1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy Vie Wilson. So it 4 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: was announced recently that the White House Rose Garden is 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: getting a renovation. I noticed that announcement that sparked some 6 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: discussion online concerned people about the sacredness of the White 7 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:34,240 Speaker 1: House and whether people should mess with it. Um, look, 8 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: here's the deal, regardless of who is in the White 9 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:40,200 Speaker 1: House and what you think of their politics. I came 10 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:44,240 Speaker 1: at to this topic because I wanted to reassure everyone that, yes, 11 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: of course the White House is iconic. We all recognize 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: it as the place where the president lives, but it 13 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: has also always been in a state of constant change. Um, 14 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: Today's White House has a hundred thirty two rooms and 15 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: thirty five bathrooms. That was not always case. It was 16 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: also not always called the White House, and it has 17 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: a lot of history. And while my initial thought was 18 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: that talking through the White House's history and all of 19 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 1: its various architectural changes and other things that happened to shift, 20 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: it would help people see that change is just part 21 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: of this building. As I worked on this episode, which 22 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: is now two episodes, it just became so clear that 23 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: we really can't look at the White House's history without 24 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: also discussing how it relates to slavery in the United States, 25 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:36,959 Speaker 1: um and how completely literally deep seated that has been 26 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:41,559 Speaker 1: in the country's founding. People often speak about the White 27 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: House with this great reverence, but we don't really engage 28 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: with how deeply entwined it is with enslavement. So today 29 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: is going to be the lighter part of it. We're 30 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: going to talk first about the general history of the 31 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: White House, uh, and then on the next episode we're 32 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: going to talk at first about the White House gardens 33 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: and their brief history or a brief history of them, 34 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:04,560 Speaker 1: and then we're going to get into some of the 35 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 1: not delightful but really important talk about the role of 36 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: enslavement in what has come to be known as the 37 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: People's House. So, after the United States became a country 38 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:19,239 Speaker 1: in its own right and George Washington was elected president 39 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: in there was a question of where the president should live, 40 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: and that was an important question. Both New York City 41 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: and Philadelphia hoped to be selected. Both of them designed 42 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: and built residences that were intended to appeal to George 43 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: Washington's taste, it was really no secret that where the 44 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: president made his home would be a boon to the 45 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: chosen city. I mean, that's pretty obvious. Washington had been 46 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: living in New York, which was the first US capital, 47 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: but where the actual federal seat of government would be 48 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: permanently was still undecided when Washington was elected, and the 49 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: debate over the United States capital's location ended with the 50 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: Residents Act in July of seventeen nine. Dracy and I 51 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: had discussed beforehand, like, this is a whole thing on 52 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: its own that could be an episode, because it is 53 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: a lot of wheeling and dealing on the back end 54 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: among three men in particular. Yeah, if you've if you've 55 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: listened to Hamilton's you've got a glimpse of its Uh, 56 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 1: the whole room where it happened is all about that. Yeah. 57 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: And the Acts full name was an Act for establishing 58 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: the Temporary and Permanent Seat of the Government of the 59 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: United States, And that Act provided for Philadelphia to be 60 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: the temporary capital for ten years, and then for a 61 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: site on the Potomac, which would of course become Washington, 62 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 1: d C. To become the permanent capital. So George Washington 63 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: moved to Philadelphia in sevente He selected Thomas Johnson, David Stewart, 64 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: and Daniel Carroll as Federal construction Commissioners. Pierre Charles Lamfont 65 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: was selected by Washington to design the new city and 66 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: the US Capitol Building and the President's House the President. 67 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: The commissioners, and Lafont selected the site where the presidential 68 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: residence would be built, and that was to be on 69 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 1: the Potomac. The French engineer and architect Lafont, who had 70 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: fought against the British during the Revolutionary War on the 71 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:20,119 Speaker 1: side of the colonies, started work in spring of la 72 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: Font was brought on in part to ensure that the 73 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,000 Speaker 1: new United States of America would have a capital city 74 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:30,680 Speaker 1: in the Grand European tradition, but built with a modern sensibility. 75 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 1: But tensions really arose when his vision exceeded that of 76 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: the government. When la Font dragged his feet on a 77 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,159 Speaker 1: map for the sale of the city lots, the city 78 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 1: surveyor made one, Lafont got no credit. This, on top 79 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: of the existing tensions with him, led to Lafont leaving 80 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: the project. He was encouraged to do so by Thomas Jefferson. 81 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 1: Sometimes you'll see this characterized as laon Font quitting or 82 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: getting fired, depending on the source. The bottom line is 83 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,719 Speaker 1: this relationship had gotten so bad that both sides wanted 84 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:08,600 Speaker 1: it to end. Some elements of Lafont's design do persist 85 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: today in Washington, d C's landscape, particularly the National Mall, 86 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: which was initiated by Lafont's desire for there to be 87 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: a huge public walk in the city. Yeah, there is 88 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: ongoing discussion if you I discovered, if you go down 89 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: architectural rabbit holes online of like really how much we 90 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: do or do not owe to Lafont in terms of 91 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: how the capital is laid out. But law Fall's exit 92 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:34,719 Speaker 1: from this project meant that they needed a new architect 93 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,680 Speaker 1: and the solution to finding one was a contest. Uh. 94 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 1: This contest I read in different places being credited as 95 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 1: George Washington's idea. Others said it was Thomas Jefferson's idea. 96 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: Again completely different sources will tell you different things, but 97 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: we do know that Washington reviewed the finalists submissions and 98 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: in the end, Irish architect James Hoban was chosen. Jefferson, 99 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: by the way, submitted his own designs anonymously under the 100 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: initials a zy. His design was not chosen obviously that 101 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: sounds like something he would do. There are so many 102 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: moments where I was researching this from like, of course, 103 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 1: that's what Thomas Jefferson did. Yeah. While the project for 104 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 1: the President's mansion was based on the start that la 105 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 1: font had made, Hoban definitely brought his Irish background into 106 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: the design. If you've ever seen Lenster House in Dublin, 107 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: which is the seat of Ireland's Parliament, it's obvious that 108 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: the White House was inspired by it. Hoban staked out 109 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: the President's home on July nine, although immediately problems arose 110 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: from the switch from one architect to another. Law Fall's design, 111 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:50,280 Speaker 1: which had already uh had the Seller's dug for it, 112 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: was much larger than Hoban's, and as a consequence, some 113 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:56,719 Speaker 1: shifting had to be made. So ultimately Hoban deferred to 114 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: Washington on the matter, and he asked for the President 115 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 1: to decide where he wanted the north wall of the house, 116 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 1: and then he altered the layout to make that work. 117 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,479 Speaker 1: President Washington gave approval to Hoban to increase the footprint 118 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: of the plan by in an effort to help deal 119 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: with this mismatch in design footprints, but that also meant 120 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: that the planned third floor had to be cut from 121 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: the design to meet budget restrictions. They carried sandstone from 122 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: Aquia Creek, which is forty miles from the build site. 123 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: The stone, which is porous and cracks pretty easily when 124 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: temperatures drop, was whitewashed to help protect it, and that 125 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 1: led to the nickname White House, although that would not 126 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: become the official name for another century. At this point, 127 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: it was just called the President's House. Early drawings had 128 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: it labeled as the President's Palace. That was one of 129 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: the ways that the new government's leaders wanted to kind 130 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: of get away from their European roots. Yeah, there was 131 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: a quick like no, no, no, no, no, this is 132 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: not a monarchy. Were not doing palaces. Um. There were 133 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 1: several other guiding principle to the President's House design that 134 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: were insisted upon by George Washington. So one, it had 135 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: to have ornamentation too. It had to be built in 136 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 1: such a way that it could later be expanded, so 137 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: once again that kind of reiterates that it was always 138 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: intended to be a thing that could change. And three, 139 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: it had to be built quote upon a scale far 140 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:23,040 Speaker 1: superior to anything in this country. This was a tall 141 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: order and to fill it, the areas around the construction 142 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: site were turned into Construction Central. Basically, the area was 143 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 1: filled with a sawmill, brickyards, storage buildings, kiln facilities, and 144 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: living spaces for the workers and a cook house to 145 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 1: feed them. This was really a makeshift city of workers, 146 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 1: and it came with some less than savory behavior. A 147 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,199 Speaker 1: lot of gambling and drunkenness happened in the off hours. 148 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: There was a house of quote riotous and disorderly conduct. 149 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: Establishment was run by a carpenter's wife named Betsy Donohue, 150 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: and she was fined over it, but her business was 151 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,720 Speaker 1: not shut down out right, just moved to a privately 152 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: owned tract of land. Yeah. They basically were like, we 153 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: can't have carousing, and there's definitely the intimation that there 154 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,680 Speaker 1: was brothel type activity going on there. We can't have 155 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:14,680 Speaker 1: this on public land, but if you just move this 156 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:18,839 Speaker 1: to this private lot, we'll let you go. Um. Incidentally, 157 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 1: there's an interesting piece of trivia here in that the 158 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:26,480 Speaker 1: cornerstone of the mansion, which was late on October, has 159 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:30,319 Speaker 1: been lost to time during renovations that took place. In 160 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:33,200 Speaker 1: the mid twentieth century, people went looking for it, and 161 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: no one could find it. An X ray imaging system 162 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 1: was even brought to the site for the mansion's two 163 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: hundredth anniversary in search of this missing cornerstone, but it 164 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,280 Speaker 1: was not located. It is considered gone. At this point, 165 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:49,079 Speaker 1: we'll talk about the earliest occupants of the Presidential Mansion 166 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 1: and how the building changed over the years, But first 167 00:09:52,120 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: we will pause for a sponsor break. It took eight 168 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: years to get the President's House to a point where 169 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:07,839 Speaker 1: it could be lived in. This was due to some 170 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 1: changes in design that were necessitated along the way, but 171 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: also because it was really difficult to get enough labor 172 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,599 Speaker 1: for this massive project. We're going to talk about that 173 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:20,200 Speaker 1: some more in the second episode. In eighteen hundred, the 174 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:23,960 Speaker 1: still unfinished Presidential Palace was occupied for the first time 175 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 1: and President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams moved in. 176 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: That happened in November of that year. John got there 177 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: first and wrote to his wife, quote, I pray Heaven 178 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 1: bestow the best of blessings on this house and all 179 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: that shall hereafter inhabit. It. May none but honest and 180 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 1: wise men ever rule under this roof. That's the quote 181 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: that was later engraved on the State Dining Room fireplace 182 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: at the request of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Abigail, for her part, 183 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 1: found the place quite challenging when she arrived. She wrote 184 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: to her daughter that none of the apartments were finished, 185 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:01,880 Speaker 1: and then she was forced to hang laundry in the 186 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 1: unfinished great room. She also wrote, quote, the lighting of 187 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: the apartments from the kitchen to parlors and chambers is attacks, indeed, 188 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:13,040 Speaker 1: and the fires we are obliged to keep to securists 189 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: from daily eggus is another very cheering comfort to assist 190 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 1: us in this great castle and render less attendance. Necessary. 191 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:24,680 Speaker 1: Bells are wholly wanting, not a single one being hung 192 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: throughout the whole house, and promises are all you can obtain. 193 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: This is so great an inconvenience that I know not 194 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:35,440 Speaker 1: what to do or how to do. I just I 195 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:39,199 Speaker 1: keep thinking about the first lady doing White house laundry 196 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:41,960 Speaker 1: and hanging it up in the great being like I 197 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 1: don't know. I would ask for help, but I can't 198 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:48,600 Speaker 1: find a bell to call them. So. She also included 199 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 1: this rather charming statement in this letter, quote, you must 200 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 1: keep all this to yourself, and when asked how I 201 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 1: like it, say that I write you the situation is beautiful, 202 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:03,439 Speaker 1: which is true. Don't tell anybody I complained about this, Okay. 203 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,080 Speaker 1: George Washington had, of course, died the year before, on 204 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 1: December fourteenth of seventeen nine, so he did not live 205 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: to see his project completed. And even the adams Is 206 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 1: only spent four months in the new home before Thomas 207 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:19,240 Speaker 1: Jefferson's election in eighteen o one. Those four months were 208 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,559 Speaker 1: not especially luxurious. I mean, beyond the hanging of the 209 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: laundry in the great room. It was the first winter 210 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: for this new residence, and some of the stuff they 211 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 1: needed just had not been worked out, like ensuring that 212 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 1: there was a ready source of firewood, And as was 213 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: mentioned in Abigail's letter, not all the rooms were complete. 214 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 1: So the first family had a reception room, a dining room, 215 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 1: a breakfast room, bedrooms for the president's family in an office. 216 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: That sounds like plenty, but it's really not that much 217 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,840 Speaker 1: for an entire seat of government. Uh. They also endured 218 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: just constant construction during all their time there. Yeah, especially 219 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 1: when you considered this is uh maybe the first live workspace. Yeah, 220 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,320 Speaker 1: they were supposed to be conducting government business out of 221 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: it as well as living there. Jefferson moved into the 222 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 1: President's House in March of eighteen o one, and it was, 223 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:15,040 Speaker 1: of course still not completed. You won't be surprised to 224 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,080 Speaker 1: find that he had lots of ideas, and he made 225 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,440 Speaker 1: an immediate update to the building in the form of 226 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: adding water closets, which were fed from attic cisterns that 227 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: collected rainwater. Prior to his insistence on this edition, the 228 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: structure had been designed to have outdoor restrooms common for 229 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: the time. Yeah new pavilions were also added to the 230 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,160 Speaker 1: grounds during the Jefferson presidency. Those were the East and 231 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: West colonnades, and they remained part of the design to 232 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:45,960 Speaker 1: this day. Those projects and others during Jefferson's time at 233 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: the President's House were overseen by architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe. 234 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,440 Speaker 1: Latrobe also had the roof of the mansion redone in 235 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 1: sheet iron. Prior to that redo, it leaked terribly because 236 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: the original heavy slate that was used on the roof 237 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: was wreaking havoc on the supporting walls. It was creating 238 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,440 Speaker 1: these gaps that caused leak problems. They also added a 239 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 1: grand staircase and landscaped the grounds. That was part of 240 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,480 Speaker 1: why Jefferson wanted those outhouses to be done away with. 241 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: He wanted the grounds to be beautiful. The staircase had 242 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:18,720 Speaker 1: been part of the plan from the beginning, but when 243 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: Jefferson took office only a temporary set of stairs was 244 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 1: in place, with neither of the planned grand staircases built. 245 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: La Troupe didn't have a free hand in this work. 246 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:33,280 Speaker 1: Jefferson had really clear ideas about how he wanted everything done, 247 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 1: and their relationship is a little reminiscent of Andrea Lenotre 248 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: and Louis the Fourteenth of France, where Thomas Jefferson had 249 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 1: to have input on everything. Latrobe once wrote of his 250 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 1: boss quote, I am sorry that I am cramped in 251 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,120 Speaker 1: this design by his prejudices in favor of the old 252 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:55,240 Speaker 1: French books out of which he fishes everything. Also sounds 253 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: very like Thomas Jefferson. Yeah, and I wanted to mention 254 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:04,640 Speaker 1: Lenore and Louis the fourteenth because it seems like the 255 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:07,920 Speaker 1: era of the Louis in France was very much one 256 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 1: that influenced Thomas Jefferson's thinking throughout in terms of design. 257 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 1: And how things should be done. There were drawings made 258 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 1: by Latrobe for collonnated porches to be added to the 259 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:24,119 Speaker 1: Executive mansion. Those never got moved into an active project status. 260 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:27,960 Speaker 1: When James Madison was elected, Latrobe stayed on, but he 261 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: shifted his focus from architecture to more interior decoration. He 262 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 1: had not been a fan of Jefferson's proclivity to do 263 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 1: everything in the French style emulating Versailles, and he switched 264 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 1: things over largely to English Regency and Greek Revival decor. 265 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 1: In eighteen fourteen, during the War of eighteen twelve, under 266 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 1: President James Madison's presidency, the President's House was set on 267 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,760 Speaker 1: fire by British troops, and they also burned a lot 268 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 1: of the surrounding city. The Presidential Mansion was essentially left 269 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: with only its exterior walls when a storm finally put 270 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 1: out the blaze. First Lady Dolly Medisine would only consent, 271 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: rather famously to leave the residence once she was certain 272 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: that the portrait of George Washington, painted by Gilbert Stewart, 273 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:15,040 Speaker 1: had been safely removed. She did not cut it from 274 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 1: the frame and roll it under her arm in a 275 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: moment of desperation. As is often told, it was in 276 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: fact removed from its frame, and the stretch canvas that 277 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: it remained on was taken by carriage to a safe 278 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:29,280 Speaker 1: location in Georgetown. A home called Octagon House became home 279 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 1: to James and Dolly Madison after the fire. That was 280 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:36,040 Speaker 1: a temporary residence, and work was begun to restore the 281 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 1: permanent home of the President, although it took several months 282 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: for Congress to approve the funding for the project. While 283 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:46,120 Speaker 1: Benjamin Henry Latrobe had a lot of ideas about how 284 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:50,720 Speaker 1: to rebuild, Madison instead opted to once again tapped James 285 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 1: Hoban to supervise the project, with the intent to restore 286 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 1: it to its original form. The new structure was ready 287 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:02,360 Speaker 1: for occupancy by President James Monroe in eighteen seventeen. Monroe 288 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 1: had conferred with Hoban after he was elected, and he 289 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 1: changed some of the plans that Madison had established for 290 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,920 Speaker 1: the rebuild. Hopan also made some changes of his own 291 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: based on learnings that he had made during that first build, 292 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:17,119 Speaker 1: and at this point, while still nicknamed the White House, 293 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 1: it was officially referenced as the Executive Mansion in accordance 294 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,679 Speaker 1: with James Monroe's wishes. In eighteen twenty four, the South 295 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 1: Portico was added. That's the one that's curved. The squared 296 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:33,760 Speaker 1: off North Portico followed five years later, during Andrew Jackson's presidency. 297 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 1: Also during Jackson's term, the Executive Mansion got a huge update. 298 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: Central heating and running water were added to the Holmes abenities. 299 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: The East Room was finally completed as well. Yeah, there 300 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: were a few different efforts to create a central heating plan. 301 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: Uh and I found a few that suggested that the 302 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 1: first successful one was during Jackson's time, although successful should 303 00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,399 Speaker 1: maybe be in air quotes. When Franklin Pierce was in 304 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 1: office from eighteen to eighteen fifty seven, he had the 305 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: orangery built by Andrew Jackson transformed into a greenhouse that 306 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:10,359 Speaker 1: was inspired by Paxton's Crystal Palace. That greenhouse did not 307 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,439 Speaker 1: last when his term was up. It was demolished to 308 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:17,000 Speaker 1: make way for a Treasury Building expansion. When Andrew Johnson 309 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: became seventeenth president after Lincoln's assassination, a series of changes 310 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:25,640 Speaker 1: began at the Residents. Most of these were decor changes 311 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:29,520 Speaker 1: that were initiated by Johnson's daughter, but the larger scale 312 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: change was the construction of two conservatories that created homes 313 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: for a vast array of plant life. We are going 314 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:38,760 Speaker 1: to start to talk in this next bit about how 315 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:41,960 Speaker 1: the wear and tear and all of those renovations started 316 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,480 Speaker 1: to create some problems for the Executive Mansion. We'll get 317 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 1: into all that after we first have a word from 318 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: the sponsors to keep stuff you missed in history class. 319 00:18:49,800 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 1: Going throughout the late nineteenth entry, the house was showing 320 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,960 Speaker 1: its age and the result of all those renovations, and 321 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,320 Speaker 1: it got to the point where large receptions or events 322 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:12,240 Speaker 1: with numerous guests necessitated supporting the floors in the state 323 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 1: rooms to prevent those floors from buckling under the weight. 324 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: This led to proposals for all manner of additions and renovations, 325 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 1: as well as the possibility of an entirely new residence 326 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 1: being built at a different location. But ultimately the idea 327 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:31,199 Speaker 1: of moving the presidential residence to another home was dismissed 328 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:35,000 Speaker 1: as the iconic importance of the Executive Mansion was considered 329 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: too great at this point, so instead they opted for 330 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:42,359 Speaker 1: ongoing repairs. President Ulysts assessed Grant and First Lady Julia 331 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:46,240 Speaker 1: Grant opted to redo the Executive mansion in Victorian style 332 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,640 Speaker 1: that was part of a major renovation funded by congressional 333 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:54,640 Speaker 1: appropriation of a hundred thousand dollars. This renovation also prepared 334 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,040 Speaker 1: the mansion to host their daughter, Nelly Grant's wedding. The 335 00:19:58,119 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 1: Grants also had the grand staircase replaced with a landing added. Yeah, 336 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 1: I read in one place, but couldn't find uh primary 337 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: sources to back it up that some people in the 338 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: press made fun of Ulysses S. Grant for having this 339 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: very frillly house. Um, but I don't know again if 340 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,200 Speaker 1: that is a valid thing up. But I just wanted 341 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:20,199 Speaker 1: to introduce it because I thought it was sort of charming. 342 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,680 Speaker 1: During both the Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland presidencies, there 343 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:27,960 Speaker 1: were proposals to expand the house that went before Congress. 344 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: The Harrison plan fell apart when the first lady died. 345 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:34,480 Speaker 1: She had kind of been its champions, so when she 346 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: was gone, there was no one else to really keep 347 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 1: that going. The proposal that was developed into the Cleveland's 348 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:43,600 Speaker 1: did not gain support among legislators. That version would have 349 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:46,600 Speaker 1: expanded the house out with two T shaped wings on 350 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,920 Speaker 1: either side of the mansion, creating a much wider structure, 351 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,639 Speaker 1: similar to many you might see throughout Europe. Any idea 352 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: of renovation, though, was put on indefinite hold when the 353 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:00,719 Speaker 1: Spanish American War began in and nine, you know to 354 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 1: The Presidential Home underwent a large scale renovation under the 355 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:08,200 Speaker 1: direction of President Theodore Roosevelt and First Lady Edith Roosevelt. 356 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 1: Roosevelt also made its name officially the White House, since 357 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:17,120 Speaker 1: everybody had been calling it that for years at that point. Anyway. 358 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,400 Speaker 1: The administration brought in the architectural firm of mkim, Mead 359 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 1: and White from New York to create a modernized, very stylish, 360 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,840 Speaker 1: new design for the White House. The idea of Charles McKim, 361 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 1: who worked closely with the Roosevelts, was that they should 362 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:35,679 Speaker 1: restore the concepts of Hoban and Latrobe, but also modernized 363 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,720 Speaker 1: the structure to reflect all of the technology that had 364 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: developed in the century since the first occupants had settled 365 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,679 Speaker 1: into the White House. This included shifting the office of 366 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:48,960 Speaker 1: the President to the temporary Executive Office building that structure 367 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: today is the West Wing. The intent was to create 368 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:56,320 Speaker 1: some separation between the family living areas and the work 369 00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:00,440 Speaker 1: areas in the house. Previous podcast subject Alice for Roosevelt, 370 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,760 Speaker 1: and her intrusive and impulsive behavior might have been a 371 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: factor in that decision. Before this move, the offices and 372 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 1: the family bedrooms had all shared the second floor. The 373 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 1: renovation was budgeted by Congress at a whopping half million dollars. 374 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:19,560 Speaker 1: Again in nineteen o two, the conservatories were demolished. A 375 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:21,720 Speaker 1: porch that had been built onto the east side of 376 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:25,920 Speaker 1: the home was similarly removed. The west terrace became living 377 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,080 Speaker 1: quarters for staff and the gardener, and also included a 378 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: laundry facility. The interior was decorated in the Bozar style, 379 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 1: echoing classic Greek design ideology, as well as having touches 380 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,879 Speaker 1: of Louis the sixteenth design in some rooms, just to 381 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: keep things interesting. The big engineering swing that took place 382 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,959 Speaker 1: during this renovation was the removal of a load bearing 383 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 1: wall in the state dining Room to expand it. That 384 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 1: wall was replaced with a steel trust to accommodate the weight, 385 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,399 Speaker 1: and that became problematic down the road. Yeah, keep that 386 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:02,480 Speaker 1: in mind. William Howard Taft, who followed Teddy Roosevelt as president, 387 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:05,600 Speaker 1: had the Oval office built in the Executive Building, which 388 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:08,680 Speaker 1: echoes the Blue Room. That's the oval diplomatic reception room 389 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:10,439 Speaker 1: with the main house. It's been called a number of 390 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:14,040 Speaker 1: things over the years. During the presidency of Calvin Coolidge, 391 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:17,200 Speaker 1: the building's roof was repaired. It was the same roof 392 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 1: from the eighteen sixteen reconstruction, and it was in rough 393 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:23,440 Speaker 1: shape at this point. But Coolidge also added a third 394 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:25,920 Speaker 1: floor in the process, so the White House could more 395 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:30,320 Speaker 1: easily accommodate guests and also have some additional storage. But 396 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: this conversion of the attic space to make a third 397 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:37,479 Speaker 1: level was supported with steel girders, and the combination of 398 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:41,439 Speaker 1: those sturdy but heavy girders with that trust structure that 399 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 1: had been installed during the Roosevelt administration caused the White 400 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:49,840 Speaker 1: House to become structurally unsound. While President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 401 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: was in office, World War Two necessitated the creation of 402 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,040 Speaker 1: a bomb shelter. This was built under what became the 403 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 1: East Wing that is now primarily used for the needs 404 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,919 Speaker 1: of the Office of the First Lady. Fdr also had 405 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:05,480 Speaker 1: a museum commissioned the Iconic Residence to document and share 406 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,680 Speaker 1: the White House's history, but that museum plan fell to 407 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:12,879 Speaker 1: the wayside due to financial concerns. During President Harry S. 408 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: Truman's time in office, the entire White House underwent significant 409 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:20,600 Speaker 1: renovation due to those structural problems that we mentioned a 410 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 1: moment ago. Those issues were discovered after the addition of 411 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:28,160 Speaker 1: a second floor balcony to the south portico. Once those 412 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 1: problems had been identified, the White House was essentially gutted 413 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:34,399 Speaker 1: because it was believed that it was going to collapse 414 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:38,680 Speaker 1: without intervention. All of those years of additions and changes 415 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 1: in the introduction of electric wiring and pipes into a 416 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,480 Speaker 1: building that was not designed for them had taken their toll, 417 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,639 Speaker 1: and there had been three primary ideas regarding how to 418 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,960 Speaker 1: handle this issue of a crumbling mansion. One was to 419 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:55,879 Speaker 1: restore the existing house. Two was to raise the house 420 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:59,440 Speaker 1: and rebuild it in marble, or three that old Chestnut 421 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,520 Speaker 1: Bill an entirely new presidential home somewhere else in the Capitol. 422 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:06,679 Speaker 1: Since it was decided that the White House should be 423 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:10,439 Speaker 1: restored during construction, the first family moved across the streets 424 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:14,439 Speaker 1: to Blair House. Six million dollars had been allocated for 425 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: this project, and it was really a full rebuild from 426 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:21,240 Speaker 1: the foundation up. The stone walls remained, but everything else 427 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: was removed, Although much of it was carefully placed in 428 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:28,879 Speaker 1: storage to be reincorporated into the fortified new White House. 429 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,639 Speaker 1: Ultimately little of it was used again. Yeah, there is 430 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: an architecture book that I had bought to do research 431 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:39,479 Speaker 1: for this, and like, it's so bizarre to see the 432 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,240 Speaker 1: White House taken down to the studs, Like there are 433 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:46,600 Speaker 1: pictures of it just looking like a bombed out construction site. 434 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:49,560 Speaker 1: It's really sort of strange. Um And over the course 435 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:52,879 Speaker 1: of four years of construction, the building got a new 436 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:56,320 Speaker 1: two floored sub basement that was pinned to a concrete foundation. 437 00:25:57,119 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: The wooden joyces that had been there for more than 438 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 1: a cent re were replaced with concrete and steel beams 439 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 1: to ensure greater structural integrity. Rooms that had been part 440 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:10,000 Speaker 1: of the house before the rebuild were recreated, but they 441 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,080 Speaker 1: had updates made to them to reflect modern sensibilities, like 442 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:17,359 Speaker 1: bathrooms attached to bedrooms and fans and turbines added into 443 00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:20,280 Speaker 1: the roof. But all of this was done so that 444 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:23,120 Speaker 1: the exterior view of the White House would remain basically 445 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 1: the same. Unfortunately, very few of the mansion's historically significant 446 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:32,000 Speaker 1: artifacts were retained or preserved while saving the house itself. 447 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:37,199 Speaker 1: During the Kennedy administration. First Lady Jackie Kennedy redecorated, but 448 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:40,320 Speaker 1: her vision for the mansion was one that sought to 449 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:44,560 Speaker 1: incorporate what had come before. Her redecoration was really more 450 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:49,119 Speaker 1: of a researched restoration. Mrs Kennedy sought out experts and 451 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,359 Speaker 1: antiques and assembled them into a committee that would advise 452 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,720 Speaker 1: on this whole process. As Jackie Kennedy's efforts became public knowledge, 453 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:00,359 Speaker 1: antique pieces were donated from private owners to come part 454 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:04,080 Speaker 1: of the White House restoration. In September of nineteen sixty one, 455 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,880 Speaker 1: Congress passed an Act concerning the White House and providing 456 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: for the care and preservation of its historic and artistic contents. 457 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 1: This established the White House Art Collection, and it finally 458 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,399 Speaker 1: declared the White House a museum. The first Lady hired 459 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: the first White House curator. Tasked was creating a comprehensive 460 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:26,520 Speaker 1: catalog of the homes contents in managing the collections with 461 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:30,080 Speaker 1: an eye toward preservation as well as collection. As you 462 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:32,639 Speaker 1: may recall from our Vincent Price episode from back in 463 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 1: Price was one of the art experts who helped assemble 464 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:41,000 Speaker 1: that first official art collection. But perhaps the most significant 465 00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:45,080 Speaker 1: White House legacy from the Kennedy administration was the First 466 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 1: Lady's establishment of the White House Historical Association. The White 467 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:54,080 Speaker 1: House Historical Association is a private, nonprofit organization, and it 468 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 1: stated mission is quote to protect, preserve, and provide public 469 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,440 Speaker 1: access to the rich history of an Erica's executive mansion. 470 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,280 Speaker 1: I used a lot of their available research as they 471 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:09,080 Speaker 1: worked on this. In nineteen sixty two, ABC aired what 472 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,920 Speaker 1: is now a pretty famous piece about Jackie Kennedy's work 473 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: in the White House, including a tour of the highlights 474 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,760 Speaker 1: of the newly redone home, and the First Lady spoke 475 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:21,160 Speaker 1: about her ideology for the whole process, saying, quote, this 476 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,480 Speaker 1: house will always grow and should. It just seemed to 477 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,639 Speaker 1: me such a shame when we came here to find 478 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:29,920 Speaker 1: hardly anything of the past in the house, hardly anything 479 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:34,600 Speaker 1: Before two, the administration of President Jimmy Carter moved the 480 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:38,120 Speaker 1: White House into the future and two significant ways. One 481 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 1: the mansion's first computer system was installed and two solar 482 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:46,080 Speaker 1: panels were installed to heap the facility's water. Those panels 483 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 1: were short lived initially, they were taken down during the 484 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: Reagan presidency, although the George W. Bush administration put them back. 485 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:57,680 Speaker 1: So that is where we are going to conclude for today. 486 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:00,440 Speaker 1: Uh And in our second part coming up next time around, 487 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:02,360 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about the gardens, and then as 488 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:06,320 Speaker 1: I mentioned, we're going to talk about how much all 489 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,720 Speaker 1: of these things we have talked about really hinged on 490 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,880 Speaker 1: the work of enslaved labor. Uh So in the meantime, 491 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:19,280 Speaker 1: I'm going to read a delightful email as a balancing act, 492 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,200 Speaker 1: so it's not all all serious. But I do hope 493 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:24,760 Speaker 1: that in hearing all of this, and particularly like that 494 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:27,920 Speaker 1: the White House has burned out completely been taken down 495 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,479 Speaker 1: to the studs, etcetera, people realize, like it is not 496 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 1: a static sacred cow, so to speak, something that shifts 497 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: and changes. That's just how it's always meant to be 498 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:42,480 Speaker 1: from the beginning. Um. But the email I want to 499 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:44,960 Speaker 1: read is about something completely different, which is an older 500 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:49,240 Speaker 1: episode the Limerick Soviet. Oh yeah, it is from our listener, Serena. 501 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: I hope that is how she pronounces it, and it 502 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:56,760 Speaker 1: makes me think of my dream of Genie. Um. Serena writes, 503 00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,200 Speaker 1: I am a recent listener, and since finding your podcast, 504 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:01,760 Speaker 1: I've been listening every day. I really enjoy the way 505 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,560 Speaker 1: you present information in a way where I can listen actively, 506 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:07,360 Speaker 1: and I often find myself talking about the wonderful, slash 507 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:10,440 Speaker 1: terrible things I've learned from you. I'm from Los Angeles 508 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: and about three and a half years ago I moved 509 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:15,200 Speaker 1: to Ireland on my own. Since then, I have entered 510 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:17,800 Speaker 1: a relationship and have also had the pleasure of getting 511 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,600 Speaker 1: to know my partner's family. My partner and his father 512 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 1: are both history buffs and have been debating and educating 513 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:26,640 Speaker 1: each other for years. I recently spent a lovely sunny 514 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,000 Speaker 1: morning in our Hammock listening to your episode about the 515 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 1: Limerick Soviet. I found it fascinating, as I'm always interested 516 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:34,800 Speaker 1: in obscure Irish history, but when I brought it up 517 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: to my partner, he had almost zero knowledge about it. 518 00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:39,360 Speaker 1: I brought it up the next day during a hike 519 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:41,400 Speaker 1: with his father, and he knew a small bit about 520 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,959 Speaker 1: it and told me he has many friends in Slash 521 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 1: from Limerick and they fiercely deny this story ever happened. 522 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:49,200 Speaker 1: I proceeded to send him the link to the episode, 523 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: and the next morning he texted me to thank me 524 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 1: for sending it to him and that he enjoyed it. Immensely, 525 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:56,080 Speaker 1: the best part being that he is absolutely delighted to 526 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:58,520 Speaker 1: have sent the episode to his Dowter friends. I'm still 527 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:00,600 Speaker 1: waiting to hear about their responses, but I wanted to 528 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,120 Speaker 1: thank you for your wonderful podcast and tell you this 529 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:06,840 Speaker 1: little story about your podcast enlightening this American, her Irish 530 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,680 Speaker 1: partner and now a group of seventy plus Irish lass 531 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:12,880 Speaker 1: I hope you're keeping well, and I thought you might 532 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:16,200 Speaker 1: enjoy these photos of our elder puppin socks and Red, 533 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,000 Speaker 1: the twelve year old Boston Terriers. They moved to Ireland 534 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:22,400 Speaker 1: two point five years ago. Adorable by the way. Yeah, 535 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:24,400 Speaker 1: it's interesting. I would not have known about the Limerick 536 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:28,920 Speaker 1: Soviet had uh. A wonderful young woman named Maria told 537 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:31,320 Speaker 1: me about it when I was in a bar in Limerick, 538 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:34,440 Speaker 1: right um, as you may recall, and so it was 539 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:36,640 Speaker 1: one of those things that I immediately wanted to look into. 540 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:40,000 Speaker 1: I hope I have not ruffled any feathers in your 541 00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:46,400 Speaker 1: your your partner's dad's social circle. Fingers crossed. If you 542 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:48,080 Speaker 1: would like to write to us, you could do so 543 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at iHeart radio dot com. You can 544 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,240 Speaker 1: also find us on social media as Missed in History. 545 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:56,360 Speaker 1: If you would like to subscribe to the show, we 546 00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:57,920 Speaker 1: would like you to do that as well. You can 547 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 1: do that on the iHeart Radio app, at Apple podcast 548 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:07,600 Speaker 1: or wherever it is you listen. Stuff you Missed in 549 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:10,400 Speaker 1: History Class is a production of I heart Radio. For 550 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,200 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart 551 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,360 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 552 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:21,120 Speaker 1: favorite shows. H