Presidential Sites Summit

In partnership with iCivics, we created a new educational game that allows students to interview characters from history to understand challenges, engage with people from different perspectives, and make evidence-based decisions during three different presidencies. In Brief the Chief, students engage their historical thinking skills to learn more about impactful moments across the Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Lyndon B. Johnson presidencies. Some historic characters in the game include Haitian leader Jean Jacques Dessalines, Former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, First Lady Mary Lincoln’s dressmaker Elizabeth Keckly, civil rights leader Amelia Boynton, and the Johnsons’ personal cook Zephyr Wright. Brief the Chief continues a growing partnership between iCivics and the Association. In 2023, iCivics and the Association released a Spanish-language version of Executive Command, one of iCivics’ most popular games that teaches students how the Executive Branch functions. Both games are available online and for mobile devices for free. Play Brief the Chief at https://lnkd.in/eeKzyW66

From the hearty Madeira to the fine Château Margaux, wine has a long and important history for presidents’ palates and life in the White House. Even during times of Temperance and Prohibition, as well as the temporary hold on social events during Covid, the serving of wine and its use as a tool of protocol and persuasion managed to persevere. In this episode of the White House 1600 Sessions, Stewart D. McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, interviews Frederick J. Ryan about the new edition of his book published with the Association, “Wine and the White House: A History.” Sitting in the wine cellar at The Jefferson, a hotel located just blocks from the White House, Stewart and Fred talk about the unique role wine plays in presidential entertaining and social diplomacy. This episode showcases the features of the new edition which has chapters on all the presidents from Washington to Biden, explores several of the favorite vintages served at the White House, highlights the art of giving a toast, and pages of menus from historic White House gatherings.  https://lnkd.in/gQsVCGMD

Last night we kicked off our four-day Presidential Sites Summit with an event at the Library of Congress. The summit convenes leaders from presidential libraries, historic sites, birthplaces, childhood homes, museums, and more for panels at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., to discuss civic engagement, inclusive history, interpretation, and other topics related to presidential history. We look forward to hosting presidential site leaders and representatives this week as we explore innovative ideas and discuss experiences from presidential sites across the country.

At the White House Historical Association, one of our core missions is to educate. As students head back to school, we believe it is important, now more than ever, to learn about our shared history. From John Adams to Lyndon Johnson, teaching has had a profound impact on our nation's presidents. Lyndon Johnson’s youthful experience teaching at a tiny school near the U.S.-Mexico border inspired his efforts as president to educate young and disadvantaged school children. “As a son of a tenant farmer, I know that education is the only valid passport from poverty,” Johnson remarked at an education bill signing ceremony.Kate Deadrich Loney, who taught Johnson in a one-room schoolhouse, came to the signing. Learn more about the importance of teaching and understanding American history in this week’s USA TODAY Opinion column by White House Historical Association President Stewart D. McLaurin. https://lnkd.in/gqp78ufc Image: Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum/NARA

We are less than two months away from the 2023 Presidential Sites Summit in Washington, DC, and have a message from the White House Historical Association President, Stewart D. McLaurin, announcing the exciting speaker lineup for the opening event at the Library of Congress on September 25. https://lnkd.in/gVRZj9bf The Presidential Sites Summit will take place September 25 – 28, 2023. If you have not signed up, click here to register today: https://lnkd.in/eWVvcMAv See you in Washington!