Collection Slavery in the President's Neighborhood
Many people think of the White House as a symbol of democracy, but it also embodies America’s complicated past an...
Main Content
Have you ever wondered...
White paint has nothing to do with covering the burning of the house by the British in 1814, although every schoolchild is likely to have heard the story that way. The building was first made white with lime-based whitewash in 1798, when its walls were finished, simply as a means of protecting the porous stone from freezing. Congressman Abijah Bigelow wrote to a colleague on March 18, 1812 (three months before the United States entered war with Great Britain):
"There is much trouble at the White House, as we call it, I mean the President's" (quoted in W. B. Bryan, "The Name White House," Records of the Columbia Historical Society 34-35 [1932]: 308).
Close-up image of burn marks on the walls of the White House.
White House Collection/White House Historical AssociationMeant to wear off for the most part, leaving cracks and crevices filled, the whitewash was never allowed to weather, but was refreshed periodically until the structure at last was painted with white lead paint in 1818. By that time it had for more than a decade been known as "The White House." The name, though in common use, remained a nickname until October 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt made it official.
James Hoban's North Elevation, 1793.
The Maryland Historical SocietyMany people think of the White House as a symbol of democracy, but it also embodies America’s complicated past an...
James Hoban's life is a memorable Irish-American success story. In his boyhood he learned the craft of carpenter and wheelwright,...
Long before the emergence of the United States and Italy as nations, close connections between our two peoples influenced political...
From its construction in 1792, until the 1902 renovation that shaped the modern identity and functions of the interior of the White...
Two grand houses were under construction in the young Federal City in 1816: one the President’s House, reconstructed after it wa...
Since the White House was first occupied by President John Adams in 1800, influential people and organizations—or those who hoped to...
During the administration of President Harry S. Truman, the White House underwent a renovation and expansion so extensive, it changed...
When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, he became the first African American to hold the office. The framers of...
Donald John Trump was born in Queens, New York, on June 14, 1946. His father, Fred Trump, was a highly successful real...
The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room has been the on-grounds quarters for the White House correspondents and news photographers...
One of the most moving moments in the early history of the White House took place in the Entrance Hall,...
Sarah Childress Polk (1803–1891) was first lady from 1845 to 1849, during the administration of her husband, James Knox Polk. A fashion trendsetter, sh...