Instead of weekly levees and drawing rooms socials held by his predecessors, President Jefferson decided to hold only two public receptions a year. One on New Year's Day and another on the Fourth of July. He held his first reception at the President's House (wasn't called the White House until after the War of 1812) on July 4,1801. The public was invited to attend and President Jefferson received his guest in what is now the Blue Room. Instead of bowing to his guest, which he thought aristocratic, he shook hands with them, a far more democratic gesture. Many who came were astonished to find in attendance five Cherokee Indian chiefs, who were in Washington to celebrate a new tready of friendship with the government.
The Fourth of July reception in 1803 was notable because it was a double celebration. President Jefferson announced the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, which virtually doubled the size of the United States with the stroke of a pen.
