The "Sunshine Special"
During Franklin Roosevelt’s twelve years as president, cars were a source of transportation, visibility, protection, and even amusement. When he...
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Lina Mann
Lina Mann first joined the White House Historical Association in 2017 as American University’s Public History fellow and came onboard as a historian in March 2020. She is interested in many different aspects of White House history, including her latest research on the enslaved individuals that built, lived, and worked in the White House. Lina received her bachelor’s degree in History with minors in Anthropology, Environmental Studies, and Museum Studies from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2016 and earned her master’s degree in Public History from American University in 2019.
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A Secret Visit
"I wanted to let future generations know the man for what he was, a metaphor of America at a crossroads,...
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Diversity in White House Art: Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi was one of the most innovative and prolific sculptors of the twentieth century. He was born on November 17, 1904...
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A Pool for the President
Gerald Ford was an avid swimmer, swimming twice a day in his backyard pool in Alexandria, Virginia. When President Ford...
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Before the White House
On May 14, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford announced that construction of a new outdoor swimming pool on the White House South...
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From Slavery to the White House: The Extraordinary Life of Elizabeth Keckly
In 1868, Elizabeth (Lizzy) Hobbs Keckly (also spelled Keckley) published her memoir Behind the Scenes or Thirty Years a Slave, and...
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The Enslaved Household of President Thomas Jefferson
These powerful words open the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, the document by which the Second Continental Congress announced...
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The Election of 1876
The morning of Monday, March 5, 1877 was cold and overcast as Americans anticipated the Inauguration of Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes...
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Alice Roosevelt Longworth: Presidential Daughter and American Celebrity
Alice Lee Roosevelt’s life changed forever on September 14, 1901, when President William McKinley succumbed to his wounds eight days after be...
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The Enslaved Households of President James K. Polk
Like many other slave owning presidents, James K. Polk maintained a different public position on slavery during his presidency (1845-1849)...
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The Origins of the March 4 Inauguration
Today, Inauguration Day falls on an exact day and time—January 20 at noon. Every four years, either the president or th...
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Building the White House
When First Lady Michelle Obama delivered this powerful statement during a speech before the Democratic National Convention on July 25, 2016, she...