Editing Presidents House (section)

== The Robert Morris House ==

The building that became the President's House was constructed in the 1760s for Mary Lawrence Masters and subsequently acquired by financier Robert Morris, one of the wealthiest men in America and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Morris made the house available to the new federal government when Philadelphia became the temporary capital in 1790, and President Washington moved in that November. The house was substantial for its era: three stories tall with over 30 rooms, including formal reception spaces, family quarters, offices, and service areas. It stood on Market Street between 5th and 6th Streets, just one block from Independence Hall and the other federal buildings, making it convenient for the business of government.<ref name="chernow">{{cite book |last=Chernow |first=Ron |title=Washington: A Life |year=2010 |publisher=Penguin Press |location=New York}}</ref>

Washington modified the house to suit his needs, adding a large bow window to one of the reception rooms and constructing additional service buildings in the rear. The household was elaborate, befitting Washington's conception of the presidency as requiring dignity and ceremony to command respect. In addition to family members and secretaries, the household included free servants, indentured servants, and approximately nine enslaved African Americans brought from Mount Vernon. The enslaved workers included Oney Judge, a lady's maid to Martha Washington, and Hercules, the celebrated cook whose culinary skills were famous throughout Philadelphia. The presence of enslaved people in the President's House would later become the most significant aspect of the site's history.<ref name="dunbar">{{cite book |last=Dunbar |first=Erica Armstrong |title=Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge |year=2017 |publisher=37 Ink |location=New York}}</ref>