Skip to Main Content

Diplomacy and the White House

This LibGuide features primary and secondary sources related to Diplomacy and the White House, intended to assist teachers creating classroom materials as well as other professionals researching White House history.

Using LibGuides from the White House Historical Association

Welcome to the White House Historical Association's LibGuide focused on Diplomacy at the White House. 

The White House Historical Association was founded in 1961 by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. We are a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit with a mission to protect, preserve, and provide public access to the "People's House"--the White House. This includes providing educational and historical resources to K-12 teachers and students and their learning communities across the nation and the world. 

This LibGuide features primary and secondary sources related to this topic, intended to assist teachers creating classroom materials as well as other professionals researching White House history. Sources in this LibGuide are supported by WHHA's Digital Library and other repositories such as the Library of Congress, other presidential libraries, and the National Archives. 

About This Guide

Many guests have traveled to the White House to meet and dine with the president. Some of these visitors were leaders of foreign countries who came to manage international relations. These encounters at the "People's House", combined with different presidents' agendas and goals, have helped shape the international position of the United States over the centuries. From the young nation with its first allies, to gifts of friendship and State Dinners, the Executive Mansion continues to play a role in managing international ties around the world. Through this LibGuide, you can explore various moments in United States history when the White House was a site for diplomacy.

  • Primary sources include photographs, documents (such as State Dinner menus and programs), illustrations, objects, and archival video footage - spanning from the mid 19th century to the early 21st century.
  • Secondary sources include expert and historian written articles, short learning videos, and more. 

Through the materials gathered in this guide, the Association's Education and Digital Library teams have brought a multitude of materials into one convenient location to help teachers and other professionals with their planning and research. This collection further serves to highlight the complex roles that the White House must fill as an office for the president - the nation's chief diplomat - as well as a stage for international diplomacy - from the debate table to the dessert table and everything in between.