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Event
History Happy Hour: The Story of Nance and the Legacy of Lincoln’s Presidency
The story of eradicating slavery all began with “…a slave girl named Nance” Legins-Costley (1813-1892 ) of Illinois, the first enslaved person freed by President Lincoln. Lincoln also freed three of Nance’s first of eight children with the same verdict. Lincoln’s immortality can be summed up in seven words: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist.” This phrase is quoted in th
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Educational Resource
Slavery, Freedom, and the White House
Although many people think of the White House as a symbol of democracy, it is also a part of our country’s history of slavery. From the start of White House construction in 1792 until emancipation took effect in Washington, D.C. in 1862, enslaved men, women, and children labored at the Executive Mansion. The stories of these individuals, working under the op
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Video
Slavery at the White House: Five Untold Stories
White House History Live delves into the stories that make up the history of the Executive Mansion.Historian Lina Mann discusses five previously untold stories about the role of enslaved people in White House history. The program is part of the White House Historical Association’s Slavery in the President's Neighborhood research initiative.
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Event
White House History Live: The Syphax Family in the President's Neighborhood
Join us in learning more about White House History right from your own home. Our Facebook Live series, White House History Live, delves into the stories that make up the history of the Executive Mansion.In this episode of White House History Live, historian Stephen E. Hammond will discuss the Syphax family with White House Historical Association Senior Historian, Dr.
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Video
The Syphax Family in the President's Neighborhood
In this episode of White House History Live, historian Stephen E. Hammond will discuss the Syphax family with White House Historical Association Senior Historian, Dr. Matthew Costello. Mr. Hammond is a descendant of William Syphax, and for nearly fifty years he has researched the Syphax family and its lineage. During the nineteenth century, his third-great-grandmother — Nancy Syphax — was an enslaved resi
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Video
Slavery in the President's Neighborhood: Stories of Resistance and Perseverance
In commemoration of Black History Month, this episode of White House History Live features two of the Association's graduate fellows, Mia Owens of American University, and Tianna Mobley of Georgetown University, who will discuss their research connected to the Slavery in the President's Neighborhood initiative with Senior Historian Dr. Matthew Costello. Owens will explore the Pearl incident, which took place
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Video
Chocolate City - A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital
Throughout four hundred years, Washington, D.C. has undergone massive transformations. Starting as a sparsely populated plantation society that grew to be a center of the slave trade, the nation’s seat of government developed into a diverse metropolis over time, eventually becoming the nation’s first majority Black city. Historians Derek Musgrove and Chris Myers Asch will discuss their book
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Video
At the Threshold of Liberty - Women, Slavery, & Shifting Identities in Washington, D.C.
The capital city of a nation founded on the premise of liberty, nineteenth-century Washington, D.C., was both an entrepôt of urban slavery and the target of abolitionist ferment. The growing slave trade and the enactment of Black codes placed the city’s Black women within the rigid confines of a social hierarchy ordered by race and gender. Tamika Y.
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Video
In Conversation with the Decatur House Advisory Council
Recorded Live on July 26, 2022 at the White House Historical Association in Washington D.C. The Decatur House Advisory Council includes Nancy Syphax descendent and historian Stephen E. Hammond, curator at Henry Clay’s Ashland estate Eric Brooks, and historical archaeologist Julianna Jackson. This conversation is moderated by Dr. Colleen Shogan, Senior Vice President and Director of the David M. Rubenstein Na
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Press Release
NEW Episode: The White House 1600 Sessions Podcast “Jon Meacham on Lincoln and the American Struggle”
The White House Historical Association released a new episode of The White House 1600 Sessions podcast today, “Jon Meacham on Lincoln and the American Struggle.” In the episode, Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham about his new book And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle. “There have been many b
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Press Release
NEW Episode: The White House 1600 Sessions Podcast “David Rubenstein on Patriotic Philanthropy”
The White House Historical Association released a new episode of The White House 1600 Sessions podcast today, “David Rubenstein on Patriotic Philanthropy.” In the episode, Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, speaks with best-selling author David Rubenstein about his new book, How to Invest: Masters on the Craft, and his lasting legacy of patriotic philanthropy. Rubenstein worked in the
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Event
History Happy Hour: First Ladies and the Civil Rights Movement
First ladies and civil rights have a mixed history. As the White House Historical Association project "Slavery in the President's Neighborhood" made us aware, starting with the Washingtons, slaveholding presidents brought enslaved servants to the president's house to work. Other 19th century first ladies had abolitionist roots and supported former enslaved workers or their family members in a variety of