Clinton Regales Teens with Tales from History

WASHINGTON — President Clinton gave members of Boys Nation and Girls Nation an impromptu history lesson Wednesday, recounting tales about the conduct of Thomas Jefferson and Dolly Madison in the very room in which they sat.

The teenagers, in town for the annual Boys Nation-Girls Nation legislative gathering, listened raptly from their seats in the East Room as Clinton pointed to a painting of George Washington and told how Madison’s wife saved it from a British invasion.

The White House had purchased the Gilbert Stuart painting in 1797 “for the then-enormous sum of $500,” Clinton said. When Madison sent word for his wife to forget the banquet she was planning and flee the White House, she took a few extra minutes to remove the painting from its frame and take it with her.

“No matter what, she had to take the picture of George Washington,” Clinton said. “The British arrived to find the empty frame, ate the food and burned the house. But we rebuilt the house and the picture still lives. Every time I see that picture I think about it.”

The East Room also was the setting for Jefferson’s meeting with Merriwether Lewis to plan the Lewis and Clark expedition, Clinton said.

“So a lot of very important things have happened where you are sitting today that remind us that America is a place with great opportunities and great responsibilities.”

Clinton was greeted with a rousing cheer, and Boys Nation vice president John Feeny attached a red pin to Clinton’s lapel, making him an honorary member of the 1999 class.

The president was among the Boys Nation class of 1963, during which he met President Kennedy. He has often cited that moment as one of the proudest of his life.