Theodore Roosevelt rss

The First President Captured on Film: McKinley’s 1896 Campaign Song & Commercial

William McKinley is often seen as an important transitional President – at least to those interested in studying some of the real stories behind the headline version of history. It’s true he didn’t have the charisma or excitable speaking style of… Read More ›

Eleanor Roosevelt’s Mysteriously Missing Grandfather & was she part-Italian?

Despite her being born forty-five years before Jacqueline Kennedy, there is a similar pattern in the story of Eleanor Roosevelt‘s Irish immigrant heritage.  It illustrates less the shame of humble origin than how the power of incredible wealth can lead people… Read More ›

First Ladies & the State of the Union Address: Private Speech Editors and Public Policy Symbols

Tomorrow’s State of the Union Address, delivered by President Barack Obama on Capitol Hill,  may seem like it has always been a part of American life, but in fact it is one custom of the American Presidencybegun by George Washington… Read More ›