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White House hosts New Year’s Day reception

Editor’s note: This is part of a weekly series marking the 120th anniversary of Niles native William McKinley’s U.S. presidency.

President and Mrs. McKinley were hosting their first New Year’s Day reception at the White House on Jan. 2, 1899. The McKinley’s were continuing a tradition that John Adams started on Jan. 1, 1801. Adams felt the White House was the “people’s house” and the White House should be open once a year for the ordinary citizens and official Washington to shake the hand of and greet the president.

Washington society was curious about how the White House was decorated and what type of reception the McKinleys would host. President McKinley had not hosted a reception in his first New Year’s in the White House in 1898 because he was mourning the recent death of his mother.

President McKinley had a couple of decisions to make in regard to the reception. Did he wish to serve refreshments and have the guests linger or just greet the visitors and shake their hands? President McKinley chose a reception with no refreshments because he personally had to pay for them. Serving no refreshments also meant the guests would not linger.

President McKinley had a protocol decision to make. Would he open the White House to ordinary Washington citizens and Washington society at the same time as Andrew Jackson did during his presidency, or would Washington society receive invitations to attend?

President McKinley chose to send invitations to Washington society, including the diplomatic corps, the judiciary, the Congress, the military, prominent citizens of Washington and our military veterans. The ordinary citizens of Washington received notice of a Jan. 2 reception in the newspaper.

Jan. 2, 1899 was Monday and it was a cold and clear day in Washington with snow on the ground. The reception was being held on Jan. 2 because New Year’s Day was on Sunday.

The vice president and members of the cabinet and their families were the first to arrive at 10:30 in the morning. The president and Mrs. McKinley greeted them in the library on the first floor.

The White House, according to the New York Times report of the day, was decorated for the season with garlands, ivy and poinsettias throughout the first floor. The curtains were drawn and the only light came from the electric lights and chandeliers.

A bugle sounded at 11 a.m. the president and first lady, the vice president, and members of the cabinet and their families descended from the second floor to the Blue Room to begin the reception. The president, the vice president and members of the cabinet stood in a receiving line shaking the hands of the guests. Ida McKinley, because of her ill health, sat on a sofa greeting guests attended by her female friends. The Marine Corps band played patriotic music in the background.

The British ambassador was the first to shake the president’s hand, followed by other countries ambassadors stationed in Washington, including China, Japan and Turkey. The diplomats were surprised that the president was done greeting and shaking their hands in 15 minutes.

By 12:30, McKinley had greeted members of the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, military leaders, members of the House and Senate, Civil War veterans and prominent Washington citizens. It was estimated that 1,000 prominent members of Washington society had shaken the president’s hand.

Washington society left the reception and attended the numerous parties that were held throughout Washington. There were parties at cabinet members’ homes and at the embassies.

The ordinary citizens of Washington entered the White House at 12:30 p.m. The gates were locked at 1 p.m. so that no one else could enter the White House. The president shook the hands of 2,000 ordinary citizens by the time the reception ended at 1:15 p.m.

The president and Mrs. McKinley then retired to their residence on the second floor. They then met with the White House staff and wished them a happy and prosperous 1899. The McKinleys then relaxed for the rest of the day.

The total count of guests attending the reception was estimated at 3,000, a much lower number than the 6,000 that attended the reception for McKinley’s immediate predecessor, Grover Cleveland. The reason for the lower attendance was attributed to the weather.

President Herbert Hoover hosted the last New Year’s Day reception in 1932 with 9,000 in attendance. President Franklin Roosevelt eliminated the reception because it had grown too large for the White House.

Patrick Finan of Cortland is the retired former library director of the McKinley Memorial Library in Niles.

columns@tribtoday.com

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