White House Christmas tree not ordered one by December 23. Additionally, other presidents never displayed a tree in the White House. First U.S. President George Washington held office at a time when there was no White House, thus it is impossible for him to have displayed a tree there. There is no evidence that Abraham Lincoln ever displayed a Christmas tree in the White House. In 1922 First Lady Florence Harding's illness led to a more subdued Christmas celebration at the White House and no Christmas tree. The official White House Christmas tree has several times been seen as controversial by some. In 1899
Presidency of Franklin Pierce both suffered severe depression afterward, which likely affected Pierce's performance as president. Jane would avoid social functions for much of her first two years as First Lady, making her public debut in that role to great sympathy at the public reception held at the White House on New Year's Day, 1855. Jane remained in New Hampshire as Pierce departed for his inauguration, which she did not attend. Pierce, the youngest man to be elected president to that point, chose to affirm his oath of office on a law book rather than swear it on a Bible, as all his predecessors