Collection The Decatur House Slave Quarters
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room,...
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Harry Truman ordered integration of military units.
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball on April 15, 1947 signaling a historic step forward in the movement to end segregation.
However, a less conspicuous event of greater significance to African Americans was President Truman’s controversial 1948 executive order desegregating the military and banning discriminatory hiring practices in the federal government. Issued in an election year, the executive order was a bold move that thrilled African Americans and outraged Southern whites. Truman held to a strong plank for civil rights in the Democratic platform that resulted in a walkout by Southern Democrats who formed the States Rights Democratic Party. The "Dixiecrats" nominated South Carolina’s Strom Thurmond as their presidential candidate. Despite the party split, Truman’s bold endorsement of civil rights enabled the president to attain the votes of African Americans in northern cities in several key electoral states, which contributed to his dramatic victory over Republican Thomas Dewey in 1948.
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room,...
Native Americans hold a significant place in White House history. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples, including the Nacotchtank and...
For more than two centuries, the White House has been the home of American presidents. A powerful symbol of the...
Although the presidency is an often all-consuming job, many presidents have found solace in their various hobbies and pastimes. When...
For more than a century, thousands of Americans have gathered in Lafayette Park across from the White House to exercise...
White House and American baseball history have been intertwined for more than a century, creating a legacy of presidential fans,...
In 1816, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr. and his wife Susan moved to the nascent capital city of Washington, D.C. With...
While there has yet to be a female president, women have played an integral role in shaping the White House...
The White House Historical Association and the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project present this collaboration in an effort to open a...
No sport is more closely tied to the American presidency than baseball. One of Washington’s first baseball fields was lo...
First Lady Lou Hoover's invitation to Jessie L. DePriest to a White House tea party in 1929 created a storm of...
Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament....