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Educational Resource

Native Americans and the White House: 1924 to Present

From President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Indian Reorganization Act in 1934 to the codification of termination policy in the 1950s to President Nixon’s era of self-determination, major shifts in federal Indian policy took shape throughout the 1900s. Although Indigenous peoples are often portrayed as people of the past, by protesting, having important conversations, and holding positions of power in the Whit

Educational Resource

Native Americans and the White House: Prehistory to 1924

For thousands of years before construction of the White House began in 1792, Native Americans, including the Nacotchtank (also referred to as the Anacostan) and Piscataway people, lived in the region that is now Washington, D.C. As the United States expanded westward throughout the 1800s, thousands of Native Americans were forced from their ancestral lands. Presidents played a significant role

Scholarship

The Carters at Camp David

When considering Jimmy Carter’s presidential legacy, many historians, scholars, and foreign policy experts often cite the Camp David Accords. President Carter used Camp David as a backdrop during thirteen days of negotiation between Israeli and Egyptian leaders, before signing the accords at the White House on September 17, 1978. Although Camp David played a critical role in one of Carter’s majo

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Passover Celebrations in the White House

On December 9, 1805, President Thomas Jefferson hosted what is believed to be the first ifṭār dinner, breaking the Muslim fast of Ramadan precisely at sunset.1 President Jefferson’s guest of honor, Sultan Soliman Melimeli, was the Tunisian envoy to the United States, whose official visit had begun ten days earlier with the intent of improving the fate of American merchant vesse

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Music at Jimmy Carter’s White House

“Country music is part of the soul and conscience of our democracy. It unfolds the inherent goodness of our people and our way of life. It captures our indomitable spirit and pulsates with the sorrows, joys, and unfailing perseverance of ordinary men and women who sustain our national vitality and strength.”1 – Jimmy Carter at the Country Music Association Concert at the Wh