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Educational Resource
A Literary Viewpoint
As the home of America's chief political authority and leading diplomatic figure, the White House has long opened its doors to prominent figures from foreign nations. Presidents have invited monarchs and musicians, prime ministers and poets into their home. Many such visitors have recorded their thoughts and by doing so have provided a resource for future students to explore how
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Educational Resource
Provoked by Pearl Harbor
President Franklin D. Roosevelt called Sunday, December 7, 1941, a day that would "live in infamy," for on that day the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack against the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. Within a day the United States was at war with Japan, and only three days later with Japan's Axis allies, Germany and Italy. Great Britain,
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Educational Resource
Saving History
The events leading up to the burning of the White House during the War of 1812 have been well chronicled. Eyewitness accounts and recollections by American and British soldiers, sailors, and civilians have helped bring to light this humiliating episode of America's second war with Great Britain. Among the most celebrated events of the war was the saving of George Washington's
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Educational Resource
The Bank War
Raucous crowds celebrated Andrew Jackson's inauguration as president in 1829, swarming through the streets of Washington and trashing the White House (at least according to Jackson's appalled opponents). Jackson, born in a log cabin and hailing from the West, symbolized to many a new era in American politics, an era which celebrated the common man and the common man in turn
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Educational Resource
The Power to Preserve the American Frontier
By the end of the 19th century, explorers had largely measured the landscape that defined the American frontier. The once boundless land was now comprehensible, and the natural resources that could be extracted from it were beginning to be calculable. At the same time, between approximately 1880-1920, other forces were working together to create the beginnings of the conservation movement
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Educational Resource
The President and the Press
IntroductionAs the only single official elected by all citizens, the American president, in effect, represents us all – both at home and around the globe. What the president believes is the best course for our nation, and how we navigate that course, has always been vital knowledge to those who are engaged in the political process. Most often, the president has ex
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Educational Resource
The Revolution of 1801
On December 13, 2000 — thirty-six days after Americans cast their votes for president of the United States — George W. Bush claimed the White House in a speech from the chamber of the Texas House of Representatives. After a ruling by the Supreme Court effectively ended the election and after Democratic candidate Al Gore conceded one of the closest elections in American history, Bush
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Educational Resource
The Rise of Jacksonian Democracy
Andrew Jackson, the first president born in a log cabin and to hail from a state beyond the Allegheny Mountains, swept into office in 1828 with the help of expanded suffrage and the emergence of new, aggressive approaches to political campaigning. Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812, was elected as a reform candidate, the victim of the so-called John Q.
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Educational Resource
The White House as Home and Symbol
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
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Educational Resource
Using Art to Study the Past
When studying events that occurred before the widespread use of photography, historians have used artwork to supplement resources such as documents, diaries, and artifacts. While an artist's view of an event is less accurate than first-hand written accounts, many paintings and engravings can tell us what events were found important enough to document in this way. Artists, after all, were
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Educational Resource
White House Tea and No Sympathy
IntroductionIn the early summer of 1929, citizens in the nation's capital enjoyed reading about the White House activities of President Herbert Hoover and his wife, Lou Hoover, in their local newspaper. They learned that a "talking movie" was shown at the White House, that the president's pets had acquired silver-plated nametags, and that a policy had been implemented to reduce the