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Rebuilding the White House
President John Adams first occupied the President's House on November 1, 1800. It stood for thirteen years and eight months until it was burned during the British invasion in August 1814. After a concerted effort by Congress to move the capital to Cincinnati, the government appointed two architects to "repair" the Federal City's public buildings: Benjamin Henry Latrobe, an Englishman of skill in
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White House Tour
Following a competition for the design of the President's House in the spring of 1792, Irish architect James Hoban was commissioned to build a home and office for the President of the United States. With guidance from President George Washington, Hoban employed craftsmen brought from as far away as Scotland and oversaw a free and enslaved labor force that constructed one
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About Us
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White House Ghost Stories
1862-1863: Mary Todd Lincoln, grieving over her son Willies death in February, began to participate in spirit circles or seances in the Red Room at the White House and the presidential cottage at the Soldiers Home. Spiritualism was wildly popular during the height of the Civil War as families sought comfort for the loss of loved ones. 1901-1904: Jeremiah Jerry
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Living Quarters on the Ground Floor
White House staff who lived at the President’s House during the nineteenth century, including enslaved and free African Americans, usually had rooms in the basement. Open at the ground level on the south, the basement (referred to as the Ground Floor today) had windows on the north side facing a dry moat that was entirely hidden from view. Visitors on
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The White House and the Movies
Read Digital EditionForeword, William SealePresidents and First Ladies in the Movies: Presence, Personality, and Power, Ron J. KellerPresidential Stardust: Fame, Power, and the Culture of Celebrity, Amy HendersonSets and Locations: The White House Re-Created, Diane LedermanD.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation": An Early "Blockbuster" Visits the White House, Elise K. KirkMovie Stars at the Dinner Table, William SealeWhite
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The First Ladies
Read Digital EditionForeword, William SealeThe Office of the First Lady: Managing Public Duties, Private Lives, and Changing Expectations, Anita B. McBrideThe Lady Bird Special: The Power of a Whistle-stop Campaign, Linda J. HoldenFirst Lady Lou Henry Hoover and the First White House Catalog, Elizabeth DinschelWhite House Furnishings, Prepared for Lou Henry Hoover by Dare Stark McMullin, December 1932Mary Lincoln: A
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More Educational Partners
Discovery Education As the largest professional learning community of its kind, Discovery Education is a global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, and professional development. Reaching more than 51 million students globally in over 90 countries, Discovery Education provides many experiences and services, including curating content from educational partners, including selected
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Digital Library Exhibit
Slavery and Freedom in the White House Collection
Slavery and Freedom in the White House Collection explores the history of slavery and emancipation in the United States through art, furnishings, chinaware, and other objects in the White House. This exhibit was curated by White House Historical Association historian Sarah Fling.
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Reading Lists & Bibliography
General White House Bibliography:Aikman, Lonnelle. The Living White House. Washington, D.C.: The White House Historical Association, 1996. Cunliffe, Marcus. The American Heritage History of the Presidency. New York: American Heritage Publishing Company, 1968. Dowd, Mary-Jane M., compiler. Records of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital - Record Group 42 Inventory No. 16. Washington, D.C.: National
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African American Performers at the White House
Beginning with James Buchanan’s administration in the 1850s, black entertainers have held a prime spot among White House performers. Their contribution to the musical history of the White House has been a rich and generally little known segment of American cultural life. A performance by Thomas Greene Bethune, "Blind Tom" created a sensation in 1859. Although blind and likely autistic, he
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Frederick Douglass
The son of an enslaved woman and an unknown white man, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born into slavery in 1818 on Maryland's eastern shore. He was enslaved for twenty years in city households in Baltimore and on Maryland farms. In 1838, he fled north and changed his name to Frederick Douglass.Douglass was highly active in the abolitionist movement and became