President Obama caused a bit of a stir when he persuaded his security staff to let him continue using his BlackBerry device after he took office. Even though he’ll only be able to connect with a select group of staff and friends, the 44th President is now the first sitting President to use a wireless email device. This does not seem like a big deal to me. I would have been more surprised (and perhaps alarmed?) if they did not welcome this technology into the Oval Office. One of the main concerns had been security and legal issues, but surely we now have the expertise to work around those. I think in 20 years, or even less, we will look back and think, “How did other Presidents communicate without BlackBerries or smart phones?”
With this thought in mind, and in honor of Presidents’ Day, I decided to do some research to find out when other “high-tech” communication devices were first introduced to the White House. I found these snippets on www.whitehousehistory.org, which credits the book The President’s House, by William Seale:
- 1860s: A new “spring-bell system” was installed that enabled President Lincoln to signal the reception room and his secretaries without leaving his desk.
- 1866: Andrew Johnson installed the first telegraph room.
- 1879: The first White House telephone was installed for Rutherford B. Hayes. His telephone number was “1,” but it was used rarely as there were so few telephones in Washington.
- 1880: The first typewriter arrives at the White House. From that time on, presidential letters were type-written, as opposed to hand written in fancy penmanship by a clerk.
- 1915: Woodrow Wilson placed a ceremonial phone call from the Oval Office to inaugurate the first transcontinental telephone line, from New York to San Francisco.
- 1922: Warren G. Harding had the first radio set installed in his study on the second floor.
- 1929: Herbert Hoover installed 13 radios when he took office and also ordered an expansion of the telephone system.
- 1930s: Broadcasting equipment was moved into the Diplomatic Reception Room, the setting for President Roosevelt’s fireside chats.
- 1955: Eisenhower held the first presidential press conference covered by both television and motion picture newsreels.
- 1969: President Nixon spoke from the White House by radiotelephone with Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin as they walked on the surface of the moon.
- 1977-1981: The Carter administration began automating the White House with computers. By the end of Carter’s term, the White House had purchased its first laser printer, a water-cooled IBM model that measured 8′ x 10′ x 3′ (yes, that’s feet!)
- 1980s: President Reagan’s staff expanded the uses of computer office technology and adopted the word processor and personal computers.
- 1992: E-mail is introduced to the White House and President George Bush becomes the first president to use the new technology.
- 1994: The White House’s first web site makes its debut during the Clinton administration.
- 2009: President Obama becomes first sitting President to use a wireless email device.
- 2010 and beyond: ????
Nice post, Kate.
A development less talked about than the SuperBlackBerry but perhaps more important came to light earlier this week when it was reported that Recovery.gov, the web site that allows citizens to follow how tax dollars are spent in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is built on Drupal, an open source content management system.
As the linked piece notes, this flies in the face of government’s long-standing reliance on proprietary software, asserts that open-source products can be as secure as closed source ones, and is a triumph for those whose work with technology is infused with open, democratic, and progressive ideals.