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Throughout the history of the presidency, a president’s clothing choices have been influenced by a number of factors. Personal background, economics, regional influences, direction from the first lady, and advice from other family members and staff have all contributed to the sartorial style of the nation’s leader. Perhaps no one knew the presidential wardrobe, and the man himself, as i
Although today's mailboxes are filled with magazines, catalogs, and bills, they lack an abundance of personal letters. The technologies of the electronic age allow people to communicate quickly and efficiently without ever having to pick up a pen. Up-to-the-minute reports via telephone, television, radio, and the Internet allow us to be informed of events as quickly as they happen. In
President James Madison arrived back in Washington about 5:00 p.m. on August 27, 1814 and took up temporary lodgings at the F Street home of his brother-in-law, Richard Cutts. James and Dolley Madison had lived there during 1801-1809 when he was secretary of state. On August 28 Dolley Madison returned to Washington, disguised in another woman's clothing (as directed by her husband), dejected
Many Washington residents, fearing the rumored British attack, had packed what they could on wagons or set out on foot into the countryside on August 22, 1814. Although the town was in a state of pandemonium, the first lady remained calm and directed the rescue of valuable documents, silver, and the full-length 1797 "Lansdowne portrait" of George Washington by artist Gilbert Stuart. The
