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Lady Bird Johnson and Patricia Nixon review White House plans, 1968. Preparing for the transition from one administration to the next, the incoming First Lady Pat Nixon (center) meets with Lady Bird Johnson and Chief Usher J.B. West on November 11, 1968, six days after the presidential election.
Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
Mamie’s Army” cartoon, 1952. As the wife of a former general, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower was likewise regarded as a military commander. This December 1952 newspaper cartoon illustrates the roughly 90 White House workers who would become “Mamie’s Army” when the Eisenhowers moved into the White House in January 1953.
Lima (Ohio) News
The Hardings say their goodbyes, 1923. Preparing to embark on a cross-country journey in June 1923, First Lady Florence Harding and President Warren G. Harding bid farewell to the White House staff. This would be the last time Harding was at the White House. He died in San Francisco on August 2, 1923, and Vice President Calvin Coolidge completed his term of office.
Library of Congress
On their final day in the White House, January 20, 1961, President and Mrs. Eisenhower exchange farewells with members of the staff. Lillian Rogers Parks, who retired just before the Eisenhowers left, observed, “When the old family goes out, you felt lost for just that flash. And then at 12 o’clock, when the other family comes in, you took on a new perspective. You just had to turn over; you had to forget those folks and start over.”
White House Historical AssociationAbout this Gallery
When a new president moves in, he and his family bring along their own tastes, preferences, and customs. The new family’s ways are often quite different from those of the previous occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Even time-honored White House festivities such as the Pageant of Peace and the Easter Egg Roll have been adapted to reflect the First Family’s entertainment style.The transition to a new administration requires White House workers to help the new First Family understand how the household has previously functioned, while also adapting to the incoming family’s style and traditions.
For more than one hundred years, White House Social Secretaries have demonstrated a profound knowledge of protocol and society in Washington, D.C. The position had its beginnings in the Theodore Roosevelt administration when First Lady Edith Roosevelt hired an executive clerk. From the intricacies of ceremony planning to routine office work, the social secretary must possess unfailing tact in
For more than two centuries, the White House has been the home of American presidents. A powerful symbol of the nation, it is a uniquely private and public space. Since John and Abigail Adams first moved into the “President’s House” in November 1800, hundreds of individuals have worked behind the scenes to help the White House fulfill its roles as a seat
The White House Military Social Aides have played an important role in many different White House events and functions. They have assisted the President with diplomatic protocol at State events, at annual meetings with the leaders of Congress and the Federal Judiciary, and at other significant social events. Military Social Aides play the role of assistant hosts at the White
While the presidency is often in the eye of the public, those who ensure operations at the White House run smoothly on a day-to-day basis often carry out their work behind the scenes. Furthermore, some of the president's most intimate relationships play out behind the walls of the Executive Mansion. In this collection, pull back the curtain on some of
