TEA AT THE WHITE HOUSE

From George Washington to Bill Clinton, each president has a story with tea playing a key role.  The duty of a politician’s wife used to be to maintain the home and family, but she also took care of the social calendar.  The parlor, or drawing room, was not just a place to relax or chat with friends after a meal.  It was a place to discuss ideas, political aspirations, or to influence people for a campaign.

Dolley Madison, fourth first lady and James Madison’s wife, sometimes served tea three times daily at breakfast, in the afternoon and after an evening meal.  She also invited guests for a cup of tea in the evening.

After John and Abigail Adams moved in to the Presidential Mansion now called the White House society ladies called on her for invitations to tea.  Mrs. Adams returned as many as a dozen calls in one day.

There had even been an advertising campaign featuring a president having tea.  In 1897, a painting of Williams McKinley, the 25th president, and Queen Victoria of England, was used to sell Indian tea.  Also, in 1897, the U.S. Tea Importation Act was passed, setting a government regulation on tea quality and standards, preventing counterfeit tea from being legally imported.

Many first families received tea sets as gifts.  A tea set was the proper gift from a foreign diplomat. 

After a tea and picnic with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in 1939, Prince Olav and Princess Martha of Norway sent an art deco tea set made by David Andersen as a gift.  Mrs. Roosevelt enjoyed tea so much that she might have had several teas in a row.  In what may have been one of the largest American tea parties ever, four thousand guests were served sandwiches and cakes with gallons of tea on Inauguration Day in 1941.

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