The Moments That Defined American Leadership

Less than two months into his presidency, JFK signed Executive Order 10924, formally creating the Peace Corps as an agency within the U.S. State Department. By the end of 1961, 750 inaugural Peace Corps volunteers had served in 13 countries.

Growing up in the Bronx, Sonia Sotomayor was a Yankees fan. Little did she know that she would play a role in saving the entire sport.

Ulysses Grant took an unconventional path to the White House, rising from a leather goods salesman to a general in a matter of months.

On Oct 14, 1964, Robert F. Kennedy gave a landmark speech to police chiefs, taking a strong stand against organized crime.

On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981, mandating the desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces and ending 170 years of officially sanctioned racial discrimination in the military. Although African Americans had served since the Revolutionary War, they were typically segregated from white troops and often assigned to menial roles. A landmark achievement of both the postwar civil rights movement and Truman’s presidency, the order marked one of the first times a U.S. president used executive authority to advance civil rights. It also helped pave the way for broader desegregation efforts across American society.

Presidents have been pardoning turkeys every Thanksgiving for decades, but how did this tradition get started?

Before becoming the 50th state, Hawaii endured a controversial and long fought battle for statehood.

The White House is meant to reflect its occupant, and when a new president comes to town, things have to be changed very quickly. But what goes into the peaceful transfer of power? And how do workers turn the White House over in the blink of an eye?

When John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt spent three nights in Yosemite, it would soon pave the way for a National Park Service.

The Easter Egg Roll is an annual White House tradition dating back over a century, but how did presidents start hosting this egg racing ritual?