Why is the White house White?

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Hollister

"It has nothing to do with the burning of the house by the British in 1814, although every schoolchild is likely to have heard the story that way. The building was first made white with lime-based whitewash in 1798, when its walls were finished, simply as a means of protecting the porous stone from freezing. Why the house was subsequently painted is not known. Perhaps presidents objected to the dirty look as the whitewash wore away. The house acquired its nickname early on. Congressman Abijah Bigelow wrote to a colleague on March 18, 1812 (three months before the United States entered war with England): "There is much trouble at the White House, as we call it, I mean the President's" (quoted in W. B. Bryan, "The Name White House," Records of the Columbia Historical Society 34-35 [1932]: 308). The name, though in common use, remained a nickname until September 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt made it official."

Bryan A

classy

I'm with Bryan on this one

Nic W

ur odd

Wanted... Dead or Alive

White...... never thought BLACK... would get in

then again the house is white , it has no color ...

Josue G

Classy and cool!!!!!!!

Sweet_Di

the white house is called the white house cause the house is white you as for the president he is now all BLACK HE IS HALF WHITE so he is not our first all black president in order for him to be the first all black president he has to be all black
his mom is white his dad is black. why do people keep saying our first black president when he is half white. you can not pick one race over the other.

tkern79

No.

The white house was probably painted white back when if first was built because that was the only type of paint available to paint houses.

Here is the text from www.whitehousehistory.org on the origins of the color of the white house.

"It has nothing to do with the burning of the house by the British in 1814, although every schoolchild is likely to have heard the story that way. The building was first made white with lime-based whitewash in 1798, when its walls were finished, simply as a means of protecting the porous stone from freezing. Why the house was subsequently painted is not known. Perhaps presidents objected to the dirty look as the whitewash wore away. The house acquired its nickname early on. Congressman Abijah Bigelow wrote to a colleague on March 18, 1812 (three months before the United States entered war with England): "There is much trouble at the White House, as we call it, I mean the President's" (quoted in W. B. Bryan, "The Name White House," Records of the Columbia Historical Society 34-35 [1932]: 308). The name, though in common use, remained a nickname until September 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt made it official."

Grain

now obama gotaa convience the congress to spray paint the whole thing black

devildog1996

They painted the White House white to cover up the burn marks caused when the British tried to burn it down during the War of 1812.

Yousef R

I suppose there's nothing to stop anyone from proposing and doing it. I imagine if Obama wanted to, he could paint it black without even conferring with the Legislative branch.

But I'm pretty sure it won't be done. I doubt Obama really cares, anyway.

Plus, I don't think the White House would look good painted black...

And if you're just suggesting a name change, that won't happen... it's not called the "White House" because the presidents have always been white (until now).

Edit: And don't worry, your question has nothing to do with racism. If you're wondering whether or not the name of the house in which the president resides reflects the color of the skin of the president, that has nothing to do with believing in the higher intrinsic worth of one "race"/"ethnicity" over another... now, why Americans have historically only elected white people? Perhaps racism, but it is probably a bit more complicated than that.

â™« Lovely bbyâ™«

yup it shouLd go black lol

kitty

cause the color white is more noticeable idk?

yay! obama

how come they call it white christmas? cause the snow is white if it was black, people would get in more accidents etc.

Yellow Style

Wow your so racist just cause he's black doesn't mean they will change it to black. Racist.

confused09

because the white house is KNOWN to be the white house.
honestly its been that way for mannyyy years..why change it now...its just another president..no big deal?

Dimmy Dimwit

It either has to do with the color of the marble or the 43 presidents who preceded Obama.

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