The President's house is generally known as the White House. It is situated on Pennsylvania Avenue, one mile west of the Capitol building. It contains two lofty stories above ground and a basement.

It was modeled after the palace of the Duke of Leicester by the architect, James Hobon. The foundation was laid October 13, 1792, and the building was first occupied by President John Adams in the summer of 1800. It was partially burned by the British in 1814. The front is ornamented by Ionic columns and a projecting screen with three columns. The space between these two sets of columns constitutes a carriage-way, admitting to the main entrance.

The White House proper contains but thirty-one rooms. The building was refitted and the wings for approach and for the private offices of the President were built during the administration of President Roosevelt. Whether seen through the tracery of leafless trees or through the verdure of summer, the White House always looks cool, restful, and beautiful. The situation is not regarded as very healthful, but everything that modern science can do is now being employed to improve its sanitary condition.

All official duties will in time be attended to in the offices which are situated just west of the White House, so that the latter will be used only as the private residence of the President's family.

Longfellow says:

How true this must be of the home of our Presidents! George Washington watched its building, and with his stately wife walked through it when it was finished, and was satisfied. They were about ready to leave the scene of action, but they did much to prepare the stage for the procession of Presidents which has followed.

For the last fifty years much complaint has been made that the house has not been large enough and that it was lacking in modern conveniences, but in spite of these objections no trouble has yet been experienced in finding men who were quite willing and even anxious to occupy it.

The walls are covered with portraits of the Presidents and their wives. All these portraits are interesting.

Mrs. John Adams bewailed the unfinished condition of the house, and used the now famous East Room for drying the family linen.

Of all the noble matrons who have graced the White House, Abigail Adams was the wisest and greatest. Her letters make her the Madam de SÉvignÉ of our land. Her letter (written February, 1797) to her husband, who had just succeeded Washington, sounds like the voice of an oracle. We quote a portion: "You have this day to declare yourself head of a nation. 'And now, O Lord, my God, thou hast made Thy servant ruler over the people; give unto him an understanding heart, that he may know how to go out and come in before this great people; that he may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge this Thy so great a people?' were the words of a royal sovereign, and not less applicable to him who is invested with the Chief Magistracy of a nation, tho he wear not a crown nor the robes of royalty. My thoughts and my meditations are with you, tho personally absent, and my petitions to heaven are that 'the things which make for peace may not be hidden from your eyes.' My feelings are not those of pride or ostentation upon this occasion. They are solemnized by a sense of the obligations, the important trusts, and numerous duties connected with it. That you may be enabled to discharge them with honor to yourself, with justice and impartiality to your country, and with satisfaction to this great people, shall be the daily prayer of yours—"

The first New-year's reception at the White House was held by President Adams in 1801. Mrs. Adams kept up the stately, ceremonious customs established by President and Mrs. Washington. It was her son, John Quincy Adams, as Monroe's Secretary of State, who was afterward to write out a definite code for almost every public ceremony. This code is largely in force at the present time.

Martha Washington comes into history simply as the wife of a great man, but Abigail Adams was inherently a superior woman. Of all the women who occupied the White House she, only, gave the country a son who became a great man, and occupied the highest position in the gift of his country.

After John Adams came Thomas Jefferson, who had imbibed ultra-democratic ideas in the French Revolution. The ceremonies which prevailed in the Washington and Adams period were temporarily laid aside by this plain Virginia gentleman. He received the formal dames of the land in his riding-suit, covered with dust, riding-whip in hand, and with clanking spurs on his heels. His lovely daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, did her best to give the great house the air of a pleasant home. She succeeded well, and Jefferson's accomplished daughter smoothed many of the asperities existing among public men who had lived through the Revolution and suffered from the jealousies, misunderstandings, and injustices of the times.

Mrs. Dolly Madison was probably the greatest social genius that has ever occupied the White House. The papers of that day declare "Mrs. Madison is the most popular person in the United States."

Washington social life yet abounds in pleasing legends of her graceful, courteous kindness, not only to the gentlemen and ladies of the legations, but to the ignorant and socially unskilled who were among her worshipers. James Fenimore Cooper, in a private letter, gives a picture of the White House in the days of James Monroe:

"The evening at the White House, or drawing-room, as it is sometimes pleasantly called, is, in fact, a collection of all classes of people who choose to go to the trouble and expense of appearing in dresses suited to an evening party. I am not sure that even dress is very much regarded, for I certainly saw a good many there in boots.... Squeezing through a crowd, we achieved a passage to a part of the room where Mrs. Monroe was standing, surrounded by a bevy of female friends. After making our bow here, we sought the President. The latter had posted himself at the top of the room, where he remained most of the evening shaking hands with all who approached. Near him stood the Secretaries and a great number of the most distinguished men of the nation. Beside these, one meets here a great variety of people in other conditions of life. I have known a cartman to leave his cart in the street and go into the reception-room to shake hands with the President. He offended the good taste of all present, because it was not thought decent that a laborer should come in a dirty dress on such an occasion; but while he made a mistake in this particular, he proved how well he understood the difference between government and society."

The Monroes came to the White House after it had been restored after the burning in 1814. It was barely furnished at that time, and contained but few conveniences for entertaining. Mrs. Monroe brought furniture directly from Paris, which she used for the East Room. This has been frequently upholstered, and constitutes part of the handsome furniture at the present time.

John Quincy Adams, the fifth President of the United States, was one of the greatest men this country has yet produced. Repellant manners injured his usefulness and obscured the luster of his great name. It is said he could grant a request and thereby lose a friend, while Clay could say "No" so kindly as to win a friend.

The life of Louisa Catherine Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, is one of surprising interest. She was the daughter of Joshua Johnson, of Maryland, was educated and married in London, accompanied her husband to the many different courts to which he was minister, and brought to the White House a larger social experience than any of her predecessors.

She reestablished the stately ceremonials of the Washington period, which greatly resembled the customs of the English Court. Among the great men who frequented her levees were Webster, Clay, Calhoun, and Andrew Jackson (the latter always in buff pants and vest with blue broadcloth coat and gilt buttons).

Then came strenuous Andrew Jackson as President, with only the memory of his beloved Rachel, who had passed away before he became Chief Magistrate. She had been buried in the beautiful dress prepared for her husband's inauguration. A private letter yet extant gives this picture of the days when Emily Donelson (wife of the President's nephew) was the chief lady of the land:

"The large parlor was scantily furnished; there was light from the chandelier, and a blazing fire in the grate; four or five ladies sewing around it; Mrs. Donelson, Mrs. Andrew Jackson, Jr., Mrs. Edward Livingston, and others. Five or six children were playing about, regardless of documents or work-baskets. At the farther end of the room sat the President in an arm-chair, wearing a loose coat, and smoking a long reed pipe, with bowl of red clay—combining the dignity of the patriarch, monarch, and Indian chief. Just behind him was Edward Livingstone, the Secretary of State, reading a despatch from the French Minister for Foreign Affairs. The ladies glance admiringly now and then at the President, who listens, waving his pipe toward the children when they become too boisterous."

Jefferson, Jackson, Van Buren, Tyler, and Arthur were widowers when they entered the White House.

Van Buren was the Talleyrand of American politics. Secretary of State under Jackson, he had won the heart of his chief, whose influence secured him the Presidency. His son's wife, Angelica Singleton Van Buren, gracefully conducted the ceremonies of the White House during the Van Buren administration.

General William Henry Harrison became President in 1841. His wife never came to Washington. He died one month after his inauguration. It was declared that he was worried to death by the fierce office-seekers of the time. His was the first funeral from the White House.

John Tyler, who succeeded Harrison, was a polished, cultured gentleman from Virginia. His was the literary period, when Washington Irving, Edward Everett, and John Howard Payne received foreign appointments.

His first wife, Letitia Christian Tyler, made her first public appearance at the White House at the marriage of her daughter. She died in 1842. Eight months before Tyler's term expired he was married to Miss Julia Gardner, of New York. The festivities of the time began with her wedding reception, and lasted till the end of that administration.

James K. Polk, of Tennessee, became President in 1845. He was rather small physically, and so spare or thin that the tailor had to make his clothing too large to help out his appearance.

Mrs. Polk much resembled in manners Martha Washington. She dressed well and gave frequent levees, as receptions were then called. She received her guests sitting, with the President standing by her chair. A gentleman once said to her, "Madam, there is a wo pronounced against you in the Scriptures: 'Wo unto you when all men shall speak well of you.'"

In 1849 Gen. Zachariah Taylor was inaugurated as the twelfth President of the United States. He lived sixteen months and five days after he became President. His wife, Margaret Taylor, was an invalid, but his daughter, "Miss Betty" as she was familiarly called, made the White House attractive.

Millard Fillmore, of New York, elected Vice-President, became President July 10, 1852. He was an eminent lawyer from Buffalo. His manners were marked with great simplicity and affability. Mrs. Abigail Fillmore was one of the few literary women who have presided in the White House. She drew to her side the literary men and women of the nation, and her receptions resembled the French salons in their literary tone.

Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, became President in 1853. He was a shy, modest man, who could not cope with the strong men of the South, who were even then preparing for secession. He was six feet high. His coal-black hair and eyes gave him a most striking appearance. His wife, Mrs. Jane Appleton Pierce, was not a strong woman physically, but managed to discharge the duties of the White House with great dignity.

James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, became the fifteenth President of the United States in 1857. The throes of the Civil War began in his administration. He was a politician, not a statesman, and tried to suit both sides, but ended by suiting neither. But the duties of the White House were never more elegantly administered than while Miss Harriet Lane, the niece of President Buchanan, presided. There are white-haired diplomats living to-day who compare everything now done in the White House with Miss Lane's graceful administration. She had been much with her uncle when he was minister at foreign courts, and they both had many friends among the scholarly men of the legations, so that the White House became the rendezvous of that class more than at any other period. She received the Prince of Wales and his suite most gracefully, omitting nothing which would add to the dignity of the occasion.

Jefferson Davis said: "The White House under the administration of Buchanan approached more nearer to my idea of a Republican Court than the President's house had ever done since the days of Washington."

Abraham Lincoln, "the noblest Roman of them all," became President March 8, 1861. He is the greatest American that has yet lived. Washington was the result of English influences, but Lincoln is the highest representative of republican influences that has yet governed this nation. A giant in stature, being six feet and four inches in height, his grand physique was but a type of the great heart and strong intellect of a great man. He was called to preside over this nation at the most critical time in its history.

Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln found it difficult to keep up the ceremonious customs of the White House with a husband who followed no conventionalities, but believed the Executive Mansion should be opened at all times to every citizen. Mrs. Lincoln devoted much time to the soldiers in the hospitals, and the White House conservatory was kept stripped of flowers for the benefit of the wounded and sick.

Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, came to the Presidency on the death of Mr. Lincoln in 1865. He was not wise in his judgments, and had he been more amenable to men of experience in governmental affairs his life in Washington would have been much easier. Time is revealing more and more that his troubles were in a great degree the result of the jealousies and disappointments of politicians. The sufferings of the people of the White House during the days of President Johnson's trials can never be estimated.

Martha Patterson, widow of Senator Patterson, of Tennessee, and daughter of the President, administered the social duties of the Executive Mansion during Johnson's administration, Mrs. Johnson being an invalid. Mrs. Patterson said: "We are plain people from the mountains of Tennessee, called here for a short time by a national calamity. I trust too much will not be expected of us." But sad as her heart must have been in those days, she filled the duties of her high place to the satisfaction of even the exacting great dames of the period. Andrew Johnson's lovely family are yet fondly remembered and deeply loved by many who enjoyed the friendship of "the plain people from Tennessee."

General U. S. Grant, of Illinois, became President in 1869, and his administration was one long carnival of social duties and enjoyments.

Mrs. Julia Dent Grant and her accomplished daughter, Nellie, led the society of the Capitol through eight brilliant years. The White House was entirely refurnished, and the festivities were on a scale of magnificence never equaled there before or since.

In 1877 Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, became President. He came in at a difficult and dangerous time, but his administration brought peace and tranquility to the nation.

Mrs. Lucy Webb Hayes was noted for her plain dressing and strict temperance principles, which she enforced even in the White House, much to the disgust of the legations and to the delight of the Christian people of the country.

James A. Garfield, of Ohio, became President in 1881. His life in the White House from March to September, 1881, scarcely gave time to show what the social life in Washington would have been had he lived to complete his term. His assassination cast a gloom over the social life for a full year after Chester A. Arthur became the Executive. He served to the end of the term, in 1885. President Arthur being a widower, the hostess of the White House during his term was his accomplished sister, Mrs. Mary Arthur McElroy.

Grover Cleveland, of New York, became President in 1885. The Republican party had been in power for twenty-five years, and when Mr. Cleveland was elected the change of officers was as great as in the days of Andrew Jackson. Cleveland was a man of the highest integrity and the most unfaltering courage, so that the change proved beneficial to the entire land.

Miss Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, sister of the President, presided at the White House until his marriage, June 2, 1886, to Miss Frances Folsom, who became, next to Dolly Madison, the most popular woman who ever entertained in the historic old house.

In March, 1889, Benjamin Harrison became Chief Magistrate. The first Mrs. Harrison was a woman experienced in Washington society, and was much loved by a very large circle.

In 1893 Grover Cleveland again became President, and in 1897 William McKinley, probably the best-loved man by the people of any President since the days of Mr. Lincoln.

Mrs. McKinley, altho an invalid, with the assistance of her nieces, kept up the reputation and social festivities of the White House.

Theodore Roosevelt became President September, 1901, and closed a brilliant and successful administration March 4, 1909. His administration will be remembered in history as a strenuous fight against wrong-doing in high places. He will be honored for having secured to the United States proper recognition in world politics and for having promoted peace and good will among nations.

William Howard Taft, of Ohio, was inaugurated President March 4, 1909. No man has ever been called to this high office with a broader training. He is a graduate of Yale, has received the degree of LL.D. from five universities, is a distinguished lawyer, has been a wise judge, and a successful governor of the Philippine Islands at the difficult period of transition. As a traveler he has looked into the faces and is personally known to all the great rulers of the world. He has visited Cuba and the Panama Zone (the spheres of probable disturbance), and has therefore had the training which should fit him to deal wisely with both the domestic and the foreign problems likely to arise.

Mr. Taft was married in 1886 to Miss Helen Herron, of Cincinnati. They have two sons and one daughter. Mrs. Taft has had a large social experience, and is considered one of the most cultured women ever called to direct the affairs of the White House.