On December 4, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt named General Dwight D. Eisenhower to lead a massive invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. The assault, known as Operation Overlord, would land more than 130,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy, France.

While planning for the cross-channel invasion had been underway for years, Eisenhower had only a few months to shape its outcome after assuming command of Allied Forces in Europe. He made a point of visiting as many troops as possible and began drafting his now-famous “order of the day” to be distributed to personnel as they boarded their landing craft. What is less well-known is that Eisenhower also drafted a second document—one he hoped he would never have to use.

Handwritten by Eisenhower on June 5, 1944, this second document, was created just one day before D-Day, when the success of the invasion was far from certain. Overlord was—and remains—the largest amphibious invasion in human history. The staggering invasion force consisted of more than 4,000 landing craft, 1,200 warships, and hundreds of support vessels. In addition, nearly 12,000 aircraft were mobilized to bomb German fortifications and drop 23,000 paratroopers behind enemy lines.

The logistics behind assembling and supplying an invasion force of this size required a series of engineering miracles. To land vehicles and supplies on a hostile coast, the Allies invented massive floating harbors and piers, towing them across the channel once the beaches were secured. Undersea pipelines were constructed to deliver millions of gallons of fuel, while dedicated resupply fleets shuttled hundreds of thousands of tons of material to the advancing troops.

All of this had to be executed in absolute secrecy to maintain the element of surprise. To mislead the German high command, Eisenhower deployed elaborate deception campaigns. This included creating a fictional army group using inflatable tanks staged in Southern England across from Pas-de-Calais, France—the narrowest part of the channel. On the night of the invasion, the Allies executed Operation Glimmer, in which Royal Air Force bombers flew in precise geometric circles, dropping strips of aluminum foil to trick German radar stations into seeing a massive, phantom armada. A second diversion was staged to simulate an impending invasion of Norway. The stakes were high. If any of these cover operations failed, the Germans might hone in on the real landing sites and be waiting for the Allies on the beach.

Eisenhower also had to gamble with the one variable he couldn’t control: the weather. The Allies needed a full moon for the paratroopers to see their targets, and a low tide at dawn so the beach assault troops could clear German mines. In June 1944, those perfect conditions aligned on only three days: June 5, 6, and 7. When a massive storm rolled into the English Channel on June 4, Eisenhower was forced to delay the invasion by a day. If the weather didn’t clear by June 6, the entire operation would have to be pushed back two weeks, drastically increasing the odds that Germany would discover the plan. Fortunately, meteorologists spotted a brief window of clearing weather, allowing Eisenhower to give the final, historic order: “Okay, let‘s go.”

Yet, as the troops mobilized, the immense weight of the decision settled in. That’s when Eisenhower sat down and drafted what has since become known as the “In Case of Failure” message.

“Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone. July 5”

The note was intended to be released to the media in the event the invasion failed and the troops were forced to retreat. What makes it such a powerful historical document is how Eisenhower’s edits reveal his mindset. He actively crossed out passive phrasing, changing “the troops have been withdrawn” to “I have withdrawn the troops.” He replaced “this particular operation” with “My decision to attack.” His deliberate choice of words left no room for finger-pointing. He refused to blame the terrible weather, faulty intelligence, or possible logistical failures. To drive the point home, he underlined the words “mine alone.” The final and perhaps most poignant indicator of just how preoccupied Eisenhower was in that moment is the note’s date: in his exhaustion, he misdated it July 5th instead of June 5th.

Once written, Eisenhower folded the scrap of paper into a small square and tucked it into his wallet. The invasion was a success. Eisenhower never needed the note and completely forgot about it. When he rediscovered it in his wallet weeks later, Eisenhower casually told his naval aide and close confidant, Captain Harry C. Butcher, to discard the scrap of paper. Thankfully Butcher recognized the note’s incredible historical value and chose to save it instead. The note eventually made its way to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, where I was able to photograph it for POTUS.

In all my research across fourteen presidential libraries, I haven’t found anything quite like the “In Case of Failure” note. Today, it is hard to even imagine a political or military leader committing words to paper to assume absolute responsibility in the face of disaster. In that way, Eisenhower was a singular leader, and D-Day a singular event that defined a generation.

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After more than five and a half years of war, members of the German military high command signed an unconditional surrender to Allied forces in Reims, France on May 7, 1945.

By that time, the war in Europe had claimed the lives of tens of millions of people including 6 million Jews who had been systematically killed in the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis. After a successful landing in Normandy, Allied forces had liberated Western Europe and pushed into the German heartland, while Soviet forces advanced from the East until they had surrounded Berlin.

As the reality of total defeat set in, Nazi leadership began to crumble. Just days after German Chancellor Adolf Hitler committed suicide, his successor, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, sent General Alfred Jodl to negotiate a partial surrender to the Western Allies. Dönitz hoped he could split the alliance and focus every remaining soldier on holding back the Red Army. The Eastern Front had been a war of extermination. Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) was more than a territorial dispute—it was a racial crusade designed to slaughter and enslave the population to make room for Aryan settlers. The fighting was brutal and captured Soviet army officers were routinely executed instead of being treated as prisoners of war. Now on the eve of their own surrender, the Germans feared that Soviet retribution would be severe.

When Jodl arrived in Reims to negotiate, Supreme Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower refused to even meet with him. Eisenhower knew that any partial surrender would fracture the Allies and lead to a diplomatic crisis with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who was already suspicious that the West might cut a secret deal.

Instead, Eisenhower deftly used Germany’s fear of the Soviets against them. In an ultimatum issued through his Chief of Staff, Walter Bedell Smith, he decreed that unless Germany surrendered on all fronts simultaneously, he would immediately close the Western lines—in effect forcing fleeing German soldiers to surrender to the Soviets.

Dönitz, realizing his gamble had failed, radioed his authorization for Jodl to surrender. After the signing was completed at 2:41 a.m., it took about 20 minutes for the news to be relayed to Eisenhower. When he sat down to cable the news to U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, he dispensed with any flowery language and simply let the event speak for itself: “The mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 0241, local time, May 7th, 1945.” The rest of the world would celebrate VE (Victory in Europe) Day on May 8th.

The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas houses the actual cable in its archives. When I photographed it for my book, I literally got chills thinking about how this one piece of paper marked the end of the greatest conflict in human history. Eighty-one years later, Eisenhower’s choice to annotate history with a single line, says volumes about his stoic sense of duty to complete what he routinely referred to as a “crusade” against totalitarianism.

With all the democratic backsliding occurring both in the U.S. and around the world, we sure could use some Eisenhower energy right about now.

Happy VE day everyone.

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In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent envoys to Paris with a $10 million budget to buy New Orleans. Instead, Napoleon Bonaparte, who was facing a significant cash shortage for his upcoming wars, proposed a far more expansive deal.

In exchange for $15 million, the United States acquired Napoleon’s entire Louisiana Territory which encompassed a vast region that stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border.

The 530 million-acre purchase, which came to be known as the Louisiana Purchase, doubled the size of the United States overnight and set it on a course to become a continental power. While the acquisition was a diplomatic success for the Jefferson administration, it also presented complex challenges and lasting consequences.

Because it took weeks for a letter to cross the Atlantic, Jefferson’s envoys could not ask for permission. They knew Napoleon might change his mind, so they gambled and signed the deal on April 30, 1803, without knowing if Jefferson or Congress would actually back them up.

When the news reached Jefferson, he was conflicted. As a “strict constructionist,” he believed the federal government only had the powers specifically listed in the Constitution—and the Constitution said nothing about buying land from foreign nations.

While he briefly considered drafting a constitutional amendment to make it legal, his advisors talked him out of it fearing that Napoleon might get impatient and scrap the deal. Believing that the massive benefit to the country outweighed the establishment of a new precedent, he let the action stand and sent the treaty to Congress for ratification.

Constitutionally speaking, no president had ever attempted such a massive expansion, and the purchase sparked intense debate over executive authority to acquire new territory. More significantly, while the land was transferred between France and the United States on paper, it was already inhabited by numerous Indigenous nations. The subsequent westward expansion facilitated by the purchase ultimately led to decades of conflict and the forced displacement of Native American tribes.

Earlier this year, while photographing for my upcoming book on the modern presidency, I had the privilege of seeing one of the original copies of the purchase agreement up close inside the vaults at the National Archives in Washington D.C. If you look closely you can actually see Napoleon’s signature.

Stay tuned for more presidential history.

-Peter

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On March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. while exiting the Washington Hilton. Reagan had just delivered a speech to members of the AFL-CIO trade union when Hinckley fired six shots from a .22 caliber revolver from just 15 feet away. What should have been a routine movement from the hotel to the presidential limousine almost ended in tragedy.

In less than two seconds, Hinckley managed to breach the security line and severely wound four people, including the President. The first shot struck White House Press Secretary James Brady in the forehead, critically injuring him. The second round hit D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty in the back of the neck, causing him to collapse on the sidewalk, while the third shot missed the president and hit a window across the street. Agent Tim McCarthy, who bravely spread himself in front of Reagan, was hit in the chest by the fourth bullet before Hinckley’s fifth round hit the window of the armored limo.

Jerry Parr, the agent in charge of the Presidential Protective Detail, reacted at the sound of the first shot by grabbing Reagan and shoving him head-first into the open rear door of the presidential limousine.

At first, no one realized the President had been shot. It wasn’t until Parr noticed bright, frothy blood on Reagan’s lips—a classic sign of a lung injury—that they headed directly for the hospital. While Reagan and Parr were initially unaware, the bullet from Hinckley’s sixth and final shot had ricocheted off the limousine and struck Reagan under his left arm, where it punctured his lung and stopped less than an inch from his heart. As he was rushed into the operating room, the President attempted to defuse the gravity of the situation with humor, saying to the doctors, “Please tell me you’re all Republicans.”

The surgeons were able to remove the bullet and, after twelve days in the hospital, Reagan ultimately made a full recovery. Brady miraculously survived, but suffered permanent brain damage and partial paralysis. The two other men wounded in the attack, Officer Thomas Delahanty and Agent Tim McCarthy, also made full recoveries.

Back at the White House, the atmosphere dissolved into a mix of confusion and paranoia. Fearing the assassination attempt might be the opening salvo of a larger Soviet offensive, the administration struggled to find its footing as the crisis unfolded. Vice President George Bush, who was currently on a trip to Texas, was largely unreachable due to the lack of secure communications aboard Air Force Two. When the press corps demanded to know who was running the government, Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speakes only heightened the anxiety by admitting he couldn’t answer the question.

Seizing the moment, Secretary of State Alexander Haig attempted to project stability but instead triggered a constitutional controversy. He famously declared to the press briefing room, “As of now, I am in control here,” a claim that ignored the legal line of succession, which placed him behind both the Vice President and Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill. This period of high-stakes improvisation finally ended once Bush landed back in Washington and restored a sense of order to the West Wing.

After firing his sixth shot, Hinckley was quickly subdued by agents and arrested. Less than two hours later, the FBI raided his room at the Park Central Hotel. It was there, among his possessions, that they discovered Hinckley’s motive was not political but instead stemmed from a personal obsession with the actress Jodie Foster. Evidence indicated that he had no animosity toward Reagan, who was simply a “stand-in” for a twisted romantic gesture—a theory was later supported by the discovery that Hinckley had also stalked President Carter months earlier.

In June 1982, a jury found Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity and committed him to a secure psychiatric facility indefinitely. No longer deemed a threat to society, he was released in 2016.

The Reagan assassination attempt marked the ninth such attack on a U.S. President since the Civil War and was a sobering reminder of the persistent threat of violence directed at the office. Today, the security failures that allowed Hinckley to get within point-blank range of the President are virtually unthinkable. The Secret Service now employs a vastly more sophisticated system of “preventive layers,” ensuring that no unauthorized individual, especially one carrying a weapon, could breach the perimeter.

The most visible symbol of this evolution is the presidential limousine. Known as “The Beast,” the current vehicle is a rolling fortress designed to withstand ballistic, explosive, and chemical attacks. Beyond the hardware, the Secret Service has also revolutionized its tactical protocols by ensuring agents are hyper-vigilant regarding sightlines and “choke points” during every presidential movement.

While no security detail can ever be truly impenetrable, the standards of protection today are unprecedented, making the vulnerabilities of 1981 a relic of the past.

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Today, presidents are used to live news coverage, viral video segments, and cable television hot takes. But have you ever wondered where it all started?

In January 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first POTUS to televise his press conferences. As it turns out, the decision was born almost out of desperation.

Changing the Ground Rules

Soon after taking office, Eisenhower and his press secretary, James Hagerty, sought to eliminate what they perceived as the media’s distortion of the president’s remarks. Their first major attempt came in late 1953 when Hagerty moved Eisenhower’s press conferences from “off the record” to “on the record.” Prior to this, journalists could not quote a President directly without explicit permission. When that permission was not obtained or sought, the press would simply turn to paraphrasing the remarks with various degrees of accuracy. By allowing journalists to quote freely, the White House hoped to end the “creative liberties” they believed reporters were taking with the president’s words.

The change didn’t end Eisenhower’s frustrations. Just months later, after the New York Times and Washington Post reported on his March 3, 1954, remarks regarding Senator Joseph McCarthy, Eisenhower was once again incensed over the reporting. Frustrated by the lack of control, Hagerty released of the full audio of Eisenhower’s comments to radio and television. “To hell with the slanted reporters,” he wrote in his diary. “We’ll go directly to the people who can hear exactly what the President said without reading warped and slanted stories.”1

Bypassing the Gatekeepers

The war over control of the president’s words culminated on January 19, 1955, when Hagerty allowed television cameras to film Eisenhower’s entire press conference. Startled by the decision, print journalists in the press corps claimed it was a form of censorship because the footage was not broadcast live. The criticism soon faded when the networks began airing the footage in full without any editing by the White House.

And just like that, the presidency walked through a door and never looked back. By introducing cameras, Hagerty transformed the press conference from an informal working session into a national event. He also used this strategy to stage the first televised Cabinet meeting and to orchestrate the president’s appearances from the hospital after Eisenhower’s heart attack.

By rewriting the rules, Eisenhower and Hagerty redefined the relationship between journalism, public relations, and the executive branch. From then on, presidents were no longer addressing only the press. They were addressing the nation.

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POTUS: Icons, Artifacts and History That Shaped the American Presidency will be published on November 17th by Abrams Books! This 400+ page photo book takes readers inside the archives—and lives—of modern American presidents dating back to the 1929 presidency of Herbert Hoover. For the last five years, I’ve been photographing hundreds of artifacts housed within the network of presidential libraries run by the National Archives. My goal was to explore the processes, personalities, and history that shaped the most powerful office on Earth.

Using striking photography along with short historical narratives and anecdotes that bring each artifact to life, the book takes you on a tour of hundreds of iconic objects and documents—some of which have rarely, if ever, been seen by the public.

Barack Obama’s Blackberry smartphone. Franklin Roosevelt’s lucky fedora. The safety plug of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. The telephone used by Richard Nixon to speak with the Apollo astronauts on the Moon. Dwight Eisenhower’s written orders to Allied troops on D-day and the note he prepared in case the invasion failed. These are just a handful of the visually stunning objects, memos, notes, memorabilia and mementoes that stand as reminders of events that shed light on who the presidents really were―especially when the cameras weren’t rolling―or that, quite literally, shaped the world as we know it.

You can pre-order the book or learn more at:

https://www.potusphotobook.com

And, here’s a short book trailer:

I hope you enjoy the book and can’t wait to hear what your favorite artifacts are!

More to come.

-Peter

With Iran back in the news, it feels like the right time to share some of the objects and documents I found at the Eisenhower and Carter presidential libraries that shed some light on the origins of the conflict.

The root of U.S. conflict with Iran can be traced back to the Eisenhower presidency, when the CIA orchestrated the 1953 coup that removed Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and restored the Shah to power. But it was President Carter who presided over the chapter that is still being written today.

In 1979, amid the chaos of the Islamic Revolution and the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iranian students took 66 Americans hostage in protest of the Carter administration’s decision to allow the Shah entry into the United States for medical treatment. What was supposed to be a short-lived protest quickly morphed into a far-reaching power play by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Carter attempted to resolve the crisis peacefully. In a letter to the Ayatollah, he promised to dispatch former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and former U.S. Ambassador to Iran, William Miller, in the hope of negotiating a settlement. The mission collapsed when Iran’s leaders refused to receive Clark and Miller, denounced them as spies, and barred them from entering the country. Khomeini’s unwillingness to negotiate through traditional diplomatic channels foreshadowed the long standoff ahead, one that would result in 52 of the hostages being held in captivity for 444 days.

Over the coming year, Carter tried in vain to pressure the Iranians into releasing the hostages by freezing assets and imposing economic sanctions. An aborted rescue attempt ended tragically when a U.S. aircraft collided with a helicopter carrying members of the Army’s elite Delta Force during a refueling operation in the Iranian desert. The situation soon appeared intractable, and the crisis came to define the final stretch of Carter’s presidency—ultimately contributing to his defeat in the 1980 election.

Carter’s earlier decision to seize Iranian assets and impose sanctions ultimately proved prescient. In late 1980, the measures brought currency-starved Iran to the negotiating table after the start of the Iran-Iraq war. But it would be the election of another president, and a secret promise of arms sales, that ultimately freed the hostages.

I’ll cover how the crisis ended in another post.

You can learn a lot about people by looking at the things they save. Personal effects speak to their personality. Keepsakes and mementos mark formative events. Scribbled notes or a box of saved letters can clue us into their state of mind. Taken together, these artifacts help us better understand the life someone led.

For the past five years, I’ve been searching for those very things, not in the attic of a loved one, but inside the archives of the American presidency—specifically at more than a dozen presidential libraries operated by the National Archives.

Barack Obama’s Blackberry smartphone. Franklin Roosevelt’s lucky fedora. The safety plug of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. The telephone used by Richard Nixon to speak with the Apollo astronauts on the Moon. Dwight Eisenhower’s written orders to Allied troops on D-day and the note he prepared in case the invasion failed. The reading copy of the speech Ronald Reagan famously delivered at the foot of the Berlin Wall.

These artifacts are only a fraction of what I found. In total, I carefully photographed more than 1,000 objects and documents left behind by modern presidents, from Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama. Each of those images tells a story. Some reveal who these presidents were when the cameras weren’t rolling. Others mark moments that literally shaped the world. Many are so steeped in history that you can almost picture the president holding them in their hands.

This newsletter and my forthcoming book (stay tuned!) are where I’ll be sharing how these artifacts, and the history they represent, shaped the American presidency in ways that continue to effect our lives today.

More to come.

-Peter

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