Adams Moves Into White House

November 1, 1800

John and Abigail Adams arrived at the half-finished President's House in a raw, unpaved capital. Abigail hung laundry in the unfinished East Room. Within months Adams would lose the election to Jefferson and leave - the first peaceful transfer of power between bitter rivals in the new nation. Adams's prayer that heaven bestow its blessings on the house was later carved into its mantelpiece by Franklin Roosevelt.