Inaugurations Gone Wild - Calendar Errors, No-Shows & Other Misadventures

Everyone knows that Inauguration Day takes place on January 20, but that wasn’t always the case. Did you know that the Inauguration of George Washington was held on Thursday, April 30, 1789? As it turns out, the history of Inauguration Day has been surprisingly riddled with scheduling problems, logistical nightmares, and popular uproar. Thomas J. Balcerski, presidential historian and Eastern Connecticut State University professor, will discuss this tumultuous history of the move of Inauguration from March 4 to January 20, the numerous instances of presidential no-shows on Inauguration Day, and the moments when Inaugural festivities went wildly wrong.

Credit: White House Historical Association

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White House History Live
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The Nixon White House 1969 - 1974

On January 20, 1969, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. During his time in the White House (1969–74), President Nixon sought to unite a divided nation after the social, political, and cultural turbulence of the 1960s. Before becoming president, Nixon served in the U.S. Navy, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and as
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State Dinners

A State Dinner honoring a visiting head of government or reigning monarch is one of the grandest and most glamorous of White House affairs. It is part of an official State Visit and provides the president and first lady the opportunity to honor the visiting head of state and his or her spouse. In this collection, explore the history of
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Weddings and the White House

From First Lady Dolley Madison's sister Lucy Payne Washington's wedding in 1812 to the nuptials of President Joseph Biden and First Lady Jill Biden's granddaughter Naomi Biden on the South Lawn in November 2022, the White House has long been the site of wedding ceremonies and receptions. In over two hundred years, there have been nineteen documented weddings and four receptions hosted
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Video from Lectures and Events
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Inauguration 2021 Virtual Events
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Additional Resources for Slavery in the President's Neighborhood

For Teachers Classroom Resource Packet: Slavery, Freedom, and the White HouseJames Madison's Montpelier: Fate in the BalanceThe Enslaved Household of Thomas JeffersonElizabeth Keckly: From Slavery to the White HouseWHTTI Session with the Decatur House Advisory CouncilThe Burning of the White House (Makematic)White House Valets (Makematic)Student Plays
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White House History Live: President Garfield, From Radical to Unifier

Join us in learning more about White House History right from your own home. Our Facebook Live series, White House History Live, delves into the stories that make up the history of the Executive Mansion. Bestselling author and historian C.W. Goodyear will discuss his new biography of James A. Garfield. This work offers fresh insight and nuance to the
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White House History Live: Indigenous DC - Native Peoples and the Nation's Capital

Join us in learning more about White House History right from your own home. Our Facebook Live series, White House History Live, delves into the stories that make up the history of the Executive Mansion. Historian Elizabeth Rule discusses her new book, Indigenous DC: Native Peoples and the Nation’s Capital. Washington, DC, is Indian land, but Indigenous peoples are of
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The Rise of Edith Wilson

While this nation has yet to elect its first woman president—and though history has downplayed her role—just over a century ago a woman became the nation’s first acting president. In fact, she was born in 1872, and her name was Edith Bolling Galt Wilson. Rebecca Roberts, author of the new biography Untold Power, discusses the beautiful, brilliant, charismatic, and ca
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The Life and Legacy of Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird Johnson was a groundbreaker, a savvy business woman, an indispensable right-hand to her political husband, a mother, an East Texas girl, a political activist and to so many, an inspiration. LBJ Presidential Library & Museum curator Lara Hall gives a closer look at the library’s current exhibit: Lady Bird: Beyond the Wildflowers, a personal walk-through of Mrs. Jo
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White House History Live: Slavery and Freedom in the White House Collection

Join us in learning more about White House History right from your own home. Our Facebook Live series, White House History Live, delves into the stories that make up the history of the Executive Mansion. The White House Historical Association’s new digital exhibit, “Slavery and Freedom in the White House Collection” explores the history of slavery and emancipation in the Un