The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden

This lavishly illustrated volume recounts the evolution of the presidency, from the age of George Washington until today. Drawing from the vast collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, it provides a revealing glimpse of the culture, particularly the material culture, of the presidency.Using objects as varied as Thomas Jefferson's portable desk, Abraham Lincoln's stovepipe hat, a 1903 Teddy Bear named for Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt's pince-nez, and a drum played during John E Kennedy's funeral, the book explores how the presidency has changed, and how presidential administrations have shaped -- and been shaped by -- relationships with the American people. Advertisements, movies, and television programs are also invoked to show how popular culture has informed Americans' collective memory of the presidency.

The American Presidency accompanies a permanent exhibition of the same name at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.