This page is designed to support continuing agitation, advocacy and to spread the word about the interpretive panels recently removed from the President’s House as widely as possible. You will find images of the missing panels, some of which can be printed out for your use as flyers, sandwich boards, art to paste on the blank walls, classroom supplements, etc. Each printable piece carries a QR code that will direct readers to the full array of interpretation from the lost panels, along with other relevant history about the presidents, the enslaved people, the struggle to interpret the site, and the current battle over its future.
Actions to Take
We encourage you to download and print these images to share as flyers or posters to raise awareness about the history that occurred at the President’s House. You can also use them to share on social media. Tag your posts with #preshousecoalition on Instagram to help share the word and follow them for the latest updates on the ongoing situation with the President’s House.
A Day of Reciprocity-Color
A Day of Reciprocity-B&W
Awarding a Peace Medal-Color
Awarding a Peace Medal-B&W
Death Carts-Color
Death Carts-B&W
Freedom might be too great a temptation-Color
Freedom might be too great a temptation-B&W
Names of the Nine-Color
Names of the Nine-B&W
Oney Judge-Color
Oney Judge-B&W
Promoting the Abolition of Slavery-Color
Promoting the Abolition of Slavery-B&W
Share on Social Media and Connect with Others
- Follow preshousecoalition on Instagram for the latest updates on the ongoing situation with the President’s House.
- Check out Save Our Signs for images of all of the interpretive panels that were removed
- Follow Avenging the Ancestors Coalition
- Learn more about the history of the President’s House here and here.
History of the President’s Controversy
The Philadelphia President’s House, where George Washington and John Adams lived and worked from 1790 to 1800, also housed nine enslaved people that George and his wife, Martha, brought there from Mt. Vernon, VA. It was located right in front of the modern Liberty Bell Center and across from Independence Visitors Center, at 6th and Market Streets. The House has become a site of continual controversy regarding how or whether to tell the story of American slavery and the story of the nine enslaved people who lived and worked here. Most recently, in January 2026 the National Independence Historical Park, which manages the site, forcibly removed the interpretive panels that tell this history. Read below for more history on the timeline of the controversy.
- 1990s Learning the history: Architectural historian Edward Lawler, reading Washington’s letters at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, learned the names of those nine enslaved people, how President and Mrs. Washington accommodated them on the property and retained them in slavery despite Pennsylvania law, and how the House itself was altered to fit Washington’s view of presidential dignity. Lawler shared his findings first with the leadership of the Independence National Historical Park and then in print (January 2002) through the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography.
- 2002-2010 Building the memorial: Newly public knowledge of Lawler’s findings inaugurated a decade-long struggle over how to tell these stories, involving Independence Park, the National Park Service, historians, activists, archaeologists, exhibit and site designers, the U. S. Congress, and the City of Philadelphia. In Dec 2010, their work resulted in the opening of an interpreted memorial on the site of the 18th century house. Interpretive panels explored both presidencies, diplomacy with Native American leaders, and legislation passed and signed by both presidents, including Washington’s signature on the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act. Moreover, interpretation explored the realities of American slavery, named and honored the nine people enslaved there and told the stories of two in particular, Ona Judge and Hercules, who escaped bondage to the Washingtons.
- 2025-26 Federal attack on the historical interpretation: On January 22, 2026, following a 2025 executive order, Independence Park staff forcibly removed all the interpretive panels into off-site storage and turned off the video monitors that offered additional interpretation. Since this removal, many people through art, public demonstrations, readings, etc. have supported the continuing presence of historical truth at the President’s House site.
Read More on the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia
Independence National Historical Park