White House History, Location, & Facts

Table Of Content

• The Complexities of Slavery in the Nation's Capital
• Crossroads of History: Ancient Jordan with Dan Snow
• The White House Was, in Fact, Built by Enslaved Labor
• It’s an ongoing battle to keep the White House walls white
• The White House: Everything You Need to Know About the US President’s Residence
• Construction

With only a first name, it is difficult to learn more information about Jacob. However, there are some details that can be extracted from just a name, such as location and genealogical information about the slave owner. According to the 1800 census, the year White House construction concluded, Fenwick lived with three enslaved individuals at his Georgetown home.16 Based on this information, it might appear that Fenwick did not own many enslaved individuals.

The Complexities of Slavery in the Nation's Capital

Burned to the ground by the British in August 1814, the President’s House was nearly left in its smoldering remains as lawmakers contemplated moving the capital to another city. Instead, Hoban was brought back to rebuild it nearly from scratch, in some areas incorporating the original, charred walls. Upon reassuming residency in 1817, James Madison and his wife Dolley gave the home a more regal touch by decorating with extravagant French furniture.

Crossroads of History: Ancient Jordan with Dan Snow

According to the White House Historical Association, the cost of construction was $232,372. The White House is the official office and residence of the president of the United States. The wallpaper had hung previously on the walls of another mansion until 1961 when that house was demolished for a grocery store.

The White House Was, in Fact, Built by Enslaved Labor

The White House Was, in Fact, Built by Enslaved Labor - Smithsonian Magazine

The White House Was, in Fact, Built by Enslaved Labor.

Posted: Tue, 26 Jul 2016 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Renowned for her beauty and refined taste, she collected and displayed items of historic and artistic value throughout its rooms. She made the White House a centre of national culture and awakened public interest in its beauties by conducting a televised tour of the mansion in 1962. The White House and its landscaped grounds occupy 18 acres (7.2 hectares). Since the administration of George Washington (1789–97), who occupied presidential residences in New York and Philadelphia, every American president has resided at the White House.

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Security expanded considerably during the US Civil War ( ) but relaxed afterward. Not until the 1890s did security begin to seal off open access to the White House grounds. A sentry box, or security guard post, was added in 1894 for the first time. August of 1814 saw British raids along America’s coast, with the Brits emboldened by their recent defeat of Napoleon in Europe and a desire to keep the United States focused away from Canada. On August 24, the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg and then moved on to Washington DC.

It’s an ongoing battle to keep the White House walls white

Early maps referred to the White House as the “President’s Palace,” but in 1810, the building was officially named “Executive Mansion” in order to avoid any connection to royalty. The residence has also been called “President’s House,” or “President’s Mansion.” In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt changed the official name to “White House,” a moniker that had been used throughout the 19th century. Jefferson announced the competition—which offered a prize of $500 (or a medal of equal value)—and even reportedly submitted a design himself under the initials “A.Z”. In July of 1792, Irish-born architect James Hoban’s submission was selected by Washington, and he was hired to build the White House. The second president of the United States, John Adams, moved into the still-unfinished presidential mansion on November 1, 1800.

The White House: Everything You Need to Know About the US President’s Residence

Over the next eight years, a mix of free African-American and white wage labourers, enslaved workers, and skilled craftsmen built the White House. They worked in a variety of positions, including basic labourers, overseers, sawyers, carpenters, stone workers, and bricklayers. From the 1830s until 1902, changes to the main block of the White House occurred principally to its interiors. Succeeding presidents and their wives periodically refurbished the house to reflect the changing tastes of their time.

The architectural style of the White House

The building was constructed between 1792 and 1800 using Aquia sandstone from the Government Island quarry (also a supplier of stone for the exterior of the US Capitol), bricks made in kilns near the site, and lumber from forests in Maryland and Virginia. From a geographical standpoint alone, it should come as no surprise that enslaved laborers were used to build the nation’s capital. Washington, D.C., was built on landed ceded to the federal government by Virginia and Maryland, and at the time the Potomac region was home to almost half of the country’s 750,000 slaves, Lane reports. Hoban was also inspired by his time studying at the Dublin Society School of Architectural Drawing in the 1770s. The anthology highlights three different buildings in Dublin that are reflected in the design of the White House. “The similarities in both the floor plan and the exterior façades between Leinster House, which now houses the Irish Oireachtas, and the White House are striking,” McLaurin says.

A number of free Americans, both black and white, were also involved in the construction of the White House. During construction, the construction of the White House was faced by a shortage of labour and materials. After completion, the house was five times smaller than the initially planned elaborate palace. By the time of its completion in 1800, the government had spent $232,371.83 on the project. The Presidents House was a major feature of Pierre Charles L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the city of Washington.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt began a major renovation of the White House, including the relocation of the President’s offices from the Second Floor of the Residence to the newly constructed temporary Executive Office Building (now known as the West Wing). The Roosevelt renovation was planned and carried out by the famous New York architectural firm McKim, Mead and White. Roosevelt’s successor, President William Howard Taft, had the Oval Office constructed within an enlarged office wing.

The building’s history begins in 1792, when a public competition was held to choose a design for a presidential residence in the new capital city of Washington. The structure was to have three floors and more than 100 rooms and would be built in sandstone imported from quarries along Aquia Creek in Virginia. Labourers, including local enslaved people, were housed in temporary huts built on the north side of the premises. They were joined by skilled stonemasons from Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1793. Over the course of the next eight years, enslaved laborers worked alongside white wage workers and craftsmen to produce raw materials and construct the President’s House. First, laborers cleared the land, built roads, wharves, and bridges, and felled trees to make way for construction.

Discover some of the best historic sites in the United States, from iconic sites like the White House, Statue of Liberty, and Mount Rushmore, to the more hidden historical gems like Historic Jamestowne, Taos Pueblo, and the Freedom Trail in Boston. The first Inaugural open house at the White House took place in 1805 and was held by President Thomas Jefferson following his swearing-in ceremony. This payroll from August 1795 shows the payroll for enslaved sawyers working at the President's House; Simon, Jerry, Jef, Charles, Len, Dick, Bill, and Jim. Enslaved workers were typically noted in the payrolls with an "N" or "Negro" to indicate their status. This oil painting, completed by artist Peter Waddell in 2007, depicts White House construction as it may have appeared in 1796.

To further explore the movement of enslaved workers who worked on the White House and the Capitol Building, check out the map below. Through genealogical research, this map tracks the general location of the slave owners and helps visualize where the enslaved people traveled from to work in the District. Additions have been made to the White House and its grounds to accommodate the sports and recreational pursuits of presidents and their families, staff, and guests. Theodore Roosevelt’s tenure in office, then moved to the west side of the south lawn in 1909, and relocated farther south still later. Barack Obama had removable baskets and basketball court lines added to the court so that both tennis and full-court basketball games could be played on it. Franklin D. Roosevelt had a heated indoor swimming pool built in the West Wing (in a space later converted into the pressroom), and Pres.

Slave ownership was popular at the time in America, and those owning slaves received a pay out for the work of those enslaved. The White House had a series of stables to house the president’s horses, carriages, coachmen, and grooms. In its early years, it was used for storage, sleeping quarters for free or enslaved servants, and a hiding place for the presidents’ children.

Unlike most nations, the United States specifically created a federal city that existed independently, outside of any state, to be the national capital. Washington DC was designed and created to be the nation’s capital and not be beholden to, or provide a special advantage to, any state. Inside this new city, a residence was created to be the seat of the executive branch and serve as the living quarters and office of the chief executive. As the official workplace and executive residence of the president of the United States, the White House stands as one of the most famous, and recognizable, buildings in the world. But behind its stately neoclassical facade, details of its construction and history are far less well-known.