Collection 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...
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In the day-to-day life of the White House, interactions between the first family and the residence staff have varied widely. Theodore Roosevelt’s children counted on valet James Amos to umpire their baseball games. Lynda and Luci Johnson baked cookies in the White House kitchen. Mamie Eisenhower invited workers and their children to the Eisenhower farm in Pennsylvania; and many presidents and first ladies have hosted holiday parties for staff families. Whereas the Hoovers preferred that workers not use the elevator, Franklin Delano Roosevelt invited Lillian Rogers Parks, also a polio victim, to ride with him in the lift.
Staff memoirs are rich in detail about the atmosphere of the White House as a home and a workplace. Memoirs themselves symbolize relationships between their authors and the First Family. Dressmaker Elizabeth Keckly became the confidante of Mary Lincoln, who broke off the friendship when she discovered her letters included in Keckly’s 1868 reminiscences. Yet Eleanor Roosevelt actively urged Maggie Rogers to publish her White House memories; Harry Truman did the same for maître d’ Alonzo Fields. Conversely, Jacqueline Kennedy requested that staff refrain from publishing books about their White House years.
Over the years, workers have preserved written accounts, as well as photographs, invitations, notes of encouragement and appreciation, gifts, and mementos from presidents and first ladies. These documents and artifacts reflect the affinity between employer and employee.
On January 20, 1969, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. During his time in the White...
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the nation’s only unelected president and vice president, served thirteen terms in Congress before rising to...
From First Lady Dolley Madison's sister Lucy Payne Washington's wedding in 1812 to the nuptials of President Joseph Biden and First...
For more than one hundred years, White House Social Secretaries have demonstrated a profound knowledge of protocol and society in...
For more than two centuries, the White House has been the home of American presidents. A powerful symbol of the...
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the only army general elected president in the twentieth century. His achievements were many — he was an...
What was it like to grow up in a home where some of the most important political decisions are being...
At age 43, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the youngest person ever elected to the presidency. Before his vibrant presidency was cut...
On November 22, 1963, about two hours after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson took the...
The White House Historical Association and the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project present this collaboration in an effort to open a...
Biographies & Portraits
Presidents have found different ways to escape the pressures and politics of the position. For early leaders, it was a...