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Dear Madam                                 Mount Vernon January the 18 1788

In1790, Congress voted to move the nation’s capital from New York City to a temporary location in Philadelphia. Senator Robert Morris, a wealthy financier, offered his home to the Washingtons to serve as the residence for the chief executive…

While George Washington served his second Presidental term in Philadelphia, Martha Washington’s niece Fanny lived at Mount Vernon and oversaw the household. This letter suggests that even when she was away from her home, Martha continued to play…

This 1861 painting by noted American portraitist Daniel Huntington was titled The Republican Court. (When it was published as a mass-marketed engraving, the title was changed to Lady Washingtonn’s Reception.) The painting is an idealized…