Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

England. The book was called Poems on

Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.

Wheatley traveled to England in 1773.

The English welcomed her as a famous

author, though she was still a slave.

Wheatley gained her freedom when she

returned from England.

Some of Wheatley’s poems could not be

published in England because they supported

American independence. Her

most famous patriotic poem is To His

Excellency, GeneralWashington.

In 1778 Wheatley married John Peters, a

free black man. She had three children

with him. Wheatley was working as a

servant when she died on December 5,

1784.

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African Americans • Poetry

Whippoorwill

The whippoorwill is a North American

bird that is nocturnal, or active at night.

It is named for its call—three whistled

notes that sound like “whip-poor-will.”

It may repeat this call 400 times without

stopping.

Whippoorwills are in the same scientific

family as nightjars and nighthawks.

They are also related to owls. The scientific

name of the whippoorwill is

Caprimulgus vociferus.

Whippoorwills live in woodlands. They

can be found in southeastern Canada, in

the eastern and southwestern United

States, and in Mexico. They may spend

the winter as far south as Costa Rica.

The whippoorwill is about 9.5 inches

(24 centimeters) long. It has spotted

brownish and grayish feathers. The bird

has very short legs and large eyes. Its bill

is small, but its mouth can open very

wide. The corners of the male’s tail are

white. The male also has a thin band of

white feathers around the neck.

A statue in Boston, Massachusetts, honors

Phillis Wheatley.

40 Whippoorwill BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Around dawn and dusk the whippoorwill

swoops across the sky, searching for

insects to eat. By day it sleeps on the

forest floor or perches lengthwise on a

branch.

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Bird • Owl

White House

The president of the United States lives

and works in the White House. The

president’s family lives there also. The

White House is inWashington, D.C., at

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. Its

walls are made of sandstone and painted

white.

Layout

The president uses part of the White

House for social events. The biggest

room, called the East Room, is where

dances and large gatherings take place.

The State Dining Room is only slightly

smaller. As many as 140 people can sit

down to eat there. The Red, Blue, and

Green rooms are named for the colors

that were used to decorate them. All

these rooms are on the first floor.

The second and third floors contain

private living space for the president, the

president’s family, and the president’s

guests. The family and guests can enjoy

the White House’s movie theater, swimming

pool, tennis court, jogging track,

and library. In addition, the White

House has its own doctor’s office, dentist’s

office, and barber shop.

The West and East wings of the White

House connect with the main building.

They contain offices for government

workers. The office of the president—

called the Oval Office—is in theWest

Wing. The office of the vice president is

also in theWestWing. The EastWing

holds other offices, including those of

the first lady (the president’s wife) and

her staff.

History

The first president of the United

States—GeorgeWashington—did not

A whippoorwill rests on a log. The bird’s

color helps it blend in well with the wood.

The White House is the official residence of

the president of the United States. It is one

of the best-known sites in the U.S. capital,

Washington, D.C.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA White House 41

 

live in the White House. It had not been

built yet, andWashington, D.C., did

not exist when he was elected. The capital

at the time was New York City. DuringWashington’s

first term the capital

was moved to Philadelphia. In 1790 the

U.S. Congress chose the area that is now

Washington, D.C., to be the site of the

new permanent U.S. capital. In 1792 an

architect named James Hoban drew up

plans for a house where the president

could live. The house was not ready

until 1800. John Adams was the first

president to live there.

In 1814, during the War of 1812, British

soldiers enteredWashington, D.C.

They set a fire that damaged the inside

of the White House.Workers finished

making repairs in 1817.

In 1902 workers built theWestWing to

make office space. In 1942 workers built

the EastWing to make even more space.

From 1948 to 1952 much of the interior

of the building was rebuilt. The outside

walls were not changed. Over the years

several presidents and their wives have

redecorated the rooms of the White

House. Today the public can tour parts

of the main building.

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War of 1812 •Washington, D.C.

Whitney, Eli

Eli Whitney was one of the first great

inventors in the United States. He

invented the cotton gin, which helped to

make cotton the most important crop of

the Southern states. He also invented

methods of producing many goods

quickly and cheaply. Factories still use

these methods, called mass production,

today.

Eli Whitney was born inWestboro,

Massachusetts, on December 8, 1765.

He graduated from Yale College in

1792. He then moved south to Georgia.

Many farmers in Georgia grew cotton.