In her speech to the Democratic
National Convention last month, Michelle Obama spoke with poignancy about the
fact that she, the descendant of slaves, was now living in a great mansion
built by slave labor. “That is the story of this country, the story that has
brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt
the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who
kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today, I
wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves, and I watch my
daughters—two beautiful, intelligent, black young women—playing with their dogs
on the White House lawn.”
Her speech was an acknowledgment of
where we as a country have been and a recognition of how far we have come. Sadly, it was met almost immediately by some
who objected to any mention of the legacy of slavery, and by others who
questioned the truth of her words. Researchers
countered the latter with clear evidence.
The White House and the Capitol building were constructed with both
slave and paid labor. Though records are
spotty, and it is not possible to determine precisely what percentage of the
work was performed by slaves, there is documentation of 385 payments made to slave
owners for “Negro hire” (a euphemism of the day for the rental of slaves) between
the years 1795 and 1801 by the commissioners in charge of constructing public
buildings in the District of Columbia.
