Videos

Harry S. Truman Presidential Library archivist Tammy Williams talked about Harry and Bess Truman, and their life together from childhood in Independence, Missouri, to the White House. She…

Matthew Gilmore, who edits a Washington, D.C., history blog, talked about the complicated and controversial building of a memorial to President James Garfield on the U.S. Capitol grounds.…

Scott Kaufman talked about his book, Ambition, Pragmatism, and Party: A Political Biography of Gerald R. Ford. He discussed Mr. Ford’s life before and after his presidency, detailing how his…

Historians Douglas Brinkley, Patricia O’Toole, and Sean Wilentz talked about Woodrow Wilson, including the 28th president’s time at Princeton University, as well as his family, intellectual…

Nixon-era officials revisited the administration’s drug abuse initiatives in the early 1970s. They discussed treatment approaches, law enforcement strategies, and President Nixon’s famous…

Experts talked about the design history of the White House and what changes, if any, the future may hold. Panelists included architecture professors from the United Kingdom and Ireland as…

This program looked at the evolution of decorative arts and design in the White House, and its British roots. Speakers were Rufus Bird, who is the Surveyor of The Queen’s Works of Art for…

White House historian William Seale discussed the Scottish stonemasons who helped build the White House and the exterior carvings that are visible to this day. Mr. Seale is the author of A White…

Clifton Truman Daniel, President Harry Truman’s eldest grandson, returned to the White House neighborhood to deliver a historical talk about why President Truman found it necessary to move…

Two Dublin architects talked about the Irish-born James Hoban, who worked with George Washington to design the president’s house. They discussed Hoban’s architectural influences and how…

This program is the opening session of a day-long symposium focused on the history of British and Irish connections with the White House. The British and Irish ambassadors to the United…

Jill Abraham Hummer talked about her book, First Ladies and American Women: In Politics and at Home. She focused on the historical eras that produced individual first ladies and considered…

This program featured Dolley Madison’s political talents and the working partnership she forged with her husband, James, to create a sense of personal and political excitement during their White House…

Veterans of Richard Nixon’s White House gathered to talk about the president’s relationship with Congress. As he began his first term in 1969 he faced the opposition party in control of…

Historian Peter Lillback talked about his book, George Washington’s Sacred Fire. He argued that while many historians consider Washington to be a deist or only a nominal Christian, he was,…

Former First Lady Betty Ford is remembered on the centennial of her birth. Hillary Clinton joined Lynda Johnson Robb, the daughter of President Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson, to talk about Mrs.…

George Washington’s Mount Vernon hosted the annual Martha Washington Lecture, which highlights new thinking about her life and times. This year, the focus was on two 18th century women. Amherst College…

The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation marked the centennial of the 35th president’s birth with a discussion of his life, work and legacy.

Historian Jon Taylor discussed the political alliance between Harry Truman and Kansas City political kingpin Tom Pendergast in the early 1930s. Pendergast became a significant figure…

Historian Kate Masur discussed They Knew Lincoln, a book written by John Washington and first published in 1942. It tells the stories of African Americans who knew and worked for President…