How does the White House differ from a presidential home such as Monticello?

After completing this lessons in the unit, students will be able to

• Give specific examples demonstrating how the present-day White House reflects the duties, powers, and privileges of the office of President.
• Compare and contrast Thomas Jefferson's Monticello with the White House.

• Review the lesson. Locate and bookmark suggested materials and other useful websites. Download and print out documents you will use and duplicate copies as necessary for student viewing.

• Activity 1. Home vs. House

Activity 1. Home vs. House

Begin by showing the class a picture of Monticello, President Thomas Jefferson's home, located near Charlottesville, Va., about 120 miles from Washington, D.C. You can use the image of the Front of Monticello from the Center, available on the EDSITEment-reviewed website American Memory. Take a moment to look at the building. Which of the three proposed White House designs seen in Lesson One of this unit does it resemble most? Is that the design some people think Jefferson created? Is Monticello more like a home or a palace?

Guiding Question:

How does the White House differ from a presidential home such as Monticello?

Learning Objectives

After completing this lessons in the unit, students will be able to:

• Give specific examples demonstrating how the present-day White House reflects the duties, powers, and privileges of the office of President.
• Compare and contrast Thomas Jefferson's Monticello with the White House.

Student Activity:

What is the difference between Monticello and the White House in practice? Divide the class into six groups. Assign one of the following virtual tours to each group (see note in Preparation Instructions, in the curriculum unit overview

):

• A Day in the Life of Jefferson, available on the Monticello website, a link from the EDSITEment resource The Journal of the Corps of Discovery, covering I Rise with the Sun to Attending to My Farm.
• A Day in the Life of Jefferson, also available on the Monticello website, covering Museum...in the Entrance of the House to Sanctum Sanctorum.
• Room to Room Tours of Monticello, also available on the Monticello website.
• The White House Room by Room/Historical Tour, available on The White House website, a link from the EDSITEment resource American Memory. (NOTE: This is perhaps the most difficult tour.)
• Video Tours of the White House, also available on The White House website, conducted by President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and others. (NOTE: Real Player is required.)
• Photo Essays, also available on The White House website, a combination of photos in a "then and now" format and accompanying essays.

Graphic organizers are provided for each of the six tours on pages 1-6 of the Master PDF. Download, copy, and distribute the appropriate graphic organizer to each student. Provide each group with an extra copy as well from which they can create a group master copy. Within each group, students should divide the duties so that one or two students are covering one or two hours in the day for A Day in the Life of Jefferson, or one to three rooms for the other Monticello and White House tours. (NOTE: The student timetables for A Day in the Life of Jefferson will be hypothetical. Students should assign activities to the times on the schedule logically. Specific times are not provided on the tour, only general times, such as “in the afternoon.” Students should note not only what Jefferson might have been doing, but also where he would have been.)

When students have finished taking notes on their tours, each group should create one composite copy of its chart to hand in to the teacher.

President Jefferson did some things in his home that are not typical—such as hosting important dignitaries—but his home was not an official residence. Ask each student, working alone, to write one sentence describing the essential difference between what happened at Monticello and what happened/happens at the White House. Encourage student volunteers to share their sentences. If desired, the class can attempt to create a consensus statement describing the essential and distinctive qualities of the White House. How do those qualities relate to the nature of the presidency (see the second bulleted item in the Assessment).

• Using the online floor plan of Monticello on the Room By Room Tour on the Monticello website, a link from the EDSITEment resource The Journal of the Corps of Discovery, use the mouse to point to each room one by one. As you point, the name of each room will appear in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Ask students who worked with the Monticello materials to talk about the kinds of things that happened in each room.
  
  Using the elevation cut-away on The White House Room by Room/Historical Tour on The White House website, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website American Memory, ask students who worked with the White House materials to talk about the kinds of things that happened in each room. Then ask about any rooms not on that elevation."
• Brainstorm a list of activities taking place at the White House that rarely take place in a typical home. Write them on the board or on a chart. Classes that have studied the presidency and/or completed the companion lesson What Happens in the White House? should be able to make an extensive list.
  
  Categorize the activities as follows, noting that an activity can be placed in more than one category. Put DU by activities reflecting Duties of the President (for example, meeting with the cabinet). Put PO by activities reflecting the Powers of the President (for example, ordering military action from the situation room). Put PR by activities the students consider Privileges of the office of President (for example, meeting famous people, arriving home by helicopter, etc.).

• The White House Chronology, a timeline on the White House Historical Association website, a link from the EDSITEment resource Explore DC, contains many pieces of fascinating information about the President's home. For example, did you know that running water was first piped into the White House in 1833? Some students might enjoy turning such facts into a "believe it or don't believe it" book. Students particularly interested in history should pair each White House fact with something else occurring in the United States around the same time to provide context.
• Students might be interested to read about young people, such as Tad Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, Jr., who lived in the White House. Here are some places to meet First Children online:
  • Kids in the White House on the PBS website National Geographic Inside the White House, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website Explore DC.
  • First Kids on the website of the White House Historical Association, a link from the EDSITEment resource Explore DC.
  • Family Life in the White House, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website American Memory.
• Students with an interest in architecture can learn more about specific characteristics of the Georgian/Palladian style used in the White House through the EDSITEment resource National Park Service: Links to the Past, which has a section on Georgian Architecture featuring an Interactive Activity and an interactive Quiz Game. Students who learn the characteristics can then label important features on a diagram, drawing, or photograph of the White House.
• Dolley Madison is credited with coolly saving some important objects from the White House shortly before it was burned by the British in 1814. The White House Historical Association website, a link from the EDSITEment resource Explore DC, features a number of resources including:
  • Dolley Madison, the White House, and the War of 1812
  • Letter from Dolley Payne Madison to Anna Cutts, August 23, 1814. Library of Congress
  • Lesson: Dolley Madison to the Rescue
    
    A biography of Dolley Madison is available on The White House website, a link from the EDSITEment resource American Memory.
• Some background on the role African Americans played in building the White House is available on the White House Historical Association website, a link from the EDSITEment resource Explore DC. Its African Americans and the White House Timeline gives information about the role of African Americans throughout the history of the White House.