Collection The President's Neighborhood
Since the White House was first occupied by President John Adams in 1800, influential people and organizations—or those who hoped to...
Did Slaves Build the White House?
Slavery and the White House
Construction on the President's House began in 1792 in Washington, D.C., a new capital situated in sparsely settled region far from a major population center. The decision to place the capital on land ceded by two pro-slavery states-Virginia and Maryland-ultimately influenced the acquisition of laborers to construct its public buildings. The D.C. commissioners, charged by Congress with building the new city under the direction of the president, initially planned to import workers from Europe to meet their labor needs. However, response to recruitment was dismal and soon they turned to African Americans—both slave and free—to provide the bulk of labor that built the White House, the United States Capitol, and other early government buildings.
A slave coffle passing the Capitol grounds, 1815, published in A Popular History of the United States, 1876.
Library of CongressStonemason Collen Williamson trained enslaved people on the spot at the government's quarry at Aquia, Virginia. Enslaved people quarried and cut the rough stone that was later dressed and laid by Scottish masons to erect the walls of the President's House. The slaves joined a work force that included local white laborers and artisans from Maryland and Virginia, as well as immigrants from Ireland, Scotland, and other European nations.
Slavery and the White House
Construction on the President’s House began in 1792. The decision to place the capital on land ceded by two slave states—Virginia and Maryland—ultimately influenced the acquisition of laborers to construct its public buildings.
The payroll to slaveowners shows that the government did not own slaves, but that it did hire them from their masters. Slave carpenters Ben, Daniel, and Peter were noted as owned by James Hoban.
National Archives and Records AdministrationYou Might Also Like
-
-
Collection White House Women
While there has yet to be a female president, women have played an integral role in shaping the White House...
-
Collection The Historic Stephen Decatur House
In 1816 the naval war hero, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., and his wife, Susan, moved to the nascent capital city of...
-
Collection Slavery in the President's Neighborhood
Many people think of the White House as a symbol of democracy, but it also embodies America’s complicated past an...
-
Collection James Hoban: Architect of the White House
James Hoban's life is a memorable Irish-American success story. In his boyhood he learned the craft of carpenter and wheelwright,...
-
Collection Italy in the White House
Long before the emergence of the United States and Italy as nations, close connections between our two peoples influenced political...
-
Collection An Artist Visits the White House Past
From its construction in 1792, until the 1902 renovation that shaped the modern identity and functions of the interior of the White...
-
Collection Tudor Place
Two grand houses were under construction in the young Federal City in 1816: one the President’s House, reconstructed after it wa...
-
Collection 'A Tempest in a Teapot'
First Lady Lou Hoover's invitation to Jessie L. DePriest to a White House tea party in 1929 created a storm of...
-
Collection President Truman's Renovation
During the administration of President Harry S. Truman, the White House underwent a renovation and expansion so extensive, it changed...
-
Bio Barack Obama
When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, he became the first African American to hold the office. The framers of...
-
Bio James K. Polk
Often referred to as the first "dark horse" president, James K. Polk was the last of the Jacksonians to sit...
