Sunday 7 December 2008Journey back to the schooldays of the Presidents

Published by the Foundation for the National Archives, Washington, D.C. in association with London-based fine art publisher D Giles Limited, School House to White House: The Education of the Presidents features fascinating and rarely seen images.

This highly-illustrated volume is based on an exhibit developed collaboratively between the Presidential Libraries and the Center for the National Archives Experience, and examines the common experience of uncommon men, focusing on the formative years of Presidents Herbert Hoover through George W. Bush. Although fewer than 45 Americans have reached the highest office in the United States—the Presidency, each of these exceptional men have shared in the common heritage of an American education—coping with their studies, participating in extracurricular activities and sports, making friends, and developing ideas. Accompanying a major exhibition that debuted at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., the extended tour to Presidential Libraries across the country includes the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library (February 2008); the Jimmy Carter Library (September 2008); the Harry S. Truman Library (February 2009) and the William J. Clinton Library (October 2009).

“We’re used to seeing these presidents as grown men and reading about them in history books, but now we can get to know them as boys,” says exhibit coordinator Jen Nichols. This book offers a rare glimpse into the Presidents’ pasts; an opportunity to “satisfy a curiosity to see Harry S. Truman’s middle school essay on courage, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 5th grade class picture, or Gerald R. Ford’s University of Michigan letter sweater” (Education Week). It is divided into eight sections covering grade school, high school, college and much more. School memoirs include Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Groton School report card and a letter he wrote home in 1896 after his first month there; John F Kennedy’s kindergarten records from Edward Devotion School, which document that he attended only 23 days of an 88 day term and a photograph of Dwight Eisenhower from his fifth grade class in Abilene, Kansas in 1900. Some notable images include a portrait of Richard Nixon at 15 with his violin; a copy of Nixon’s autobiography written in 1925 after the death of his brother Arthur; a photograph of Ronald Reagan on his Eureka College swimming team; and a photograph of Gerald Ford on the football field as center for the University of Michigan where he was approached by two NFL teams to play professionally.

Some of the presidents were inspired by a particular teacher and fondly recalled the teacher’s influence. In the first page of his inaugural speech, illustrated in this book, Jimmy Carter quoted his high school teacher Miss Julia Coleman because she was a major influence on his life. Groton Headmaster Endicott Peabody was a role model for Franklin D. Roosevelt and continued to send him birthday cards every year. An example from 1940 is included in this volume. In contrast, there is a photograph of John F. Kennedy at Choate as a member of the “Muckers, (a term used by the Headmaster to describe the boys who did not live up to Choate standards).

More than 150 various images are included in this engaging book. Preserved by the National Archives twelve Presidential Libraries, these items shed a fascinating light on the formative years of these leaders, and are a powerful record of their scholarly and sporting achievements. “These extraordinary men have been through some of the same—or similar—experiences as most people go through. You may have more in common with them than you think,” says Jen Nichols.

The Authors:
Book based on 2007 exhibition developed collaboratively by the archival and museum staff of the Presidential Library System and the Center for the National Archives Experience. Original exhibit text by Sharon Barry. With a Foreword by Allen Weinstein, Ninth Archivist of the United States.

SCHOOL HOUSE TO WHITE HOUSE
The Education of the Presidents

96 pages, 7” x 10” (254 x 178mm), portrait
130 colour and 12 black-and-white illustrations, hardback
Text: Up to 20,000 words
ISBN: 978 1 904832 43 0 (13 digit)
ISBN: 1 904832 43 1 (10 digit)

Price: US$29.95/UK£14.99
Publication date: September, 2007
Publisher: D. Giles Limited, London

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About the Presidential Library System

The Presidential Library system is made up of 12 Presidential Libraries. This nationwide network of libraries is administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), located in College Park, Maryland. These are not traditional libraries, but rather repositories for preserving and making available the papers, records, and other historical materials of U.S. Presidents since Herbert Hoover. Each Presidential Library contains a museum and provides an active series of education and public programs. The Presidential Library system formally began in 1939, when President Franklin Roosevelt donated his personal and Presidential papers to the Federal Government. At the same time, Roosevelt pledged part of his estate at Hyde Park to the United States, and friends of the President formed a nonprofit corporation to raise funds for the construction of the library and museum building. Roosevelt’s decision stemmed from a firm belief that Presidential papers are an important part of the national heritage and should be accessible to the public. He asked the National Archives to take custody of his papers and other historical materials and to administer his library.