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This collection of 157 images includes portraits of all 41 presidents of the United States. It also includes portraits of 37 of the first ladies. There are both formal portraits and popular images of the presidents either performing duties or in less formal settings. Students can find more information about presidents by reviewing the Feature Presentation: Presidents in American Memory.
1) ElectionsThe collection provides a glimpse of the election procedure for the office of president. Most of the images are official portraits taken after presidential inaugurations. However, there are images of Millard Fillmore, James Buchanan, and William Henry Harrison while they were still candidates for office. (Fillmore had served as president earlier and was running again.)
2) InaugurationsThere are representations of inaugurations in the collection. Two of the inaugurations pictured (of Andrew Jackson in 1829 and of William McKinley in 1897) are in the capitol city of Washington, D.C. There is also a portrait of Woodrow Wilson and his second wife, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, riding to the inauguration.
3) Assassinationsa) Sadly, four United States presidents have been assassinated -- Abraham Lincoln in 1865, James A. Garfield in 1881, William McKinley in 1901, and John F. Kennedy in 1963. There are images relating to the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley in the collection. Students might use these images as springboards to find out the circumstances of each assassination including; the location of the tragic event, presumed causes, effects of the assassination, and presidential successors. Search on assassination for images dealing with assassinations. Students will find this quote from a reward poster distributed after the murder of President Abraham Lincoln:
LIBERAL REWARD will be paid for any information that shall conduce to the arrest of either of the above-named criminals or their accomplices. All persons harboring or secreting the said persons, or either of them, or aiding or assisting their concealment or escape will be treated as accomplices in the murder of the President and the attempted assassination of the Secretary of State, and shall be subject to trial before a Military Commission and the punishment of DEATH. Let the stain of innocent blood be removed from the land by the arrest and punishment of the murderers. All good citizens are exhorted to aid public justice on this occasion. Every man should consider his own conscience charged with this solemn duty, and rest neither night nor day until it be accomplished. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. b) By viewing the following image, students will find that President William McKinley was assassinated at the 1901 Pan American Exposition (held in Buffalo, New York). With further research, they will discover that the day before McKinley was shot, he delivered an important speech modifying his high-tariff policy. At a reception the next day, the assassin pretended to extend his hand in congratulations, but instead shot the president twice. Discuss the precautions that are designed to prevent assassinations today.
4) National and International EventsThe collection shows a number of national and international events, such as battles, that contributed to the appeal of certain presidential candidates.
4) Declarations and ProclamationsThe collection shows several declarations and proclamations that mark key events in our nation's history, such as declaring independence, proclaiming freedom for slaves, and declaring war.
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Students can find more information about presidents by reviewing the Feature Presentation: Presidents in American Memory.
1) Chronological Thinkinga) By using the Special Presentation: Time Line of Presidents and First Ladies, students can review a list of all the presidents and their terms in office. They will also be able to view a listing of all the first ladies. (The time line notes which first ladies are pictured in the collection.) Students might choose images from the collection to illustrate a time line of presidents and first ladies from a particular period. Students can use other sources to identify historic and personal events during presidential terms.
2) Historical Comprehensiona) There are images of presidential inaugurations in the collection. Most inaugurations take place in Washington, DC, on very festive occasions. A few have taken place in much sadder situations upon the death of a president. In the Feature Presentation: Inaugurations in American Memory, students will find supporting information about inaugurations as documented throughout American Memory collections. Students can use this collection, the feature presentation, and other sources to report on inaugurations. Students might research the text of the oath of office and how it is administered to the president. b) Students can study moments and people our country considers important by viewing images of presidents signing important documents and participating in events commemorated by the nation.
3) Historical Analysis and InterpretationUsing this collection, students can study the intended message in several of the images. Ask students to imagine that they are public relations agents for the president in each portrait below and answer these questions. What message is conveyed by the picture? Was the message deliberate? Does the message reflect well on those pictured?
4) Historical Research CapabilitiesThere are many possibilities for research in this collection, since it encompasses the history of the United States from the first president through the present. Students might choose a president, research significant events during his administration, then report on how much influence the president had on the events. Some interesting possibilities would include the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, or wars during presidential terms. Another topic might be the role of first ladies, particularly Dolley Madison, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
5) Historical Issue Analysis and Decision Makinga) Some men became president in part because war made them popular candidates. Students might use the collection as a springboard for research on the role of war in the election of Presidents. Students can consider how election of the following presidents was affected by war:
b) Other presidents are well-remembered because they served during the crisis of a war. Students might find out how the Civil War assured a place in history for Abraham Lincoln and how World War II assured a place for Franklin D. Roosevelt. c) The Great Depression (beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and ending in 1942) was a crisis that marked Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt. Hoover was remembered because he was president when the depression began, and Roosevelt because he was president during the battle against it. Students might analyze whether the men themselves had major responsibility for either beginning or ending the depression. Search on Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt for these portraits.
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1) News Writing: Society Page ReportGrover Cleveland was the only president to be married in the White House. Ask students to find out about this event and to write a newspaper account from the point of view of a society news reporter of the time.
2) Journal: A Child's View of the White HouseSuggest that students find out about one of the children who lived in the White House and write a journal account from the child's point of view. They might choose Thomas "Tad" Lincoln, one of Theodore and Edith Roosevelt's children, or Amy Carter.
3) Dramatic DialogueHave students choose one of the images showing a president with another person and write a conversation the two might be having. They might use images of Abraham Lincoln with Sojourner Truth, the assassin approaching President McKinley, or Woodrow Wilson and Edith Galt Wilson on their way to his second inauguration.
4) Interview: A First Lady's ViewInvite pairs of students to pick one of the first ladies to research. Remind students to find details in their research that give a clear picture of the period. If they choose a first lady from earlier U.S. history, students might read some literature of the time to learn about the role of women in politics of the day. Students might investigate visitors to the White House, names of first family children and pets, and political or social causes adopted by the first lady. Have students write and role play interview questions and answers with the first lady. One student can be the First Lady and another can interview her. Search on Martha Washington and Hillary Rodham Clinton for these portraits.
5) Literary Theme: LeadershipThe collection lends itself to the literary theme of leadership. Students might consider this quote from the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare: "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." Ask students to consider which presidents exemplify each part of this statement.
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| Last updated 01/07/2003 |
