Background on the Constitution

The United States Constitution established the foundations for our nation’s government and the rules our country is expected to abide by. The Constitution is divided into seven articles; the first three articles outline each branch of government in this order: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.

This newsletter will focus on Article 2 of the Constitution, the Executive Branch.

Building the President’s House: The Design Competition

When the Constitution was passed in 1789, the site of the national government was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  In 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act.  This established a permanent national capital on the Potomac River.  The federal government—the president, Congress, and the Supreme Court—was ordered to move in 1800 from Philadelphia to the city that would be named Washington.  Congress asked President George Washington to select the site for the city.  Washington himself selected the spot within the 10-mile square section of farmland where the President’s House would be built.

Once the spot was selected, the question remained: What would the President’s House look like?  Who would design it? Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson announced a contest, or competition, for architects and builders to enter their plans.  He placed an advertisement in newspapers, offering a prize of $500 or a medal of the same value to the winner.

Invite your students to enter the design competition.  Submit a finalist from your classroom to the White House Historical Association via mail or email attachment.  Selected “winners” will be featured in Issue 2 of the White House Historical Post (November 2006) Contest Information

Stay Tuned: Our November/ December Issue will feature Part 2 of this series

Website Feature

Picturing the President's House

Suffragettes Bonfire at the White House, c.1917, Woodrow Wilson Administration (Library of Congress)


What is Picturing the President’s House?

Picturing the President’s House is a chronological collection of images (photographs, artworks, and others) for all 42 presidents of the United States.  You will find images of presidents, first ladies, and the White House for each administration.  Simply select a president to view the images.  All images are acceptable to use for educational purposes.

Where is it on the website?

1. Start at the White House Historical Association’s website: http://www.whitehousehistory.org/

2. From the main interface, select the “Classroom” tab on the left.

3. From “Classroom,” select the “Picturing the President’s” tab on the left.

4. Click on your president of choice to access images.

Art Corner

The White House is much more than the President’s House.  Since the 1960’s, it has been an official museum with professional curators to care for and research the collections.  There are 30,000 objects in the permanent White House collection; some are exhibited in the White House and others are kept in a storage facility.  Artworks include presidential portraits, depictions of America, and many other works.

Featured Artwork: Landing of the Pilgrims,Michele Felice Cornè, c.1803-1807

This artwork depicts the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock.  The storm-tossed refugees are greeted by anumber of Indians, rather than the desolate shore that actually awaited them.

Want to look at this more closely? Link to Art Activity

Using Picturing the President’s House in your Classroom

• Assign each student a president to research.  Students use images from Picturing the President’s House to supplement their research reports.
  
• Ask students to find different pictures of the White House throughout time.  Compare pictures from different presidential administrations to see how it has changed over time.
  
• Find images of various presidents at work.  What types of jobs are they doing?  What types of people are they meeting with?