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The Formerly Enslaved Households of President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson’s close association with Abraham Lincoln, as both his vice president and his successor, often disguises Johnson’s own slave ownership. He is a complicated example of a southerner who simultaneously supported the Union and gradual emancipation while perpetuating slavery through the bondage of others—perhaps even fathering children with his enslaved servant. Some of these enslaved individuals were l
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Enslaved Workers on the White House Grounds
Uncovering the lives of enslaved people poses many challenges. Because enslaved people were denied the right of literacy, as a result, most did not leave behind written records of their lives or experiences. The enslaved were also treated as commodities to be bought and sold, rather than as human beings, further excluding their thoughts and voices from the record. Therefore,
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The Formerly Enslaved Household of the Grant Family
Women are often overlooked in history for their role in the institution of slavery. First Lady Julia Dent Grant, wife of President Ulysses S. Grant, was a steadfast slave mistress for more than half of her life—an often forgotten part of her identity. Though Grant himself grew up in an abolitionist family in the free state of Ohio, his ma
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Plantations & Politics
Speaking before the United States House of Representatives in 1825, congressman James K. Polk described American slavery as “a matter which required the utmost caution.”1 He viewed slavery as a fundamental part of southern culture and economics, while at the same time regretting that this “common evil” had been “entailed upon us by our ancestors.”2 While publicly conflicted over the morality of owning en
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The Williams Family
In 1818, John Gadsby was assessed and taxed for owning thirty-six enslaved individuals in Baltimore—including two young women named “Maria” and “Kezia.”1 These names also appear twenty-six years later in a property inventory taken after Gadsby’s death. Maria Williams is listed along with her children Martha, Mary Ellen, and James; Keziah Williams, with her children Mary and William.2 But how did thes
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An Early Black Family's Life in Lafayette Park
As we consider life in the President’s Neighborhood, the unusual story of the Wormley Hotel and its Black founder, James Wormley, should come to mind. It was one of the preeminent private hotels in Washington, D.C. and the establishment of choice for foreign dignitaries, politicians, businessmen, and the wealthy in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Stories ab
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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