Collection Native Americans and the White House
Native Americans hold a significant place in White House history. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples, including the Nacotchtank and...
Main Content
Where Charlotte Dupuy takes a brave stand against slavery
Few people know the story of a brave woman named Charlotte Dupuy who was enslaved in Decatur House, the large brick residence that has stood on Lafayette Square at the corner of H Street and Jackson Place since 1818. In 1829, while living at Decatur House, Dupuy sued her owner, Secretary of State Henry Clay, for her freedom. Charlotte Dupuy, or "Lotty" as she was known, felt that Clay was obligated to uphold an agreement she had with her previous owner to free her and her two children, Charles and Mary Ann. Clay's tenure as the Secretary of State ended before the case was decided, so Clay was instructed by the Circuit Court to leave Dupuy behind in Washington, though he took her husband and children back to Kentucky with him. Charlotte Dupuy continued to live in Decatur House and was employed by the home's next resident, Secretary of State Martin Van Buren.
The Court ultimately ruled against Dupuy and she was forcibly taken to the New Orleans residence of Clay's daughter and, eventually, to Clay's Kentucky estate. In 1840, eleven years after her lawsuit, Henry Clay freed Charlotte Dupuy.
Native Americans hold a significant place in White House history. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples, including the Nacotchtank and...
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room,...
Since the James Madison presidency, St. John’s Church has been an important part of the life of Lafayette Square an...
For two hundred years, Decatur House has stood as a near neighbor to the White House across Lafayette Square. Stewart...
For more than two centuries, the White House has been the home of American presidents. A powerful symbol of the...
In this special episode of The 1600 Sessions, financier and philanthropist David Rubenstein interviews White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin...
For more than two hundred years, Lafayette Square has been home to a wide variety of historical figures, from diplomats...
The White House observance of Christmas before the twentieth century was not an official event. First families decorated the house...
In 1816, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr. and his wife Susan moved to the nascent capital city of Washington, D.C. With...
From the beginning of its construction in 1792, until the 1902 renovation that shaped the modern identity and functions of the interior...
While there has yet to be a female president, women have played an integral role in shaping the White House...
Since the White House was first occupied by President John Adams in 1800, influential people and organizations—or those who hoped to...