Dear Mr. President Letters to the Oval Office from the Files of the National Archives

by Young, Dwight; Williams, Brian

• ISBN13: 9781426200205
• ISBN10: 142620020X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-16
• Publisher: National Geographic

Summary

The right to be heard, even at the highest levels, is something Americans take for granted. Over the years countless people have taken pen in hand and begian a letter with the words "Dear Mr. President." The 87 letters showcased here from the famous and infamous including Elvis Presley, Pidel Castro, Queen Elizabeth, and Annie Oakley have been culled from the National Archives collection and span a wide range of topics and emotions. A black soldier writes Lincoln requesting fair pay; Upton Sinclair advises Teddy Roosevelt on inspecting the meatpacking industry; John Glenn e-mails Bill Clinton from space. An introduction by NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and illuminating text by Dwight Young expand the tenor of the times in which the letters were written and remind us that the President is both a national icon and a real person with a real address. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Dwight Young has been actively involved in historic preservation for almost 30 years. He joined the staff of the National Trust in 1977, and moved to Trust headquarters in Washington in 1992. He is the author of Alternatives to Sprawl, and Saving America's Treasures. He is best known as author of the "Back Page" feature in Preservation magazine. In 2003, the National Trust published a collection of these essays titled Road Trips through History.

Brian Williams became the anchor of NBC Nightly News in 2004, taking over for Tom Brokaw, the first such announced change in the major network news anchors in two decades. He was the NBC News Chief White House correspondent, and was the anchor and managing editor of the Saturday edition of NBC Nightly News for six years. Williams has been awarded three Emmys, and in over 20 years of broadcasting, he has reported from 23 countries on countless stories of national and international importance.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 12
Introduction	p. 14
Brian Williams to President Lyndon B. Johnson, November 25, 1966
First President	p. 18
John Langdon to George Washington, April 6, 1789
The King and I	p. 20
King Mongkut of Siam to Abraham Lincoln, February 14, 1861
Equal Pay	p. 24
James H. Gooding to Abraham Lincoln, September 28, 1863
Freedom	p. 26
Annie Davis to Abraham Lincoln, August 28, 1864
Lincoln Assassination	p. 28
Lincoln's Cabinet to Andrew Johnson, April 15, 1865
The "Indian" Question	p. 30
Wolf Chief to James Garfield, December, 1881
Gov. Edmund Ross and others to Grover Cleveland, August 14, 1886
The Spanish-American War	p. 34
Annie Oakley to William McKinley, April 5, 1898
Muckraking	p. 36
Upton Sinclair to Theodore Roosevelt, March 10, 190
Anti-Semitism	p. 38
Charles D. Levy to Calvin Coolidge, June 24, 1924
Anti-Immigration	p. 40
Women of the Ku Klux Klan to Calvin Coolidge, May 15, 1924
Prohibition	p. 42
Alva P. Jones, National Cigarette Law Enforcement League, to Herbert Hoover, May 25, 1929
Womans Home Missionary Sociery to Herbert Hoover, June 15, 1932
Mr. and Mrs. William E. Wilson to Herbert Hoover, June 15, 1932
Lindbergh Kidnapping	p. 46
Citizens of South Dakota to Herbert Hoover, April 26, 1932
Lynching	p. 48
Henry Johnson to William McKinley, June 5, 1899
Ara Lee Settle to Warren G. Harding, June 8, 1922
Horace Robinson to Herbert Hoover, November 20, 1929
Aviatrix	p. 54
Amelia Earhart to Franklin D. Roosevelt, November 10, 1936
The Federal Arts Project	p. 56
Gisella (Lacher) Loeffler to Eleanor Roosevelt, July 27, 1939
Social Security	p. 62
Petra E. Harthun to Eleanor Roosevelt, August 7, 1941
Cuba	p. 64
Fidel Castro to Franklin D. Roosevelt, November 6, 1940
Separate but Equal	p. 66
C. Dearman to William H. Taft, July 18, 1912
George A. Murray to Woodrow Wilson, February 14, 1920
The Holocaust	p. 70
Stephen S. Wise to Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 2, 1942
Pearl Harbor	p. 72
J.B. Manual to Franklin D. Roosevelt, February 23, 1942
The Draft, WWII	p. 74
French R. Massey to Franklin D. Roosevelt, November 12, 1943
Anna Rush to Franklin D. Roosevelt, November 18, 1943
Carolyn Weatherhogg to Franklin D. Roosevelt, October 14, 1943
Friendship	p. 78
Winston Churchill to Franklin D. Roosevelt, May 1, 1944
Japanese War Atrocities, WWII	p. 80
Wilma Lindsay to Franklin D. Roosevelt, February 9, 1944
Japanese Internment, WWII	p. 82
Harold Ickes to Franklin D. Roosevelt, June 1, 1944
The Bomb	p. 84
Albert Einstein to Franklin D. Roosevelt, August 2, 1939
Concerned Scientists to Harry S. Truman, July 17, 1945
Raoul Wallenberg	p. 88
Guy von Dardel to Harry S. Truman, March 27, 1947
The Postwar Recovery	p. 90
Ella Leber to Harry S. Truman, 1948
Presidential Pets	p. 92
Phyllis Bamberger to Harry S. Truman, January 7, 1948
Edwin Burtis to Lyndon B. Johnson, April 30, 1964
John Starnes to Lyndon B. Johnson, June 20, 1966
John Nabors to Dwight D. Eisenhower, April 3, 1955
Racism	p. 98
Ray Fadden to Harry S. Truman, September 3, 1951
Polio	p. 100
Ralph Ziegler to Harry S. Truman, January 31, 1949
Margaret M. Powers to Dwight D. Eisenhower, April 18, 1955
Douw Fonda to Dwight D. Eisenhower, August 8, 1955
The King is Drafted	p. 104
Linda Kelly, Sherry Bane, Mickie Mattson to Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1958
The Queen's Scones	p. 106
Queen Elizabeth II to Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 24, 1960
Discrimination	p. 108
Jackie Robinson to Dwight D. Eisenhower, May 13, 1958
Civil Rights Unrest	p. 110
Woodrow W. Mann to Dwight D. Eisenhower, September 23, 1957
Martin Luther King, Jr. to John F. Kennedy, September 15, 1963
Leah Russell to Dwight D. Eisenhower, September 25, 1957
Civil Rights Act	p. 114
Roy Wilkins to Lyndon B. Johnson, November 5, 1964
Vietnam Begins	p. 116
Ho Chi Minh to Harry S. Truman, February 28, 1946
Ngo Dinh Diem to John F. Kennedy, February 23, 1963
Vietnam	p. 120
Bobbie Lou Pendergrass to John F. Kennedy, February 18, 1963
John F. Kennedy to Bobbie Lou Pendergrass, March 6, 1963
John Steinbeck to Lyndon B. Johnson, May 28, 1966
The Smothers Brothers to Lyndon B. Johnson, October 31, 1968
Lyndon B. Johnson to the Smothers Brothers, November 9, 1968
Physical Fitness	p. 128
Gladys D. McPherson to John F. Kennedy, March 14, 1963
Richard Millington to John F. Kennedy, February 11, 1963
Presidential Signatures	p. 132
Leonard Lyons to John F. Kennedy, October 2, 1961
John F. Kennedy to Leonard Lyons, October 11, 1961
Leonard Lyons to John F. Kennedy, October 16, 1961
Pierre Salinger to Leonard Lyons, November 15, 1961
Presidential Advice	p. 136
Harry S. Truman to John F. Kennedy, June 28, 1962
Herbert Hoover to Harry S. Truman, December 19, 1962
Barry Goldwater to Gerald Ford, May 7, 1976
Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan, August 13, 1987
Ladybird	p. 142
Lady Bird Johnson to Lyndon B. Johnson, August, 1964
Undercover Elvis	p. 144
Elvis Presley to Richard Nixon, December 21, 1970
Nixon in China	p. 148
Mary Ann Grelinger to Richard Nixon, July 16, 1971
Mrs. John Shields to Richard Nixon, July 16, 1971
Nixon's Pardon	p. 150
Jackie Ann Lucas to Gerald Ford, November, 1974
Robert Lind to Gerald Ford, September, 1974
Anthony Ferreira to Gerald Ford, September 11, 197
Betty Ford	p. 154
Tyson Garrison to Betty Ford, August 13, 1975
Dorothy Tabata to Betty Ford, August 18, 1975
Mother Teresa	p. 158
Mother Teresa to Jimmy Carter, November 17, 1979
The Economy	p. 160
Roy Klober to Jimmy Carter, 1980
L. W. McKenzie, Jr. to Jimmy Carter, 1980
Iran Hostage Situation	p. 162
Cyrus Vance to Jimmy Carter, April 21, 1980
Natural Disasters	p. 164
Andy Smith to Ronald Reagan, April 18, 1984
Ronald Reagan to Andy Smith, May 11, 1984
First Gulf War	p. 168
Patricia J. Elvin to George H. W. Bush, November 27, 1990
Eric Colton to George H. W. Bush, February 12, 1991
Space	p. 172
Thaddeus Zagorewicz to Richard Nixon, July 20, 1969
John Glenn to Bill Clinton, November 6, 1998
About the Presidential Records Act and the Freedom of Information Act	p. 176
About the Authors
About the Foundation for the National Archives	p. 177
About the Presidential Library System	p. 178
Acknowledgments	p. 180
Letter Citations and Permissions	p. 181
Selected Transcriptions	p. 184
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