Saturday, September 15, 2012

U.S. Presidency & Political Hospitality


The U.S. Presidency & Political Hospitality


US Presidency and Political Hospitality Exhibit


 1776 to 1976 

A new presidential exhibit is being assembled and will center on the grand tale of US political hospitality. The exhibit includes artifacts from the Presidents of the Continental Congress, the United States in Congress Assembled (Constitution of 1777) and United States (Constitution of 1787). Their wives, including Sarah Jay (Continental Congress First Lady) and later Lady Christina (United States in Congress Assembled First Lady) who incorporated “royal hospitality traditions” that greatly influenced the Constitution of 1787 First Ladies, will also be featured in this exhibit.

A primary focus of the exhibit will be dedicated to Mary Edith Wilroy's papers who retired to St. Petersburg, Florida in 1975. Mrs. Wilroy was the manager of the Blair House, the President's Guest House, for 15 years and entertained some 225 heads of state. Mary Edith Wilroy began her profession as Blair House Manager on March 2, 1961 only 40 days after John F. Kennedy took the Presidential oath of office. Mrs. Wilroy served her nation in this capacity for 15 years ending her career on July 19, 1975 shortly after hosting Walter Scheel, the President of West Germany.


US Presidency and Political Hospitality Exhibit


Mrs. Wilroy's entertaining of notable American citizens, foreign diplomats, and distant dignitaries was the end result of U.S. hospitality evolution that began under John Hancock who was the 1776 President of the Continental Congress of the United States of America. U.S. Hospitality reached new heights under Lady Christina, the noblewoman and wife of President Cyrus Griffin. President Griffin served as the tenth President of the United States under the Articles of Confederation in 1787 and 1788. Unbeknownst to many, Lady Christina laid the foundation for future First Ladies and Presidents for properly entertaining guests of the United States of America.

Upon retirement, Mrs. Wilroy wisely preserved her private papers that include voluminous correspondence, photos, announcements, and invitations on presidential hospitality from 1961 to 1976. The papers are currently housed at the Loyola University Honors Program and are subjects of academic study under the direction of  its Director,   Naomi Yavneh, Ph.D.




Naomi Yavneh, Ph.D. at the Blair House researching US Hospitality



The Congressional Evolution of the United States of America 

Continental Congress of the United Colonies Presidents 
Sept. 5, 1774 to July 1, 1776


September 5, 1774
October 22, 1774
October 22, 1774
October 26, 1774
May 20, 1775
May 24, 1775
May 25, 1775
July 1, 1776

Commander-in-Chief United Colonies & States of America

George Washington: June 15, 1775 - December 23, 1783



Continental Congress of the United States Presidents 
July 2, 1776 to February 28, 1781

July 2, 1776
October 29, 1777
November 1, 1777
December 9, 1778
December 10, 1778
September 28, 1779
September 29, 1779
February 28, 1781



Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled
March 1, 1781 to March 3, 1789

March 1, 1781
July 6, 1781
July 10, 1781
Declined Office
July 10, 1781
November 4, 1781
November 5, 1781
November 3, 1782
November 4, 1782
November 2, 1783
November 3, 1783
June 3, 1784
November 30, 1784
November 22, 1785
November 23, 1785
June 5, 1786
June 6, 1786
February 1, 1787
February 2, 1787
January 21, 1788
January 22, 1788
January 21, 1789


Presidents of the United States of America

D-Democratic Party, F-Federalist Party, I-Independent, R-Republican Party,
R* Republican Party of Jefferson & W-Whig Party 

George Washington (I)

Jefferson Davis (D) - CSA*

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)

(1789-1797)

1861-1865

(1933-1945)

John Adams (F)

Andrew Johnson (R)

Harry S. Truman (D)

(1797-1801)

(1865-1869)

(1945-1953)

Thomas Jefferson (R*)

Ulysses S. Grant (R)

Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)

(1801-1809)

(1869-1877)

(1953-1961)

James Madison (R*)

Rutherford B. Hayes R

John F. Kennedy (D)

(1809-1817)

 (1877-1881)

(1961-1963)

James Monroe (R*)

James A. Garfield (R)

Lyndon B. Johnson (D)

(1817-1825)

 (1881 - 1881)

(1963-1969)

John Quincy Adams (R*)

Chester Arthur (R)

Richard M. Nixon (R)

(1825-1829)

(1881-1885)

(1969-1974)

Andrew Jackson (D)

Grover Cleveland (D)

Gerald R. Ford (R)

(1829-1837)

(1885-1889)

(1973-1974)

Martin Van Buren (D)

Benjamin Harrison (R)

James E. Carter, Jr. (D)

(1837-1841)

(1889-1893)

(1977-1981)

William H. Harrison (W)

Grover Cleveland (D)

Ronald W. Reagan (R)

(1841-1841)

(1893-1897)

(1981-1989)

John Tyler (W)

William McKinley (R)

George H. W. Bush (R)

(1841-1845)

(1897-1901)

(1989-1993)

James K. Polk (D)

Theodore Roosevelt (R)

William J. Clinton (D)

(1845-1849)

(1901-1909)

(1993-2001)

Zachary Taylor (W)

William H. Taft (R)

George W. Bush (R)

(1849-1850)

(1909-1913)

(2001-2009)

Millard Fillmore (W)

Wilson Woodrow (D)

Barack H. Obama (D)

(1850-1853)

(1913-1921)

(2009-2017)

Franklin Pierce (D)

Warren G. Harding ®

Donald J. Trump (R)

(1853-1857)

(1921-1923)

(2017-2021)

James Buchanan (D)

Calvin Coolidge (R)

Joseph Biden (D)

(1857-1861)

(1923-1929)

2021-Present

Abraham Lincoln (R)

Herbert C. Hoover (R)

*Confederate States of America

(1861-1865)

(1929-1933)





Chart Comparing Presidential Powers Click Here

United Colonies and States First Ladies
1774-1788


United Colonies Continental Congress
President
18th Century Term
Age
09/05/74 – 10/22/74
29
Mary Williams Middleton (1741- 1761) Deceased
Henry Middleton
10/22–26/74
n/a
05/20/ 75 - 05/24/75
30
05/25/75 – 07/01/76
28
United States Continental Congress
President
Term
Age
07/02/76 – 10/29/77
29
Eleanor Ball Laurens (1731- 1770) Deceased
Henry Laurens
11/01/77 – 12/09/78
n/a
12/ 10/78 – 09/28/78
21
Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794)
09/29/79 – 02/28/81
41
United States in Congress Assembled
President
Term
Age
Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794)
03/01/81 – 07/06/81
42
07/10/81 – 11/04/81
25
Jane Contee Hanson (1726-1812)
11/05/81 - 11/03/82
55
11/03/82 - 11/02/83
46
11/03/83 - 11/02/84
36
11/20/84 - 11/19/85
46
11/23/85 – 06/06/86
38
Rebecca Call Gorham (1744-1812)
06/06/86 - 02/01/87
42
02/02/87 - 01/21/88
43
01/22/88 - 01/29/89
36

Constitution of 1787
First Ladies
President
Term
Age
April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797
57
March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801
52
Martha Wayles Jefferson Deceased
September 6, 1782  (Aged 33)
n/a
March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817
40
March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825
48
March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829
50
December 22, 1828 (aged 61)
n/a
February 5, 1819 (aged 35)
n/a
March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841
65
April 4, 1841 – September 10, 1842
50
June 26, 1844 – March 4, 1845
23
March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849
41
March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850
60
July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853
52
March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857
46
n/a
n/a
March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865
42
February 22, 1862 – May 10, 1865
April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869
54
March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877
43
March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881
45
March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881
48
January 12, 1880 (Aged 43)
n/a
June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889
21
March 4, 1889 – October 25, 1892
56
June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889
28
March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901
49
September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909
40
March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913
47
March 4, 1913 – August 6, 1914
52
December 18, 1915 – March 4, 1921
43
March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923
60
August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929
44
March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933
54
March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945
48
April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953
60
January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961
56
January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
31
November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969
50
January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974
56
August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977
56
January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981
49
January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
59
January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993
63
January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001
45
January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009
54




January 20, 2009 - January 20, 2017

January 20, 2017 - January 20, 2021

 January 20, 2021 - Present

45
     46
      
     47


Capitals of the United Colonies and States of America

Philadelphia
Sept. 5, 1774 to Oct. 24, 1774
Philadelphia
May 10, 1775 to Dec. 12, 1776
Baltimore
Dec. 20, 1776 to Feb. 27, 1777
Philadelphia
March 4, 1777 to Sept. 18, 1777
Lancaster
September 27, 1777
York
Sept. 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778
Philadelphia
July 2, 1778 to June 21, 1783
Princeton
June 30, 1783 to Nov. 4, 1783
Annapolis
Nov. 26, 1783 to Aug. 19, 1784
Trenton
Nov. 1, 1784 to Dec. 24, 1784
New York City
Jan. 11, 1785 to Nov. 13, 1788
New York City
October 6, 1788 to March 3,1789
New York City
March 3,1789 to August 12, 1790
Philadelphia
Dec. 6,1790 to May 14, 1800       
Washington DC
November 17,1800 to Present




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