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Emancipation Day, A Celebration in Washington, D.C.
THE NEGRO CELEBRATION IN WASHINGTON The occasion of the celebration, which took place April 19, was the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. Two regiments of colored troops and various colored civic associations, with many other colored citizens, assembled in front of the Executive Mansion, making a dense mass of colored faces, relieved here and there by a few
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Booker T. Washington's Dinner with President Theodore Roosevelt
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT The Lie Nailed that he is Opposed to the Negro. The First President to Entertain A Negro. Booker T. Washington Dined. The many false reports that have been circulated that President Roosevelt was opposed to the negro has been eliminated by the many kind acts that he has done prior to his election, and while he was Vice
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Jubilee Singers at the White House
By appointment the colored Fisk Jubilee singers, accompanied by Rev. Dr. Rankin, called yesterday to pay their respects to President Arthur, and while there sang several melodies, among them "Safe in the Arms of Jesus," which actually moved the President to tears. "I never saw a man so deeply moved," said Rev. Dr. Rankin, speaking of the incident last night, "
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Slave Quarters at Decatur House
In a space of just about 900 square feet—with 20 other people ranging in age from eighteen months to fifty years of age—lived African Americans enslaved in the household of John Gadsby, the second owner of Decatur House. It was previously believed he had the servants' wing, located at a right angle to the main house, constructed around 1836. However, new evid
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Article
The White House Remembered
In 2005, The White House Historical Association released The White House Remembered,Volume 1: Recollections by Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, edited by Hugh Sidey. The audio edition of this volume, read by the editor himself, is at the bottom of this article. The publication of volume 2, recollections by Presidents George H. W. Bush and
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Notable African Americans in the Early Nineteenth Century White House
While not as famous as the presidents they served, several African American slaves who lived inside the White House went on to gain recognition of their own. While many people can name all of the presidents of the United States, few people can tell you about the slaves several of those presidents kept while inside the White House. Many presidents,
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Article
Presidents as Horsemen
The nineteenth century might be called the golden age of the horse. Horsepower pulled plow, canal boat, and wagon to market; horse-drawn stages linked towns; and omnibuses and carriages conveyed people to work within cities, to shop, or to the train station, which, a decade after the Civil War, emerged as the hub of a transcontinental transportation system. Before automobiles,
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The Nation's Guest
On September 7, 1825, a tearful Marquis de Lafayette embraced President John Quincy Adams after delivering a farewell speech at the entrance to the White House. The ceremony signified the end of the famed Frenchman’s triumphant return to the United States from 1824 to 1825. This visit inspired patriotic celebrations and expressions across a young country during the waning days of the “Era of G
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First Ladies and Cherry Blossoms
Every spring, the National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,020 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo, Japan, to the city of Washington, D.C. This cherished tradition has deep historic ties to the White House and the nation’s first ladies, beginning with First Lady Helen Herron Taft.For over twenty years, writer Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, known fo
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Slavery at The Octagon
On June 14, 1801, John Tayloe III wrote to his architect: “my object is to be done with the Building as quickly as I can—with the least Trouble & Vexation—for the Expence of it already alarms me to Death whenever I think about it”.1 Tayloe, a wealthy planter from Virginia, was anxiously awaiting the completion of his winter residence in the youn
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The Enslaved Household of Tench Ringgold
From 1818 to 1831, Tench Ringgold served as U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia. His home (today known as the DACOR Bacon House) sits on the corner of F and 18th Streets, about three blocks from the White House. Built in 1825, the house is a notable example of Federal-style architecture.1 Tench Ringgold came from an old Maryland merchant and slave-owning
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"liberated & set free at Mr. Monroe's dying request": Peter Marks' White House Story
On July 4, 1831, President James Monroe died after months of illness. Many Americans mourned the loss of the last “Founding Father” president. But for one man, Peter Marks, the impact of Monroe’s death was very different.Peter Marks (sometimes spelled Marx) was enslaved in Monroe’s household for most of his life. Sometime in the final few months of his life, Mo