For years, bestselling author David M. Rubenstein has distilled the contours of American democracy through conversations with noted leaders and historians. In The Highest Calling, he offers an enlightening overview of arguably the single most important position in the world: the American presidency.

Blending history and anecdote, Rubenstein chronicles the journeys of the presidents who have defined America as it exists now, what they envision for its future, and their legacy on the world stage. Drawing from his own experience in the Carter administration, he engages in dialogues with our nation’s presidents and the historians who study them. Get exclusive access to fresh perspectives, including:
- Original interviews with most of the living US presidents
- Interviews with noted presidential historians like Annette Gordon-Reed, Ron Chernow, Candice Millard, and more

Through “chatty, insightful, and enlightening” (The Wall Street Journal) analysis, Rubenstein captures our country’s most prominent leaders, the political genius and frays of the presidential role, and the wisdom that emerges from it.

Every four years on January 20, the President of the United States takes the oath of office. The inauguration usually takes place at the United States Capitol and includes a ceremonial program and a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.

The Presidential Records Act of 1978 changed the legal ownership of the official records of the President and Vice President from private to public (starting in 1981 upon the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan) and defined that the Archivist would assume the legal ownership, custody, and responsibility for these records immediately at the end of the last term of the administration.

While a successful move of presidential and vice presidential records and artifacts sounds simple on its face, it is a complex job that really starts at the very beginning of an incoming presidency. Facilitating a smooth transition of the holdings of the outgoing presidential administration to NARA so that they can be preserved for posterity involves careful planning and coordination with many different agencies.

While NARA is the agency tasked with moving the incumbent President's records and artifacts, other government agencies provide assistance and work on different parts of the transition. The move is done in close conjunction and cooperation with many White House and vice presidential staff and offices, and also with the Department of Defense (DoD). Because all records and artifacts that are moved before the end of the presidency are still in the President's or Vice President's control, NARA must receive White House approval to start moving records as early as possible.

The National Archives also plays a role in the transitional process itself. Your State's Executive prepares seven Certificates of Ascertainment. Immediately after the election results in your State are certified, the Executive sends one of those original Certificates of Ascertainment to the Archivist. Electoral votes must be received by the President of the Senate and the Archivist no later than the fourth Wednesday in December. As the new Congress assembles, the Archivist transmits sets of Certificates to Congress, as requested. This generally happens when the Senate does not receive its set of Certificates on time. The transfer occurs in late December or early January when OFR’s Legal staff meets with representatives of the Secretary of the Senate, the Clerk of the House, and Congressional Parliamentarians.