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41–186 2008

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

CAPITOL: RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS 

OF SLAVE LABOR 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON HOUSE 

ADMINISTRATION 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, NOVEMBER 7, 2007 

Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration 

( 

Available on the Internet: 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/house/administration/index.html 


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COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION 

ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania, Chairman 

ZOE LOFGREN, California 

Vice-Chairwoman 

MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts 

CHARLES A. GONZALEZ, Texas 

SUSAN A. DAVIS, California 

ARTUR DAVIS, Alabama 

VERNON J. EHLERS, Michigan 

Ranking Minority Member 

DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California 

KEVIN MCCARTHY, California 

S. ELIZABETH BIRNBAUM, Staff Director 

WILL PLASTER, Minority Staff Director 


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THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

CAPITOL: RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SLAVE LABOR 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2007 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION, 

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to call, at 1:00 p.m., in Room 1310, 

Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Robert A. Brady (chairman 

of the committee) Presiding. 

Present: Representatives Brady, Capuano, Gonzalez, Davis of 

California, Davis of Alabama, Ehlers, Lungren, and McCarthy. 

Staff Present: Liz Birnbaum, Staff Director; Teri Morgan, Deputy 

Chief Counsel; Diana Rodriguez, Professional Staff; Matt Pinkus, 

Professional Staff/Parliamentarian; Kyle Anderson, Press Director; 

Kristin McCowan, Chief Legislative Clerk; Matthew DeFreitas, 

Staff Assistant; Fred Hay, Minority General Counsel; Bryan T. 

Dorsey, Minority Professional Staff; and Salley Collins, Minority 

Press Secretary. 

The CHAIRMAN. I would like to call the hearing on the United 

States Capitol Construction: Recognizing the Contribution of Slave 

Labor to order. And I would like to make my opening statement. 

The United States Capitol is a well-known symbol of freedom 

and liberty, yet the stories of America’s slaves who built the symbol 

have been omitted from our history. Only a few documents remain 

to piece together the story. Whether it is Treasury Department pay 

slips at the National Archives or photos from the Architect of the 

Capitol’s archives, we have evidence that slave laborers toiled in a 

harsh environment. Today we are here to shed some light to the 

true laborers, African American slaves. 

While the story of Philip Reid has been documented—he is best 

known to be the mastermind in casting and placing the Statue of 

Freedom atop the Capitol Dome—there are countless other slaves 

whose stories are untold. These stories are in the quarries of Stafford County, Virginia, where the most burdensome and back-breaking labor was cutting stone with pickaxes. Their stories are in the 

sawmills where pit and stone sawing were grueling jobs. These 

slave laborers have been lost to the ages, but their skills and 

craftsmanship endure. 

The next time you walk through the Nation’s Capitol, pause for 

a moment and reflect on the hardships these men must have endured. Without modern-day equipment, equipped with only pickaxes and saws, think about the intensity and hardship these slave 


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laborers faced. Take the time to marvel and appreciate the strenuous work that created the beautiful columns in National Statuary 

Hall. These quarried stones, bricks and mortar and hand-crafted 

carpentry continue as a living history of the slaves who fashioned 

them. 

During today’s hearing, we will hear one panel comprised of the 

Slave Labor Task Force members, on their recommendations of 

how we move forward to secure a befitting memorial. The second 

panel of historians will provide background information and further insight into this untold chapter of American history. 

No piece of legislation or memorial stone will compensate for 

those who labored under slavery. A memorial, a commemorative 

plaque or exhibit will never right the wrongs of the past, but it 

could serve as a reminder of the story behind the significant contribution of an oppressed people. And it will serve for generations 

to come as a reminder that freedom and liberty are not always free. 

I would like to thank all of today’s panelists for coming before 

us today, and I look forward to your testimony. And I now would 

like to recognize the Ranking Member Mr. Ehlers for his opening 

statement. 

[The statement of Mr. Brady follows:] 


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Mr. EHLERS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you for that 

beautiful statement you made. I thank you very much for convening today’s hearing to discuss the use of slave labor in building 

the Capitol. 

It is easy to forget, as we craft legislation with a goal of preserving and protecting our freedom, that the very floors and walls 

that surround us were constructed by those who knew no liberty. 

The recognition of slaves as an important part of the fabric of our 

Nation’s history is long overdue, and I am pleased that this committee is able to play a role in that effect. 

Recently I had the opportunity to climb the Capitol Dome with 

some friends, and, as most of you know, it is constructed of cast 

iron, incredibly heavy cast iron, and I couldn’t imagine how that 

was done back 150 years ago. And how it was done, I know that 

horses and pulleys were used. But even so, it is incredible work to 

move all that cast iron in place and hang it appropriately and accurately along with the stone laying that you mentioned, Mr. Chairman. It is just an unimaginable amount of work done by people 

who, as I say, did not know liberty at that time. 

Our Nation still bears the scars of slavery, and we will never 

completely recover from its impact. Rather than try to forget what 

transpired, we must honor the sacrifice of those brave men and 

women who gave so much to our Nation even when they were told 

they had no worth of their own. My hope is that today’s proceedings will be an important step in that process, and that we 

may work towards a fitting tribute to memorialize the contribution 

of slave labor in the construction of our Nation’s Capitol. 

We are joined today by Congressman John Lewis. In addition to 

being the Chairman of the Slave Labor Task Force, Representative 

Lewis is a most distinguished pioneer in the civil rights movement, 

and we are honored and delighted that he could join us. 

Just recently he came to my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and spoke at the Ford Museum about his experiences. Incredibly eloquent, meaningful, and I and many in the audience sat 

there with tears streaming down our cheeks as we listened to his 

moving words. 

We also have with us another task force member, former Congressman J.C. Watts. He also caused tears to fall down my cheeks 

when he left the House of Representatives. He was such a great 

Congressman and contributed so much. But I also have to acknowledge that he placed his family above his own personal desires and 

our desires, and I commend you for that. 

Mr. WATTS. Thank you. 

Mr. EHLERS. To each of the task force members, I thank you for 

the tremendous work that you have done in putting together this 

report. I am extremely pleased with the extensive and wellthought-out recommendations it contains, which include additional 

training for the Capitol Guide Service on this topic and an on-line 

resource for historians and scholars on the use of slave labor in the 

Capitol. I am impressed with your work. I look forward to receiving 

additional information today on your findings. 

Thank you very much, and I yield back the balance of my time. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

[The information follows:] 


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The CHAIRMAN. Anybody else have an opening statement? 

Hearing none, then, I would like to welcome our panelists, the 

Honorable John Lewis, United States House of Representatives, 

Georgia Fifth District; the Honorable Blanche Lincoln, United 

States Senator, Arkansas; the Honorable J.C. Watts, former Representative from Oklahoma. And I am not sure that I cried when 

you retired, but I am sorry—I do miss him; Dr. Bettye Gardner, 

professor associate for the study of African American life and history, Coppin University; Mr. Currie Ballard, task force member; 

and Ms. Sarah Davidson, task force member. 

I ask that the panelists summarize their statements within the 

initial 5 minutes allotted to the witnesses. Without objection, all 

written statements from witnesses will appear in the record of the 

hearing. 

We will start with Congressman Lewis, and then Senator Lincoln 

and move down the line. 

In Philadelphia we have a major newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and they do profiles, and in the profiles they ask certain 

people, what their likes & dislikes are, what they read, what is on 

the bed table, what their favorite movies are. And they also asked 

who are your heroes. And it was about 7, 8 years ago, I was only 

here for a couple years, and I mentioned Mr. John Lewis as my 

hero. And I appreciate and thank you for participating today. And 

I would like to open with you, sir. 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. JOHN LEWIS, A REPRESENTATIVE 

IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA 

Mr. LEWIS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for those kind 

words. 

Chairman Brady and Ranking Member Ehlers, thank you for 

hosting me in Grand Rapids. And, other Members, thank you for 

your leadership and for calling this important hearing today. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to recognize other members of the Slave Labor Task Force at the table with me. As Chairman of the task force, I would like to thank each and every member for their hard work and dedication to bringing the truth to 

light about the use of slave labor in the building of the Capitol. 

Mr. Chairman, imagine building the Nation’s Capitol with your 

own two hands. Imagine in Washington the oppressive summer. 

The CHAIRMAN. Excuse me, sir. I hate to interrupt you, but we 

want to hear you. Would you please just push that button to turn 

your microphone on? 

Mr. LEWIS. Thank you very much, sir. I don’t get a chance to testify too much. 

Many years ago when I was much younger, I had all my hair and 

a few pounds lighter, I testified in a few courts, but I don’t get to 

testify on this side of the table. 

But, Mr. Chairman, imagine building the Nation’s Capitol with 

your own two hands. Imagine in Washington oppressive summer 

heat, to toil under the sun without the help of a crane, a lift, without any of the modern tools that we have today; to fight through 

the bone-chilling winter and to shiver through the chilling days of 

January as you cut, chisel and pull massive stone out of a quarry 

to build the foundation, the base of this Nation’s Capitol. 


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This Capitol, this symbol of our democracy, was not built overnight. It was not built by machine. Laborers, including African 

American slaves, struggled to erect this massive building brick by 

brick, stone by stone. Mr. Chairman, thanks to the report by the 

Architect of the Capitol titled History of Slave Laborers in the Construction of the United States Capitol, we have now compiled and 

documented the work of African American slaves in the construction of the Capitol. We now know for certain that African American 

slaves were used to construct our Nation’s Capitol. This building, 

from which we project the ideas of freedom, democracy, and, in my 

own mind, that idea, that concept of the beloved community, the 

interracial democracy, stands grounded in a foundation laid by 

slaves. 

We look back today not to open old wounds, but to ensure that 

we tell the story, the complete story, the whole story of those slaves 

so their toils are never forgotten. Slavery is a part of our Nation’s 

history of which we are not proud; however, we should not run 

away or hide from it. The history of the Capitol, like the history 

of our Nation, should be complete. 

As thousands of visitors walk through our Nation’s Capitol, they 

leave without knowing the true history of its construction. As visitors walk through the halls of the Nation’s Capitol Building, this 

building, they do not see anything that tells the story of African 

American slaves who have built this magnificent building; no drawings, no murals, no statues, nothing. We cannot allow our citizens 

to leave without an appreciation for the efforts of slaves who 

helped build our ‘‘Temple of Freedom.’’ 

The mandate of the Slave Labor Task Force is to study and recognize the contribution of enslaved African Americans in building 

the U.S. Capitol. Mr. Chairman, we have accomplished the first 

part of this mandate. We have a study, and we know the facts. Mr. 

Chairman, the time is now to commemorate what for too long has 

been unrecognized. It is time to commemorate the role of slave laborers in the construction of the Capitol. As Chairman of the Slave 

Labor Task Force, I am proud of the recommendation we are making today, and I ask that we will all work to ensure that these recommendations are implemented without delay. 

In conclusion, I will request that the study and recommendation 

be submitted in the record. And I thank the Chairman for his leadership and for holding this hearing. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and 

Mr. Ranking Member. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Lewis. 

[The statement of Mr. Lewis follows:] 


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[The information follows:] 

The CHAIRMAN. I would also like to recognize Zach Wamp, Member of Congress, from the great State of Tennessee. Thank you. 

Senator. Senator Lincoln. 

STATEMENT OF BLANCHE LINCOLN, A UNITED STATES 

SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF ARKANSAS 

Senator LINCOLN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And to Chairman 

Brady and Ranking Member Ehlers, who I served with in Congress 

here in the House, I want to thank you all for holding this hearing 

today to examine what we all believe is a very important issue that 

has gone unrecognized for far too long. 

The eloquent statement of my friend and former colleague John 

Lewis, so grateful to his passion as well as, I think, the way he presents our responsibility here to make sure that we complete history, is very, very important. And I, too, was delighted to have Congressman Lewis in Arkansas as we dedicated Central High and the 

incredible place that it holds in history. And I think that as members of the task force, that is what we want to see happen here is 

to make sure that there is a place in history where these toils and 

certainly talents are recognized. 

Even though our majestic Capitol has served as a meeting place 

for both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate for nearly two centuries, it was only more recently that the 

public attention has been given to the fact that slave laborers were 

involved in constructing the building, which is the center of our 

legislative branch of government. And, of course, that was discovered through some old records that were actually in the Architect’s 

office. 

As a member of the task force to study the contribution of slave 

laborers in the construction of the Capitol, I am honored and humbled to take part in this process to move forward the recommendations to honor and recognize slave laborers who were instrumental 

in constructing the building which is recognized as a symbol of 

freedom and democracy here at home and certainly around the 

world. 

Here the hopes and the dreams of the people of this Nation are 

presented through their elected Representatives in Congress. The 

concerns and priorities of the constituents we serve are voiced and 

debated. Here democracy sets the course for the future of our great 

Nation. And the slave laborers who helped build the Capitol are 

part of that story, and it is a story that we must tell. 

When we started this task force, one thing I wanted to make 

sure we did was to include a variety of viewpoints. In addition to 

including Members of Congress on the task force, I thought it was 

very important to include citizens who don’t live and work in and 

around the Capitol on a regular basis. I wanted to ensure that we 

considered the vantage point of a visitor to the Capitol and what 

manner of recognition they thought would be effective in telling the 

story. In that spirit, I was very pleased that Curtis Sykes, a respected historian and native of North Little Rock, Arkansas, was 

appointed to serve on this panel. Sadly, Mr. Sykes passed away in 

September, but I am grateful he was able to contribute to the work 

of the task force before his passing. 


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In addition to the many other accomplishments as an educator 

and community leader, Mr. Sykes was an original member of Arkansas’ Black History Advisory Committee that was established in 

1991 and faithfully and diligently served as its chairman from 1993 

until his death. Mr. Sykes’ recommendations on this task force 

were focused on wanting to ensure that as many citizens as possible be made aware of the contributions of enslaved African Americans in building the Capitol, whether they were visiting Washington or learning about the Capitol from afar. Mr. Sykes also 

thought it was important to put a human face on the experience 

of slaves who helped build the Capitol, and that visitors should be 

able to get a sense of who they were and what their work and daily 

life was like. 

I am so proud that Sarah Davidson, also a native of North Little 

Rock, is here, who has worked extensively both with Mr. Sykes and 

in the task force, and I am so grateful for her efforts. 

I think those are constructive recommendations, and I certainly 

believe the recommendations we are putting forward embody these 

goals today. As we move forward, I hope historians and researchers 

can incorporate genealogical and other records which will shed 

light on the enslaved individuals we are focusing on and their families so current and future generations can learn about these workers and better understand who they were and what they were facing. 

I also believe we should utilize technology to produce an interactive presentation that can be an effective teaching tool. In bringing this subject to light, I think it is helpful to engage as many 

senses as possible in terms of sight, sound and touch to actually 

bring people back to the circumstances that these slaves were in 

in the building of the Capitol, to bring them back to the time and 

the environment that the Capitol was built in. By incorporating 

interactive features on line or in an exhibit, it can help transport 

students of all ages to a place in time that might otherwise be difficult for them to envision. 

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I think it is important that we recognize 

and acknowledge this subject in the Capitol Building itself. That is 

the building slave laborers helped to construct, and I think that 

there should be a recognition within the building to reflect that. We 

know at least four places on the Senate side of the Capitol where 

slave labor contributed to the construction of that Capitol Building. 

Slave laborers contributed to completion of columns in the old Senate Chamber, and exposed original stonework we know of on the 

first, second and third floors on the Senate side in what is now 

known as the East Front Extension of the Capitol. 

I am also very supportive of focusing attention on this issue in 

the new Capitol Visitor Center and believe that will provide an opportunity to reach a large number of visitors who come from all 

over the world and our great country to see this beautiful building 

every year. 

In closing, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you again for holding 

this hearing today, and I want to thank my colleagues on the task 

force. They have done a tremendous job. Congressman Lewis has 

been tireless as our leader. His staff has done a tremendous job. 


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Congressman Watts, Dr. Gardner, and Mr. Ballard, and, of course, 

Sarah Davidson, all of those have worked hard with their efforts. 

I want to make a special expression of appreciation to the Clerk 

of the House, Lorraine Miller. She and her staff are helping us 

with this project and really making available for us the time and 

the energy of her staff as well as bringing us together in coming 

to conclusion. They have all been terrific to work with, and they 

should all be commended. 

It has been a real honor to work with this distinguished group, 

and I will always be grateful for that opportunity, and I look forward to what visitors will see as we move forward. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator. 

[The statement of Senator Lincoln follows:] 


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The CHAIRMAN. Honorable J.C. Watts. 

STATEMENTS OF J.C. WATTS, FORMER REPRESENTATIVE IN 

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA; BETTYE GARDNER, PROFESSOR, ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE AND HISTORY, COPPIN UNIVERSITY; 

CURRIE BALLARD, TASK FORCE MEMBER; AND SARAH DAVIDSON, TASK FORCE MEMBER 

STATEMENT OF J.C. WATTS 

Mr. WATTS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I want to say to Chairman Lewis and Senator Lincoln, as you all 

know, as Members of Congress and, of course, as a former Member 

of Congress, initiatives like this and efforts like this never work 

unless someone takes ownership in them and it becomes part of 

their DNA to see it through. And Congressman Lewis and Senator 

Lincoln have continued to chip away at this thing as current Members of the United States Congress, and we all are grateful for your 

efforts. Thank you very much. 

Chairman Brady, Ranking Member Ehlers and other members of 

the House Committee on Administration, I am honored to have the 

opportunity to speak to you today regarding the Slave Labor Task 

Force and to introduce you to several of my colleagues who have 

dedicated their efforts to securing the proper recognition for our 

brothers and sisters whose forced labor more than 200 years ago 

built the United States Capitol. 

Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘‘Fellow citizens, we cannot escape 

history.’’ The era of slavery when one man can own his fellow man 

is no doubt an era that many would like to escape. But as Lincoln 

said, we cannot. It is documented in the very stones of the United 

States Capitol, a monument to the freedom of a Nation, constructed 

by the members of that Nation who cannot enjoy its gift of freedom. 

As someone who is committed to studying the past and applying 

its lessons to change the future, I believe it is important for our 

Nation and for our community to be educated on the contribution 

that the enslaved Africans made to the U.S. Capitol. To that end, 

in 2000, while I was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I, along with my good friend John Lewis, and Senator Lincoln, and Senator Santorum at the time and others, created the 

Slave Labor Task Force to study the contribution of enslaved African Americans in building the U.S. Capitol and to make recommendations of the Congress concerning appropriate recognition 

of these contributions. 

The task force was officially established on October 24, 2000, 

through a congressional resolution. Since that time many talented 

men and women have lent their efforts to the work of the task 

force. And I would particularly like to thank again Senator Lincoln 

of Arkansas; The Clerk of the House Lorraine Miller; Congressman 

Lewis; and historical experts Currie Ballard, Bettye Gardner and 

Sarah Davidson, who will be speaking in a few minutes. 

To complete the first part of its mission, the Slave Labor Task 

Force directed the Architect of the Capitol to create a documented 

history of the slave labor that contributed to the Capitol’s construction. This history brought to light the full scope of their labor. 


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From 1795 to 1801, and likely beyond this period, the builders of 

the Capitol rented the labor of Africans forced into slavery by their 

owners. These borrowed workers completed the hardest task, including quarrying stone and casting bricks by hand, hauling stone 

from the quarry to the work site, and felling trees. Today the work 

of these individuals is documented most clearly in the walls on the 

original East Front of the Capitol. This stone was quarried and 

transported by African American slave laborers more than 200 

years ago. Their work also deserves the credit for the columns in 

Statuary Hall and the Old Senate Chamber. 

Sadly, we know the names and stories of only two of the African 

American slave laborers who worked on the Capitol. Nevertheless, 

their stories give us a glimpse into the reality of their contributions, and give us a human context into which we cast our recognition of the total efforts made by the enslaved laborers. The first of 

these two individuals was George Pointer. Mr. Pointer was an 

enslaved man who purchased his freedom and later captained a 

boat that carried stone to the Capitol construction site. The second 

individual was Philip Reid. Mr. Reid was a slave laborer whose 

contribution to the construction of the Capitol included assisting in 

casting the statue ‘‘Freedom.’’ Later in this hearing, historian 

Felicia Bell will tell Philip Reid’s story. 

The Slave Labor Task Force has done an outstanding job in documenting the history of the slave laborers who contributed to the 

U.S. Capitol construction. In 2007, the task force began developing 

recommendations to fulfill the second of its responsibilities. After 

extensive review of legislation and documentation, as well as consultation with history and museum studies experts, the task force 

is pleased to present to you today its recommendations for the most 

appropriate means of honoring the African Americans who made 

such an important contribution to the United States. 

In presenting these recommendations, we as a task force, are 

pleased to have Dr. Bettye Gardner, Sarah Jean Davidson and 

Currie Ballard to testify on the importance of preserving this significant piece of history. Dr. Bettye Gardner is an accomplished 

professor of history whose work has raised awareness of the contributions of the African American community throughout history. 

She received a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Howard University and a Ph.D. from George Washington University. She has been 

honored for her work with numerous awards, including the Outstanding Educator Award in 2005 and the Bethune Service Award 

in 2006. 

Sarah Jean Davidson has been a force for positive change 

throughout her life. At age 15 Ms. Davidson organized the North 

Little Rock, Arkansas, NAACP Youth Council and served as its 

president. The council was responsible for the change in segregation policies at public facilities in North Little Rock. Ms. Davidson 

has worked tirelessly to preserve African American history in 

North Little Rock, documenting and preserving history so others 

have the opportunity to learn from them. She received a bachelor’s 

degree from Howard University as well as a master’s degree in 

education from Catholic University. 

And last, Mr. Chairman, Currie Ballard has worked throughout 

his career to preserve a record of African American accomplishVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:56 Apr 23, 2008 Jkt 041186 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\A186.XXX A186

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ment, serving on the Presidential commission responsible for the 

African American Museum here in Washington, D.C. He also 

served as the historian resident at Langston University in Oklahoma for 12 years. We are all likely familiar with Currie’s extended 

family. He is a descendent of the two African American slaves who 

wrote the song ‘‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.’’ 

In conclusion, I would like to thank the committee once again for 

the opportunity you have given the task force to share with you the 

history of the African American contribution to the U.S. Capitol 

and our recommendations for recognizing their labor. After 200 

years it is time for America to recognize these individuals who contributed to our Nation’s symbols of freedom while never having the 

opportunity to cherish it themselves. Their history is a part of all 

our history, and we all can learn from their contribution. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Congressman Watts. 

[The statement of Mr. Watts follows:] 


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The CHAIRMAN. Dr. Gardner. 

STATEMENT OF BETTYE GARDNER 

Ms. GARDNER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. 

During the 200th anniversary of the building of the U.S. Capitol, 

national attention was focused on the role that slaves played in its 

construction. A task force was established in May of 2005 to determine ways to recognize the tremendous contributions that slave laborers made in the construction of the Capitol. 

The writer Alex Haley commented that history has been recorded 

by the winners, stored by the winners and written by the winners. 

As a result, the American story is generally told in a way that enhances and dignifies some while omitting others. American history 

cannot be understood without African American history, and so if 

we are to understand the role which slavery played in the building 

of this Nation, then this is an excellent opportunity for the task 

force to broaden the conversation on slavery and race. 

The Members of Congress have acknowledged the contradictions 

inherent in the founding of our Nation. Hence, the task force must 

help to center the African American experience squarely in the 

American experience, providing an alternative viewpoint that both 

illustrates and contradicts the promise of America. 

By recognizing the slaves who built the Capitol, we shine the 

light of historical truth on the institution of slavery and the racism 

that justified it. Like so many aspects of the African American 

story that have remained on the back pages of our historical consciousness, the story of the slaves who built the Capitol must certainly be told here. 

Once Washington was selected as the Capital City, slavery became an accepted part of the new Capitol. By 1800, the population 

was almost one-quarter black, both slave and free. It is in this context that the founding of the new Nation must be seen and our 

Founding Fathers must be judged. 

By whatever devices we employ, both the image and the irony of 

African slaves constructing the most enduring and formidable symbol of democracy in the world must be at the center of our consciousness. Up to now, both the image and the irony have been left 

out. 

Carter G. Woodson, the founder of the African American Historical Association, once said that while we should not underestimate 

the achievements of our Nation’s greatest architects, builders and 

industrialists, we should also give credit to those slaves who so 

largely supplied the demand for labor. Our history omits both their 

mention and their record. Our historical images have excluded 

their depiction. Our consciousness involves only certain well-known 

names. But the numbers and the physicality of black men slaving 

in this city, the size of this very place and the permanence of it, 

and the time and lives it took black men to make it can no longer 

be ignored. 

These men, enslaved and building this monument to freedom and 

the rights of men, have become the ones to tell us who we are, and 

in so doing, they have given us not just the symbols of democracy, 

but the thing itself. However, it is not enough that only those visiVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:56 Apr 23, 2008 Jkt 041186 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\A186.XXX A186

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tors to this building know the story. What we must do now is make 

certain that every venue that carries our history, also carries that 

story. This is your moment to do that. 

Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Doctor. 

[The statement of Ms. Gardner follows:] 


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The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Ballard. 

STATEMENT OF CURRIE BALLARD 

Mr. BALLARD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The following recommendations were voted unanimously by the Commission: 

Commemorative plaques and building stones quarried by slave 

labor placed in or near the Capitol Visitor Center and/or the U.S. 

Capitol. 

Pamphlets on the history of slave labor in the Capitol, focusing 

particularly on the kind of work assigned to the slaves. 

Exhibition in the U.S. Capitol on the experience of the 19th century African Americans, both as slave laborers and as Members of 

Congress. 

Educational informational brochures highlighting individual 19th 

century African Americans in the Capitol, slave laborers, Members 

of Congress and staff members. 

On-line exhibit that creates a virtual version of the Capitol exhibition, with the addition of educational materials for students and 

teachers. 

Training of the Capitol Guide Service on interpreting the experience of African Americans as slave laborers and Members. 

On-line publication of the Task Force Report on the History of 

Slave Laborers at the Capitol. 

Black Americans in Congress, scheduled to be published by the 

House of Representatives in 2008, providing extensive materials 

and experiences of African Americans in the Capitol, and be accompanied by a Web site and educational materials. 

Designation of the Great Hall of the Capitol Visitor Center as 

Emancipation Hall. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Ballard. 

[The statement of Mr. Ballard follows:] 


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The CHAIRMAN. Ms. Davidson. 

STATEMENT OF SARAH DAVIDSON 

Ms. DAVIDSON. Mr. Chairman, in the interest of time, I deferred 

my testimony to my distinguished colleagues. However, I did submit written testimony which will be a part of the official record. 

Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

[The statement of Ms. Davidson follows:] 


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The CHAIRMAN. We will now entertain questions. I just have a 

few quick questions, and I think that Mr. Ballard may have already answered them. 

I don’t want to see just a plaque on a stone. I would rather see 

the story told in whatever way it could be told, maybe attach it to 

some benches that are cut out of the quarry stone mined by the 

slaves that visitors can sit and see and feel and touch to appreciate 

the story of those who labored to build the building. That was kind 

of my question. But I think that you answered it in some of the 

things that you are doing. I appreciate that. 

After today’s hearing, what is the next step? Where do we go 

from here? What has to happen? What do we do? Do you need any 

legislation? Do you think you need legislation to be able to further 

what your end result may be? 

Mr. LEWIS. Mr. Chairman, as directed by our mandate, we represent the work of the task force, the study and the recommendation to the Speaker and the president pro tem. 

Last night at our conclusion meeting, I must tell you, Mr. Chairman, we had seven members of the Appropriations Committee 

there, and we are going to need a sizable appropriation to do the 

work that we must do, and the Committee on House Administration can be very helpful and supportive in seeing that we get the 

necessary resources to carry out the recommendations. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Mr. LEWIS. The Chair of the full Committee on House Appropriations and Mr. Wamp, I think, is here. The Ranking Member has 

been very helpful and very supportive. 

The CHAIRMAN. They were the right people to go to for your appropriations, and we will try to hold their feet to the fire for that. 

Thank you. 

Mr. Ehlers, any questions? 

Mr. EHLERS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

As you are well aware, we are developing a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History, and I am sure a number of you have been involved in that. How do you see the correlation between that museum and what we are proposing to do in the 

Capitol Visitor Center? And do you imagine interchanging displays 

and artifacts between the two? Are you planning one set of things 

for one and one for the other? 

Mr. LEWIS. Well, I believe, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member 

and other Members, Lonnie Bunch, who is the Director of the new 

museum, will be testifying later, and we may just let him speak. 

Mr. EHLERS. Okay. So your Commission hasn’t come up with any 

recommendations on that or correlated with them at all? 

Senator LINCOLN. Well, Mr. Chairman, I think one of the things 

that we could say is that the work that they are doing would be 

very complementary because the experience there in terms of 

learning more about African American history leads to what the 

Chairman mentioned, and that is making sure that people begin to 

really understand the history, and hopefully through both that effort there and what we are doing here, there will be a real interactive circumstance where people will be able to maybe experience 

the sounds or the sights and the feel. I hope that will be there particularly for schoolchildren as well as a learning tool of—as ConVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:56 Apr 23, 2008 Jkt 041186 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\A186.XXX A186

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gressman Lewis mentioned, I mean, these laborers used their 

hands, they didn’t use the cranes that children see today when 

they drive down, the construction that goes on. They can learn 

basic physics and the simple machines that were used, whether it 

was pulleys or levers or a whole host of different things. 

So I think that there will be a complement between the two, and 

an opportunity to really provide good education. 

Mr. WATTS. And I think, Congressman, I think most of the recommendations that have been made by the task force are things 

that will be done in and around the Capitol complex. So you could 

actually have people that would show up at the Capitol that may 

not go to the museum, but could get a hands-on feel and a good 

feel and good flavor for what the task force has put together in 

terms of recognizing the slave labor. 

There will obviously be ties. As Congressman Lewis said, you 

know, Director Bunch can speak to that. But, you know, if no one 

ever went to the museum, in spite of the fact that you will have 

some links, you can have links to the museum, you can have ties 

to the museum in terms of the labor task force and the African 

American Museum, but if people didn’t go to the museum and they 

went to the Capitol, they could still get a good flavor of what the 

recommendations are today, or they could get a flavor of the slave 

labor based on the recommendations that have been made by the 

task force. 

Mr. EHLERS. Well, I certainly support your effort to have these 

on display in the Visitor Center, but it is just unfortunate we didn’t 

think of all this 5 years ago. It would have been easier but I am 

sure we can work it out somehow. 

Mr. WATTS. We thought about it 5 years ago. We just didn’t complete it 5 years ago. 

Mr. EHLERS. That seems to be the story of our lives here in Congress. 

One other thing. One recommendation you make, I believe, is 

that the Capitol tour guides be trained in this information. Did you 

come up with any specific suggestions on what topics they should 

be trained in, or is this something you want us to work out? 

Mr. WATTS. I think, Congressman, in terms of tour guides being 

trained, I think the people that give tours through the Capitol 

today, I mean, they have got a pretty good understanding of what 

has happened in the Capitol and the history of it. You know, I see 

this being pretty minor in adding this component to the history of 

the Capitol as they walk people through it. 

When I was in Congress, you know, I had staff and interns 

that—you know, that would guide tours and had a tremendous history of the Capitol. So I think that would be a pretty smooth transition to add this component to it. But that is done—I don’t know 

who handles that, this will just be a new component to that tool. 

Senator LINCOLN. I think it is through the Office of the Architect. 

I am not sure. But I think the idea is that we just want to make 

sure they have a thorough background of the history themselves so 

that when they take tours through the Capitol and through the 

Visitor Center, that they will have that information thoroughly prepared. 


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Mr. EHLERS. I guess what I am driving at is not so much book 

knowledge, but the sensitivity to be able to translate this to the 

people with heart. Maybe they have to go through Congressman 

Lewis’s Selma march as part of their training and really understand what it meant to be a slave and to be forced to build this 

citadel of liberty without experiencing it themselves. I mean, that 

has to come through somehow. 

My time has expired. I yield back. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Mr. Capuano. 

Mr. CAPUANO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

First of all, I want to congratulate you. I think this is great work. 

It is difficult work, and I think what Mr. Watts said earlier was 

exactly right. Without somebody taking ownership of these things, 

they just kind of wither and die on the vine. And the fact that this 

Board has not, I think, deserves our congratulations and our 

thanks. 

I also want to say two things. Number one is I guarantee you 

this committee does know who gives tours over the Capitol, over 

the CVC, and who will continue to give tours over the Capitol and 

the CVC, and they should all be educated appropriately on this and 

other matters as well. 

When I listen to testimony about the history of slavery, lots of 

things come to mind, obviously. Number one is it is always, I think, 

one of this country’s great shames. We came to the movement to 

get rid of slavery late in world history. It wasn’t unique to this 

country, but we were one of the last major countries to get rid of 

it, and I think it is important that we acknowledge that. And it is 

important that we remember it. 

I also think it is critically important to learn from history, and 

I think it is overseen by too many people that there is slavery in 

this world today, actual honest-to-God buying and selling of human 

beings going on right now as we speak. 

Today we just heard some words from the President of France, 

and they were all wonderful, and that was very moving. This afternoon I had a meeting with Salva Kiir, who is the President of 

Southern Sudan, and in that conflict in Sudan, slavery has been a 

significant component of it. And I think if this world stayed silent 

on slavery anywhere in the world, not just in America—again, our 

history is important, but if we don’t learn from our history and just 

learn not just the facts, but also the outrage that we should all feel 

from it, and then express that outrage and enlighten and, if necessary, force the rest of the world to do the right thing, I think we 

have done nothing other than simply read a book. 

And it is not just slavery. Many places in this world also participate in indentured servitude, in de facto slavery. They may not buy 

and sell people, but they take their passports so they can’t leave 

and keep them locked up. And I think it is critically important that 

as we discuss history, which is important, and recognize history 

and embrace history and learn from it, that we also make sure that 

we speak out through the lessons we have learned and to continue 

to fight until every single person in this world is free from the 

threat and the fear of the denigration that slavery brings to them. 


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And I again want to thank you for your work on this, and I know 

that we will work together. I know, obviously, several members of 

the panel. I know you work just as hard on doing things to make 

sure that these thoughts and these lessons, are not just put on a 

plaque, but they are also lived every single day, and that we understand the real problems of humanity that we ourselves as human 

beings have both imposed and allow others to impose. So again, 

thank you for your work. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Capuano. 

Mr. Lungren. 

Mr. LUNGREN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Twenty-seven years ago, I served as the Vice Chair of the commission to study the treatment of Japanese nationals and Japanese 

Americans during World War II. And one of the challenges we had 

was to both look at the history of our Nation in that regard, because that was a stain on our country’s history, to try and establish 

what the historical facts were. But also I thought it was extremely 

important for us to create educational tools for the future so that 

we could continue to look at that experience, not to beat ourselves 

on the back but to try and take from that experience what the lessons were and make it real to particularly students today but all 

of us today so that we could hopefully avoid similar problems in the 

future. 

Because it is easy to look back and say, we never would have 

done that; those people were different. The question is, how do you 

look back and say what is it there that caused them to do that? 

Why did that exist and how do we fight against those things today? 

So my question would be this: In terms of the content of the 

plaques, in terms of the pamphlets on slave labor, in terms of the 

brochure cards, in terms—the training, has any thought gone into 

how do we extract the lessons from that time that might be applicable to now? Not just the ability to look back at history and acknowledge history and understand, but how do we take lessons 

from that, number one, and how do we connect to the triumph of 

the civil rights revolution which shook this Nation and caused us— 

well, also the blood and sweat that—and sacrifice that went 

through the Civil War, but then all the way up to the civil rights 

revolution. 

I know you can’t do all of that, and I don’t want to give you a 

charge that is more than what this is for. But how does the recommendations that you make fit into that? 

Mr. LEWIS. It is my feeling and belief that with the visitor center, 

the African American museum and what we are doing as a task 

force, they all tend to come together. The literature, the material 

will tell us the distance we have come, the progress we have made 

and help to educate, sensitize and bring us to the point that we 

will never, ever repeat these blunders again. 

And Senator Brownback used to talk about, Congressman Watts, 

the whole idea maybe this would help lead to reconciliation. Teach 

us, yes. We are, too, for teaching, for future generations but also 

to build a greater sense of community and to create a more perfect 

union. 

Mr. WATTS. And, Congressman, we don’t submit today that we 

have found the perfect answers for how all this should be laid out. 


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But I think we are in a stage of this that those type of things can 

be thought through in a way that, you know, we thought through 

in a way that we do it the right way. And I think that the recommendations that have been made by the task force, I think we 

cheat ourselves if we don’t point to Birmingham, Alabama, and the 

civil rights museum there by way of the African American museum 

here or the Slave Labor Task Force and what is around the Capitol; and I think we have got a chance to tie it into Memphis, Tennessee, and the civil rights museum there; Cincinnati, Ohio, the 

underground railroad. I mean, this could be a very comprehensive 

effort—that the pamphlets and the plaques and all the things in 

the Capitol are just a component. 

But, again, I would not submit to you today that we have 

thought through word-by-word how it should be, wordsmith. But 

these are the recommendations that have been made. 

Senator LINCOLN. Congressman, I think one of the things we 

have all agreed on here is that we want it to be engaging. And one 

of the ways that we would also like to make it available to schoolchildren, perhaps, that can’t visit Washington is through an interactive Web version. And through that, hopefully, there will be links 

to the civil rights museum in Memphis and to the other places 

where we can really re-emphasize a lot of the struggle that occurred and how important it is, you know, to learn those struggles 

and to learn them in a way that you feel and you see and you better understand what those struggles were. And I think through the 

interactive Web piece, you will see a great ability to be able to do 

that, particularly for schoolchildren. But, for children and adults, 

it will be a great availability. 

Mr. WATTS. Congressman, if I can just add one more thing; and 

I hope that I am not speaking out of turn here. I don’t think what 

the task force—what they have recommended, that they are trying 

necessarily to tell the comprehensive story of slavery and how we 

should not repeat it. But their challenge was to recognize the contribution that slave labor made to building the Capitol. And I 

think, in that, it obviously points to a lot of different things. It can 

take you into a lot of different arenas from Birmingham to Memphis to Selma to the African American museum that Mr. Bunch is 

heading up. But this, again, is a component that the task force addressed concerning the slave labor, the contribution that labor 

made to building the Capitol. 

Ms. DAVIDSON. Mr. Chairman, just a few minutes. I am a product of the civil rights movement in Arkansas. The way I see it, the 

memorial to the slaves will show a connection for African Americans and others who do not feel that they are connected to the institutions that stand for America like the U.S. Capitol. So, if there 

is a memorial to the slaves, you can say we are connected to the 

Capitol. Our ancestors—I am the daughter of slaves, a great, great 

granddaughter of slaves. We can now say our ancestors helped 

build the Capitol. So when we look at it, it is not your building— 

the majority—it is our building because we were a part of it. So 

I think in that respect it creates a connection to our history. 

It will be a connection not just for African Americans but also for 

immigrants that come here from all around the world who don’t 

feel a part of America. Once they start feeling we are connected, 


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then we become one. We are more alike than we are different. And 

I think that is one of the things the memorial will show. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Mr. Gonzalez. 

Mr. GONZALEZ. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

I thank the witnesses for their testimony, and I am going to piggyback pretty much on what Congressman Capuano and Congressman Lungren were pointing out. 

But it is also a statement from former Congressman Watts; and 

I think you stated something about the past, the history of this 

particular lesson, applying it to change the future so that it is what 

Ms. Davidson points out, people taking ownership of this American 

experience and such. And I think that is very, very important. 

My question goes to—and I know that we are not going to settle 

this today, because we are all in agreement that we are going to 

move forward with what you are proposing and the next panel may 

better address my question. But when people come through and 

they see this and they recognize that it was slave labor that was 

responsible in large measure for the building of our Capitol, I 

would like that somehow there is a reason for telling this story. 

Why are we telling this story? I think it needs to be recognized 

and I think, as Ms. Davidson pointed out, an important aspect of 

it. But why do we tell these stories? And I would love somehow, 

some direction; that there is a lesson to be learned there and that 

this Nation is still a work in progress and that we are still trying 

to form this more perfect union and so on. But what does it mean? 

I think I want to take it up with—not to get real, real political, but 

it is about slavery, and it is not about slavery. 

And Mike brought out that we have slavery today. But as far as 

the American experience, this is not about slavery in America 

today. But it is, in essence, the discriminatory practices that exist 

in America today and so on. In other words, we are not through 

that. 

And I am not going to politicize this whole thing. But it would 

be a very interesting thing to say, think in terms of the Capitol 

where it is situated and today that the residents of the District of 

Columbia don’t have a voting representative on the House floor. I 

mean, these are the lessons that I would like to somehow get people to start thinking in those terms. So—— 

And I think, J.C., you said, well, we may not be able to get that 

far today. But do you think there will be a component as to why 

we tell this story, why it has a modern-day application and a future application? 

Mr. WATTS. Well, as Ms. Davidson said, I think it points to the 

fact that Americans—red, yellow, brown, black and white—made a 

contribution to trying to perfect this union. I don’t—and I agree 

with you on—concerning D.C. voting rights. I think it is a travesty, 

and I think that is a part of perfecting our union in my opinion 

that people of the District should have the right, that their representative should have a vote on the floor of the United States 

House of Representatives. 

So, again, we are not going to perfect the union in this one effort, 

but I think again it points to, I think, a part of our history that 

we can learn from, we can take pride in, that school kids can come 


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and know that the people who look like you made a contribution, 

that people who look like me made a contribution, people that look 

like Blanche, they made a contribution. 

So I think we have got a chance to shape this and form this in 

a way that it could be very, very significant along with the African 

American museum, I think the resources that we already have 

available to us that we mentioned, Birmingham, Cincinnati, and so 

forth. So I see your point, and I think it is a valid point, but we 

have to continue to work on that. 

Mr. LEWIS. Congressman, could I—it is good in itself to tell the 

story for history’s sake. But as a Nation and as a people, we are 

still evolving. We are not there yet. We are in the process of becoming. 

And I often think when I go to the Capitol, 44 years ago, when 

I came here with Martin Luther King, Jr., and stood on the steps 

of the Lincoln Memorial, I was looking up at the Capitol. That was 

44 years ago. Now I can look down from the Capitol on the third 

floor of my office and look at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and 

the Washington Monument. That tells somehow the distance we 

have come. 

Maybe it is not a great distance. But we are still in the process 

of becoming. And that is why I think it is important for the task 

force to do what we are doing. It is not perfect, it is not complete, 

but it is another step down a very, very long road to recognize all 

Americans, what they did and the contribution they made. 

Mr. GONZALEZ. I couldn’t agree with you more. We want to tell 

a story. I just want people to understand also why we tell the 

story. 

Thank you very much. I yield back. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Mr. McCarthy. 

Mr. MCCARTHY. One, I want to thank this task force. I will tell 

you the work that was done is tremendous, and just reading it 

moves me. And I will tell you, the education given—when you look 

at the payment to individuals, if you are not moved by that on this 

building—is tremendous. 

My question, I guess, drives from some of your answers that you 

were giving earlier. Now that you have made the recommendations, 

what do you envision for the task force on moving forward, on how 

you stay together or what you work on? 

Senator LINCOLN. I am so sorry, Congressman. 

Mr. MCCARTHY. How do you envision the task force moving forward now? 

Senator LINCOLN. Well, as Congressman Lewis mentioned, we 

will have to move forward in terms of ensuring that the resources 

are there to be able to do what we want to do. 

I also believe that not only should we have a real presence in the 

Visitors Center but that we also need to make sure that the actual—at least finding one of the actual places in the Capitol where 

the work was done by the slave labor should be recognized; and I 

hope that we can do that as well. Because I think that, again, it 

allows you to touch the stone and to look at the awesome pieces 

of stone that were quarried and how they may have been carried 

and, you know, the difficulty of that. 


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I am excited as well about the educational aspect, and I want us 

to move forward with that. 

Maybe it is something that we can start and then continue to 

grow, as Congressman Lewis mentioned, particularly in terms of 

the interactive ability of kids, schoolchildren and others who want 

to learn. I just know, with twin boys that are 11 years old, it is 

amazing what those interactive videos do for them in terms of 

learning—what the chairman was talking about, not just the history of it, but, you know, to really kind of jump inside the picture 

as it were and realize or at least begin to understand the oppressive heat that Congressman Lewis mentioned, the weight of those 

stones, that the stones that would be out there are stones left that 

are—yeah, you have read about those—I am sure that were in the 

quarry at the time that can be used open the front Capitol. 

When kids see those and they think somebody moved those with 

their hands—you know, all they are used to seeing are cranes these 

days. Not only is it awesome and an unbelievable thought, but 

there is educational tools there. I mean, the tools of the day were 

basic simple machines of physics. There is so much that kids can 

learn from this, both socially as well as scientifically and a whole 

host of other things; and I hope we won’t stop at the brink, that 

we will continue to grow in our ability to use it as a learning tool. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Is there any chance that we can maybe dismiss this panel and 

direct questions to the next panel? If you want to direct this to this 

panel, we will have to bring them back or maybe you can submit 

them to the record. 

Mrs. DAVIS OF CALIFORNIA. I have a really quick question, And 

I think this is following up on what Congressman Watts has said, 

that the researchers, despite all the wonderful efforts—and I want 

to thank each and every one of you for your tremendous contribution in bringing this forward to identify—I believe he mentioned 

only two of the slaves who were there, two of the individuals. And 

I am wondering if we have been able to find their decedents in any 

way or—and if we can bring that story in and if that research is 

continuing to be done as well. 

Senator LINCOLN. Well, that was one of the things that I brought 

up, because I have been particularly interested—you know, the 

genealogy department at the Library of Congress is phenomenal, 

and they do a tremendous job, and our hope is that we can continue on that. 

I don’t know. Some of the others on the panel—but I expressed 

that concern as well, that there is unbelievable tools in terms of 

genealogy and what can be done. And I don’t know. I have just 

seen certain programs. I have recommended constituents over to 

the Library of Congress. They go up to—I think it is the third or 

fourth floor, wherever. They can get assistance. You can do it on 

line. There is a host of things. 

We want to encourage that is a part of it as well in terms of actually, as you said, finding not only decedents, not only those we 

know, but also from the records that exist perhaps finding more of 

those actual individuals that did participate in the work. 

Mrs. DAVIS OF CALIFORNIA. The other thing, just to suggest, is 

that it may be carried beyond the Capitol as well. Those of us who 


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live on the Hill know that people who were living there, under 

what conditions, and I think that might be another story that 

would be interesting to tell, too, and we might be able to do it in 

some way that is not necessarily all in the Visitors Center but also 

outside. 

Thank you very much. 

Senator LINCOLN. I am so sorry, Mr. Chairman. I am taking up 

all this time. 

The women Senators had dinner with the women Chief Justices 

or the justices of the court last night, and there was a lot of that 

discussion that came up about the history of the buildings around 

the Capitol at the turn of the century before and some of the measures that went to secure those for the buildings that we have, like 

the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. So there is a lot 

of interesting things that we could get into and talk all day about, 

but I won’t. 

Mrs. DAVIS OF CALIFORNIA. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator. 

Mr. DAVIS OF ALABAMA. Mr. Chairman, I will be extremely brief. 

Let me just make a couple of observations. 

One of them, Mr. Lewis, it is always good to see my fellow native 

Alabamian here. One of my highlights in the Congress was during 

the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act debate in 2005. Normally, as the Senator knows, Members don’t tend to really hang 

around on the floor unless you are speaking or waiting to speak. 

I made the decision to sit down on the floor during the entire 21⁄2

hour length of the debate. And for an hour of that time, I got to 

sit next to John Lewis. And getting to sit next to John Lewis during a debate on the Voting Rights Act remains and will continue 

to be one of the seminal events in my career. 

I want to make two quick observations. The first one, what is so 

helpful about this exercise, it should remind the American people 

that if you understand the contributions of African Americans, 

there is a seamless Web, a seamless connection between what African Americans have done and every seminal moment in this country’s history, bar none. There is no part of the American story that 

is not built in part on the backs and sometimes literally on the 

backs and sweat and labor of people of African American descent, 

and it is helpful for us to know that. 

The last observation, I will make, Mr. Chairman, is this. Senator 

Lincoln, you can appreciate this; and, Congressman Lewis, you can 

appreciate it as a southerner. There are always a few people down 

south in our States that have this mindset that, well, you don’t 

want to pick at these old bones; you don’t want to spend too much 

time looking at what has been. I hope that those individuals realize 

that if you look at the story of this country, good and evil, noble 

and ignoble, it is ultimately a story of triumph, it is ultimately a 

story of ascent, and we are never running from exploring or examining history. We ought to embrace it. 

And I thank you all for being here. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. Thank you all of you for the great 

work you have been doing, and thank you for the great work you 

will do. This hearing is in recess until we come back from our couple of votes, probably within about 45 minutes. Thank you. 


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[Recess.] 

The CHAIRMAN. I am going to call the hearing back to order 

while we are waiting for some members to come back from the 

vote; and, without objection, the report of the task force will be 

printed in the record of the hearing today. 

I would like to welcome the panel in front of me: Mr. Lonnie 

Bunch, Director of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institute; Mr. William C. 

Allen, Architectural Historian, Office of the Architect of the Capitol; and Ms. Felicia Bell, U.S. Capitol Historical Society. I welcome 

you to our hearing today. 

STATEMENTS OF LONNIE BUNCH, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE, 

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION; WILLIAM C. ALLEN, ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN, OFFICE OF THE ARCHITECT OF THE 

CAPITOL; AND FELICIA BELL, U.S. CAPITOL HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

The CHAIRMAN. I would ask, Mr. Bunch, if you would please 

start. 

STATEMENT OF LONNIE BUNCH 

Mr. BUNCH. Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to 

talk to the Committee on House Administration. 

Slavery and the history of the enslaved Africans is one of the 

most troubling and most difficult episodes in American history. It 

is a period that does not reflect well on America and its stated 

ideals of equality and liberty. 

In many ways, slavery is the last great unmentionable in American life, something that is better unspoken and forgotten; and yet 

we cannot escape the shadow of slavery just by ignoring that history. 

In his important novel, The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin 

wrote that, quote, history does not refer merely or even principally 

to the past. On the contrary, the great force of history comes from 

the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by 

it in many ways and that history is literally present in all that we 

do. 

If that is true, then it is important, rather, it is essential that 

America confront its slave past in order to help us understand the 

impact of slavery on us all and through this understanding find 

reconciliation and healing. 

As a historian, I have dedicated my whole life to helping people 

to remember, to remember our history not simply out of nostalgia, 

because history, especially African American history, matters. It 

provides tools and lessons that help people navigate contemporary 

life. Yet not everyone believes that this Nation should remember, 

especially when those memories include and are fundamentally 

shaped by slavery. 

So while my colleagues here are to talk about the history of slave 

labor and the act of the building of the Capitol, in this statement 

I want to explore why the interpretation and the preservation of 

the history of the enslaved is so important and so relevant for an 

America still struggling with the legacy and the impact of race and 


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why it is so important for America to remember the contributions 

of the enslaved. 

I think you can tell a great deal about a country and about a people by what they deem important enough to remember, what they 

build monuments to celebrate, what graces the walls of their museums. But I think you can even tell more about a country by what 

it forgets, by what it chooses to omit. This desire to forget disappointments, moments of evil and great missteps is both natural 

and instructive. But I would suggest to you that it is often the essence of African American culture that is forgotten and 

downplayed. And yet, in some ways, it is the African American experience, the experience of slavery that is a clarion call for us to 

remember. 

A good example of this clarion call is the intersection of race and 

memory through the story of slavery. We must remember that for 

nearly 250 years slavery not only existed but it was the most dominant force in American life. Political clout and economic fortune depended upon the labor of slaves. Almost every aspect of American 

life, from business to religion, from culture to commerce, from foreign policy to westward expansion, was formed and shaped by the 

experience of slavery. 

American slavery was so dominant globally that 90 percent of 

the world’s cotton was produced by slaves in the American South. 

In a way, we were the OPEC of the 19th century when it came to 

cotton. By 1860, the monetary value of slaves outweighed all the 

money invested in this country’s railroads, banking and industry 

combined; and the most devastating war in American history was 

fought over the issue of slavery. 

And so therefore I was struck when I read into a survey that was 

taken in the early 1990s that assessed the public’s understanding 

of slavery. The results were fascinating. Over 80 percent of white 

respondents felt that slavery, even if it was important, was a history that mattered little to them. And even more troubling was 

that 56 percent of the African Americans surveyed expressed either 

little interest or some level of embarrassment about slavery. 

There is a great need, I would suggest, to help Americans understand that the history of slavery matters. It matters because so 

much of our complex and troubling struggle to define racial equality in this country has been shaped by slavery. Until we use the 

past to better understand the contemporary resonance of slavery 

we will never get to the heart of one of the central dilemmas in 

America and that is the relations among the races. 

But it is also important, I would suggest, to help America combat 

the notion of embarrassment. I am not ashamed of my slave ancestors. In fact, I am in awe of their ability, in spite of the cruelties 

of slavery, to maintain their culture, their sense of family, their 

humor and their humanity. 

I wish more people knew the words of a former slave who was 

asked during the Depression what will people remember about 

slavery. He said, they will remember that we were sold but not 

that we were strong. They will remember that we were bought but 

not that we were brave. 

Thus, it is crucially important that we remember slavery to draw 

inspiration, to help make America better. In many ways, slavery is 


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a wonderful but unforgiving mirror that illuminates all the dark 

corners of the American experience. It is a mirror that reminds us 

of America’s ideals and promise and how difficult it is to live up 

to those ideals. But it is also a mirror that makes those who are 

often invisible more visible. It is a mirror that gives voice to the 

anonymous. It is a mirror that challenges us to be better but to 

work to make our countries and communities better. If we use the 

mirror of slavery effectively, we will find common ground to allow 

us to struggle together as the abolitionists once did to make America better. 

Another reason why it is so important for us to remember slavery is that if we can illuminate the contributions of the enslaved 

who built the Capitol, because this will have a great impact nationally, by recognizing those who worked within our highest legislative body, Congress will stimulate, legitimize and encourage other 

projects to examine and understand the slave experience. I can 

only imagine an array of projects like the President House project 

in Philadelphia, the African burial ground that will find support 

and encouragement because Congress has recognized the important 

contributions of the enslaved. 

Ultimately, slavery is important because we must remember because it is the right thing to do. It is a powerful lens to explore 

issues of race, power, economics and social change. This history is 

powerful but too important to our ability to find reconciliation and 

healing to be ignored. 

America understands the importance of the struggle for freedom 

and equality only when they look through slavery. Where better 

than understanding our slave past can we help Americans wrestle 

with issues of morality, activism and racial change? 

Let me close simply by giving a quotation from a former slave 

who said, in 1939, when asked once again why we should remember, he said, though the slavery question is settled, its impact is 

not. The question will be with us always. It is in our politics. It is 

in our courts. It is on our highways. It is in our manner, and it 

is in our thoughts all the day, every day. 

What a gift Congress can give the American people by helping 

them to remember the enslaved by commemorating the contributions that slave labors made in the building of the Capitol all the 

day, every day. 

Thank you very much. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Bunch. 

[The statement of Mr. Bunch follows:] 


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The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Allen. 

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM C. ALLEN 

Mr. ALLEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

On December 8, 2004, Congress directed the Architect of the 

Capitol to study the contribution of slave laborers in the construction of the Capitol and to provide a report within 180 days. As the 

agency’s architectural historian and someone who has researched 

and written about Capitol history for many years, I was given the 

responsibility of preparing the report. 

I began my research at the National Archives, where the Capitol’s earliest construction records are kept. From past experience, 

I knew that research into the records from the 1790s would yield 

the information I needed. The records of the Office of Public Buildings contain the financial records of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, who were the officials in charge of building the 

Capitol, the White House and other early government buildings in 

Washington. The ledgers list every expense incurred by the Commissioners, and it is there that one sees the names of hundreds of 

local residents receiving payments for the work of their slaves. 

From 1795 to 1801, there were 385 payments for slave labor for 

the Capitol. Rarely was the type of work enumerated or explained. 

Rather, the ledger recorded payments simply as ‘‘Negro hire.’’ Payments for food, provisions and medical care were also recorded in 

these ledgers. In 1795, the Commissioners declared that they needed 100 slaves for the next year’s work on construction projects 

throughout the city. The owners would be paid $60 a year, a sum 

of money that was raised to $70 in 1797. 

In the course of my research, I discovered that renting slaves 

was a fairly common practice in the Potomac region. George Washington, for instance, sometimes found it necessary to rent slaves 

from his neighbors to help with harvests or spring house cleaning. 

Slaves with construction skills, such as carpenters and bricklayers, 

were highly sought after. For example, James Madison’s father 

managed a sideline construction business based on his slaves sawing planks, making clapboards and building fences. 

Historical documents tell us that slaves worked at the quarries 

which supplied sandstone for the Capitol and White House. The 

principal contractor at Aquia Creek, Virginia, advertised for ‘‘60 

strong, active Negro men’’ and promised their owners that ‘‘they 

shall be well used and well fed.’’ Another contractor, who was supplying foundation stone for the Capitol in 1793, was instructed to 

keep his hands at work from sunrise to sunset, ‘‘especially the Negroes.’’ 

Another backbreaking job that seems to have been done mainly 

by slaves at the Capitol was sawing, both stone sawing and timber 

sawing. Sawing stone was slow work, with the steel blade making 

the cut with wet sand providing the abrasion. One of the Commissioners suggested purchasing slaves to work in the stone cutting 

business and to reward their work with freedom after 5 or 6 years 

of service. This idea, however, was not approved and the Commissioners continued to rent slaves throughout this period. 

While cutting stone was hard work, timber sawing was worse. 

After they were stripped of bark, logs were rolled over pits dug into 


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the earth. A slave down in the pit would have one end of a 5- or 

a 7-foot-long whipsaw, and his partner on top would have the other 

end. Chalk lines guided each pass of the saw, which rained down 

a shower of sawdust on the top of the head of the hapless person 

in the pit. Wearing a hat or a veil offered the only protection available. Payment records indicate at the Archives that the rented 

slaves were able to earn their wages by sawing timber on Sundays 

or holidays. This was money paid directly to the slaves, not to their 

owners—a very rare instance of this happening—and they were 

thereby able to purchase little luxuries and perhaps even their 

freedom. 

The brick business was also heavily dependent on slave labor. 

Black women and children were used to mold the clay before it was 

stacked in kilns. Skilled slaves laid bricks, while their unskilled 

brethren delivered brick in hods carried up ladders on their shoulders. White bricklayers at the Capitol were paid $2.26 cents per 

1,000 bricks laid, but the earnings of their employees or slaves was 

not recorded. 

Of all the construction work performed by slaves at the Capitol, 

perhaps carpentry was the most significant and ultimately the 

most influential. Slave carpenters were numerous on large plantations in the region. At Mt. Vernon, Washington had at least four 

slave carpenters making farm implements and building simple 

wooden structures and fences. Carpentry was a useful skill that 

was taught to slaves, passed down to succeeding generations and 

grew more marketable as the city of Washington developed. A good 

carpenter could learn a living long after public quarries had closed 

and pit sawers had been replaced by sawmills. 

It is no doubt true that slaves continued to contribute their skill 

and labor in the construction of the Capitol well after the 1790s. 

But with the advent of a private construction industry in 19th century Washington, their names and accomplishments recede into the 

shadows. Rarely is there a mention of slave labor in the Capitol’s 

later period, but the earlier records illustrate the critical roles 

played by African American slaves in the building of our country’s 

temple of liberty. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Allen. 

[The statement of Mr. Allen follows:] 


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The CHAIRMAN. Ms. Bell? 

STATEMENT OF FELICIA BELL 

Ms. BELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon. 

I would like to thank the Committee on House Administration 

for hearing my statement regarding the enslaved and free black 

labor used to construct the United States Capitol. My name is 

Felicia Bell, and I am the Director of Education and Outreach at 

the United States Capitol Historical Society. I am also a doctoral 

candidate in United States history in the Department of History at 

Howard University and have researched this topic over the last 5 

years. I am overjoyed today to testify before this congressional committee and for the congressional record on behalf of those enslaved 

and freed who labored at the Capitol. 

I think the history of the United States Capitol is closely linked 

to the lives of all Americans. It symbolizes the center of the American ideals of freedom and opportunity. Not only is the Capitol the 

seat of representative government, it is where democracy (insofar 

as America is concerned) lives. Yet in all of its neoclassical architectural splendor, impressive artwork, and intriguing history, one 

key component is conspicuously missing from the vast body of historical literature about the Capitol. That is the role of people of African descent in its construction. 

During the initial construction of the Capitol in the 1790s, the 

Commissioners of the District of Columbia generally went into contract for labor with local owners of enslaved people. The enslaved 

worked alongside free blacks, European immigrants, and white 

Americans. Some of the hired enslaved and free black men were 

skilled in building trades such as sawing, carpentry, brick making, 

brick masonry, plastering, or blacksmithing, while others quarried 

stone, cleared land, or hauled materials. 

The number of these men laboring varied throughout the years 

and according to their tasks. For instance, in 1794, the Commissioners claimed there were anywhere from 8 or 10 or 30 or 40 

enslaved laborers at the quarries and, in the same year, more than 

800 mechanics or laborers employed on improving the Federal city. 

And according to time sheets and payrolls in the National Archives, 

these men always labored under the supervision of an ‘‘overseer’’. 

All of those men, like all of us here today, have a story. Back 

then, they were viewed as nothing more than property or chattel 

providing a service. Today, let us share the story of the contribution of these human beings to our Nation not only with fellow 

Americans but people of all nations. 

Indeed, one of the more triumphant stories to arise from the oppressive Capitol construction site is the story of Philip Reid. Reid 

was an enslaved man who was purchased at a young age in 

Charleston, South Carolina by Clark Mills, a renowned American 

sculpture. According to Mills, he purchased Reid because he was 

smart and had evident talent for working in a foundry. 

After the plaster model of the Statue of Freedom arrived in the 

Federal city in March 1859, Mills went into contract with the Commissioners to cast the bronze onto the Statue of Freedom in April 

of 1860. While the government paid Mills for his service and supplies, Philip Reid had a significant role in the casting process. 


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Reid’s payment receipt states that he received the sum of $41.25 

for his services on Sundays between July 1, 1860 and May 16, 

1861, for ‘‘keeping up fires under the molds’’. 

Perhaps the hardest aspect of the trade is the molding skills. Not 

only does the mold need to be properly constructed, it must be constantly heating or the casting will be inferior. Laboring in a 19thcentury foundry was extremely hazardous, hot, and filthy. While 

‘‘keeping up fires under the molds,’’ Philip Reid most likely inhaled 

ash, coal dust, and sand. He would have bathed in his own sweat, 

particularly during the summer months, as molten bronze reaches 

temperatures of 2,000-plus degrees. 

Philip Reid was later freed by the District of Columbia Emancipation Act, which was implemented by President Abraham Lincoln 

on April 16, 1862. The Act not only ended slavery in the district, 

but it uniquely provided loyal unionist owners of enslaved people 

compensation for their loss of property. Clark Mills was included 

in this group and according to his petition, listed Philip Reid at 

$1,500. Mills, like other petitioners, used words like ‘‘sound’’, 

‘‘healthy’’, ‘‘smart’’, and ‘‘stout’’ when describing their formally 

enslaved and listed them at the highest value in order to receive 

the most compensation the law allowed. 

The Statue of Freedom was installed atop the Capitol dome on 

December 3, 1863, over a year after Philip Reid was freed. Records 

do not document whether he was present at the moment of this occasion. 

Today, the Capitol is one of the most recognizable buildings in 

the world. Ironically, it stands as a reminder that freedom and democracy in America was predicated on the enslavement of Africans. 

The Capitol has continuously remained open to the public and 

thousands of its visitors receive guided tours each year. Yet information about people of African descent who contributed to the development of this Nation, particularly the enslaved Africans who 

constructed the Capitol, is seldom a subject of discussion on tours 

of the building. Sadly, African Americans are not seen in much of 

the artwork on the walls of the Capitol. 

It is the opinion of this historian that all groups should be included in the written history of the Capitol. It is an American icon, 

and the contributions of all Americans ought to be a part of its historical interpretation to the public. Mr. Chairman, thank you for 

your time. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, and I agree with you. 

Ms. BELL. Thank you. 

[The statement of Ms. Bell follows:] 


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The CHAIRMAN. How many slaves were there that worked on the 

Capitol? Do you have an idea? 

Mr. ALLEN. It is impossible to look at the records and know exactly where the slaves were working. We know that they were 

working in the Federal city. We know, in the 1790s, usually they 

were calling for 100 slaves to be rented for the next year’s work. 

So that gives us an idea. 

Now, there were also slaves working at the quarries for contractors who were contributing there. There were probably other contractors, too. So it is not precisely known, but certainly in the— 

over 100, I would say. 

The CHAIRMAN. And the only time they actually got paid was the 

Saturday or Sunday. 

Mr. ALLEN. Not on Saturday. They were working—work was 

from sunup to sundown Monday through Saturday. 

The CHAIRMAN. That is when the masters got paid for their 

work. 

Mr. ALLEN. That is when the masters got paid. 

The CHAIRMAN. And they would get paid only if they worked on 

a Sunday. 

Mr. ALLEN. They worked on Sunday—they had some limited holidays, like the Monday after Easter. They worked that day. 

The CHAIRMAN. They would get paid some. 

Mr. ALLEN. They would get paid. 

The CHAIRMAN. I am sure that you are talking with the task 

force, the panel that was before you with ideas and giving recommendations. What in your opinion do you think that we can actually do to raise the awareness? What would be a good way to 

raise the awareness other than—again, I encourage you, Ms. Bell, 

the tour guides. We need to educate them a little bit more and let 

them know what they show the public and include, you know, the 

slaves with the contributions that they made. Are there other recommendations for awareness that you think we can do or they 

could do? Have you been talking to them? I am sure you have, I 

hope. 

Mr. BUNCH. Well, I think there are several things. I mean, I 

think, first of all, to recognize that this is such an important story, 

that—I know that the Smithsonian is interested in helping to make 

it well known to the audiences that come to our buildings through 

our Web sites and the like. And I think what I am hearing is—people are talking about this around the country—is that there are 

many institutions, like the Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati and those in Memphis and others, who really want to see 

this as part of a conversation about the possibility of change in 

America. And so I think that in some ways, this has a chance to 

do the wonderful job it will do here in Washington. But I think it 

will stimulate other conversations around the country to help make 

sure this is a story that gets beyond the Beltway. 

The CHAIRMAN. Maybe help them tell their story. 

Mr. BUNCH. Exactly. 

The CHAIRMAN. You mentioned Philadelphia, where I am from. 

You mentioned the President’s house. Did you see that? Were you 

there? 

Mr. BUNCH. Yes. I was just there last weekend. 


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The CHAIRMAN. We—myself and my colleague Congressman 

Fattah were instrumental in getting funding for the historical excavation there. We gave them X amount of dollars, and do you know 

they found one foundation; they went a little deeper, and they 

found the second foundation that actually had the exact footprint 

of the President’s house. 

Mr. BUNCH. I didn’t know that. 

The CHAIRMAN. Yes, it was a second foundation. And they actually had a well, and they moved the well because Washington was 

probably—they say was the first one to have the Oval Office. It was 

all in glass, and the well was right there, and he didn’t want to 

see—he didn’t want his visitors to see the slaves come out from the 

well. They actually moved the well for that. 

And the point I am making is, it was so moving to me even that 

when I went there, and I looked at it, and I saw—because a friend 

told me, you need to go just to check up on them, and find them 

some appropriations, and help with what they are doing. I was 

moved so much by it that I brought my grandchildren back. And 

one was only 4 years old, but I was trying to explain to him, and 

he was kind of getting it, but he couldn’t understand the fact that 

we could actually have slaves and have people do these things. 

It was amazing, and it was really moving, and that in itself—we 

could be an example and raise awareness for other State capitals 

and other buildings. I think that would be a really good thing to 

happen. 

Mr. BUNCH. I agree very much, sir. 

The CHAIRMAN. And it was moving. If anybody gets a change— 

well, they covered it up now. We are trying to get more money, and 

we are going to try to put a glass ceiling. It was just a little wooden 

platform, maybe no larger than this room, that you can look down 

and see the actual footings. And more people went to see that than 

the Liberty Bell or anything else. That is how moving that was. 

So that is something we are figuring out how to get more money 

and try to encase that, whether it be glass or whatever you can do 

to encase it. The foundation has got to be coated because it would 

disintegrate through time, because the air hits it now, so it would 

disintegrate. So we are doing that, and that is something that is 

really absolutely moving. And we have to fix that, preserve that, 

let other people see that and raise the awareness of what happened 

there. 

And, again, I think we could take that example and let the Capitol be the beacon, because there are more people coming to the 

Capitol than are coming to Philadelphia. 

So I thank you for your participation. I appreciate all your participation with the task force and to keep this awareness up, and 

I am sure that we will do this also in this committee here. Thank 

you. Thank you very much. 

This hearing now is adjourned. Thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 3:30 p.m., the committee was adjourned.] 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with HEARING