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President Calvin Coolidge’s relationship with Native Americans is frequently summarized by a passing reference to his signing of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924, if it is mentioned at all.1 While Coolidge’s support of the legislation is unquestioned, reducing his many interactions with Native Americans to a single piece of legislation is misleading and inaccurate.Coolidge’s interest in Native
Upon stepping into the White House China Room, visitors encounter tableware from nearly every presidential administration or first family. Tucked into one of the impressive glass display cases is a small, porcelain sugar bowl. To many viewers, the bowl may seem like an ordinary piece of White House tableware. But what if a bowl could tell a bigger story? A
On May 2, 1812, Captain Paul Cuffe arrived at the White House for a meeting with President James Madison.1 The internationally renowned sea captain and entrepreneurial maritime trader planned to discuss two pressing issues with the president: the transatlantic emigration of African Americans to Africa, and the growing hostilities between the United States and Great Britain. Cuffe not only became “one of th
The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington D.C. was founded in 1802, shortly after Washington D.C. became the federal seat of government.1 For Baptists in early America, religious liberty was a pillar of the faith, but one that did not fully extend to enslaved persons and free Black people within Baptist congregations. As a church just north
The hot Florida sun beat down on a crowd gathered at Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969. As the Apollo 11 mission blasted off and climbed through the blue sky, on its way to land the first astronauts on the moon, a former president stood in the viewing stands. Looking up into the sky, Lyndon Baines Johnson watched intently as a long-awaited and
The 1936 Summer Olympics were unlike any other. In Berlin, Germany, under the shadow of Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, an African-American track and field athlete rose to stardom: Jesse Owens.1 Owens’s record-breaking athleticism carried him from the cotton fields of the South to the White House and made him one of the most famous athletes in American history. Jame
After the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became locked in a global battle for economic, political, and cultural dominance. This rivalry touched on many different facets of life—social and political issues, national security, international relations, popular culture, and even sports—including the Olympic Games. Athletes from the world’s two superpower countries compet
