The presidential library system was inaugurated in 1939, when President Franklin Roosevelt donated his personal and presidential papers to the federal government.
Today the system encompasses 10 presidential libraries as well as the Nixon Presidential Materials in College Park, Md. and the Clinton Presidential Materials in Little Rock, Ark.
Check out this Presidential Libraries page for an introduction to institutions overseen by the National Archives.
Take a walk through American history at these presidential libraries and museums:
- Mount Vernon
George Washington's home in Virginia is a tribute to our first president and the early days of the country's history. The site features photos of the rooms and objects, and the collection contains 15,000 domestic objects from the Washington household.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt Museum
A wealth of information on the 32nd president is available at this first presidential library. Great exhibits and 10,000 digitized documents.
- John F. Kennedy Library
A slide show tour of the museum accompanies a biography, photos and current library projects. Read the text and listen to dozens of speeches by JFK, RFK and Edward Kennedy.
- Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum
Lots of photos chronicle LBJ's life from childhood to the presidency.
- Clinton Presidential Materials Project
This site explains the National Archives' plan to make Clinton's papers available in five years with the opening of his presidential library. For now, you can search the four versions of the White House Web Site. The first version was launched in 1994 and gradually evolved in to a more sophisticated site during Clinton's last year in office.
See MuseumSpot's U.S. Presidents page for links to more museums.
--- S. Twetten
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