Stories

by Matthew Gailani On the morning of April 15, 1865, Andrew Johnson was quickly sworn in at the Kirkwood House in Washington D.C. as the 17 th President of the United States. The ceremony had none of the pomp and circumstance of the previous presidential inauguration, as the country was reeling from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln the night before. Consequently, few were in attendance to witness this solemn tradition, including the new President’s spouse Eliza McCardle... Read More

by Peggy Burch As writer Peggy Burch points out below in her review of Amy S. Greenberg's biography of Sarah Polk, Lady First , Polk "expressed no interest in the history-making women’s-rights convention held in Seneca Falls the last year of her husband’s presidency." Nevertheless, Polk is highlighted in the Museum's upcoming exhibition, Ratified! Tennessee Women and the Right to Vote , scheduled to open on April 24, 2020. She appears in a... Read More

by Dakota Elliott Pat Summitt is best known for her 38 years as University of Tennessee Knoxville’s women’s basketball coach, during which time she never had a losing season. With a career total of 1,098 wins to only 208 losses, Summitt holds the record for the most wins of any college basketball coach in history. Prior to her retirement in 2012, she won eight NCAA championships and was named NCAA Coach of the Year seven times. 1  Summitt received numerous awards... Read More