Situated on Lafayette Square directly across from the White House, Decatur House presents one of the starkest confrontations between American ideals and American practice. Built in 1818 for naval hero Stephen Decatur, the home's rear service quarters and backyard pens were used — particularly under the ownership of John Gadsby, a prominent slave trader — to confine enslaved people awaiting sale. Enslaved men and women were held within earshot of the seat of presidential power, their suffering invisible to the official narrative being written in the rooms across the square. Today the house is a National Trust for Historic Preservation site and has begun the work of interpreting this history honestly, including the lives of the enslaved people who lived and labored within its walls.