Erudite and entertaining, Life in the White House looks at the social history of the first family, the creation of the president's home, and efforts by first families to carve out a space for the important business of family, while preserving the history of their famous residence. This public museum and private residence, which began as the result of a $500 Jefferson-era architectural design contest, now symbolizes one of the world's great superpowers.

Interdisciplinary essays on the White House and the lives of first families.

This unique perspective on the White House, one of the most readily identifiable structures in the world, brings together the views of librarians, journalists, political advisers, attorneys, researchers, and professors. Filled with anecdotes, little-known facts, and scholarly analysis, the book shows how "The People's House" has been shaped and molded both architecturally and philosophically by the different administrations over the past 200 years.

Erudite and entertaining, Life in the White House looks at the social history of the first family, the creation of the president's home, and efforts by first families to carve out a space for the important business of family, while preserving the history of their famous residence. This public museum and private residence, which began as the result of a $500 Jefferson-era architectural design contest, now symbolizes one of the world's great superpowers.

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Tables
Preface


Part I. Introduction: The "First Home"


Overview: Welcome to the White House


1. At Home with the First Families
Robert P. Watson


2. Political Architecture: The Building of the President's House
Russell L. Mahan


3. Rooms of Their Own: First Ladies and Their Impact on Historic White House Rooms
Elizabeth Lorelei Thacker-Estrada


Part II. Private Lives in a Public Home: Media Coverage of First Families


Overview: On Stage in a Public Home


4. The Media in Their Midst
Carol Lynn Bower


5. The Carter White House: The Public and Semiprivate Lives of the First Family
Virginia A. Chanley


6. A Tale of Two Brothers: Billy Carter, Roger Clinton, and the Media
Christopher S. Kelley


7. First Sons versus First Daughters: A Gender Bias in News Media Coverage?
Lori Cox Han


Part III. Profiles of First Families in the White House


Overview: Calling the White House "Home"


8. "A Hell on Earth": The Pierce Marriage During the White House Years, 1853-1857
Michael J. C. Taylor


9. TR's White House: The Biggest First Family
Tom Lansford

10. The Scandalous Hardings
James S. McCallops


Part IV. Preserving the President's House


Overview: A Mansion with a History


11. Renovating the White House: A Brief History
Robert E. Dewhirst


12. Preserving the President's House: The Office of the White House Curator
Michael E. Long


13. Edith Roosevelt and the 1902 White House Renovation
Tom Lansford


14. The Truman Renovations of the White House: The House That Harry (Re)Built
Raymond Frey


Appendixes


1. White House Floor Plan
2. First Families, 1789-2002



Bibliography


Contributors


Index
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<p><b>Interdisciplinary essays on the White House and the lives of first families.</b></p>

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780791460979
Publisert
2004-05-10
Utgiver
State University of New York Press; State University of New York Press
Vekt
590 gr
Høyde
229 mm
Bredde
152 mm
Aldersnivå
G, P, U, 01, 06, 05
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
346

Redaktør

Om bidragsyterne

Robert P. Watson is Associate Professor of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University. He has published several books, including the coedited volume (with Colton C. Campbell) Campaigns and Elections: Issues, Concepts, Cases.