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Scholarship
Daniel Webster's House
At the corner of H Street and Connecticut Avenue, the United States Chamber of Commerce Building sits where a three-and-a-half story brick house once stood. The house was built in 1828 by attorney Thomas Swann.1 Swann was born in Charles County, Maryland, and in 1787 he moved to Alexandria, Virginia, where he studied law, married Jane Byrd Page, and started a family.
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Scholarship
Enslaved Labor and the Construction of the U.S. Capitol
“Would it be superstitious to presume, that the Sovereign Father of all nations, permitted the perpetration of this apparently execrable transaction, as a fiery, though salutary signal of his displeasure at the conduct of his Columbian children, in erecting and idolizing this… temple of freedom, and at the same time oppressing with the yoke of captivity and toilsome bondage, twelve or f
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Scholarship
Peggy Fleming
On February 10, 1968, nineteen-year-old American figure skater Peggy Fleming stepped out onto the ice at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. She impressed the judges with her free skate routine, winning the gold medal in Ladies’ Figure Skating singles. In addition to clinching the only gold medal win for the United States at Grenoble, her victory marked a rebirth for the sp
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Scholarship
Material Culture at Decatur House
Without photographs, paintings, or other visual representations of the Decatur House Slave Quarters from the antebellum period, it is difficult to know exactly what the space looked like while it was inhabited by free and enslaved workers. Unfortunately, the furnishings of antebellum slave quarters are poorly documented—even more so when examining urban environments rather than plantations. However, primary source ev
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Scholarship
John Mercer Langston
In 2021, the Arlington County Board voted to change the name of Lee Highway, named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee, to Langston Boulevard in honor of John Mercer Langston, the first Black congressman from Virginia.1 Langston’s work as a civil rights activist led to several federal appointments by United States presidents and multiple White House visits. John M. Langston’s ad
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Scholarship
American Fashions for American First Ladies: How Ellen and Edith Wilson’s Time in the White House Led to the Expectation for First Ladies to “Buy American”
In 2011, American fashion designer Oscar de la Renta criticized First Lady Michelle Obama for wearing a British label, Alexander McQueen, to a State Dinner for President Hu Jintao of China at the White House.1 Although Mrs. Obama was known for wearing American designers, including more affordable options such as J.Crew, this criticism attracted press attention and is the kind
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Scholarship
Architecture: 1790s-1840s
1790sThe Presidents House was a major feature of Pierre Charles L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the city of Washington. He envisioned a vast palace for the President, a house five times the size of the house which would be built. It was planned and constructed under the personal supervision of President George Washington.
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Article
An Introduction to "Away From the White House"
America's presidents have been trying to get away from it all for more than two hundred years and never quite succeeding. The job and its responsibilities follow no matter where they are. But vacationing presidents find that time away from the White House can clear the mind, rest the body, restore energy, and perhaps add a touch of humanity to
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Article
Reflections: A Secret Garden
Tucked away on the South Lawn, behind a tall hedge of hollies, is the White House Children’s Garden, a special jewel, created by President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady "Lady Bird" Johnson as their family’s time in the White House drew to a close. Mrs. Johnson wrote of the opening in her diary, “Sunday, January 19 [1969]. Today dawned gray a
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Article
An Essay on "Visitors from the East" by Peter Waddell
Those who lived it remembered the 1850s as the most elegant era the white House had ever known. Emerged from the war with Mexico, its western boundary stretched to the Pacific Ocean, the United States was rich with promise, and while the decade was cursed by economic crisis in the Panic of 1857 and the violent debate over slavery, few would
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Scholarship
A White House Worker Remembers President Kennedy's Assassination
President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy had developed a bond with White House doorman Preston Bruce. The slain President's brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, invited Bruce to walk with members of the Kennedy family to JFK's memorial service at St. Matthew's Cathedral. Here are some of Bruce's recollections:"My heart ached to see Mrs. Kennedy march up
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Article
Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day": Christmas
The Roosevelts celebrated Christmas with a flurry of public and private activities. The non-stop action began the week before Christmas as children, grandchildren and other family members began arriving at the White House. "I think this old house likes the sound of children's voices," Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) wrote in one of her December columns. "It certainly is an ideal place