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White House
White House
The Oxford Companion to United States History
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2001
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© The Oxford Companion to United States History 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. (Hide copyright information)
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White House, the president's official residence in
Washington, D.C.In 1792, Irish architect James Hoban won a competition for the design of a president's house. Hoban's Anglo‐Palladian design was at least partly patterned on Dublin's Lenster House. Construction began in 1792 on a site selected by Pierre Charles L'Enfant, and in 1800 John
Adams occupied the unfinished mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue in view of the unfinished Capitol. British troops burned the house in 1814, leaving only the outer shell intact. During the
Civil War, Abraham
Lincoln established this residence as a visible center of national policy‐making, rather than simply the president's home.
The popular name “The White House,” some sources maintain, derived from the whitewash applied in the post–1812 restoration; others date it to Thomas
Jefferson's presidency. Through the nineteenth century, it was more properly called the Executive Mansion or the President's House. In 1902 Theodore
Roosevelt first used the name “The White House” on official papers and correspondence. That same year, Roosevelt added the West Wing, where, in 1909, William Howard
Taft built the first Oval Office. Franklin Delano
Roosevelt built the present Oval Office in 1934. In 1948–1952, Harry S.
Truman remodeled the interior and added the Truman Balcony and a bomb shelter. The East Room and the elliptical Blue Room are used for receptions and public events. Landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing designed the grounds.
National icon and symbol of presidential power, the White House has been the focus of national mourning, such as followed John F.
Kennedy's assassination; a center of crisis, as during the
Watergate scandal; and a target of protest, as during the
Vietnam War.
See also
Architecture: Public Architecture;
Early Republic, Era of the;
Federal Government, Executive Branch: The Presidency;
War of 1812.
Bibliography
Esther Singleton , The Story of the White House, 1907, reprint 1969.
Wendell Garrett, ed., Our Changing White House, 1995.
Kenneth Franklin Kurz
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Analysis: Afghan Strategy, Greg Craig And Detainees
Transcript from: NPR All Things Considered; 11/13/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...of saying guilty. BLOCK: Well, the announcement about the Guantanamo detainees coincides with the news today that White House counsel Greg Craig is resigning. And he was in charge of the administration's plan to close Guantanamo Bay by this...
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For November 13, 2009, CBS
Transcript from: CBS Morning News; 11/13/2009; ; 700+ words
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Transcript from: Regulatory Intelligence Data; 11/13/2009; ; 700+ words
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Transcript from: Regulatory Intelligence Data; 11/12/2009; ; 436 words
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Transcript from: Washington Transcript Service; 11/12/2009; 700+ words
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Transcript from: Washington Transcript Service; 11/13/2009; 700+ words
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Transcript from: Capitol Hill Press Releases; 11/10/2009; 579 words
; ...Veterans Affairs Committee. He recentlyattended the White House bill signing ceremony for the Veterans HealthCare...EXPRESS WRITTEN AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL DOCUMENT CLEARING HOUSE, INC.COPYRIGHT 2009 BY FEDERAL DOCUMENT CLEARING HOUSE, INC.
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Transcript from: Regulatory Intelligence Data; 11/12/2009; ; 490 words
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Transcript from: Regulatory Intelligence Data; 11/12/2009; ; 516 words
; ...employee. Learn more about Health CareNO PORTION OF THIS TRANSCRIPTION MAY BE COPIED, SOLD OR RETRANSMITTED WITHOUTTHE EXPRESS WRITTEN AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL DOCUMENT CLEARING HOUSE, INC.COPYRIGHT 2009 BY FEDERAL DOCUMENT CLEARING HOUSE, INC.
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WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS HOLDS WHITE HOUSE NEWS BRIEFING ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE EN ROUTE TO ALASKA
Transcript from: Washington Transcript Service; 11/12/2009; 700+ words
; ...Washington Transcript Service 11-12-2009 WHITE HOUSE NEWS BRIEFING ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE EN ROUTE TO ALASKA, AS RELEASED BY THE WHITE HOUSE NOVEMBER 12, 2009 SPEAKER: WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS [*] MR...
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Robert Bruce Zoellick
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
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Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
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Arnold Rothstein
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
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Karl Christian Rove
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
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Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
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