public sector. Definition. The part of the economy concerned with providing basic government services. The composition of the public sector varies by country, but in most countries the public sector includes such services as the police, military, public roads, public transit, primary education and healthcare for the poor.
Mr. Truman's Balcony. Irritated by the rejection of his West Wing expansion, in 1948, Truman decided to add a balcony to the South Portico at the second-floor level using money already allotted for White House maintenance.
Seventeen White House weddings have been documented: Lucy Payne Washington (the sister of Dolley Madison) married Thomas Todd on the State Floor, probably in the Blue Room. Maria Hester Monroe (daughter of President and Mrs. James Monroe) married Samuel Lawrence Gouverneur (Mrs. Monroe's nephew) on the State Floor, probably in the Blue Room.