Politics and Possum Feasts: Presidents Who Ate Opossums

https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2019/09/politics-and-possum-feasts-presidents-who-ate-opossums/



A photo in the Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division (known colloquially around the institution as P & P) shows white men in formal attire, sitting row upon row at tables, apparently waiting to be served. The caption, which came to us with the photo itself, is “’Possum’ dinner tendered to President-elect William Howard Taft by the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, January 15, 1909.” The men, apparently, are waiting to be served “A ‘Possum Crisp and Brown” with the president elect. Whether you’re interested in possums or politics, researching the background of this incident can reveal fascinating aspects of American culture.