Exploring the American Presidency through 50 Historic Treasures

Kimberly A. Kenney

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN: 9781538156643
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Museum Administration
• Index: History

No person in the world is more recognizable than an American president. These men are larger than life, and as the leader of the free world they have the opportunity to shape history in ways that most of us cannot imagine. Some objects, such as the Resolute desk, Air Force One, or the presidential seal, are symbolic of the position itself, but each president has at least one artifact that largely defines his life and his presidency. For example, George Washington's ill-fitting dentures plagued him for most of his life, affecting the very image of his face that we have all come to recognize. Millions of Americans were comforted by Franklin D. Roosevelt's "fireside chats" as he spoke into a radio microphone during the Great Depression and World War II. John F. Kennedy memorialized a coconut husk, with a message he wrote after his PT boat was destroyed in the Pacific Ocean, into a paperweight he kept on his desk in the Oval Office. Bill Clinton appeared on late night television playing the saxophone to appeal to younger voters.

Exploring the American Presidency through 50 Historic Treasures brings together significant artifacts from the lives of the men who have led our nation through times of great prosperity and terrible tragedy. When we look at our presidents through the lens of the material culture they left behind, it humanizes them and creates relevance to our own lives. This book features full-color images of 50 artifacts that were chosen by the very people who work at presidential sites and historical museums, stewarding the legacies of our presidents.

Table of contents

• Acknowledgments
• Timeline of Objects
• Introduction
• 1 George Washington, 1789–1797: Dentures
• 2 John Adams, 1797–1801: Law Desk
• 3 Thomas Jefferson, 1801–1809: Great Clock at Monticello
• 4 James Madison, 1809–1817: Walking Stick
• 5 James Monroe, 1817–1825: Desk
• 6 John Quincy Adams, 1825–1829: Personal Library
• 7 Andrew Jackson, 1829–1837: Decapitated Figurehead
• 8 Martin Van Buren, 1837–1841: Desk
• 9 William Henry Harrison, 1841: Flag Remnant
• 10 John Tyler, 1841–1845: Piano
• 11 James K. Polk, 1845–1849: Table
• 12 Zachary Taylor, 1849–1850: Chair
• 13 Millard Fillmore, 1850–1853: Engraving of Debate
• 14 Franklin Pierce, 1853–1857: Kansas-Nebraska Act
• 15 James Buchanan, 1857–1861: Law Books
• 16 Abraham Lincoln, 1861–1865: Chair from Ford’s Theatre
• 17 Andrew Johnson, 1865–1869: Impeachment Note
• 18 Ulysses S. Grant, 1869–1877: Inkwell
• 19 Rutherford B. Hayes, 1877–1881: Morgan Silver Dollar
• 20 James A. Garfield, 1881: Inaugural Address
• 21 Chester Arthur, 1881–1885: Tiffany Screen
• 22 Grover Cleveland, 1885–1889 and 1893–1897: Naval Review Ribbon
• 23 Benjamin Harrison, 1889–1893: Judge Cartoon
• 24 William McKinley, 1897–1901: McKinley National Memorial Collection Bank
• 25 Theodore Roosevelt, 1901–1909: Page from Speech
• 26 William Howard Taft, 1909–1913: Bible
• 27 Woodrow Wilson, 1913–1921: 1919 Pierce-Arrow
• 28 Warren G. Harding, 1921–1923: Skeleton Key
• 29 Calvin Coolidge, 1923–1929: Painting of Inauguration
• 30 Herbert Hoover, 1929–1933: Humidor
• 31 Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933–1945: Fireside Chat Microphone
• 32 Harry S. Truman, 1945–1953: “The Buck Stops Here” Desk Sign
• 33 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953–1961: Globe
• 34 John F. Kennedy, 1961–1963: PT 109 Coconut Husk Paperweight
• 35 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963–1969: Desk Blotter
• 36 Richard Nixon, 1969–1974: Easy Chair
• 37 Gerald Ford, 1974–1977: Statuette of Elephant and Donkey
• 38 Jimmy Carter, 1977–1981: Hungarian Crown
• 39 Ronald Reagan, 1981–1989: Piece of the Berlin Wall
• 40 George H. W. Bush, 1989–1993: Letter to Family
• 41 Bill Clinton, 1993–2001: Saxophone
• 42 George W. Bush, 2001–2009: Bullhorn
• 43 Barack Obama, 2009–2017: Pen Used to Sign the Affordable Care Act
• 44 Donald Trump, 2017–2021: MAGA Hat
• 45 Joe Biden, 2021–: COVID Vaccine Vial
• 46 Resolute Desk
• 47 Presidential Seal
• 48 Official White House Portraits
• 49 Senate Ballot Box
• 50 Air Force One
• Notes
• About the Author