Friday, 17 March 2000
WASHINGTON (AP) - Some workers who helped build the White
House and Capitol, two national landmarks of democracy and freedom,
weren't free at all.
They were slaves, and a local television station reported yesterday
that it has obtained the pay slips to prove it.
Historians have known for years that local property owners lent
slaves to help build the president's residence and the meeting
house of Congress, but details of their work have been in archives
and libraries for generations.
WRC-TV, an NBC-owned station in Washington, reported yesterday
that it had obtained actual pay statements found in Treasury Department
papers at the National Archives.
The station reported that the two building projects employed 650
people over eight years, including 400 slaves and more than 50
free blacks. The slaves earned $5 a month, which was given to
their owners, who hired them out, the station reported.
Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla., says he'll introduce a resolution in
Congress later this month to recognize the slaves' contribution.
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