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Article
Easter Egg Roll: Games, Old and New
The primary Easter Monday entertainment at the White House has always involved egg rolling. Participants roll dyed, hard-boiled eggs across the grass to see whose will go the furthest before cracking. Other egg sports enjoyed in the early years were egg ball, toss and catch, egg croquet and egg picking—a contest where eggs are pecked together until they crack. Af
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Scholarship
Baron and Baroness Hyde de Neuville and Decatur House
One of America’s most celebrated naval heroes, Stephen Decatur, died on March 22, 1820 from wounds sustained in a duel with Commodore James Barron. Decatur’s tragic loss also confronted his 44-year-old widow Susan with the problem of how to maintain their new home near the White House, known as “Decatur House,” a fashionable three-story Federal town house designed by master architec
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Memoirs of Isabella Hagner 1901-1905
The White House Historical Association has reset the following excerpt of Isabella Hagner’s typescript memoirs, now in the White House collection in the Isabella Hagner James Papers in the Office of the Curator. Editor Priscilla Roosevelt has corrected the typographical errors, modernized some punctuation, added explanatory endnotes, and made a slight rearrangement of the original text in order to pr
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Millard Fillmore's Musical Family
President Millard Fillmore and his family were particularly musical. Mrs. Fillmore, the former Abigail Powers, made certain the White House had not only a music room, but also three pianos. For relaxation Mrs. Fillmore enjoyed playing duets with her talented daughter, Mary Abigail, a fine amateur musician, proficient on the piano, harp and guitar. During the Fillmore administration, the famous
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Musical Heritage at the White House
In June 2001, President Bush proclaimed the month of June, “Black Music Month,” encouraging “all Americans to learn more about the contributions of black artists to America's musical heritage and to celebrate their remarkable role in shaping our history and culture.” Performers Lionel Hampton, Shirley Caesar, Bobby Jones, James Brown, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and the Harlem Jazz Museum Artists attended
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Presidents and the Hey Day of Horse Racing in the Federal City
President Richard M. Nixon was the first sitting president to attend the Kentucky Derby on May 3, 1969. In his party that day were Mrs. Nixon and then Governor and Mrs. Ronald Reagan, all rooting for the winner, California-based Majestic Prince. Presidential parties attending horse races was once a common occurrence in the colonial period and early republic. Even before the seat
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Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.
From the streets of Selma to the walls of the White House, Martin Luther King, Jr. worked tirelessly for the civil rights of African-Americans, and ultimately human rights for everyone. Enjoy a flickr slideshow of photographs that document his influence on four presidential administrations.
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Fourth of July Celebrations at the White House in the 19th Century
The People's House: Although John Adams was the first to occupy the Executive Mansion in November 1800, it was Thomas Jefferson who first celebrated the Fourth of July at the White House in 1801. Jefferson opened the house and greeted diplomats, civil and military officers, citizens, and Cherokee chiefs in the oval saloon (today’s Blue Room). The Marine Band played in th
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Scholarship
Anti-War Protests of the 1960s-70s
The Vietnam anti-war movement was one of the most pervasive displays of opposition to the government policy in modern times. Protests raged all over the country. San Francisco, New York, Oakland, and Berkeley were all demonstration hubs, especially during the height of the war in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But Washington, D.C. remained one of the most
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Article
The Working White House: A Mirror - The 20th Century
Twentieth-century historical forces and social movements left their marks on the working White House. In 1900, nearly 87,000 inhabitants (almost a third of the population) of Washington, D.C., were black, forming the largest urban community of African Americans anywhere in the United States. However, racial segregation, as a formal policy, was endorsed and enforced in the Taft White House (1909-13), and
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Article
The Working White House: A Mirror - The 19th Century
The occupational culture and management of the 19th-century White House reflected the social climate and ethnic composition of Washington, D.C. The White House staff, like that of many elite Washington households, was racially and ethnically mixed. Because managerial roles were usually assigned to white employees, tensions sometimes developed between white stewards and African American house workers. The Executive Mansion
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Article
Emancipators
On April 2, 1814 British Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane issued a proclamation stating that "all persons who may be disposed" to escape to and seek refuge on a British warship would receive their freedom and land in a British colony. In response, an estimated 3,400 enslaved people in Chesapeake coastal areas welcomed the invading British troops as emancipators and ran away from slavery