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Freedman's Savings & Trust Co.
Three million dollars belonging to 61,000 African Americans. That's how much accumulated wealth vanished when the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company failed in June 1874. Earlier that year, Frederick Douglass had become the bank's President just after it moved its headquarters to a prominent location on the southeast corner of Lafayette Square, where the Treasury Annex now stands. The bank was failing
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Mrs. Polk Receives Unwelcome Advice About Her Servants
James K. Polk and Sarah Childress Polk lived in the White House from 1845 to 1849. Anson and Fanny Nelson, admirers of Mrs. Polk, published this story many years later:"An elderly lady, who had been present at [a White House] dinner-party, called on Mrs. Polk and said, 'May I take the liberty [to] make a suggestion to you, Madame?' The
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The Company Dining Room
During the nineteenth century, a series of “state dinners” were held every winter social season to honor Congress, the Supreme Court, and members of the diplomatic community. In recent times, the term “state dinner” has come to mean more specifically a dinner hosted by the president honoring a foreign head of state as the guest of honor. The State Dining Room, wh
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Jacqueline Kennedy Refines the Season
In 1961, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of selecting a theme for the official White House Christmas tree. She decorated a tree placed in the oval Blue Room with ornamental toys, birds and angels modeled after Pyotr Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" ballet. Mrs. Kennedy reused these ornaments in 1962 for her children's theme tree. Set up in the North Entrance, this
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Dumbwaiters in Place of Servants
When Thomas Jefferson entertained informally, he ordered five small serving stands to be placed at strategic points around the room. These "dumbwaiters" were small tables, equipped with shelves placed at varying heights. Some might hold salads and wine; others would accommodate cutlery and serving utensils. Servants brought in hot food, but did not remain in the room during the meal.
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Lighting the White House
Designed to be lit in the way common to the world at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the President’s House in 1800 had natural light streaming in through windows that stretched 14 feet high and 5 feet across. The first family and residence staff pulled tables and chairs close to the windows so they could read and write, or sew and po
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Housekeeper Elizabeth Jaffray Makes Some Changes
Historian William Seale identifies a "strange hierarchy" that had developed among the White House domestic staff by the first decade of the 20th century. At mealtime, the "top-ranking men," black and white, were seated together in a pantry, where they dined upon the President's leftover food. Maids ate in the servants' dining room with the footmen. This group was also
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The White House Chefs and the Nixon-Cox Wedding Cake
In March 1971, President Richard M. Nixon announced the engagement of his daughter Patricia to Edward Cox. The details of the wedding preparations soon appeared in newspapers. As the June date drew closer, media attention began to focus on the wedding cake. White House Chef Henry Haller and his colleagues, White House Pastry Chef Heinz Bender and New York pastry specialist
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Lady Bird Johnson, A Birthday Tribute
An AppreciationDecember 22, 2012 marks the 100th birthday of Lady Bird Johnson, whose spheres of activity and influence were varied during her six years as the nation’s first lady. She expanded the professionalism of the East Wing staff devoted specifically to the first lady’s projects employing a chief of staff, a press secretary, and support staff to write speeches, maintain cont
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The White House and Lincoln's Assassination
Abraham Lincoln had never been more William Tecumseh Sherman’s thrust through the cheerful and carefree in the White House than on his last day alive. Richmond, the Confederate capital, had recently fallen, and it was only five days since Washingtonians had celebrated the deliriously exciting news of Robert E. Lee’s surrender to the Union victor, Ulysses S. Grant. The
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The Ceremonial Role of Horses
Horses are unrivaled in their ability to add a natural regal beauty to official ceremonies and state occasions. The horses, carriage and livery of the president have added beauty and spectacle to state events, presidential Inaugural Parades and official ceremonies. Cowboys and Indians, the Rough Riders, and the Army cavalry and their horses have all participated in the parades. Horse
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Photographs of Indian Delegates in the President's "Summer House"
In the early spring of 1863 a delegation of Southern Plains Indians, members of the Apache, Arapaho, Caddo, Cheyenne, Comanche, and Kiowa tribes, were invited to Washington to meet with President Abraham Lincoln at the height of the Civil War. The purpose of the visit was to secure peaceful relations with the Indians and to dissuade them from joining forces with