![]() In 2002, neighbors of the Naval Observatory reported explosion sounds coming from the house, which many interpreted as the construction of a bunker built to help ensure the security of the vice-president's family in times of emergency. In 1923, the Chief of Naval Operations took the house for himself, and it was used as such until 1974. The observatory itself is still in use by the Navy, but the superintendent lives in another residence. The house was built in 1894 for the superindendent of the US Naval Observatory. As a result, it was Walter Mondale who became the first vice-president to live in the house in 1977. Ford named Nelson Rockefeller as his vice-president, but the Rockefellers already lived in Washington and had no desire to move, so they used the house only for entertaining. Ford never moved in, however, as he was quickly elevated to president when Richard Nixon resigned. The house was designated the official residence of the vice-president in 1974, after Gerald Ford had been named as the replacement for Vice-President Spiro Agnew. The house at One Observatory Circle in Washington, DC is the official residence of the Vice-President of the United States. Mark Planning, a Republican, is a public affairs consultant and previously served as deputy assistant secretary for intergovernmental and external affairs at the Department of Energy.One Observatory Circle in 2003 ( Wikipedia) Peter Mirijanian, a Democrat, is president of Peter Mirijanian Public Affairs. It is with this solemn perspective that we acknowledge the true historical significance of this moment. Harris, vice president of the United States. Fittingly, as the celebration of Black History Month comes to a close, the grounds of the onetime estate of Margaret Barber, one of the largest slave owners in the District of Columbia, will soon welcome a new occupant. Once the renovations at Number One Observatory Circle are complete, it will become the official residence of Kamala D. Now, almost 40 years since Mondale and Ferraro’s loss, history is being made at the vice president’s residence. Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, the first major-party candidate to select a woman for the position. The fawning account simply notes that Barber “expended great effort and anguish” to validate her compensation claims and that she “not only had to make the routine visits” with her slaves but had to “be examined herself about each one.”Ī few years after the Washington Historical Society recounted Barber’s fight to gain compensation for her 34 freed slaves, Congress agreed to refurbish the grounds of the Naval Observatory and make the Queen Anne-style home, constructed in 1893 after Barber’s sale, the permanent residence of the vice president. In January 1977, Walter Mondale became the first vice president to live there. Later, as the 1984 Democratic presidential nominee, he chose Rep. ![]() Of another person - again, a living, breathing human being - her claim contends, “Some of these defects are slight, and do not materially impair the value or usefulness of the Negro.”Įven a century later, in a piece published by the Washington Historical Society in 1964, it is distressing to see virtually no recognition of the injustice and outright cruelty of her ownership of other human beings. ![]() ![]() It speaks in an unflinching, and inhuman, way of slave Mortimer Briscoe who “had one of his toes frost bitten but is otherwise sound” and of two other enslaved men who “are remarkably strong, healthy and capable Negroes.” 2 slave owner. But first, a bit of unpleasant history.īarber, a widow, owned 34 slaves. Almost 160 years later, her matter-of-fact compensation filing to a federal commission is painful to read. Barber, whose $9,351.30 compensation reflected her status as the District’s No. Slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia by an act of Congress signed by President Abraham Lincoln on April 16, 1862. In a cruelly bitter twist, the act appropriated $1 million for the compensation of “loyal owners” (no Confederates) for their slaves, at a rate not to exceed $300 for each.Īn even greater irony has now emerged on the onetime estate of Margaret C.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |