Slave Labor in the Capital

The little-known history of how enslaved African Americans contributed to the building of the White House and other landmarks—includes illustrations. In 1791, President George Washington appointed a commission to build the future capital of the nation. Workers flocked to the city—but the commission found that paying masters of faraway Maryland plantations sixty dollars a year for their slaves made it easier to keep their payroll low. In 1798, half of the two hundred workers building the two most