White House Christmas tree have had the first indoor Christmas tree at the White House during the 1850s, variously reported as 1853 or 1856. Others claim the first tree was during President Benjamin Harrison's administration (either in 1888, 1889, or 1891). First Lady Caroline Harrison helped decorate the tree, which was installed in the second floor oval parlor today's Yellow Oval Room. There is an 1880 reference to President John Tyler in the 1840s, hosting a children's party at which there was a Christmas tree with gifts. Following the Harrison administration indoor trees were not always used at the White House. First Lady Lou
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