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Ulysses S. Grant's Cabinet
On March 4, 1869, Ulysses S. Grant took the oath of office and became the eighteenth President of the United States. His inauguration was a joyful occasion—many Americans celebrated Grant as the military hero that defeated the Confederacy. After Andrew Johnson’s dismal administration, Americans welcomed Grant’s election as an opportunity to restore the glory and honor of the presidency.The Gr
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From the Suffragists to the ERA: Women's Rights Protests and Lafayette Park
Since the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, the public struggle for women’s rights and gender equality has unfolded for more than 170 years in the United States. One of the most pivotal moments occurred on January 10, 1917 when twelve women emerged from Cameron House, situated on the eastern side of Lafayette Square, and walked a short distance to protest the lack of vo
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Vietnam War Protests at the White House
On November 1, 1963, a group of military officials overthrew the South Vietnamese government and assassinated President Ngo Dinh Diem after he refused to resign—all with the tacit approval of the John F. Kennedy administration.1 While U.S. involvement in Vietnam dated back to the Dwight Eisenhower administration, the escalation of the war during the 1960s and 1970s dominated national politics, ta
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LGBTQ+ Protests in Lafayette Square
Lafayette Square, the neighborhood just north of the White House, has long been the site of protests, marches, memorials, and celebrations for LGBTQ+ activists.1 Throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, segments of the American public have demanded equal treatment in the workplace, in healthcare, and at home, regardless of sexual orientation. Inspired and often excluded by other social movements, including
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Civil Rights Protests and the White House
The White House serves as a stage for ceremonial visits, performances, and international diplomacy, but it is also the backdrop for many of the country’s transformative moments. On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, the most comprehensive civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin, while al
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Mr. President, Can You Hear Us?
In the center of Washington, D.C, there is a seven-acre public park enclosed by H Street NW (north), Madison Place (east), Pennsylvania Avenue (south), and Jackson Place (west). Sometimes referred to as Lafayette Park or Lafayette Square (as a neighborhood), the area was named after the famous French hero, the Marquis de Lafayette. The park features a statue of
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The American Colonization Society
In the late eighteenth century, the original thirteen colonies dissolved and formed the United States. In 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia to craft a new federal government for the nation. The new Constitution protected the institution of slavery to fulfill an immediate and important need for a labor force, and preserved the hierarchy that kept white, male
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Washington, D.C.'s "Contraband" Camps
On April 16, 1862, Congress passed the Compensated Emancipation Act, ending slavery in the District of Columbia and delivering long-awaited freedom to more than 3,000 men, women, and children.1 America’s capital city became a beacon of liberty for enslaved individuals in bordering slave states like Maryland and Virginia, many of whom ran away and crossed into the District to pursue their own li
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"Children's Crusade" Protests at the White House
On April 29, 1922, a group of protestors arrived in Washington, D.C. and began a daily picket in front of the White House. This group of women and children, known as the “Children’s Crusade for Amnesty,” pressured President Warren G. Harding to release their husbands and fathers, who had been imprisoned for their opposition to World War I.1The protest was or
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The White House and Reconstruction
January 1, 1863 was a watershed moment in American history. That morning, President Abraham Lincoln hosted the annual New Year’s Day reception at the White House, spending several hours in the Blue Room shaking hands with hundreds of citizens. In the early afternoon, Lincoln returned to his office upstairs on the Second Floor. Secretary of State William Seward and his son, Fr
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Diversity in White House Art: Alma Thomas
On October 14, 2016, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a reception celebrating the recent renovation of the Old Family Dining Room, located on the State Floor of the White House. After welcoming her guests, Mrs. Obama delivered remarks about the space, including the addition of twentieth-century abstract artwork by diverse artists: As many of you know, the President and I, we are
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Diversity in White House Art: Henry Ossawa Tanner
Henry Ossawa Tanner was one of the most distinguished Black artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Despite his immense success, Tanner’s life story reveals the challenges faced by many Black artists. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 1859. His mother, Sarah Tanner, was a formerly enslaved woman who escaped to freedom on the Underground Railroad, while his fa