{"id":63689,"date":"2020-12-10T10:37:01","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T15:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=63689"},"modified":"2024-12-10T12:47:18","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T17:47:18","slug":"how-a-holiday-party-gave-us-the-name-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/how-a-holiday-party-gave-us-the-name-white-house.html","title":{"rendered":"How a Holiday Party Gave Us the Name \u2018White House\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Jane Hampton Cook <\/em>describes when and how newspapers started using the term \u201cWhite House\u201d for the president\u2019s house. Jane is a presidential historian and author of ten books, including her new book “Resilience on Parade: Short Stories of Suffragists & Women\u2019s Battle for the Vote.” She is the author of “Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War.” She was the first female White House webmaster (2001-03). Her works can be found at Janecook.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

For years, the origin of the name \u201cWhite House\u201d was unknown. Some thought the term was first used when it was rebuilt in 1817 and painted white after the British military burned it in 1814.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:<\/a>
Illustration: the White House as it looked after the British set fire to it on 24 August 1814, by
George Munger, 1814-1815. Credit: The White House Historical Association; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, thanks to the digitization of newspapers such as GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>, we can see that the term White House was first used in a negative way in newspapers years before the British attack.<\/p>\n

Vice-President Aaron Burr used the term in reference to President Thomas Jefferson in 1807.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen sir I will turn Jefferson out of that white house and hang him; and Congress I will pack off,\u2019\u201d Vice President Aaron Burr bitterly told a general, as New York\u2019s Republican Watch-Tower<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n

This was one of the first \u2013 if not the first \u2013 newspaper references using the term \u201cwhite house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Republican Watch-Tower (New York, New York), 30 January 1807, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The phrase White House was also used to attack Jefferson\u2019s successor, President James Madison.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the despatches from France, and the news from the Chesapeake and Virginia, don\u2019t drive the poor little viceroy in the White House crazy, he must be as tough as a pine knot,\u201d reported the Federal Republican<\/em> in 1813.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Federal Republican (Georgetown, D.C.), 10 February 1813, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is another example of the phrase being used before the British burned the White House in 1814.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hear no language like this at the drawing room parties of \u2018the white house,\u2019\u201d the Alexandria Daily Gazette, Commercial & Political<\/em> said disparagingly in 1810.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Alexandria Daily Gazette, Commercial & Political (Alexandria, Virginia), 10 May 1810, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the term being used with so much animosity, how did \u201cWhite House\u201d become a term of endearment? Though it\u2019s impossible to know for sure, a party hosted during the holiday season appears to be the start of turning a slur into a salute of pride.<\/p>\n

December was the traditional kickoff of Washington, D.C.\u2019s social season, which was an outgrowth of Congress beginning a new session. In December 1813, President James Madison\u2019s wife Dolley (the term \u201cFirst Lady\u201d wasn\u2019t used until much later) set the White House ablaze with a glow and merriment that caught the eye of an influential Philadelphia reporter visiting the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Democratic Press (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 24 December 1813, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI must not forget, however, to mention that Mrs. Madison, the President\u2019s Lady, gives a tea party every Wednesday evening,\u201d Tyro reported for the Democratic Press<\/em> about the party he attended on 15 December 1813. Most intriguing to him was the openness of the occasion. Anyone could attend. That meant him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a novelty to me to find that these parties were not assembled by cards of invitation, but that every body was free to appear there, and that all were received with hospitality, politeness, and attention. Finding access so easy, I wished to attend last Wednesday evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coffee. Cakes. Nuts. Fruit. Whiskey Punch. Much tempted him. \u201cRefreshments were very liberally handed round, and all partook freely and cheerfully. I understood it was a pretty full assembly: there might have been from one to two hundred persons present of both sexes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President, Mr. Madison, mixed with the company all the evening, and talked by times with every body; even I claimed some notice where I looked for nothing but a common salutation.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was also novel about these parties was that members of both political parties attended, which had not been the case during Jefferson\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n

Tyro told his readers that \u201cthe men who slander him [Madison] with the most reprobate license seek his hospitality.\u201d Dolley\u2019s charisma was a huge factor in making everyone feel welcome.<\/p>\n

From the food to the openness, to the bipartisanship and the frivolity, this December party during the holiday season left a strong impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy observations at \u2018the White House\u2019 (for so it is called here) have satisfied me that its economy is well regulated and that it is kept as becomes the chief executive officer of a free people,\u201d Tyro concluded.<\/p>\n

This appears to be the first positive use of the phrase White House in a newspaper. Dolley and James Madison\u2019s hospitality during the holiday season made all the difference.<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this article, Jane Hampton Cook describes when and how newspapers started using the term \u201cWhite House\u201d for the president\u2019s house. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":63721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12235],"tags":[6713,4060],"class_list":["post-63689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","tag-american-history","tag-white-house"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/photo-1210-2020-featured-graphic-white-house.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63689"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101314,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63689\/revisions\/101314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}