Tomorrow is the “First-in-the-Nation” Primary where we go to our individual polling places and vote for who we think will do the best job in leading our nation and preserving our democracy. So, in honor of that I thought I’d share a little White House history.
John Adams became the first president to reside at the White House, which was completed in 1800. Barely fourteen years later, on Aug. 24, 1814, British troops set the White House on fire in what became known as the Burning of Washington. This took place during the War of 1812. First Lady Dolley Madison managed to save a full length portrait of George Washington along with a small wooden medicine chest, both of which are on display to this day. Repairs were undertaken and the building was fully restored in 1817.
On Christmas Eve in 1929, the White House experienced fire again. During a Christmas party, aides to Pres. Herbert Hoover discovered a fire in a storage area around 8:00 that evening. Roughly 200,000 government pamphlets were stored there. Upon learning of the fire, the president and his aides went to the executive offices and retrieved the desk chair, a presidential flag and numerous documents. By 10:30pm, the fire had been extinguished, leaving the press room destroyed and some offices damaged. Repairs were completed by the spring of 1930.
In 1916, New Hampshire held what would eventually become the first in the nation primary. Throughout the years voters have gone out to personally listen to those who aim for the nation’s highest office and the policy ideas (or lack of) they propose. This year is no different other than our very democracy is on the line, along with women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, and (one of the most important) voting rights! As Granny D once famously stated, “Democracy is not something we have, it is something we do.”
Be sure to take the time tomorrow to exercise that right to democracy, don’t take it for granted as it is now being threatened.