Museum of Art, and curator and educator for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Boscobel House and Gardens, and Hist
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Speaking Engagements
Samford University On November 9, 2023, Stewart spoke to Legacy League members at Samford University where he shared the story of Mrs. Kennedy’s work as first lady, her legacy, and the mission of the White House Historical Association.