Did Slaves Build U.S. Capitol and White House?
How Black Labor Force Helped Construct Washington D.C. Landmarks
Jan 1, 2009
Americans find a renewed focus on the history of slavery in the District of Columbia with Barack Obama’s January 20 inauguration this year at the U.S. Capitol, as the nation’s first black president.
A USA Today story filed by Melanie Eversley on February 27, 2006 entitled “Memorial Eyed for Slaves Who Helped Build Capitol” reports that Ed Hotaling, a retired Washington TV reporter, was among the first to bring widespread attention to the fact that slaves were an integral part of the construction of the U.S. Capitol building and grounds, after he discovered historical information about it back in 2000 when researching the Capitol’s 200th anniversary.
Congressional Task Force Created to Study Slave Involvement
Following that, congressional leaders announced, at the end of May 2005, the creation of a task force to study the history of slave labor there and to decide the best way to commemorate it. “Slaves were the largest labor pool when Congress in 1790 decided to create a new national capital along the Potomac surrounded by the two slave-owning states of Maryland and Virginia,” according to the June 1, 2005, Associated Press article “Capitol Slave Labor Studied” published in The Washington Times. Slaves were also involved in the Capitol building’s expansion over 50 years later.
The task force, led at the time by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas), recommended by November 2007 that the great hall in the new Capitol Visitor Center, which just opened December 2, 2008, be named “Emancipation Hall” to recognize the contributions of the slaves. The name change became official on December 22, 2007 by Public Law 110-139.
Senator Lincoln had long advocated for such recognition after pay stubs dating from the 1790s were discovered in 1999. The stubs authorized the Department of Treasury to pay slave owners $5 per month for each laborer.
Bob Arnebeck, an expert on the Capitol’s construction, stated in the USA Today article that the slaves were hired to work alongside the free black and white laborers, to increase competition and keep down complaints among the free workers.
Slaves Used Because Overseas Recruitment Failed
But there was also a labor shortage. According to the White House Historical Association, the commissioners planning the building of the new District of Columbia originally planned to import workers from Europe. But when recruitment failed to meet their needs, they turned to slave owners, who would hire out small groups of slaves to earn money. The slaves were involved not only in cutting logs and removing stumps for construction of the new buildings and streets in D.C., they created much-needed raw materials. “Black quarrymen, sawyers, brickmakers, and carpenters fashioned raw materials into the products used to erect the White House” reports the Historical Association, and “…slaves quarried and cut the rough stone that was later dressed and laid by Scottish stonecutters to erect the walls of the President’s house.”
Presidents Used Slaves While in Office
It is estimated that over 400 slaves were used to help build the U.S. Capitol and, in addition to their labor constructing the White House, they often accompanied their Presidential masters. A December 2, 2008, CNN report by Susan Roesgen and Aaron Cooper entitled “Slaves Helped Build White House, U.S. Capitol” reveals that twelve American presidents owned slaves, but only eight of them owned them while in office. George Washington owned slaves during his presidency but he never lived in the White House. John Adams was the first president to live in the White House, in 1800, but he opposed slavery so did not bring any slaves to the famous residence built by them.
Other presidents who owned slaves while in office include Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, John Tyler, James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor. James Madison had over a hundred slaves but treated them kindly, and “during the War of 1812, Madison’s slaves helped remove material from the White House shortly before the British burned the building.”
There are many more facts and historical notes about the slave contribution to the U.S. Capitol building’s construction, and this often overlooked time in history, in a 29-page report published on June 1, 2005 by William C. Allen, Architectural Historian in the Office of the Architect of the Capitol. People can gain a better understanding of the slave experience by studying what historical evidence remains—the few documents about the laborers responsible for literally creating the foundations for the halls in Washington D.C. that represent freedom and democracy.
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