Date: 11/6/2000
THIS IS AMERICA #1039 - The White House
By Jerilyn WatsonVOICE ONE:
Two-hundred years have passed since a president of the United States moved into the White House for the first time. I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Sarah Long. On Tuesday, American voters will choose the next president to live in the White House. This historic home is our report today on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
America's first president, George Washington, helped supervise the building of the White House. But he never had the chance to live there. It was not completed before his term as president ended. Forty-one other American presidents have lived in the home that President Washington helped create. The house at Sixteen-Hundred Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D. C. , is one of the world's most famous places to live.
VOICE TWO:
The new president and his family will move into the White House in January. To prepare for that time, they will meet with White House employees soon after the election. An official will walk around the home with them.
It will be a long walk. The White House has one-hundred-thirty-two rooms. The family will see some of the more than forty-thousand objects in the White House collections. Often presidents and their families find something not in use that they especially like.
For example, Jimmy Carter was the thirty-ninth president of the United States. Two of his children found a chair among the unused furniture in the White House. The chair belonged to President Abraham Lincoln. His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, had bought the chair. The Carters made it part of their home.
VOICE ONE:
Every president's wife has added to the White House in some way. John F. Kennedy was the thirty-fifth president. His wife Jacqueline Kennedy is especially remembered for creating a colorful garden. It is named in her honor.
President Clinton's wife has organized a sculpture exhibit in the White House Rose Garden. Museums around the country loaned the sculptures in the Rose Garden. Hillary Rodham Clinton also created the White House Craft Collection. This collection contains beautiful objects made of ceramic, silver and glass made by American craft artists.
((BRIDGE MUSIC))
VOICE TWO:
People often say they feel a strong sense of history in the White House. This probably would please George Washington very much. He had great hopes for the home of the president that he helped build.
In Seventeen-Ninety, President Washington signed an act of Congress. It said the federal government would occupy an area in the District of Columbia near the Potomac River. President Washington and city planner Pierre L'Enfant chose the land for the new presidential home.
VOICE ONE:
A competition was held to find a designer to build the president's house. Architect James Hoban won a gold medal for his design. Mr. Hoban decided to plan a building similar to a palace he had designed in Ireland. The building material was to be grayish white sandstone. The color gave the house its name.
Work started in Seventeen-Ninety-Two. President Washington supervised the building. But the house was not ready for him to move in before the end of his term. America's second president, John Adams, and his wife Abigail Adams moved into the White House on November first, Eighteen-Hundred. By then the building had six completed rooms. They lived there for only four months before President Adams' term ended.
VOICE TWO:
Many of the rooms in the White House were still empty when John Adams left office. The next president was Thomas Jefferson. He tried hard to finish the White House. So did James Madison, the next president.
But in Eighteen-Fourteen, British forces invaded Washington and burned the White House. President Madison's wife, Dolley Madison, tried to save valuable objects from the fire.
She saved a painting of George Washington. She took it with her as she fled for safety. This famous painting by Gilbert Stuart still hangs in the White House.
The White House was rebuilt after the fire. Over the years the White House has been enlarged, repaired and almost totally rebuilt. In Nineteen-Sixty-One, Congress provided that furniture of historic and artistic value would always be White House property. In effect, Congress made the White House a museum.
((BRIDGE MUSIC))
VOICE ONE:
If you visit Washington, you may want to see where the American president lives. The White House Visitor Center is close to the White House. National Park Service workers there will give you a free ticket for the White House tour during the summer. In other seasons you can go directly to the waiting line.
People wait to enter the White House along the black fence that encloses the grounds. Inside, guards in each room are ready to tell about the history of the room.
VOICE TWO:
Pictures of presidents hang in the entrance areas. One of these paintings shows Franklin Roosevelt. He was the thirty-second president of the United States. He was elected four times. Roosevelt led the nation through the end of the great economic depression and World War Two.
In another hall on the first level, you can see paintings of the wives of presidents, also known as "first ladies." Ronald Reagan was the fortieth president. His wife Nancy wears a beautiful red dress in her painting. Nancy Reagan looks like the well-known Hollywood movie actress she once was. Her husband also was a famous actor before he became president.
Another room off this hallway contains a collection of fine dishes made of china. Each president has added to this collection.
VOICE ONE:
Wide marble steps lead to the next level. It is called the State Floor. The president uses many rooms on this level for official duties and for entertaining guests. For example, during the Christmas season the president and first lady invite hundreds of federal officials, reporters and others for many holiday parties.
The largest of the rooms on the State Floor is the East Room. News conferences and music concerts take place here. So did some very unofficial events. For example, this is where Abigail Adams hung the family's clothes to dry after they were washed. President Kennedy's young daughter Caroline rode her tricycle in this room.
VOICE TWO:
You will also find rooms on the State Floor named for their colors. They are called the Blue Room, the Green Room and the Red Room. Each looks more costly and beautiful than the last. The president meets with diplomats and special guests in these rooms.
The nearby State Dining Room has gold silk window coverings and matching chairs. This is where official state dinners are held. A White House expert advises about the seating for official state dinners. Honored visitors sit at tables with the president or first lady. Or they sit with the secretary of state or other high-level officials.
((BRIDGE MUSIC))
VOICE ONE:
You will not be permitted to see all of the White House. Many of the rooms are closed to the public. For example, the third level contains bedrooms. Foreign visitors and the president's guests sleep there. The Treaty Room serves as a private meeting room for the president. Important documents have been signed there.
The president's Oval Office has come to represent the White House. In this office he meets with heads of government and his advisors. He broadcasts messages to the nation. The room has a special floor covering with the official presidential seal in the center.
Other rooms in the White House offer private living space for the president and his family. President Carter's wife Rosalynn [ROSE-a-lynn] described this area as surprisingly small. President Clinton's daughter Chelsea has a favorite room in the family area. It is the sunroom.
VOICE TWO:
Guards and Secret Service agents surround the president and his family in the White House. Only visitors taking the public tour and invited officials and guests may even come close to the building.
It was not always that way. One day during World War Two a local woman stopped at the White House. She said her husband was fighting overseas. She asked to meet Franklin Roosevelt's wife Eleanor Roosevelt. Soon the young woman was having tea in the White House with the wife of the president of the United States.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by Caty Weaver. Our studio engineer was Holly Capehart. I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Sarah Long. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
Source: www.voa.gov/special/