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A White House Usher Remembers Winston Churchill
After the United States entered World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was a frequent guest in the Roosevelt White House. Although the Prime Minister's visits were associated with weighty issues, White House workers remembered Churchill with delight and amusement. "The most colorful visitor ever to appear at the wartime White House was Winston Churchill," J. B. West records
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Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day": Ceremonies
Ceremony and ceremonial occasions played vital roles in the Roosevelt White House. Whether presiding over state receptions, entertaining heads of state or hosting diplomatic ceremonies, the Roosevelts used these events and their own personal magnetism to project an image of American democracy that was both substantive and personal.Many of the ceremonies in the Roosevelt White House followed elaborate rules
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Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day": Entertainment
The Roosevelts loved to entertain. During their thirteen-year stay in the White House, they used the mansion's grand setting to host receptions for congressmen, senators, governors, justices of the Supreme Court, foreign dignitaries, and even royalty. Less formal affairs included simple lunches or dinners with family and friends, intimate cocktail parties, teas, and game nights, as well as impromptu skits
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Musical Events at the White House
During the terms of Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), White House musical events became a major, regularly scheduled feature of the mansion’s social life. Many innovations took place: the first program by a famous concert pianist; the first musicale devoted to a single opera; the first performance on a clavichord; and the first East Room piano–a fine concert grand from Stei
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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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The Eisenhowers' Musical White House
While neither President nor Mrs. Eisenhower was especially knowledgeable in European classical music, they recognized the value of the music of their own nation and placed more emphasis than any of their predecessors on White House programs that reflected its colorful variety. The Eisenhowers were the first to bring Broadway musical theater to the White House in an after-dinner program
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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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Japanese State Dinners
Following the close of World War II, Japan and the United States developed a close alliance along with strategic and trade partnerships. Beginning with Gerald R. Ford in November 1974, seven U.S. presidents have made journeys to Japan, and the Japanese heads of state and government have also visited the White House. Crown Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko arrived in
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White House Decorative Arts in the 1940s
When America entered the Second World War, it brought changes to Franklin D. Roosevelt's White House. On December 22, 1941, the Monroe Room became a temporary map room and office for wartime visitor British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Harry S. Truman inherited the White House toward the end of World War II. The Truman family had time to settle in the White
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Inviting Musicians to the White House
Tin Pan Alley and the American musical theater were in a great state of verve and vitality in the period between the two world wars, and White House guests lists of the time reflected this. In 1924 President Coolidge invited legendary showman, Al Jolson to help him launch an election campaign at a White House pancake breakfast. After the breakfast, forty
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Music in the Reagan White House
Called "In Performance from the White House," the PBS programs from the White House during the two administrations of Ronald Reagan broadened to include not only classical styles as seen under the Carters, but Broadway, country, jazz and gospel, always with creative theatrical flair. One of the Reagans’ most successful televised series, "A Tribute to American Music," took place from fa
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New Music Styles at the White House
Music in the White House during the administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter reflected a wider segment of American culture than ever before, with the appearance of jazz, gospel, ragtime, and popular song, as well as classical concert and vocal forms. Following various official state dinners, Pearl Bailey, with Richard Nixon at the piano, sang for President Pompidou of