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Article
Foreword; White House History (Number 28)
Mobility is essential to the presidency. The necessity of reaching the far-flung corners of the U.S.A. seems a requirement. It always has been achieved to the extent the times permit. For George Washington travel seems to have been a simpler matter, although the nation was smaller, the roads muddier. He journeyed by coach to the east and on
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Article
A Special Space Lost and Found Images of Abraham Lincoln's White House Stables
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has often been referred to as “The Nation’s Attic” for its vast holdings of historic memorabilia. if that assessment is accurate, then the Photographic Division of the Library of Congress must be considered “The Nation’s Family Album.” With holdings of more than 10 million photographs and negatives, the Library of Congress clearly stands as th
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Article
The Life and Presidency of Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge (he rapidly let go of "John") was born on the Fourth of July in 1872 to an old New England family. His father John Calvin Coolidge farmed in Windsor County, Vermont. The young Calvin lost his mother Victoria Josephine Moore to what may have been tuberculosis when he was twelve; when he was seventeen, his younger sister and
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Article
Gettysburg and Golf Courses
On July 12, 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first president in office to employ a helicopter in his transportation service. This event marked a significant development for both the White House and the helicopter industry. In the short term, the helicopter became a key feature of presidential safety in the event of nuclear war. At the same time, Eisenhower’s occasionally co
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Article
Theodore Roosevelt Invents the Modern Presidential Vacation
On a July afternoon in 1902, Theodore Roosevelt exchanged the sizzle of a Washington summer for the ocean breezes of Oyster Bay, New York, and forever transformed the nature of the presidential vacation. Theodore Roosevelt single-handedly invented the modern presidential vacation. While earlier chief executives traveled with just a clerk or two, TR moved key White House staff members and a
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Article
Stage Struck
Two leading ladies appeared at Washington’s National Theatre on the evening of July 2, 1886. On stage was Nellie McCartee, the star of the opera The Black Hussar. In the audience was the 21-year-old first lady Frances Folsom Cleveland, who, exactly one month earlier, on June 2, had married 49-year-old President Grover Cleveland in a White House ceremony. Public opinion was favorable to
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Article
Truman Beach: The 33rd President at Key West
The president’s shirts were loose, comfortable, vividly patterned, and tropically bright. They represented a break from the blue-suit, white-shirt formality that had been Harry Truman’s hallmark since his days as a Kansas City haberdasher. They proclaimed temporary independence from the mansion Truman called “the big white jail.” Some people found them gaudy, garish, and unpresidential. Others simply called them Har
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Video
White House History 29: Special Spaces
Are there secret tunnels? Special spaces at the White House are usually those created by the presidents for their own use while resident there. There are special spaces for retreats, for improvement of living, and for looks. White House History 29: Special Spaces touches upon some that exist and some that do not. Included are the long-vanished White House stables, the
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Educational Resource
Presidents' Retreats
The White House serves both as home and office for the president, but almost all chief executives have taken the opportunity to travel during their time in office. Early presidents typically returned to their own homes, as many had farms or estates that required attention. Some presidents found relief in cottages and cabins closer to the White House or just
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Video
White House History 29: "Special Spaces"
Are there secret tunnels? Special spaces at the White House are usually those created by the presidents for their own use while resident there. There are special spaces for retreats, for improvement of living, and for looks. This issue touches upon some that exist and some that do not. Included are the long-vanished White House stables, the Green Room in
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Video
Grover Cleveland's unusual vacations
Historian Lawrence Knutson talks about President Grover Cleveland's unusual vacations, including his honeymoon and surgery at sea.
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Video
George H.W. Bush's "perpetual motion" vacations
Historian Lawrence Knutson talks about President George H.W. Bush's "perpetual motion" vacations.