President of the United States

VII

The Life of the President

A president’s life is unlike anything experienced by any other American. Even before radio and television made a president’s every move the object of media attention, presidents have always been under close public scrutiny. They have faced fierce partisan attacks by opposing politicians and journalists exercising the American traditions of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Thomas Jefferson may have best caught what it means to be president when he described the office as “a splendid misery.”

A

Life in the White House

The White House is the president’s office, but it is also the president’s home. Presidents live in the White House with their spouse and children and entertain guests there, formally and informally. John and Abigail Adams became the first residents of the presidential mansion in 1800. The building had no furniture, and the lack of stairways or firewood made life even more uncomfortable. Although the residence became a more congenial place to live during the next 14 years, it wasn’t until 1817 that the mansion took on its modern form, after repairs following fires set by the British in the War of 1812 (1812-1815). The white paint used to hide the marks of these fires fixed the name of the structure in the popular mind as the White House.

Over the years, the White House has been filled with children and relatives of the first family (the president’s family). Lavish weddings, refurbishing projects, and official ceremonies keep the White House in the minds of Americans. The daughter of James Monroe, the country’s fifth president, was married at the White House in 1820, the first presidential child to be married in the mansion. The Monroes also redecorated the White House with elegant French furniture, setting a standard for all future presidents and their spouses to emulate. In 1886 Grover Cleveland wedded Frances Folsom, the first marriage of a president in the White House. During the terms of Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and John F. Kennedy, the White House was substantially renovated, but always with an eye to preserving its history. In the early 1960s Jacqueline Kennedy, the wife of John F. Kennedy, restored the mansion to its early 19th-century elegance. When the work was completed in 1962, 46 million Americans tuned in to watch her conduct a televised tour of the remodeled White House.

B

First Family

Most presidents have tried to shield their families from the barrage of public curiosity that diminishes their privacy, but with limited success. Many presidents, realizing how important their symbolic role is, tried to convert public interest in the first family’s private life into a political asset.

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Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president, and First Lady Julia Dent Grant opened their lives to the new national magazines. The Grant children, particularly 14-year-old daughter Ellen, popularly known as Nellie, commanded popular attention. Nellie’s marriage at the mansion in 1874 was the social event of the season. Edith Carow Roosevelt, wife of President Theodore Roosevelt, institutionalized the role of the first lady and the first family. She hired her own specialized staff, which put out regular news releases on the first family’s dinner parties, family meals, children’s activities, and familial closeness. Franklin Roosevelt also gained appreciably from the activities of Eleanor Roosevelt, whose compassion for the disadvantaged in the midst of the economic hard times of the Great Depression made her one of the most influential first ladies in the country’s history. No first family in modern times received more public attention than the Kennedys. Jacqueline Kennedy’s elegance as a hostess and John Kennedy’s handsome appearance and attractive style almost made the Kennedys, including their two children, Caroline and John, Jr., into a royal family. After her husband’s assassination in 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy consciously contributed to the image of royalty through an interview with the journalist Theodore White, who described the Kennedy household and administration as “Camelot.”

C

Security and the Secret Service

The Secret Service protects the president, vice president, and their families. Dozens of uniformed Secret Service officers and plainclothes special agents guard the president and the president’s family at the White House. In addition, a large contingent of special agents organize security when the president travels. Other Secret Service agents monitor the president’s mail and investigate threats to the president’s life.

Presidents did not have Secret Service protection until the 20th century. The need for professional bodyguards for the president was demonstrated by the ease with which assassins were able to kill Abraham Lincoln in 1865, James A. Garfield in 1881, and William McKinley in 1901. But even with a Secret Service devoted to guarding presidents, assassins were able to stage attacks on Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. In 1968 Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was killed by an assassin. George Wallace, a Democratic presidential candidate in 1972, suffered an attack that left him paralyzed. The only 20th-century president to be killed by an assassin was John F. Kennedy, which suggests that the Secret Service is an effective force. Nevertheless, the challenge of assuring a president’s safety is as great as ever, especially in an era when presidents travel so widely and are exposed to great numbers of people on an almost daily basis.

VIII

History of Presidential Leadership

More than three dozen presidents have led the United States, but most historians rate only a few as especially noteworthy. Most of the country’s notable presidents earned their place in history by leading the country through major crises or wars. Others are best known for the scandals that clouded their administrations. A few, such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt, stand as legends in American history because of their pivotal roles in shaping the country’s political foundations.

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