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Livery at the White House
On Saturday, October 24, 1903, the sensationalist New York World reported that President Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary, William Loeb Jr., outfitted the messengers at the White House in “uniforms of dark blue material with shining nickel buttons.” The World also noted that “it is Mr. Loeb’s intention to put all the employees around the White House and executive offices in uniforms.”1 For Roosevel
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"Articles of the Best Kind"
When on March 4, 1817, James Monroe was inaugurated as the fifth president of the United States, the District of Columbia still bore scars from its sacking by the British three years earlier. The country had achieved few of the political and military aims that led it into the War of 1812, and having the capital torched by the enemy caused profound national
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The White House Social Secretary: Job Description and Work Culture
What are the responsibilities of the social secretary?The social secretary works with the first lady in the overall planning, arrangement, coordination and direction of all official and personal social events given by the president and his family. This includes the form and wording of invitations, the compiling of guest lists, the setting of menus, the seating, the choice of
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Arlington's Ceremonial Horses and Funerals at the White House
Though presidential personalities and policies can generate deep chasms during their term of service, the death of a president evokes a genuine sadness that transcends partisan politics. Rarely are Americans as united in emotion and sensibility as at such a time. In a eulogy following President James A. Garfield’s death in 1881, Henry Watterson, journalist, editor, and later Pulitzer Prize wi
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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 Christmases Past
The White House observance of Christmas before the twentieth century was not an official event. First families decorated the house modestly with greens and privately celebrated the Yuletide with family and friends. The first White House Christmas tree, decorated with candles and toys, was placed in the second floor oval room, then used as a library and family parlor, in 1889
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The Life and Presidency of Grover Cleveland
ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE One of nine children of a Presbyterian minister and his wife, Stephen Grover Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, on March 18,1837, and raised in upstate New York. He grew to an imposing appearance; nearly six feet tall and almost three hundred pounds, he was distinguished by a bulldog set of the jaw, piercing eyes,
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The Life and Presidency of William McKinley
Born in Niles, Ohio, on January 29, 1843, McKinley briefly attended Allegheny College, and was teaching in a country school when the Civil War broke out. His mother, Nancy Allison McKinley, a devout Methodist, was a guiding influence in his life. It was against her wishes that he joined the Union Army. As a commissary sergeant during the Battle of Antietam, he
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The Life and Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt
While McKinley had been popular and had brought major changes to presidential prestige as well as the nation's world status, Theodore Roosevelt during his seven years and six months in office dramatized the presidency and its image. Both admirers and critics, in praise or scorn, would call his actions "imperial." Roosevelt's 1902 White House restoration created the idea of the residence
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The Life and Presidency of William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was born on September 15, 1857, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to judge Alphonso Taft and his wife Louisa. He graduated from Yale, and then returned to Ohio, studied at the Cincinnati Law School, and began his law practice. He made a swift climb in politics through Republican judiciary appointments, while a seat on the Supreme Court was his ultimate ambition.
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The Life and Presidency of Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia, on December 28, 1856. He was the third of four children of Janet Woodrow and Joseph Ruggles Wilson, a Presbyterian minister. He spent his childhood in Augusta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina; graduated from Princeton (then the College of New Jersey) in 1879; and attended the University of Virginia Law School. In 1885 he married Ellen Louise
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The Life and Presidency of Warren G. Harding
The son of a farmer-doctor, Warren Gamaliel Harding was born in 1865 in Corsica (now Blooming Grove), Ohio. As a boy Harding worked as a printer's assistant on a local newspaper, a job that made a profound impression on him. After graduating from Ohio Central College in 1882 Harding made unsuccessful attempts to study law, teach and sell insurance before joining two