Shay--White+House

  **For two hundred years, the White House has stood as a symbol of the ** **Presidency, the United States government, and the American people. Its history, and the history of the nation ****’ ****s capital, began when President George Washington ** **signed an Act of Congress in December of 1790 declaring that the federal ** **government would reside in a district "not exceeding ten miles squareon the **  **river Potomac." President Washington, together with city planner Pierre ** **LEnfant, chose the site for the new residence, which is now 1600 Pennsylvania ** **Avenue. As preparations began for the new federal city, a competition was held ** **to find a builder of the "Presidents House." Nine proposals were submitted, and ** **Irish-born architect James Hoban won a gold medal for his practical and handsome ** **design. ** **Construction began when the first cornerstone was laid in October of 1792. ** **Although President Washington oversaw the construction of the house, he never  ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">lived in it. It was not until 1800, when the White House was nearly completed, ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">that its first residents, President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, moved in. ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Since that time, each President has made his own changes and additions. The ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">White House is, after all, the Presidents private home. It is also the only ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">private residence of a head of state that is open to the public, free of ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">charge. ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">The White House has a unique and fascinating history. It survived a fire at ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">the hands of the British in 1814 (during the war of 1812) and another fire in ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">the West Wing in 1929, while Herbert Hoover was President. Throughout much of ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Harry S. Trumans presidency, the interior of the house, with the exception of ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">the third floor, was completely gutted and renovated while the Trumans lived at ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Blair House, right across Pennsylvania Avenue. Nonetheless, the exterior stone ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">walls are those first put in place when the White House was constructed two ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">centuries ago. ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Presidents can express their individual style in how they decorate some parts  ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">of the house and in how they receive the public during their stay. Thomas ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Jefferson held the first Inaugural open house in 1805. Many of those who ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">attended the swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol simply followed him home, ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">where he greeted them in the Blue Room. President Jefferson also opened the ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">house for public tours, and it has remained open, except during wartime, ever ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">since. In addition, he welcomed visitors to annual receptions on New Years Day ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">and on the Fourth of July. In 1829, a horde of 20,000 Inaugural callers forced ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">President Andrew Jackson to flee to the safety of a hotel while, on the lawn, ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">aides filled washtubs with orange juice and whiskey to lure the mob out of the ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">mud-tracked White House ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">After Abraham Lincolns presidency, Inaugural crowds became far too large for ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">the White House to accommodate them comfortably. However, not until Grover ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Clevelands first presidency did this unsafe practice change. He held a ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">presidential review of the troops from a flag-draped grandstand built in front ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">of the White House. This procession evolved into the official Inaugural parade ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">we know today. Receptions on New Years Day and the Fourth of July continued to ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">be held until the early 1930s. ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">President Clintons open house on January 21, 1993 renewed a venerable White  ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">House Inaugural tradition. Two thousand citizens, selected by lottery, were ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">greeted in the Diplomatic Reception Room by President and Mrs. Clinton and Vice ** **<span style="font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">President and Mrs. Gore. **