Part I. From the Foundation Up - Our White House

The first chapter of Our White House, “Part I. From the Foundation Up,” includes poetry, stories, articles, and illustrations that shed light not only on the planning and construction of the White House, but also its first residents. In Part I you can read an imagined conversation between John and Abigail Adams, discover the role slavery played in building the White House, and learn more about Thomas Jefferson’s interest in paleontology and how that interest helped launch the Lewis and Clark expedition.

If you do not have a copy of Our White House in your classroom or home, please consider checking out a copy from your local library or purchasing one online here.

To print the Education Resource Guide that includes activities and discussion questions regarding the content included in Part I of Our White House, click here.

The table of contents for Part I of Our White House is listed below. To the right of each article or illustration title, in the “Read More” column, are links to relevant, supplemental content on this website to help you expand the educational potential of the book’s contents.

Table of Contents	Read More
FROM THE FOUNDATION UP Illustration by Bagram Ibatoulline	From the Foundation Up: The Illustration by Bagram Ibatoulline Primary Sources: George Washington’s Vision of His City on the Potomac Primary Sources: The New Federal City The Presidential Oath of Office Presidential Fact Files: George Washington
*The White House First Residents* by Jane Yolen illustrated by Petra Mathers	Presidential Fact Files: John Adams First Lady Fact Files: Abigail Adams Primary Sources: The Letters of John and Abigail Adams, the First White House Correspondence Choosing Sides: The Rise of Party Politics From White House Hostess to American Powerhouse: The Evolution of the First Lady’s Title and Role
*Testimony of Padraig Tomás Ó’Deoráin: 1801* imagined and illustrated by Mary Brigid Barrett	Primary Sources: George Washington’s Vision of His City on the Potomac Primary Sources: The New Federal City Presidential Fact Files: George Washington
*Slaves Helped Build the White House!* by Walter Dean Myers	Primary Sources: George Washington’s Vision of His City on the Potomac Primary Sources: The New Federal City Presidential Fact Files: George Washington
*Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826* by Milton Meltzer	Presidential Fact Files: Thomas Jefferson Choosing Sides: The Rise of Party Politics United by Voice and Vision: Thomas Jefferson’s First Inauguration, March 4, 1801 Presidents Are People Too!
*White House Colonial Kitchen Gardens* by Stephanie Loer illustrated by S.D. Schindler	A Taste of the Past: White House Kitchens, Menus, and Recipes Presidential Fact Files: Thomas Jefferson
*Jefferson’s Monstrous Bones* by Barbara Kerley	Presidential Fact Files: Thomas Jefferson
BONES ON THE FLOOR illustration by Brian Selznick	Presidential Fact Files: Thomas Jefferson
*An Unusual Guest* by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel	Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! Wild Animals at the White House Presidential Menageries: George Washington, Hound Dogs, and Super Mules Presidential Fact Files: Thomas Jefferson
THE CAPITAL CITY IN 1800 illustration by Mike Reagan	Primary Sources: George Washington’s Vision of His City on the Potomac Primary Sources: The New Federal City