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John Adams on this house

On this day in 1800, John Adams finally moves in to the as-yet-unfinished President’s House — now known as the White House — in Washington, D.C. Construction had been ongoing since 1792.

It was the final year of his only term as president, so he and his wife Abigail lived there for only a few months. On February 17, 1801, Thomas Jefferson was elected president.

“This House…”

On November 2, the day after moving in, President Adams writes to his wife Abigail about their new home:

“I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof!”

John Adams On this House
In 1945, the final year of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had that blessing carved in to the stone fireplace of the State Dining Room, where it is seen today. Perhaps we all ought to pray it again, that it may also be felt.

John Adams White House blessing

 

John Adams on this house

On this day in 1800, President John Adams, the second president, becomes the first acting president to reside in Washington, D.C. However, President Adams lived at a temporary residence during construction on the President’s Mansion, also known as the President’s House. We now know that house as the White House.

Construction began in 1792, but it was not until November 1, 1800 that John Adams moved into the executive mansion. Then, the next day he wrote to his wife Abigail about their new home:

“I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof!”

John Adams I pray

White House burning

On this day in 1814, during the War of 1812, British troops invade Washington, D.C. In the evening, they burn the executive mansion, now known as the White House.

White House burning

In June of 1812, Americans burned Canadian government buildings in York, Ontario, Canada. Seeking revenge, the British set fire to other buildings in Washington, D.C. These included the still uncompleted Capitol building, the House of Representatives, and the Library of Congress. Thankfully, perhaps providentially from “the invisible hand” “of the Great Disposer of Events,” a major storm, possibly a hurricane, put out the fires. The storm also spawned a couple tornados, and drove the British out of the capital city on damaged boats.

President James Madison and first lady Dolley were already safely in Maryland, though just barely.

Prior to the invasion, President Madison briefly took command of an American Battery at the Battle of Bladensburg. As a result, Madison is first and only president to exercise his authority as commander in chief in actual battle.

Washington Copy

Meanwhile, back at the White House, with British troops gathering in the distance, Dolley “had [a wagon] filled with the plate and most valuable portable articles belonging to the house.”
She also saved what she believed to be the original Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington.

She “ordered the frame to be broken, and the canvass taken out it is done, and the precious portrait placed in the hands of two gentlemen of New York, for safe keeping.”

Ultimately, it turned out to be just a copy.

No people…

We think Our George Washington “Invisible Hand” shirt is worth saving. Click the link below to get your ‘copy.’

Interestingly, in Proclamation 20 – Recommending a Day of Public Thanksgiving for Peace on March 4, 1815, President Madison seemed inspired the George Washington quote on the shirt:
“No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of Events of the destiny of Nations than the people of the United States.”

Here is the Washington quote from his Inaugural Address on April 30, 1789:
“No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the People of the United States.”

Even so, the sentiment is powerful and worth repurposing for posterity!