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The American Presidency: White House
Documents
The exhibition, The American Presidency: White House Documents,
provides a compact glimpse at 200 years of Presidential documents,
correspondence and memorabilia beginning with a government
patent grant for an innovation in the cutting and finishing
of stone signed by George Washington in 1796;
and concluding with a letter of birthday greetings from Bill
Clinton to television newsman Dan Rather. In
1805, Thomas Jefferson discusses zoological
matters, referring to information he hopes to glean from Meriwether
Lewis upon his return from exploring the continent west of
the Mississippi with William Clark. Abraham Lincoln
writes to his Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, concerning
a gentleman from Arkansas who wishes to raise a regiment of
soldiers and the importance of such a regiment. The letter
is dated April 13, 1865. That evening, the President, accompanied
by his wife, would attend a production of Our
American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre. From among
the more obscure Commanders-in-Chief, there is a Presidential
authorization for the pardon of one Elijah Rhea, signed by
William Henry Harrison six days after
his inauguration. These documents are extremely scarce due
to the fact that the unfortunate Harrison caught pneumonia,
during his inauguration, and died after only one month in
office.
The exhibition also features campaign memorabilia from the
Theodore Roosevelt Collection and
printed Inaugural Addresses from all four of Franklin
D. Roosevelt’s presidential terms. A letter
from Lyndon Johnson to Speaker of
the House John W. McCormack from November 1966 finds Johnson,
returning from a fact-finding tour of Asia, optimistically
assessing American prospects in Vietnam. A letter of resignation
from Richard M. Nixon addressed to
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, dated August 9, 1974,
is paired with a proclamation signed by Gerald
Ford granting the former President a “full,
free, and absolute pardon.”
The majority of the documents in this exhibition were selected
from two primary collections: the Paul C. Richards Historical
Manuscript Collection and the Edward C. Stone Collection.
Boston University alumnus (CLA’61) Paul C. Richards
was a manuscript dealer and collector. Edward C. Stone served
in the Massachusetts State Senate for many years as a dedicated
environmentalist and educator serving the Cape Cod and Plymouth
districts. He was also a passionate collector with a particular
interest in 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. His collection
of Americana includes materials related to the signers of
the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Presidents from
George Washington to Warren G. Harding.
Located on the first floor of Mugar Memorial
Library. The Exhibit can be viewed during regular library
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