Activism Leads to Excavation: The Power of Place and the Power of the People at the President’s House in Philadelphia

Abstract

For seven-eighths of George Washington’s presidency a large Georgian townhouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, served as both the President’s executive offices and residence. In the early years of this century the former location of this house became the focus of intense public interest. The compelling story of the President’s House and its occupants, most particularly, nine enslaved Africans who Washington brought with him to Philadelphia, provoked intense public dialogue and protest by a diverse coalition of citizens. Public activism led to an archeological excavation where the power of an engaged citizenry transformed an ‘orchestrated’ public archaeology project into a demonstration of public ownership of the past.