Have you ever wondered...
Did enslaved people build the White House?
Enslaved laborers participated in every stage of building construction, from the quarrying and transportation of stone to the construction of the Executive Mansion. They worked alongside European craftsmen, white wage laborers, and other free African-American wage laborers.
Learn more about the construction of the White House here.
Learn about our Slavery in the President’s Neighborhood initiative.
A slave coffle passing the Capitol grounds, 1815, published in A Popular History of the United States, 1876.
Stonemason 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.
This May 1795 payroll lists the carpenters who worked on the President’s House. The government did not own slaves, but officials did hire out enslaved laborers from their owners. Slave carpenters Peter, Ben, Daniel, and Harry were noted as owned by James Hoban.
We've Also Been Asked...
You Might Also Like
-
PodcastPalace of State: The Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Featuring John F.W. Rogers, Chairman of the White House Historical Association’s Board of Directors
-
PodcastAmerica’s Irish Roots
Featuring Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ambassador of Ireland to the United States
-
PodcastWashington National Cathedral & the White House
Featuring Very Reverend Randolph Hollerith and Reverend Canon Jan Naylor Cope
-
CollectionThe Decatur House Slave Quarters
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room, and laundry; while the second floor contained four rooms designated as living quarters. By 1827, the service wing was being used as an urban slave quarters. Henry Clay brought enslaved individuals to Decatur House, starting a trend that was solidified by
-
PodcastJames Hoban: The Charleston Years
Featuring Shea McEnerney, historic preservationist and Next-Gen Leader
-
PodcastWhite House Builder James Hoban’s Irish Roots
Featuring Laurie Grace, Chairman of the James Hoban Society of Ireland; Brother Christy O’Carroll, Congregation of Christian Brothers; Ciarán O’Connor, State Architect of Ireland; Merlo Kelly, Senior Architect, Lotts Architecture & Urbanism; Brian O’Connell, Director and Founder of O’Connell Mahon Architects and a contributor to the book James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House
-
PodcastWhite House: Next-Gen Designers
Featuring Tham Kannalikham, White House Historical Association Board Member and former White House interior designer; Steven Spandle, architect of the White House tennis pavilion; and Emily Bedard, Next-Gen Leader and Creative Director for Foster Reeve & Associates
-
CollectionPresident Truman's Renovation
During the administration of President Harry S. Truman, the White House underwent a renovation and expansion so extensive, it changed the Executive Mansion more than the fire of 1814. The White House we know today is largely due to the renovation led by Truman. The construction took place between 1948 and 1952 and was a remarkable feat of engineering. National Park Service photographer
-
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 protest and indignation. This traditional act of hospitality toward the wife of the first black man elected to Congress in the twentieth century created a political crisis for the president and first lady. This collection explores the "tempest" from the
-
CollectionThe 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 have influence—have bought property and built homes and offices along the streets surrounding the White House. For more than two centuries, this neighborhood has been the setting for political decision-making and diplomacy, social gatherings and protests, wartime expediencies and
-
CollectionTudor Place
Two grand houses were under construction in the young Federal City in 1816: one the President’s House, reconstructed after it was burned by the British in 1814, and the other Tudor Place, an elegant mansion rising on the heights above Georgetown. The connection between these two houses is more than temporal, as they were connected through lineage and politics for generations. Th
-
CollectionAn Artist Visits the White House Past
From the beginning of its construction in 1792, until the 1902 renovation that shaped the modern identity and functions of the interior of the White House, the fourteen paintings of this series examine the history of a national icon. Through meticulous research and tireless attention to detail, numerous sources inspired the brush of Peter Waddell to create a vision of the White
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
