6 Little-Known Facts About the White House

White House, mid-1840s

The White House is undoubtedly one of Washington, D.C.’s most recognizable landmarks. But while many Americans have seen it in person or on the back of a $20 bill, there’s still much to be learned about the history of this iconic building. From its massive renovations to the many rooms that were converted into entertainment venues, the White House boasts a rich history that makes it one of the most remarkable places in the nation’s capital.

When George Washington took office as the first President of the United States, the White House was just a concept. In fact, original proposals called for an even grander “President’s Palace” that would have been four times bigger than the White House we know today. Architect James Hoban later proposed a more modest neoclassical design based on the Leinster House in Dublin, and he was chosen to spearhead the project. Upon its completion in 1800, John Adams became the first President to call the White House home, and the building’s legacy has only grown from there. Here are six little-known facts about the White House.

The White House Has a Bowling Alley, Movie Theater, and Pool

The White House is not only a place to conduct government business; it’s also the first family’s home. Over the years, Presidents and their families have repurposed some of the building’s 132 rooms into entertainment venues to make their lives more enjoyable. One such room is the White House bowling alley, which Harry Truman opened in 1947 in the West Wing. While Truman wasn’t a frequent bowler himself, White House staffers formed the White House Bowling League in 1950. Those original lanes were closed by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1955, but years later, Richard Nixon opened a new bowling alley directly underneath the North Portico.

Other notable spaces found throughout the White House include a 40-seat movie theater, which was converted from a former cloakroom in the East Wing. During Bill Clinton’s administration, a third-floor sitting room was repurposed as a music room, where the President practiced playing saxophone. The White House also has a storied history of swimming pools; the first White House swimming pool was built indoors for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, as he often swam for exercise in the wake of his polio diagnosis. In 1975, Gerald Ford commissioned the construction of an outdoor pool that he proudly showed off by taking a dip in front of reporters on July 5 of that year. This secluded escape is located just south of the West Wing, and remains open to Presidents and their families.

The Building Was Nearly Condemned in 1948

The White House wasn’t always treated with the same care and respect that it is today. In 1948, during the Truman administration, the building was deemed on the verge of structural collapse, forcing President Truman to move into the nearby Blair House (a building normally used as the President’s guest residence). Analysts determined that the White House deteriorated in part throughout FDR’s presidency, as the Depression and World War II caused Roosevelt to put off much-needed repairs.

Though Truman wasn’t pleased with the displacement, he also wasn’t in a rush to return to an unsafe building. The President authorized an extensive renovation that lasted from 1948 until 1952, which saw the digging of deeper foundations and the addition of a steel frame skeleton within the White House’s interior. Truman had previously installed a balcony outside the presidential living quarters, which was completed in early 1948. While most of the White House had to be revamped, this balcony was one of the few elements left untouched, as it was built so well.

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The White House Requires 570 Gallons of Paint Every Few Years

Keeping the White House so white is an expensive and time-consuming process. The building requires a new coat of paint every four to six years, and recently underwent an extensive recoating in 2019. The cost of this massive paint job is around $85,000, as workers use a special German-made paint by Duron. The specific shade — called Whisper White — is used for the preservation of historic buildings, and costs up to $150 per gallon.

While $20,000 for new paint may seem like a lot, it’s actually a small portion of the total annual maintenance costs needed to keep the White House up and running. The 2023 Financial Services and Appropriations Act set aside $2.5 million in annual funds for White House upkeep.

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The White House Endured Two Massive Fires

On August 24, 1814, the White House was lit aflame by British troops as part of the Burning of Washington, an invasion during the War of 1812. The fire devastated the structure, and only two items were salvaged that still hang in the modern White House today: a full-length portrait of George Washington that was saved by First Lady Dolley Madison, and a small wooden medicine chest. The rebuilding process proved to be an arduous one, and Congress even considered temporarily moving the nation’s capital. However, in the end, the White House’s original architect, James Hoban, was tasked with rebuilding the President’s home, and repairs were completed in 1817.

Tragedy struck the White House yet again on Christmas Eve in 1929, as a fire swept through a storage area containing 200,000 government pamphlets. Aides were alerted to the blaze around 8 p.m., while President Herbert Hoover hosted a Christmas party downstairs. After being informed of the inferno, the President and his aides rushed to the executive offices to save important documents, the desk chair, and a presidential flag — just in time. More than 100 firefighters rushed to the White House, and despite working in freezing temperatures, they successfully put out the fire around 10:30 p.m. Though the building on the whole was still usable, the executive offices were heavily damaged and the press room destroyed, necessitating repairs that continued until the following spring.

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The Building Wasn’t Officially Named the White House Until 1901

The White House was painted white in 1798 to protect the building’s sandstone exterior, and the press began colloquially referring to it as the “White House,” though it was just a nickname at the time. Throughout the 19th century, the building was formally known as the “President’s House” or “Executive Mansion,” two names that were used until Theodore Roosevelt took office in 1901.

On October 17, 1901, Roosevelt directed his secretary, George B. Cortelyou, to alert various cabinet departments of the building’s new name. Roosevelt’s bulletin mandated the change of “the headings, or date lines, of all official papers and documents requiring [Roosevelt’s] signature, from ‘Executive Mansion’ to ‘White House.’” The President believed that “Executive Mansion” was too generic a term used around the world. Roosevelt determined that by changing the name to the “White House,” the building would be instantly recognizable as the home of the President of the United States.

Jackie Kennedy Won an Emmy for Her Televised Tour of the White House

While President Truman worked to ensure the stability of the White House’s structure, it was First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy who revolutionized its interior. In 1941, long before she became a resident of the White House, Jackie toured the building with her mother and sister, and was dismayed by the lack of historical furnishings. Shortly after moving in with her husband in 1961, she made it her mission to overhaul the White House experience and create a more comfortable environment that also highlighted the building’s extensive legacy.

Enlisting the help of Americana collector Henry Francis du Pont, French designer Stéphane Boudin, and decorator Dorothy Parish, the First Lady began work on a massive restoration project. Her goal was not merely to redecorate but to showcase the history of the mansion and the country itself. From outfitting the Blue Room with French furniture that President James Monroe had ordered back in 1818, to redesigning the Treaty Room in a Victorian style, Jackie left almost no corner of the White House untouched. On February 14, 1962, Mrs. Kennedy led a guided tour of the building that was broadcast on CBS and NBC, drawing an estimated 80 million viewers and earning an honorary Emmy Award.

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7 Little-Known Facts About America’s Founding Fathers

Battle of Monmouth, 1778

Few figures in U.S. history are as well known as the Founding Fathers — a cadre of generals, writers, politicians, lawyers, and one particular dentist who fought for and founded the United States. Although many of us know the broad facts about America’s founders, and almost as many myths (George Washington never actually cut down a cherry tree, for instance), there are still many little-known stories about these famous figures. Here are seven facts about the Founding Fathers that may surprise you.

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Paul Revere Was Also a Pioneering Dentist

Paul Revere went down in history for his famous “Midnight Ride,” when, as the story goes, he warned the residents of Lexington, Massachusetts, that “the British are coming” (though he likely never said that exact phrase). But what few people know is that Revere was also a local dentist. In 1770, five years before his “Midnight Ride,” Revere placed an ad in the Boston Gazette that read, “Fix [teeth] as well as any Surgeon-Dentist who ever came from London.” What’s more, Revere was the first person in the U.S. to practice dental forensics. One of Revere’s patients was physician Joseph Warren, the Patriot who alerted Revere about the British advance the night of April 18, 1775. Warren was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill a few months later, and it took nine months — after the British evacuated Boston — for Revere to search the mass graves for his friend. As Warren’s dentist, Revere was able to successfully identify the body by noticing his own dental handiwork, the first known use of dental forensics in the new nation.

Ben Franklin Invented a Musical Instrument Used by Mozart and Beethoven

In the mid-1700s, while spending time in Europe, Benjamin Franklin experienced what was a popular musical performance at the time: singing glasses. Intrigued by the beautiful sound of a wet finger on glass, Franklin developed an instrument known as a “glass armonica” in 1761. Working with a glassblower in London, Franklin altered the thickness of glass bowls interlocked along a rod in order to produce a range of pitches. Franklin had his share of odd ideas over the years (such as his failed phonetic alphabet), but the glass armonica was an 18th-century sensation. Some of the era’s greatest composers, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, wrote music for the instrument. However, it was largely forgotten by the 1820s — many musicians complained of dizziness and other symptoms after playing it, which may have been due to lead poisoning (the instrument used lead paint to color code each bowl) or the instrument’s vibrations. Today, a few musicians still practice the subtle, ethereal art of the glass armonica.

Alexander Hamilton Likely Lied About His Age

Thanks to the hit 2015 musical Hamilton, America’s first treasury secretary is now one of the most famous Founding Fathers. Yet historians are still unclear on one very basic piece of information about him: his age. Hamilton always insisted that he was born in 1757, but official documents from the Caribbean island of Nevis, where Hamilton was born, state the year as 1755. Experts have debated the reason behind this discrepancy, and most believe Hamilton lied about his age on purpose. Why? Well, there are a couple theories. One theory put forward by historians takes us back to 1768, when Hamilton was (probably) 13. That year his mother died, and since his father had abandoned the family years earlier, Hamilton was effectively an orphan. To score an apprenticeship with a local businessman, Hamilton may have lied and said he was 11, which was a more appropriate age to begin training for a trade. Ron Chernow, author of the biography Alexander Hamilton (the literary inspiration behind the musical), has offered a different theory, suggesting Hamilton might have altered his age on his application to Princeton to appear as a prodigy in the eyes of his peers.

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Thomas Jefferson Wrote His Own Epitaph and Didn’t Mention Being President

Before his death, Thomas Jefferson outlined a few specific instructions for his burial; for instance, he wanted the obelisk to be made of coarse stone. Always the writer, Jefferson also crafted his own epitaph highlighting the achievements for which he hoped to be remembered, and, as he put it, “not a word more.” It reads: “Here was buried / Thomas Jefferson / Author of the Declaration of American Independence / of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom / & Father of the University of Virginia.”

Strangely, nowhere on this epitaph does Jefferson state that he was President of an entire nation; he also fails to mention that he served as governor of Virginia, secretary of state, and Vice President. It’s possible that Jefferson was more proud of his intellectual contributions than the moments he held power. In 1883, Jefferson’s descendants donated the original gravestone to the University of Missouri — a campus designed in a similar fashion to Jefferson’s University of Virginia and the first university in the region acquired by the Louisiana Purchase. Today, a new gravestone marks the founding father’s final resting place, but the epitaph remains the same — still omitting Jefferson’s time as the nation’s chief executive.

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Thomas Paine Wasn’t Popular Until Long After His Lifetime

Writer and political activist Thomas Paine played a unique role in America’s road to independence. Instead of fighting with a sword and musket (he didn’t prove to be a very good soldier), Paine fought for his fledgling country with his pen. One of his most important works is the political pamphlet Common Sense. Published on January 10, 1776, it lays out the American colonies’ united cause against the British Empire and King George III, and was one of the bestselling works in 18th-century America. His follow-up pamphlet The American Crisis (published between 1776 and 1783) opened with the iconic line, “These are the times that try men’s souls,” and gave much-needed encouragement to the struggling Continental Army.

Without Paine’s writing, which stirred up the revolutionary spirit throughout the colonies and persuaded many Patriots to fight on, there may not be an America, so it’s strange that at the time of his death (and for more than a century afterward), many Americans didn’t think very highly of him. When Paine died in 1809, only six people attended his funeral in New York’s Greenwich Village — an obituary at the time even wrote, “He had lived long, done some good, and much harm.” The “harm” referred to his radical anti-Christian views found throughout his work The Age of Reason. Although Paine was actually a deist and not an atheist, his reasoning was too controversial for a deeply religious America, and many U.S. schools avoided teaching Paine because of his radical views. But times changed, and in 1937 an article in the Times of London referred to Paine as “America’s Voltaire,” a reference to the influential 18th-century French writer who also questioned religious beliefs. Paine’s legacy has been on the mend ever since with statues and memorials dedicated to him throughout the U.S. Today his former cottage in New Rochelle, New York, is considered a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

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George Washington Lost More Battles Than He Won

General George Washington embodies the phrase “losing the battle but winning the war,” because during the American Revolution, he lost more battles than he won. Despite some experience in the British army, Washington had little experience fielding a large fighting force, and the Continental Army was filled with soldiers who were far from professional fighters. However, Washington’s resilience, determination, and long-term strategy eventually won the day. According to Washington’s aide Alexander Hamilton, the plan was simple: “Our hopes are not placed in any particular city, or spot of ground, but in preserving a good army … to take advantage of favorable opportunities, and waste and defeat the enemy by piecemeal.” Washington, also aided by competent generals and assisted by the French navy, decisively ended British ambitions in the colonies at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.

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James Madison Is the Shortest President in U.S. History

Although James Madison’s signature doesn’t adorn the Declaration of Independence, as the nation’s fourth President and chief architect of the Bill of Rights, he’s widely regarded as one of the most influential Founding Fathers. Madison had a large impact on early U.S. history even though he is also the country’s shortest President thus far, standing just 5 feet and 4 inches tall. That makes Madison a full foot shorter than America’s tallest President, Abraham Lincoln (and no, that height doesn’t include Lincoln’s signature stovepipe hat).

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13 Facts About the 13 Original Colonies

Savannah, Georgia

Founded in the 17th and 18th centuries on the East Coast of what is now the U.S., the 13 British colonies in America were established for different reasons and governed in different ways. Maryland, for instance, was founded as a religious haven for English Catholics, while royal colonies such as New Hampshire were established to generate wealth for England. Despite their differences, all 13 colonies eventually became united in their resistance to British rule. At the start of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, there were more than 2.5 million people — a mix of European colonists, enslaved Africans, and Indigenous peoples — living in the colonies, from New Hampshire in the North to Georgia in the South. Here are 13 interesting facts that you may not have learned about the 13 original colonies.

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New Hampshire Was the First Colony to Grow Potatoes

New Hampshire was the first of the American colonies to form an independent government, as well as the first colony to have a state constitution. Yet it’s the humble potato that might be the Granite State’s biggest contribution to American history. Potatoes were brought to the colonies several times during the 1600s, but it wasn’t until 1719 that the first permanent potato patches were established by Scotch-Irish immigrants near Londonderry, New Hampshire. From there, the popularity of potatoes spread, making them the most commonly consumed vegetable in the U.S. today — and, since 2013, the state vegetable of New Hampshire.

Massachusetts Was Named for Its Indigenous Peoples

In 1620, English settlers, many of whom were religious pilgrims, arrived on the Mayflower in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, forming the second permanent settlement of British colonists in the New World (after Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607). A larger group of English Puritans followed soon after, and established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Indigenous peoples had been living on the land for thousands of years, and the colony was named for the Massachusett tribe, making the Bay State the first of the colonies to be given an Indigenous name. The name “Massachusett” comes from the Algonquin word “Massa-adchu-es-et,” which roughly translates as “great-hill-small-place.”

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Connecticut’s Royal Charter Was Hidden in a Tree

In 1662, the Colony of Connecticut was granted a royal charter by England’s King Charles II. But in 1686, King James II, after taking the throne following his brother’s death, decided he wanted the royal charters returned so he could establish the Dominion of New England. James wanted to combine the New York, New Jersey, and New England colonies under the leadership of one royal-appointed official. The colonists refused, because the charter guaranteed them the ability to self-govern and elect their own officials without interference from England. Legend has it that while the matter was being debated in Hartford between the royal governor and the colonists, the candles in the meeting hall suddenly went out. Under cover of darkness, the royal charter was spirited away by colonial captain Joseph Wadsworth and hidden in the trunk of a nearby white oak tree. The tree came to be known as the Charter Oak, a symbol of freedom and, in time, the Connecticut state tree.

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Rhode Island’s Founder Was Kicked Out of Massachusetts

The founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, also established the first Baptist church in colonial America, and his views about religious freedom led to his banishment from the Massachusetts colony. In 1636, the banished Williams and his followers purchased land from the Narragansett people (Williams had disapproved of how land was being taken from the Indigenous population) and settled on Narragansett Bay. Rhode Island was governed on the basis of religious freedom and the separation of church and state — making it a haven for religious minority groups, including Baptists, Quakers, and Jews. In 1763, the Touro Synagogue was dedicated in Newport, Rhode Island, making it the first Jewish synagogue in New England and only the second synagogue in the colonies, after the one in New York.

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New York Was Established by the Dutch

When the Pilgrims left England in 1620, they were sailing for the Hudson River, because they had heard good reports about the area following English explorer Henry Hudson’s Dutch-sponsored journey in 1609. Unfavorable weather conditions led the pilgrims to settle near Cape Cod instead, but their impending arrival in the New World spurred the Dutch traders to colonize Manhattan before the English could arrive and stake their claim. The colony of New Netherland was established by the Dutch West India Company in 1624, encompassing parts of modern-day New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey, and Dutch settlers established the settlement of New Amsterdam on the island of Manhattan. Forty years later, the English took control and renamed the area New York. The city went on to become the first United States capital after the American Revolution.

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New Jersey Is Home to One of the Oldest Colonial Legends

Early American history is filled with myths and legends, many of which were based on Indigenous folklore. One of the most enduring mythical creatures from the original colonies is the Jersey Devil, a terrifying beast said to stalk the forests of New Jersey’s Pine Barrens (also called the Pinelands). Different versions of the story exist, but all share a similar narrative: In 1735, a woman named Mother Leeds learned she was pregnant with her 13th child and cried out, “Let it be the devil!” She then gave birth to a monstrous “devil baby” who flew out the window into the forest. The legend is rooted in the different cultural and religious beliefs held by both the European colonists and the Lenape people who lived in the area.

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Pennsylvania Was Founded as Payment for a Debt

Several of the original colonies were established under proprietary charters, with land grants given to individuals based on their relationship with England’s king. In 1681, English Quaker writer and intellectual William Penn secured a large grant of land from King Charles II as payment for a debt the king owed to Penn’s father. The king gave the younger Penn the territory between Maryland and New York, allowing Penn to establish the Province of Pennsylvania, named for his father. The colony was known for being a safe haven for Quakers, and open to all faiths.

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Delaware Also Declared Independence From Pennsylvania

In 1682, the year after the Pennsylvania colony was established, the Duke of York sold William Penn the deed to three counties in lower Pennsylvania that make up modern-day Delaware. At first, the three counties were governed as part of Pennsylvania, but in 1704, they were allowed to form their own separate elected legislature. This division created two colonial assemblies, the “Upper Counties” of Pennsylvania and the “Three Lower Counties on Delaware,” governed by a single governor. On June 15, 1776, Delaware declared itself independent from both British and Pennsylvania authority.

Maryland’s First Documented Pirate Was a Leader of the Virginia Colony

The Delmarva Peninsula separates the Chesapeake Bay from the Atlantic Ocean, which made the bay very attractive to pirates and privateers in the early days of the colonial settlements. The first act of piracy in Maryland history was committed in 1635 by William Claiborne, a member of the Council of Virginia. Claiborne had established a settlement and trading post on Kent Island, which was a part of the Virginia colony at the time. However, when King Charles I granted a royal charter to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, the map was redrawn to include Kent Island in the Maryland territory. Refusing to relinquish his claim to the island, Claiborne ordered his men to raid a Maryland fur trading port on Palmer Island (modern-day Garrett Island) and went on to attack Maryland ships in Chesapeake Bay. Claiborne’s rebellion eventually led to the Maryland Assembly charging him with “grevious crimes of pyracie and murther.”

Virginia Had Witchcraft Trials, Too

About two dozen trials for witchcraft took place in Virginia between 1626 and 1730, the most famous of which was the trial of Grace Sherwood, who was convicted of witchcraft after enduring a trial by water method known as “ducking.” On July 10, 1706, Sherwood’s thumbs were tied to her toes and she was “ducked” in the Lynnhaven River. The belief was that an innocent person would sink and drown, while a true witch would survive the ordeal. After being thrown from a boat, Sherwood was able to free herself and float, thus securing her conviction for witchcraft. She became known as the “Witch of Pungo” and spent several years in jail before eventually being released.

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North Carolina’s “Lost Colony” of Roanoke Remains a Mystery

In 1587, two years after the first failed attempt to establish a settlement on North Carolina’s Roanoke Island, a group of more than 100 English colonists made a second attempt, forming the first English outpost in the New World. John White, the governor of the new colony, left his family to return to England for supplies, but when he finally made it back to Roanoke in 1590, everyone was gone, including his daughter and granddaughter, Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the Americas. DNA and archaeological research suggest the group may have split up, with the majority going to live on Hatteras Island with the Croatoan people, and the rest going to live near the Chowan River near the North Carolina border. But more than 430 years later, there are still more questions than answers about what’s become known as the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke.

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South Carolina Had a Booming Indigo Trade

South Carolina was the first of the colonies to successfully grow indigo — a crop so vital to the colony’s economy that it was referred to as “blue gold.” Indigo’s production, and subsequent success in the colonies, is attributed to teenager Eliza Lucas (later Eliza Pinckney), whose father shipped indigo seeds to America from Antigua in the 1730s. Her father also hired Nicholas Cromwell, a dye-making expert from Montserrat, to guide her. Cromwell was caught sabotaging the dye-making process and was dismissed, only to be replaced by his brother Patrick, who was also caught sabotaging Lucas’ production efforts. The Cromwell brothers had good reason for concern: Indigo dye was a major export for Montserrat and competition with South Carolina could ruin the island’s economy. Despite the setbacks, Lucas and the enslaved people on her father’s plantations learned how to successfully process the subtropical bush. They were so successful that when Lucas married Charles Pinckney in 1744, she used her indigo crop as dowry, and the couple shared their seeds with other plantation owners. However, Indigo’s success was dependent on the labor of the enslaved people on the plantations, and the increasing demand for the dye in England unfortunately led to an increase in the number of enslaved laborers to keep up with production.

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In 1732, King George II signed a charter that established Georgia as the last of England’s North American colonies. Founded by prison reformer James Oglethorpe and a group of like-minded trustees, Georgia was envisioned as a charity colony for England’s “worthy poor.” The colony laws outlawed slavery and forbade large landholdings. Oglethorpe and the other trustees couldn’t hold office, earn a salary, or own land in the colony. However, the settlers in Georgia, many of whom arrived from other colonies, believed enslaved labor was the only way for the colony to achieve prosperity. Ultimately, the slavery ban, along with many of the other restrictions the trustees had placed, was lifted in 1751.

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5 Watergate Facts You Probably Didn’t Know

Richard Nixon in 1973

It’s nearly impossible to live in the United States without learning quite a bit about the infamous Watergate scandal. You probably know that Watergate is the name of a Washington, D.C., hotel, that a politically motivated burglary there led to the first presidential resignation in American history, and that it’s the scandal that caused the suffix “-gate” to be attached to the end of just about every controversy in politics, sports, or pop culture since. But the Watergate story has so many layers and strangely fascinating details, there is always more to uncover, even for those of us who remember the events unfolding in the early 1970s. Here are a few facts you might not know about one of the most surreal episodes in U.S. political history.

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The Slang Term “Big Enchilada” Was Popularized By Watergate

John Ehrlichman, President Richard Nixon’s chief domestic affairs adviser, popularized so many catchphrases, he could have been a pro wrestler. One of these was “the big enchilada,” which he used to refer to U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell. Ehrlichman was caught on tape expressing his hope that Mitchell, as a big name and political heavyweight, could take the blame for Watergate and get the heat off of everyone else. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary now defines “the big enchilada” as a phrase meaning “the most important issue, person, etc.” The Watergate scandal and ensuing trial also popularized the terms “cover-up,” “deep-six,” and “smoking gun,” the latter of which was used to describe the tape Nixon made that reveals he ordered the FBI to stop investigating the break-in.

One of the Watergate Burglars Also Helped Plan the Bay of Pigs

When it came to political subterfuge, Bernard L. Barker had a pretty legendary slump in the 1960s and ’70s. Barker, a CIA operative turned Miami realtor, helped organize the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, a failed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba. He was then one of the five burglars arrested in the Watergate burglaries in 1972. Four of the five Watergate burglars had CIA ties, while the fifth, Virgilio R. González, was a Cuban refugee and locksmith from Miami. Eugenio Martínez was the only burglar to receive a pardon, from President Ronald Reagan in 1983. After Martínez served 15 months in prison, the Cuban government reached out to him, thinking he might have turned on the U.S. because of Watergate. Martínez contacted the CIA and began working as a double agent, which led to his special consideration by Reagan.

Nixon Tanked the Stock Value of “The Washington Post” Out of Revenge

In 1973, when President Nixon was coming off reelection and feeling confident that he was out of the woods, he spoke about “sticking it to Washington” in a conversation with White House counsel Chuck Colson. The conversation was — of course — caught on tape. With the election behind him, Nixon put together a list of enemies who had to pay. The Washington Post was high on the list, having broken the Watergate story, and the company had just gone public. Nixon used the Federal Communications Commission to challenge the licenses of the two Florida TV stations owned by the company, and he instructed his people to cut off access to the Post.

In a memo to his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, Nixon wrote: “[Press Secretary Ron] Ziegler under no circumstances is to see anybody from The Washington Post and no one on the White House staff is to see anybody from The Washington Post or return any calls to them. … [J]ust treat the Post absolutely coldly — all of their people are to be treated in this manner.” The freezing out of the paper, and the legal challenges to the company’s TV stations, successfully drove the Post’s stock down from $38 a share to $16 a share, well over a 50% drop in value. Nixon also had a plan around this time to get a conservative ally, Pittsburgh millionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, to buy the newspaper, but the plot ultimately failed.

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The Eponymous Watergate Cake Is Full of Nuts

Watergate Salad and Watergate Cake are recipes of arguable origin, but what we do know is that they were popularized around the time of the Watergate scandal, and the eponymous hotel does not claim to have invented either. Watergate Cake is a layer cake made with pistachio, pecan, and coconut, with a creamy frosting on top. In an article published in Hagerstown, Maryland’s The Morning Herald a month after Nixon’s resignation, one home cook speculated, “I don’t know where the recipe originated and I don’t know why it’s called ‘Watergate Cake’ unless it’s because of all the nuts in it!”

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Nixon’s Watergate Interview Is the Highest-Rated Political Interview of All Time

Ignoring the advice of many of his advisers, Nixon agreed to a series of interviews about his presidency, including Watergate, with British journalist David Frost. The first interview aired on May 4, 1977, with a record-setting 45 million Americans watching. Some 29 hours of interviews were edited down to five episodes, and the first 90-minute broadcast still holds the record for most-watched interview with a U.S. President.

These conversations were the first and only time Nixon agreed to address direct questions about Watergate, and the first time he admitted anything resembling guilt. “I let down my friends,” the former President said. “I let down the country. I let down our system of government.” At the same time, Nixon also found a way to blame other people, attempting to scapegoat his attorney general John Mitchell and Mitchell’s wife, Martha Mitchell. Nixon also famously stated, “Well, when the President does it… that means that it is not illegal.” Nixon was paid $600,000 for the series of interviews, which were dramatic enough to be adapted into a 2006 play and the 2008 film Frost/Nixon — just one of the many pop culture depictions of this captivating chapter of U.S. history.

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7 Ways the Year 1968 Changed America

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It’s been referred to as the year that changed America: In 1968, the United States experienced an unprecedented upheaval of long-held values and practices that left an indelible — and still reverberating — mark on the country. Facing the assassinations of beloved leaders, protests against the Vietnam War and racial inequality, and a major shift in media and pop culture, the nation was forced to confront some of its most deeply rooted issues, and evolve in the process. While the year was marked by tragedy and division, it also led to significant progress in civil rights and political activism, inspiring a generation of Americans to fight for equality and justice, and in turn, reshape the country's social landscape. Here are seven events from 1968 that changed America.

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Richard Nixon Became President After a Divisive Election

The 1968 presidential election is still considered one of the most contentious and divisive elections in U.S. history. In March, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that he would not be seeking reelection. In the ensuing months, America’s opposition to the Vietnam War escalated, and the stunning assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy sent the country into angry unrest. An already tense political climate was thrown into chaos when anti-war protesters clashed with police outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In the end, a fraught and uninspiring race between Republican candidate Richard Nixon, Democrat Hubert Humphrey, and segregationist George Wallace ended in a victory for Nixon. The contentious nature of the election contributed to a deepening sense of political polarization in the United States.

Two Major Leaders Were Assassinated Within Two Months

The assassinations of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4 and presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy on June 6 were two of the most tragic events in American history. The violence shocked not only the U.S. but the world, particularly as it came on the heels of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Malcolm X in 1963 and 1965, respectively. Despite the devastation that followed — and the fear that their progressive voices and visions for the country would be forgotten — the legacies of King and Kennedy continued to inspire and motivate people for decades to come.

King, who led the civil rights movement and helped bring about the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, is honored every year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and continues to inspire the fight for racial equality and civil rights. Kennedy, in his final years, worked to bridge racial divides, address overlooked class issues, and end the Vietnam War. The senator galvanized a new generation of voters and activists, and his influence is still felt in American politics and social justice causes today.

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The Tet Offensive Turned More of the Country Against the Vietnam War

The year 1968 began with the U.S. still embroiled in the long-running war in Vietnam, and the American public’s growing fatigue came to a head following North Vietnam’s deadly January 30-31 Tet Offensive attack on South Vietnamese and American forces. The widespread attack during the Lunar New Year holiday Tet made it clear to the American public that victory in Vietnam was not near, and confidence in the United States’ progress overseas began to falter. It faded faster still when respected broadcaster Walter Cronkite vocally opposed the war in a national television broadcast on February 27. Mass protests against the continued involvement unfurled across the country in the ensuing months. The occasionally violent unrest influenced the country’s eventual withdrawal from Vietnam in 1973, and the youth-led anti-war protests changed the face of civic engagement, fueling other historical grassroots activism such as the growing feminist movement and the rise of environmentalism.

Two American Athletes Protested Racial Inequality at the Olympics

Despite the tragedy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s untimely death, those influenced by his nonviolent activism continued to fight for racial and class equality. One of the most memorable protests took place at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. As American track and field athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos took the podium to receive their respective gold and bronze medals, they each raised a gloved fist during the U.S. anthem in a symbolic gesture of solidarity with the Black Power movement. Smith and Carlos faced intense backlash and criticism from the media and the public, but their protest remains an enduring symbol of resistance and solidarity in the struggle for civil rights and social justice.

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A Miss America Protest Birthed the Image of the “Bra-Burning” Feminist

The iconic image of the “bra-burning” feminist was born in this monumental year, irreversibly putting women’s rights in the mainstream conversation. On September 7, 1968, protesters marched against the objectification of women outside a Miss America beauty contest in Atlantic City, New Jersey. They threw oppressive items such as bras, makeup, and high heels into a "freedom trash can," and while the bras were never actually burned, the demonstration ensured that the phrase “women’s liberation” gained national attention for the first time. The seminal moment was also a prescient introduction to intersectional feminism issues: Nearby, a Miss Black America pageant was also held in protest, as the official pageant had, to date, not included an African American contestant (the first Black woman would compete two years later).

“Star Trek” Aired an Interracial Kiss on Television

Much like the social and political upheaval that dominated 1968, popular culture had its own memorable and impactful moments that year. Given the racial tensions in the country, it was seen as revolutionary when the popular sci-fi series “Star Trek” aired the first romantic kiss between a white person and a Black person on American television, between Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). (The response was largely positive.)

The year 1968 also marked the release of Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey, revolutionizing science fiction and special effects in film. The sci-fi epic inspired influential filmmakers such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, who both went on to define entertainment in the ensuing decades. (Presciently, the film also introduced audiences to friendly AI virtual assistants.) Onstage, The Boys in the Band opened off-Broadway, offering a realistic and humanizing look at the then-underrepresented LGBTQ+ community. The play is often cited as a groundbreaking work that helped pave the way for greater visibility and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in American culture.

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Apollo 8 Became the First Manned Spacecraft to Orbit the Moon

On December 24, 1968, as one of the most tumultuous years in American history drew to a close, NASA's Apollo 8 mission became the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon, marking a major milestone in space exploration and providing an uplifting moment for the country. The three-man crew — Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders — broadcast parts of their six-day lunar voyage on live television. Their lunar orbit, which aired in prime time on Christmas Eve, is said to have been watched by a billion people — one out of every four people on the planet at the time. The orbit also resulted in the enduring “Earthrise” photo, showing a sliver of planet Earth peering out from beyond the moon. The mission was not only a success, but a marvel that united and inspired a weary country. Apollo 8, it was said, had saved 1968.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt smiling

The Roosevelts are one of American history’s most prolific and influential political families: Leaders such as Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt not only redefined the eras in which they lived but also shaped the country for decades to come, in some ways changing the very political fabric of the nation.

The family arrived in pre-independence America around 1649, when Dutch immigrant Claes Martenszen van Rosenvelt and his wife Jennetjke began life in New Amsterdam (later known as New York). Shortly after their arrival in the Americas, anglicized variations of the family surname began appearing, with their son Nicholas — born in 1658 — becoming among the first to bear the name “Roosevelt.” Nicholas also became the first Roosevelt to hold political office in the Americas, serving as an alderman in the West Ward of New York City from 1698 to 1701, and again in 1715. The political clout of the Roosevelt family ballooned from there, reaching new heights in the 20th century when both Teddy and FDR served as President, guiding the country through harrowing times. Meanwhile, FDR’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, broke barriers by carving out a new role for women in American society and politics, and spent her lifetime advocating for humanitarian issues. Here are seven facts about this uniquely influential family.

Theodore Roosevelt Witnessed Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Procession

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was one of the most shocking and profoundly impactful events in American history. While thousands of countrymen laid eyes on the fallen leader’s funeral procession, perhaps none proved to be more famous than Theodore Roosevelt. Just 6 years old at the time, young Roosevelt gazed down at Lincoln’s casket from the second story of his family’s home on Broadway in New York City. As the late President passed the Roosevelt mansion on April 25, 1865, a perfectly timed photograph captured the image of two young boys — Teddy and his brother Elliot — looking out from the window. Like Lincoln, Roosevelt was one of the most renowned Presidents in U.S. history, though their similarities didn’t end there. While on the campaign trail in 1912, Roosevelt was struck by the bullet of a would-be assassin, but he was miraculously saved when the projectile hit a folded speech that Teddy had tucked in his breast pocket.

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FDR Was Related to 11 Other Presidents

It’s commonly known that Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt were related (the 26th and 32nd Presidents were fifth cousins), but FDR’s familial ties to American Presidents extend far beyond that one link. In fact, he’s related to a total of 11 Presidents by blood and marriage: John Adams, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, William Howard Taft, and of course, Teddy. What’s more, FDR and his wife Eleanor were related as well, and not just by marriage. The pair were fifth cousins once removed, as Eleanor’s father, Elliott Roosevelt, was the brother of Theodore Roosevelt. The trio was so deeply intertwined that on Franklin and Eleanor’s wedding day, Teddy was the one to give Eleanor away in honor of his dearly departed sibling.

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Eleanor Roosevelt Held the First Press Conference by a First Lady

After her husband took office in 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt worked tirelessly not only to redefine the role of First Lady, but also to provide a voice for American women. Unlike most of her predecessors, she took an active role in the administration, and on March 6, 1933, she hosted the first official press conference conducted by a First Lady. What’s more, Roosevelt invited 35 female reporters to the press event. The successful women-only media summit wasn’t just a one-off, as the First Lady held 348 further press conferences over the next 12 years, helping to boost the voices of women in the American press. She also welcomed other notable women in politics to field questions at these events, including Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins — the first female Cabinet member — and foreign dignitaries such as Soong Mei-ling, the first lady of the Republic of China. Thanks to her efforts, Roosevelt laid the groundwork for future First Spouses to take on more active roles in governing the nation.

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Teddy Was the First President to Win a Nobel Peace Prize

Four U.S. Presidents have taken home the Nobel Peace Prize, including Woodrow Wilson in 1920, Jimmy Carter in 2002, and Barack Obama in 2009. But it all began with President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Teddy was not only the first American President to earn the distinction, but also the first statesman of any kind to receive a Nobel honor. Roosevelt was awarded the accolade for his efforts in brokering peace during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, though his victory didn’t come without controversy. Critics derided the President as “military mad,” while others vocalized their displeasure with his imperialistic tendencies in the Philippines. Despite this, Roosevelt was granted the esteemed prize — just one of the historic “firsts” set by the Roosevelt family.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Unsuccessfully Ran for Vice President in 1920

Thanks to modern-day constitutional term limits, no individual has won, nor likely will ever win, more presidential elections than Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Though he’s known as a prolific commander in chief, FDR had significantly worse luck when it came to running for Vice President. During the 1920 election, Democratic candidate James M. Cox tapped Roosevelt — assistant secretary of the Navy, at the time — as his running mate against Warren G. Harding. (Incidentally, Harding campaigned on the promise of a “return to normalcy,” which rejected the activism-driven policies that became popular during the administration of Franklin’s cousin, Theodore.) While on the campaign trail, FDR was derided by critics for being too immature, and he and Cox ultimately suffered a staggering defeat at the polls. In the wake of this loss, FDR shied away from politics until successfully becoming governor of New York in 1929, and later President in 1933.

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FDR Was the First Sitting President to Fly in a Plane

January 11, 1943, was a major day in the world of aviation. Long before Air Force One performed its maiden voyage, FDR made history in 1943 as the first sitting President to fly aboard an aircraft. (Incidentally, the first former President to fly in a plane was Teddy in 1910.) Amid the turmoil of World War II, Roosevelt decided to travel to Morocco to meet with British leader Winston Churchill. Given that German submarine activity made boating through the Atlantic far too dangerous at the time, the President hopped on a Pan Am Boeing 314 flying boat and took off, unaware that this would soon become the U.S. President’s preferred travel method. The plane made several stops to refuel in Trinidad, Brazil, and The Gambia before FDR switched to a Douglas C-54 transport plane that ushered him to his destination in Casablanca. Two years later, a special bulletproof, wheelchair-accessible plane was constructed to usher FDR to the Yalta Conference to discuss the postwar reorganization of Europe, though that aircraft fell out of operation in 1947. The call sign Air Force One was first used just six years later in 1953, during Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration.

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Eleanor Roosevelt Flew With Amelia Earhart

FDR wasn’t the only Roosevelt to make history in the skies. Ten years before her husband set off on a flight across the Atlantic, Eleanor Roosevelt accompanied pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart during an impromptu excursion from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore and back. The decision to fly was a spur-of-the-moment event, after the pair attended a White House gala together on April 20, 1933. Clad in their formal wear, Earhart and Roosevelt departed the event and headed to nearby Hoover Field in Arlington, Virginia, where they hopped into a twin-engine Curtiss Condor plane. Though Earhart piloted the flight, Roosevelt — who had recently applied for a student pilot license — spent time sitting in the cockpit. Roosevelt ultimately gave up on her pursuit of a full-time pilot’s license, but her brief foray into the skies with one of history’s greatest aviators won’t soon be forgotten.

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