Truman : President Roosevelt is dead . Lillian sternly scolds the staff for making fun of newly-sworn-in President Harry Truman ( Harry Morgan ) and First Lady Bess Truman ( Estelle Parsons ) , just as her mother would have done . To cut down expenses , the Trumans reduce staff meals to one a day . The elderly mothers of both the President and First Lady move into the White House and require special treatment . Housekeeper Nesbitt is fired by the First Lady for refusing to give her a stick of rationed butter . She is replaced by Housekeeper Walker ( Marged Wakeley ) . Hitler dies in Berlin and two nuclear bombs on Japan bring World War II to an end . Lillian is concerned that Maggie is not taking proper care of herself , spending too much time working on her White House scrapbook . The First Family moves to Blair House when the White House starts to collapse from lack of repairs . While repairs are in progress only Mercer and Mays are kept on while the rest of the staff are let go . Lillian is re-hired by First Lady Bess as a seamstress after the President narrowly wins the election . From the window of her upstairs sewing room she witnesses an assassination attempt on President Truman . The President shows his courage by refusing to cancel his scheduled speech at Arlington despite the assassination attempt . As Truman leaves the White House on the last day of his term Mercer tells him , “ Mr. President , sir , you ’ve got class . ” Eisenhower : Dwight D Eisenhower ( Andrew Duggan ) , in total disrespect of tradition , orders the portraits of President Roosevelt and President Truman removed from the main entrance hall . The President and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower ( Barbara Barrie ) refuse to speak directly with staff and communicate with them through intermediaries . The First Lady prefers fashion designers for making her dresses , so Lillian is demoted to repairing linens and curtains . At times the Eisenhowers can be personable ; the President asks Lillian to sample his home-made soup and the First Lady throws a surprise birthday party for her , but most of the time the old guard of Lillian , Mercer , and Mays feel unnoticed and underappreciated . Before she dies , Maggie tells Mercer , “ You see that Lillian writes my book now . ” Mercer and Lillian retire before the Kennedy administration takes office . On Lillian ’s last day Housekeeper Walker asks what she is going to do now . Lillian replies , “ I ’m going to write a book . ” This mini-series was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards ( winning in 1 category ) , 1 Golden Globe Award , and 1 Writers Guild of America Award
assassination attempt on President Truman
Attempted assassination of Harry S. Truman
Backstairs at the White House