The White House and Reconstruction
January 1, 1863 was a watershed moment in American history. That morning, President Abraham Lincoln hosted the annual New Year’s Day re...
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The First Ladies and Slavery
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Slave Patrols in the President's Neighborhood
Thomas Smallwood detailed the circumstances of his enslavement and life as a free Black man living in Washington City in...
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Prominent African-American Women and the White House
Although Michelle Obama was the first African-American first lady of the United States, African Americans have been integrally involved in...
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"Running from the Temple of Liberty": The Pearl Incident
On April 15, 1848, the Pearl schooner was docked at the wharf located at the foot of Seventh Street in Washington, D....
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Charles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale is synonymous with eighteenth-century portraiture. His depictions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and other famous...
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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...
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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 tr...
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The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C.
The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington D.C. was founded in 1802, shortly after Washington D.C. became...
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Paul Cuffe & President James Madison: The Transatlantic Emigration Project & the White House
On May 2, 1812, Captain Paul Cuffe arrived at the White House for a meeting with President James Madison.1 The internationally renowned...
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Sugar, Slavery, and the Washington China
Upon stepping into the White House China Room, visitors encounter tableware from nearly every presidential administration or first family. Tucked...
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Enslaved and Entrenched
Elias Polk was born into slavery in 1806 on a farm owned by Samuel Polk, father of the future president of...
