The White House Office experienced three periods of major strain during the Eisenhower Presidency: the President’s two lengthy illnesses and the departure of Sherman Adams from the staff. The staff continued to function very smoothly during the three periods of serious illness of the President. When Eisenhower was hospitalized in Denver, the routine was disrupted to some extent because Adams and several other staff members had to spend much of their time in Denver. However, for the most part the staff functioned amazingly well during the illnesses. Most of the Eisenhower respondents agreed that this was the case and attributed this to the efficiency of the staff organization and the genius of Adams. Eisenhower’s critics were not so generous and concluded that the “business as usual” attitude in the White House was a sign that it was Adams and not Eisenhower who had been running the Presidency for the most part all along.
The departure of Adams from the staff in 1958 after the Goldfine case had exploded led to a more serious disruption in White House Office routine. Most of the respondents were shocked when Adams announced his resignation. After the congressional hearings, most of them thought the case was settled: that Adams had been indiscreet but had done nothing wrong. Several of them thought that the whole thing had been “masterminded” from Sam Rayburn’s office for political reasons. They knew that pressure was being put on Eisenhower for Adams' resignation by Congressional Republicans who had to face elections in November. However, they had no idea that he would yield to the pressure. They would all agree with Louis Koenig’s assessment that “the resignation of Sherman Adams gained the Republican party little and cost the President much.” by
The general tone of the interviews was that the “staff felt low” when Adams departed. He was replaced as “The Assistant to the President” by Persons and the nature of the White House Office was changed considerably. Persons was an easy going man compared to Adams. He was much more willing to give staff members freedom in their work. He still coordinated all staff activities, but he did not run the tight ship that Adams had run for eight years. As one respondent who served under both men for six years said, “Persons was a different kind of man, more easy going, willing to let the staff go its own way. He asked, 'What do you think ought to be done?'” Moreover, President Eisenhower became more involved in staff activities under Persons. He began to take more initiative in the White House when the strong hand of Adams was no longer present.
The daily schedule of the White House Office before Adams departure centered around Adams' schedule in sharp contrast to the Roosevelt and Truman years when the schedule of the Office centered around the schedule of the President. The typical Staff day kept them in the White House from 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. during the week and on Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons [remainder of line illegible in the scan]. Adams always wanted the staff in the office when he was there, and he was an “early to bed, early to rise” advocate, much to the dismay of his staff. The staff adapted to the schedule because they knew that “he didn’t like to call your desk and not be able to get you.” They were gratified that Adams liked to play golf on Saturday afternoons.
In 1953 Adams held staff meetings every morning. After 1953, he usually held three a week. Eisenhower rarely attended these meetings. In these meetings Adams gave assignments and outlined the day’s work. The meetings were usually brief and Adams did most of the talking. The respondents who attended them felt that they were very important. They were a source of information for a highly specialized staff about what was happening in other aspects of White House work. Persons held very few staff meetings after he replaced Adams.