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Fourth of July Celebrations at the White House in the 19th Century
The People's House: Although John Adams was the first to occupy the Executive Mansion in November 1800, it was Thomas Jefferson who first celebrated the Fourth of July at the White House in 1801. Jefferson opened the house and greeted diplomats, civil and military officers, citizens, and Cherokee chiefs in the oval saloon (today’s Blue Room). The Marine Band played in th
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The Working White House: A Mirror - The 20th Century
Twentieth-century historical forces and social movements left their marks on the working White House. In 1900, nearly 87,000 inhabitants (almost a third of the population) of Washington, D.C., were black, forming the largest urban community of African Americans anywhere in the United States. However, racial segregation, as a formal policy, was endorsed and enforced in the Taft White House (1909-13), and
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The Working White House: A Mirror - The 19th Century
The occupational culture and management of the 19th-century White House reflected the social climate and ethnic composition of Washington, D.C. The White House staff, like that of many elite Washington households, was racially and ethnically mixed. Because managerial roles were usually assigned to white employees, tensions sometimes developed between white stewards and African American house workers. The Executive Mansion
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The Working White House: Witness to History
White House workers’ memoirs abound with recollections of significant international and national events and episodes. As they go about their daily business, members of the residence staff function amidst history in the making. One of the most searing experiences for 20th-century White House employees was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Seeing the President and Mrs. Kennedy of
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Scholarship
America Under Fire: Aftermath
Timeline of Events:August 29, 1814: Faced with a British demand to surrender 21 merchant ships, naval and ordinance stores and cotton, flour, tobacco and wines from the city warehouses or face attack from a squadron of seven ships, Alexandria's mayor and council bowed to the inevitable and agreed to the British demand—for they had no reliable defenses or defenders.August 30, 1814: A wa
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America Under Fire: Timeline
Timeline of Events (Year 1814):May 9: News of Napoleon's abdication reached Washington.May 10-19: U.S. forces under Lt. Col. John B. Campbell captured and burned Port Dover and Port Talbot, Upper Canada (Ontario)—an outrage that contributed to the British decision to burn the public buildings of Washington, D.C.May 20: President James Madison tried to prod Secretary of War Jo
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Scholarship
Barney's Flotilla
In late May 1814, Commodore Joshua Barney, the veteran leader of the U.S. flotilla in the upper Chesapeake, left his base in Baltimore and established a new base of operations on the Patuxent River. His flotilla was small—consisting of a sloop, barges, gunboats, a galley, a lookout boat and his flagship, the cutter Scorpion—but at the moment it was
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Foreword; White House History Number 33
Further pursuing our interest in the neighborhood context of the White House, as well as the presidential complex itself, this issue hopes to paint a picture of the Mexican-American War era there (1846–48), when the American armies were fighting a war two thousand miles away on foreign soil. The capital tensed for reports from the fronts. Military action followed two main li
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New England Convention
The Massachusetts legislature released an invitation on October 5, 1814 for a convention of the New England states to meet in Hartford, Connecticut "to lay the foundation for a radical reform in the National compact." Angered by the destructive wartime loss of their trade and fearing a British assault on Boston, New England governors had refused to adhere to President Madison's requests
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Stephen Pleasonton Saves the State Papers
With news of the British force's approach, a senior State Department clerk, Stephen Pleasonton, swung into action, buying rough but hardy linen which was cut up and made into book bags, into which Pleasonton and other clerks gently packed priceless manuscripts and papers like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Secretary of War Armstrong, whose foolhardiness seemed to extend
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The Chesapeake & Canadian Campaigns
The British decided in 1814 to relieve pressure on their forces in Canada by launching diversionary assaults in the Chesapeake Bay area, with Washington and Baltimore as targets. Admiral Alexander Cochrane's orders to Admiral Sir George Cockburn were "to destroy and lay waste such towns and districts upon the coast as you may find assailable." The British assembled their forces at
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Presidential Valets
Throughout the history of the presidency, a president’s clothing choices have been influenced by a number of factors. Personal background, economics, regional influences, direction from the first lady, and advice from other family members and staff have all contributed to the sartorial style of the nation’s leader. Perhaps no one knew the presidential wardrobe, and the man himself, as i