In the first section of the paper the development of White House staff facilities prior to 1939 is summarized briefly. The Reorganization Act of 1939 and Reorganization Plan NO. 1 of that year are discussed as the legal foundation of the 'establishment of the Executive Office of the President including an expanded White House Office in that year. The debate over the merits of the “institutionalization” of the Presidency is reviewed and the nature of the study of which this paper is a part is described.
In the second section of the paper data for a biographical profile of the White House Office staff of each of the five Presidents since 1939 is presented. The typical staff member during this period has been in his mid-forties, white a (only three Negroes served), male, from the Eastern half of the United States, with prior experience in the federal government, and holder of at least one Ivy League degree.
The third section of the paper is a discussion of the organization of the White House Office under Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. Attention is given to. such topics as the relationship of the staff to the President, work habits, the evolution of major staff positions, and staff schedules. so.
Finally, the of expanded staff facilities in the White House Office on the Presidency is evaluated.