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Scholarship
The Builders of Tudor Place
Like his father, Thomas Peter was a skillful businessman, a significant landowner, and a large slaveholder who was active within the community and the new city. His pursuits included farming and horse racing. A man of refinement, he was also an accomplished flutist, and his literary interests are revealed in his extensive book collection. President John Adams named Thomas a
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Scholarship
Picketing the White House
In the second half of the nineteenth century Americans headed west to seek greater opportunities for themselves and their families. As settlements and territories emerged, new residents actively participated in creating the political systems they lived under. In fact, it was in these sparsely populated areas that the women’s suffrage movement quickly gained momentum. Near the turn of the ce
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Scholarship
How Early White House Conversations Influenced Civil Rights
Shortly before 5 p.m. on April 11, 1968, several congressional and African-American leaders gathered in the East Room of the White House to witness the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (commonly known as the Fair Housing Act). Before signing the measure, President Lyndon B. Johnson took the stage and delivered brief remarks to commemorate the occasion. Among his comments, he
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Scholarship
Slavery and French Cuisine in Jefferson's Working White House
President Thomas Jefferson was widely recognized as a Francophile, embracing all things French including art, culture, and custom. While serving as Minister to France from 1784 to 1789, Jefferson developed a particular taste for French cuisine. However, French chefs were very expensive to employ, and Jefferson’s costs regularly outpaced his income. While Jefferson may have been short on cash, he did ha
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Scholarship
From the White House to Freedom on the Underground Railroad
First published in 1872, William Still’s The Underground Rail Road drew on the author’s personal experience working with the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society in order to present an engaging, authentic account of the journey from slavery to freedom. Using interviews and personal recollections, Still profiled hundreds of escaped slaves and the abolitionists who helped them along the way. The son of e
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Scholarship
Gracy Bradley's White House
On November 24, 1831, Andrew Jackson, Jr. married Sarah Yorke. President Andrew Jackson, a devoted father, wanted to give his son’s new bride a wedding present. In March of 1832, he purchased what he thought would be most helpful for a young woman setting up her own domestic household for the first time – an enslaved woman named Gracy Bradley.1
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Scholarship
The Enslaved Household of President Andrew Jackson
In January 1829, less than two months before he became president, Andrew Jackson ordered an inventory of his slaves. The inventory recorded the names, ages, and familial relationships of ninety-five enslaved individuals who lived and worked at The Hermitage, his Tennessee plantation.1 When President-elect Jackson left for the White House, he brought some of these enslaved people with him. The 1830 census
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Scholarship
The Complexities of Slavery in the Nation's Capital
For the first seventy-two years of its existence, the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., harbored one of America’s most difficult historical truths and greatest contradictions: slavery. The city’s placement along the Potomac River, in between the slave states of Maryland and Virginia, ensured that slavery was ingrained into every aspect of life, including the buildings, institutions, and social
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Scholarship
The Enslaved Household of President James Madison
In a single week in early 1801, James Madison experienced two major life events. On February 27, his father James Madison Sr. died. He bequeathed his estate Montpelier in Orange County, Virginia, and more than 100 enslaved people to his son. On March 5, President Thomas Jefferson named Madison secretary of state, and he prepared to move his family to Washington, D.C., for
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Scholarship
The Slave Quarters at Decatur House
Nestled in the heart of Washington, D.C., Lafayette Park attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. From school groups to tourists, protesters to foreign dignitaries, many are drawn to the most prominent building on the square—the White House. Yet few fully realize just how much the neighborhood has changed since 1800, when President John Adams first moved into th
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Scholarship
The Enslaved Household of President George Washington
On April 16, 1789, George Washington left his home at Mount Vernon to travel to New York City to be inaugurated as the first President of the United States. He was accompanied by Charles Thomson, the secretary of Congress, and Colonel David Humphreys, Washington’s longtime friend and secretary. Although the president-elect made no mention of their presence in his diary, he wa
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Scholarship
The Remarkable Story of Ona Judge
In April 1774, one of Martha Washington’s enslaved housemaids, Betty, gave birth at Mount Vernon to a daughter named Ona Judge.1 Ona’s father was Andrew Judge, a white indentured servant who was employed on the estate. Ona probably lived with Betty in a small cabin near the mansion house, completing simple chores, helping her mother with easy tasks in thei