U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800

Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001

38–171 PDF 2007

EMANCIPATION HALL: A TRIBUTE TO

THE SLAVES WHO HELPED BUILD

THE U.S. CAPITOL

(110–71)

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND 

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON 

TRANSPORTATION AND 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

SEPTEMBER 25, 2007

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

(

COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

JAMES L. OBERSTAR, Minnesota, Chairman 

NICK J. RAHALL, II, West Virginia, Vice 

Chair 

PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon 

JERRY F. COSTELLO, Illinois 

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of 

Columbia 

JERROLD NADLER, New York 

CORRINE BROWN, Florida 

BOB FILNER, California 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas 

GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi 

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland 

ELLEN O. TAUSCHER, California 

LEONARD L. BOSWELL, Iowa 

TIM HOLDEN, Pennsylvania 

BRIAN BAIRD, Washington 

RICK LARSEN, Washington 

MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts 

JULIA CARSON, Indiana 

TIMOTHY H. BISHOP, New York 

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

JOHN T. SALAZAR, Colorado 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California 

DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois 

DORIS O. MATSUI, California 

NICK LAMPSON, Texas 

ZACHARY T. SPACE, Ohio 

MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii 

BRUCE L. BRALEY, Iowa 

JASON ALTMIRE, Pennsylvania 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota 

HEATH SHULER, North Carolina 

MICHAEL A. ACURI, New York 

HARRY E. MITCHELL, Arizona 

CHRISTOPHER P. CARNEY, Pennsylvania 

JOHN J. HALL, New York 

STEVE KAGEN, Wisconsin 

STEVE COHEN, Tennessee 

JERRY MCNERNEY, California 

LAURA A. RICHARDSON, California 

JOHN L. MICA, Florida 

DON YOUNG, Alaska 

THOMAS E. PETRI, Wisconsin 

HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina 

JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee 

WAYNE T. GILCHREST, Maryland 

VERNON J. EHLERS, Michigan 

STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio 

RICHARD H. BAKER, Louisiana 

FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

GARY G. MILLER, California 

ROBIN HAYES, North Carolina 

HENRY E. BROWN, JR., South Carolina 

TIMOTHY V. JOHNSON, Illinois 

TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania 

SAM GRAVES, Missouri 

BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia 

JIM GERLACH, Pennsylvania 

MARIO DIAZ-BALART, Florida 

CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania 

TED POE, Texas 

DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

JOHN R. ‘RANDY’ KUHL, JR., New York 

LYNN A WESTMORELAND, Georgia 

CHARLES W. BOUSTANY, JR., Louisiana 

JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio 

CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan 

THELMA D. DRAKE, Virginia 

MARY FALLIN, Oklahoma 

VERN BUCHANAN, Florida 

(II)

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND EMERGENCY

MANAGEMENT

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of Columbia, Chairwoman 

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine 

JASON ALTMIRE, Pennsylvania 

MICHAEL A. ARCURI, New York 

CHRISTOPHER P. CARNEY, Pennsylvania, 

Vice Chair 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota 

STEVE COHEN, Tennessee 

JAMES L. OBERSTAR, Minnesota 

(Ex Officio) 

SAM GRAVES, Missouri 

BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania 

SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia 

CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania 

JOHN R. ‘RANDY’ KUHL, JR., New York 

JOHN L. MICA, Florida 

(Ex Officio) 

(III)

(V)

CONTENTS Page

Summary of Subject Matter .................................................................................... vi 

TESTIMONY 

Wamp, Hon. Zach, a Representative in Congress from the State of Tennessee . 7

Jackson, Jr., Hon. Jesse, a Representative in Congress from the State of 

Illinois ................................................................................................................... 7

PREPARED STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 

Cohen, Hon. Steve, of Tennessee ............................................................................ 16

Jackson, Jr., Hon. Jesse L., of Illinois ................................................................... 17

Norton, Hon. Eleanor Holmes, of the District of Columbia ................................. 19

Wamp, Hon. Zach, of Tennessee ............................................................................. 21

vi


38171.001
vii


38171.002
(1)

EMANCIPATION HALL: A TRIBUTE TO THE 

SLAVES WHO HELPED BUILD THE U.S. CAPITOL 

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC

BUILDINGS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, 

Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 2:05 p.m., in Room 

2253, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton 

[Chairman of the Subcommittee] Presiding. 

Ms. NORTON. I am very pleased to welcome to today’s hearing 

Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., and Congressman Zach Wamp, 

who are key sponsors of the resolution to name the Great Hall, located at the Capitol Convention Center, ′′Emancipation Hall.′′

The U.S. Capitol and its iconic dome are symbols of representative democracy in our country. As the United States has grown and 

changed over its 225-year history, so has the Capitol. The Capitol 

Building or the, quote, ′′temple of liberty,′′ as it was known early 

on, ironically was built, in large part, by, quote, ′′Negro hires,′′ a 

term used to indicate that the enslaved blacks who helped build 

the Capitol were hired out, not hired. More accurately, they were 

leased or contracted out by their owners to do the work, essentially 

a contract between the Congress of the United States and 

slaveholders, with all of the funds going directly to the pockets of 

the slave owners. 

The slaves who helped to build the Capitol came not only from 

Southern States like Maryland and Virginia; some were property 

of residents of the Nation’s capital, itself, where slaves lived and 

worked until Congress abolished slavery in the District in 1863, 

only 9 months before the Emancipation Proclamation. Slaves here 

and in the rest of the United States often were skilled craftsmen 

who were profitable not only to the slave owners’ households but 

also for the skills they could bring to others as Negro hires. 

One of the many ironies of slavery is that, when emancipation 

finally arrived, slaves throughout the United States had the entire 

skillset for any project in our country. They were an indigenous 

workforce, ready and anxious to work. Ubiquitous discrimination 

across the country, however, confined blacks to joblessness unless 

no whites, including newly arrived immigrants, were available. A 

bitter freedom for slaves who wanted nothing more than their freedom and the ability to work became a national tragedy. 

2

A major hall in the new Capitol Building 200 years later provides 

but a token of the respect and gratitude these slave laborers never 

received. Today, little remains on Capitol Hill that bears the imprint of slave labor. Much of the carpentry work, including the mahogany pine and walnut doors, has been lost to fires, rebuilding 

and remolding. History wiped away the work of these slaves without so much as a marker to indicate their contributions. The history of the slave contributions has been suppressed even in official 

histories of the Capitol until recent years. 

We are grateful to the bipartisan taskforce, where Representative John Lewis, among others, served as a member, that was established several years ago in anticipation of the recognition of the 

contributions of slave labor, as envisioned by House Congressional 

Resolution 130. 

In 1998, following the shooting death of Capitol Police officers, 

the first in the Nation’s history, I introduced H.R. 4347, the Jacob 

Joseph Chestnut-John Michael Gibson United States Capitol Visitor Center Act of 1998. The bill provided for enhanced security on 

the Capitol grounds and for an appropriate place to welcome our 

constituents, taking into account their security, health and comfort. 

Nine years later, I had the pleasure of touring the graceful new 

addition to the Capitol, the Capitol Visitor Center. About 97 percent completed, finishing touches are in progress, such as the installation of bronze framework around the doors and carpet installation, of cafeteria countertops and millwork, plaster and paint, 

along with a bronze handrail being applied to the three-level spiral 

staircase that will welcome visitors in elegant style to this outstanding facility. The facility contains so much history and so many 

new amenities that it is nothing less than a new, premiere tourist 

destination that we in the District of Columbia particularly welcome. 

The Congress and the Nation depend on this city to be welcoming to the constituents of Members of the House and Senate 

and to visitors from around the world. The District is, indeed, one 

of America’s preeminent tourist destinations, and consequently, 

there is a perfect synergy between what Congress and the District 

of Columbia want for tourists who come to the city to visit historic 

sites. 

City officials and I are working closely with Capitol officials on 

facilitating getting millions of new visitors, beyond the 3 million we 

already get, to this new venue that offers a modern setting in 

which to view the history of Congress and our contributions as a 

body to our country. Included in this landmark will be an exhibition gallery, a 550-seat cafeteria, gift shops and visitor orientation theaters. 

At nearly 580,000 square feet, this project is the largest in the 

Capitol’s 212-year history. No longer will visitors stand in long 

lines and arrive at the beginning of their Capitol tour tired, hungry 

and often with little knowledge of what they are about to see. Not 

only will the new center provide greater security, it will afford visitors an enjoyable and educational experience that would be incomplete if the untold story of the building of the Capitol were to remain untold. 

3

Naming the Great Hall for the long, unrecognized contributions 

of slaves who built our Capitol will, in some very small way, honor 

the importance of their contributions to their country and our determination to continue to erase the conditions that derive from 

that period in our history. 

I am pleased to recognize the Ranking Member for any statement 

he may have. 

Mr. GRAVES. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

I am, actually, going to yield to the Ranking Member of the Full 

Committee for his statement, particularly in the essence of time. 

Mr. MICA. Well, thank you. Thank you both, Mr. Graves and Ms. 

Norton, and thank you for conducting this hearing. 

As I have said to Ms. Norton and Mr. Graves in the past, I think 

it is important that our Committee assume jurisdiction and responsibility, which we have always had over this project. And I want 

to take a few minutes to talk about the proposal before us today, 

naming the Great Hall. 

Let me reminisce a bit. Back in the 1980s, I was the Chief of 

Staff and spent a lot of time studying the history for 5 years of the 

Capitol Building, and I learned a lot about its history. When I 

came as a Member in January of 1993—and even back then, as 

many of you and, I think, as the Chairlady referred to it in her 

opening statements, we all saw the lines in heat, rain, snow, sleet, 

that millions of our—I call them the ′′owners.′′ When they showed 

up, they did not get very good treatment. They got left out in the 

cold, so to speak. 

And then I learned a little bit about former proposals. When they 

extended the east front out, they talked about either putting a visitors’ center in or a parking garage for better convenience. Ironically, actually, when a visitors’ center was proposed, it was shot 

down by Republicans, I think led by Newt Gingrich, who, at the 

time, were running huge deficits and did not want all public money 

to go into financing a project. 

So I came on the scene in 1993, and one of the things I remember as a Member and being someone who loved history is I went 

over to the Library of Congress, and we have a great entre. In 

those days, you could actually go back in the stacks—that has been 

limited now—and you could see the incredible treasures that we 

have firsthand and actually take some of the books. And they have 

far more than books. I remember the maps, their map section. 

They had the contents of Lincoln’s pockets when he was assassinated over there. There is just an incredible wealth of treasures 

that the average citizen never gets to see, nor did we have any exhibition space to show those things. 

I went down to the National Archives, and I remember seeing 

the Emancipation Proclamation, which was kind of interesting, and 

they told me it is very rarely shown because rare documents like 

that are only taken out and put in the most protected area because 

they are rare, rare, rare national treasures and historic treasures. 

I thought, what a shame that, first, for the people who this is all 

done for by their government, they do not get a chance to see it, 

and then the great treasures, we are the keeper of, and they do not 

get to see. Again, I remember specifically the Emancipation Proclamation. 

4

So, when I started looking at my legislative priorities, the first 

one was to build a visitors’ center, and I did not get a very good 

reception. We were in the minority in the beginning. Finally, we 

took over, and I introduced several measures. And actually, they 

were considered in two hearings. I think one was in 1995, right 

after we took control, and in 1998. I still had the stumbling block 

of Newt Gingrich and public funding. We were starting to get the 

budget in balance, and the deal that we cut with Newt Gingrich 

to make the visitors’ center go forward was to raise half the money 

privately and half publicly. 

At that time, the visitors’ center—well, originally, it was $78 million, and then when George White put in the proposal and went 

back and looked at it and did some juggling, he came in slightly 

over $100 million, I remember. I said, ′′George,′′ I said, ′′I cannot 

go to the Public Works-Transportation Committee meeting and promote a project that costs $100 million. So you had better get back 

there and cut some of this out. We can add it in later.′′ So I think 

he came in and brought it in, in about 1998, at one of those hearings. 

But in any event, we launched a visitors’ center with that deal. 

We, actually, had a group that raised the money. The last meeting 

that was held was on the evening of September 10th. That was in 

the Speaker’s dining room. I attended that. It was September 10, 

2001, which, ironically, put me in the Pentagon the next morning 

with Donald Rumsfeld. That is another story. 

I point this out to give you some of the history of my involvement. I was appointed to the Capitol Preservation Commission 

until just January, so I have seen the project from the beginning 

and probably have more of the historical knowledge. 

It is true there were very few votes taken. The one we did to authorize the project was probably the longest in history. It lasted almost 30 days because of all of the prima donnas, as I call them, 

on the Preservation Commission, who were chairmen and leadership of key committees. And the leadership of the House and Senate had to meet and approve the project, which we did in a vote, 

again, that was extended for some time. That brings us up to building the center and some of the purpose for that. 

Now, I am not opposed to naming a room or a space after the 

slaves who helped build this facility. I do not think that the Great 

Hall, though, is the appropriate hall. And I think that it would be 

more appropriate if you consider—if you want to look at the historic context of what I think would be appropriate, the exhibition 

hall—and some of this space was designed by Mr. Applebaum. 

I remember my first meeting with Mr. Applebaum when he was 

chosen to design this. Of course, he did the Holocaust Museum. I 

said, ′′Do you know what is going to go in this space?′′ then I described to him some of the documents like the Emancipation Proclamation and things that are rarely seen. I said, ′′Have you been 

to the Library of Congress to see any of the treasures that are 

down in the National Archives?′′ he said, ′′No.′′ I said, ′′Well, I am 

going to terminate this meeting with you, because I want you to 

go down and see those things, these treasures, that belong to the 

people and that are some of our most valuable things and have 

5

them on display.′′ And he went back, and he did see it, and then 

we met again, and he designed some of the spaces, as you know. 

And I think that, given—and I will tell you a little bit more of 

the history that I think is important in this—I think that, actually, 

the Great Hall is an inappropriate place to name after those who 

sacrificed through slavery. The Great Hall, actually, will be the repository of the cast in plaster that was done by Thomas Crawford. 

Actually, we put in skylights so you could see the pediments of the 

building. Ironically, you will see in both of those instances the decisions by someone who had no respect for slavery, who, in fact, led 

the whole cause of the Confederacy based on keeping the enslavement of people, who was the one who had the biggest impact on 

how we view the Capitol today, the extension, the 1850s extension 

of the House and the Senate. And the person who did that was at 

first a Senator and an appropriator; that was Jefferson Davis. And 

then Jefferson Davis, ironically, was the Secretary of War when the 

building was built. 

If you go back and look at the history, Thomas Crawford was one 

of the most accomplished sculptors and was picked for the responsibility of sculpting both the pediment of the Senate and also the 

Statue of Freedom that we have on the top. His studio was in 

Rome, but he was an American. Actually, you could go back and 

look at the documents. Jefferson Davis altered the statues—the 

pediment you see of the Senate and the Statue of Freedom, because 

when he originally designed those figures, he had the egalitarian 

cap which stood for liberty, fraternity and equality. He did not 

favor equality. 

So, ironically, you will have staring in the visitor’s eye the symbols of Jefferson Davis, who was not very inclined to have the Nation’s Capitol and that view you will be seeing have anything to do 

with the emancipation of the slaves. 

In opposition to that, you have an Exhibition Hall here which 

very few folks—I remember back in the 1980s, I had heard of 

Washington’s tomb, but I never knew where it was, and I did not 

know that it housed the catafalque of the great emancipator, Abraham Lincoln. You know, in the space that we have designed, at the 

very center of the space is going to be this little niche, and in that 

niche, we are going to place the catafalque of the great emancipator, Abraham Lincoln. 

So, within that space, you will have something that people have 

not seen, except on rare occasions, in the ceremonial death of some 

famous American. And you will also have the ability to show that 

document that was part of the motivation for this space that people 

could see. 

So that would be my first preference, to name a hall, which truly 

will, for generations, be able to display the documents of freedom 

for slaves and for all of the rights and other things that we have. 

Then, secondly, you will also have the funeral of the great emancipator there. So that would be my first consideration and suggestion. 

The second is, this is where the emancipators of the future will 

be, and that is our successors. It was not Congress that freed the 

slaves; it was Abraham Lincoln, by his proclamation. But we do 

have the largest auditorium, which will be where the House of RepVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:45 Feb 07, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\DOCS\38171 HTRANS1 PsN: JASON
6

resentatives and future joint sessions will meet as we make repairs 

and other renovations to the existing spaces. 

I gave you my first preference, which has both its roots in the 

history of the building and in the evolution of the visitors’ center, 

and then I gave you my second choice. So those are some of the 

points that I wanted to make today. 

I have no objection to, again, recognizing those. There are 

many—Joe is here—there are Italian Americans, there are indentured whites who also built the Capitol. I am very proud of my 

Italian American heritage and Brumidi, who is often mentioned, 

but he is only one of numerous people who contributed to the Capitol, including those who were enslaved. So I do feel it is appropriate—I do—to name a significant space in this new center, and 

those are my thoughts. 

I appreciate your allowing me to go a little bit beyond to share 

some of the history, because I think it needs to be recorded. And 

thank you for allowing me to participate. I look forward to working 

with both of you on the Committee and on the Full Committee in 

the House on this project. 

Thank you. 

Ms. NORTON. I thank the Ranking Member for his remarks. We, 

certainly, will look more closely at what you are saying. 

I do want to say for the record that Congress recognized that the 

Capitol was built by working people, but when the study committee 

was set up—and it was set up by the prior Congress before the 

present majority came here—it was set up with the understanding 

that there had to be special recognition for people who were slaves 

and who built the Capitol. 

No one wants to take anything from working people who, in fact, 

contributed to building this great Capitol. And whenever we speak 

about the Capitol, we say that the slaves were among others, including free blacks and many white people. 

The circumstances under which black craftsmen contributed to 

this building has never been recognized, even though the contributions of most Americans have managed to be recognized in some 

form or fashion somewhere. Thus, it was thought by Congress that 

the slaves should be singled out. And that is not because they were 

black; it was because they had been slaves and had made this special contribution to representative democracy. 

Mr. Cohen? 

Mr. COHEN. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to be here 

and to speak in favor of the legislation that my colleague from Tennessee, Representative Wamp, and my colleague from Illinois, Representative Jackson, have introduced. 

It is entirely fitting and appropriate that there be a special recognition of what slaves gave, not only to this Capitol but to this 

country. The contributions of slaves to this country’s good fortune 

have not been recognized, and most people do not know them. And 

by naming this hall the Emancipation Hall and having the story 

in this hall, where so many Americans come to reflect on their heritage and this great country and to understand the foundations and 

to see where slavery contributed and to understand more about 

slavery and the role it played in this country and the lack of remuVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:45 Feb 07, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\DOCS\38171 HTRANS1 PsN: JASON
7

neration or consideration ever given to people, obviously, who were 

slaves, is important and appropriate. 

You get a new country and you advertise,you know, ′′Come over 

here. We are going to take land from the Native American Indians, 

and we are going to give you an opportunity to have slave labor.′′ It is a heck of a way to start a country or a business. You know, 

you get land from somebody else and get labor that does not cost 

you anything. Great start. That is a great way to boost a country. 

People have to understand that is how this country really got its 

great start, especially the southern part of the United States. And 

it was not just the farmers; it was the folks who shipped the cotton, 

who insured the cotton, who produced the clothes. It was basically 

the railroads, the shipping industry, everybody. And that is who 

were the main cogs in your economy, then: the railroads, the 

steamship companies, the Merchant Marines, as well as the landed 

folk and the traders. So they had a pretty good opportunity to benefit from slave labor, and people need to learn about that and see 

it. 

I commend each of you for bringing this bill. It is the right thing 

to do. It has 227 cosponsors. I hope it has 435 votes. 

Thank you, Madam Chairman. 

Ms. NORTON. Thank you very much, Mr. Cohen. 

Could I ask our two witnesses if they would come forward now? 

Frankly, proceed in whatever order suits you. 

TESTIMONY OF HON. ZACH WAMP, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE; HON. JESSE 

JACKSON, JR., A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE 

STATE OF ILLINOIS 

Mr. WAMP. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Out of my friend 

Jesse Jackson’s courtesy, I will go first. Let me just say that I have 

a written statement for the record, but I do not want to read it. 

I just want to speak from the heart to you, Madam Chairman. 

Thank you so much for calling this hearing, and I would encourage you to move the bill. Do not wait on any appropriations bill. 

When an idea this good surfaces, we all need to come together. We 

got 227 cosponsors in 2 days. We could have gotten probably 400 

or more if we had just wanted to have cosponsors, but we just 

wanted enough cosponsors to get you to call a hearing and to consider this bill. 

I served on this Committee years ago before I went to the Appropriations Committee, and I admire you so very much, and I thank 

you so much, Madam Chairman, for this opportunity. 

And I want to recognize the distinguished Ranking Member of 

the Full Committee, Mr. Mica, who spoke, and, of course, on the 

Subcommittee, my friend Sam Graves. But I would beg to differ 

with the distinguished Chairman of the Full Committee. I do want 

to say for the record that the quality of the CVC is, in large part, 

due to his commitment to this. And the quality is there; the cost, 

obviously, is more. 

I am the Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, which is now charged with bringing this 

project in next year for landing and in trying to bring it in as close 

to the current budget and timeline as we possibly can. It got bigger 

8

and more costly than we wanted, but I have taken, in the last 13 

years, over 1,700 groups through the Capitol. I do all my tours myself, and I love it. I will do one tonight. I had 250 college students 

here this weekend, and I took them through the Capitol. I tell a 

lot of stories and study a lot of the history, as Mr. Mica does. 

And one time, about 10 years ago, I was between the concrete 

drum of the Rotunda and the exterior, going up for a dome tour, 

and I stopped and asked one of the red-coat tour guides coming 

down, ′′What are these little hooks and hangers that are hanging 

all the way around the perimeter of the dome?′′ he said, ′′Man, that 

is a great question. Few people ever ask about it, but that is where 

they hung their lanterns at night while people slept here while 

building the dome of the Rotunda.′′ And he said, ironically, at that 

time, it would have been a combination of slave labor and the 

Union soldiers who were fighting for their freedom on the battlefield. They rotated in and out of Washington for respite off the battlefield, to come here. And they worked side by side. And he said, 

′′Just imagine the Jew’s harp playing and them kind of spend the 

time together, sleeping there, to go back in to build the dome, in 

the depths of the Civil War, to complete the Capitol in its current 

form.′′

This CVC is 580,000 square feet. The current Capitol is about 

770,000 square feet. So we are dramatically, by about two-thirds 

the size, increasing the scope of the Capitol. Well, the new space 

that, unfortunately, is referred to as the Great Hall is 20,000 

square feet of floor space. That is almost three times the size of the 

floor space of the Rotunda. This is the largest room, and it is going 

to actually be the room with the most people in it. Once the CVC 

opens the Capitol in totality, this room will be the room with the 

most people in it, because that is where all of the visitors will be 

staged as they enter the Capitol. 

What more important way to honor this very important part of 

American history than to name this hall Emancipation Hall? This 

is where it should be honored in the most meaningful way in this 

grand hall. Right through the tunnel at the Library of Congress is 

the Great Hall. It is the foyer of the Library of Congress. It has 

been for over 100 years. It is one of the most ornate spaces in the 

United States of America. 

From the first hearing we held in our Appropriations Subcommittee in January forward, everyone agrees—the architect and 

everyone involved—that you cannot have two rooms named the 

Great Hall on each end of the tunnel. That is mass confusion. Everyone says that is a mistake. It should not be called the Great 

Hall. 

So, obviously, step one: It should not be called the Great Hall because that is duplicative, and it is going to be very confusing, so 

we need to change the name. 

Number two, then what will it be called? And that is obviously 

the jurisdiction of this Subcommittee. But emancipation is the 

proper way to do this. This is bigger than any of us. That is why 

there is so much support for this, because this is bigger. You may 

say, ′′What is a white guy from the South doing offering Emancipation Hall?′′ hey, I think that is pretty cool. That is the way it 

9

ought to be. We need reconciliation, healing. This brings about justice. 

This, actually, may be a bigger way to honor them than you 

would think. I do not think it is a small thing. I think it is a big 

thing. I think every person who comes through this Capitol from 

that day forward is told the story of how important this chapter in 

American history was to emancipate people, to free them, to treat 

them equally. In this hall, you look up through the glass, and you 

see that dome, and you know what it meant. You knew that Lincoln was petitioned during the Civil War to stop the construction 

of the dome because the cast iron was depleting our ability to prosecute the war, and he said, ′′No. The world is watching, and we are 

divided, and the dome will be a symbol to the world that we are 

still a union,′′ and he persevered and emancipated. He was white, 

too. 

We should come together through this process. We should use 

this as an opportunity to bring the Congress to a better place so 

there can be healing and reconciliation and so that we can honor 

this labor and these people, these great Americans who did this 

who have never been honored. This is bigger than us. 

Please, do not delay. Please, report this bill expeditiously to the 

floor. Take it to the Senate. Let us do this together. Let there not 

be a division of all of the lessons learned from the divisions of history. We should not do this now. That is why I am so honored to 

be a partner with Jesse Jackson, Jr., and to do this. Friends from 

across the aisle, do this together. 

I yield to him. 

Mr. JACKSON. Madam Chair, Ranking Member Graves and Members of the Subcommittee, and Mr. Mica, I am pleased to testify in 

support of legislation to rename the main hall of the Capitol Visitor 

Center as Emancipation Hall. 

In June of this year, I was proud to team up with my good friend 

and colleague Zach Wamp in offering an identical measure in the 

Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. And while that bill has 

passed the Congress, we acknowledge the jurisdiction of this Committee and return to this Committee with more than 227 Members 

of Congress who support moving independent legislation to advance 

this proposition. 

When I spoke to the Appropriations Committee in June, I urged 

my colleagues to begin a new chapter in history and to fight for 

emancipation. Emancipation is the great theme of Americans’ still 

unfolding story. Unlike what Mr. Mica indicated in his remarks, it 

is not a side story, it is not a side room. It is central to understanding America, it is central to the understanding of this institution, and it is central to the development of this building and this 

democracy. 

As the future entryway and focal point for the millions of visitors 

each year to the Nation’s Capitol, Emancipation Hall will serve and 

stand as a memorial to our country’s struggle and journey from 

slavery to freedom. Lincoln’s first and second inaugural address occurred on the stairs directly above Emancipation Hall. The Lincoln 

Memorial has both of those speeches in great detail, indicating the 

great dilemma that confronted his presidency, not only in the construction of the Capitol, itself, but in the maintenance of the Union. 

10

In fact, saving the Union and making the Union more perfect were 

his penultimate and primary goals. 

Emancipation—that preeminent event in American history, that 

definitive moment, that contemporary memory that tends to let go 

and long since escape—is not included in the mural in the Rotunda, depicting the rise of our Nation. In fact, in the Capitol Rotunda, where pilgrims arrive on one end of the mural, you follow 

the story all the way around to the Wright Brothers. There is not 

a single African American or person of color, other than Native 

Americans, in that story. They are completely left out of the story 

of America. For the millions of visitors who visit our Capitol Rotunda, the story of our journey from slavery to freedom is not depicted. 

Emancipation is forgotten as we race up the Capitol stairs every 

day to vote. They are made out of granite from Georgia’s venerable 

and infamous Stone Mountain, where the Ku Klux Klan was born. 

The Senate Chamber, the old Senate Chamber, for the millions 

of Americans who visit our Capitol, is known for one primary 

event: the beating of Senator Charles Sumner by Preston Brooks, 

a Congressman from South Carolina. And the book still marks the 

location in that room where Charles Sumner was caned. 

Old Statuary Hall, never divided between Democrats and Republicans, it is divided primarily by this side of the aisle and that side 

of the aisle as free States and slave States. For the millions of visitors who visit Statuary Hall, they are told of a single story—the 

acoustics of the building, the acoustics of the room, how to talk to 

the floor, and how to run to the other side of the room and hear 

your voice echoing off of the ceiling—not the history of how slaves 

and States were admitted to the Union, one free and one slave, not 

the California compromise, not the compromise of 1832, not the 

compromise of 1834, not the secession of States from the Union, 

but for the millions of Americans who enter our Statuary Hall, if 

you stand right here and talk to the floor and if you run to the 

other side of the room, you can hear the echo chamber of the acoustically sound Old Statuary Hall. 

The Old Supreme Court Chamber is known for three things—the 

Amistad Africans, the Dred Scott decision, the Plessy v. Ferguson 

decision—all decided in this building. To this day, the most scurrilous part of Chief Justice Taney’s record was his decision in Dred 

Scott. For the most part, the idea of building a more perfect union 

occurred under Taney’s Supreme Court Chief Justiceship, but his 

entire reign on the Court was profoundly affected by one infamous 

decision, Dred Scott. 

So race, slavery, emancipation is not a room, like the Ranking 

Member said, off to the side of the Capitol. It is central to who we 

are as a country. Yet, the story in the Capitol Rotunda, in Statuary 

Hall, in the Old Supreme Court Chamber, in the Old Senate Chamber—in every way that we can possibly find, we suppress the story. 

Emancipation Hall is ignored. Emancipation is ignored in Statuary 

Hall, as we count among our honored dead Confederate President 

and Democrat Jefferson Davis; Confederate Vice President and 

Democrat Alexander Hamilton Stephens; Confederate Democrat 

General Robert E. Lee, still wearing his Confederate States of 

11

America uniform; and Confederate Democrat General Joseph 

Wheeler, still in uniform. 

But a little-known party founded in Ripon, Wisconsin, in 1854 

came into existence, the Republican Party, against this fundamental Democratic Party philosophy of the idea of ending the peculiar institution of slavery, emancipating them and building a more 

perfect union for all Americans. The idea of Emancipation Hall is 

perfectly suited to be introduced by a gentleman from the South, 

Mr. Wamp. The idea that a Republican would fight for emancipation is a very historically accurate process, and I congratulate 

the gentleman. 

Instead of visitors getting that information, we reduce the story 

of our Nation—that is, how States have gone from slavery to freedom—into a conversation about acoustics. No one wants to deal 

with the painful past. So, instead, we suppress the story, and we 

suppress everyone’s history. We must tell an honest and informed 

story of all that has come before us. 

The United States Congress has the power and the authority to 

tell the real story. We can do better by capturing the fullness of 

the meaning of our Republic’s history in this Capitol. We must tell 

visitors about the story of freedom and the costly course of emancipation. Who would we be without emancipation? Our House divided would not stand. We would not have the ability or the moral 

authority to fight for democracy around the globe. We would not 

have, as Abraham Lincoln said, a new birth of freedom so that a 

government of the people, by the people and for the people shall 

not perish from the face of the earth. 

Placing Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center is a 

small step, but a significant step, on our journey toward freedom 

from the ongoing struggles and problems associated with the legacy 

of slavery. This works largely because we are still not comfortable 

talking about this shameful legacy, talking about race, talking 

about class. Fifty years ago today, nine students in Little Rock, Arkansas, forced us to talk about race and class. Last week, six students in Jena, Louisiana, were supported by thousands of marchers 

who forced us to talk about race and class. 

Emancipation Hall will remind every American and everyone 

from around the world who visits our Capitol of our Nation’s continuing commitment to move from oppression to equality, from division to union, a more perfect union. This hall will stand as a testament to the fact that the long arc of history bends toward freedom 

and justice. 

I would like to close, Madam Chair, on just two small points. 

Just a couple hundred yards from the entrance to Emancipation 

Hall, our forebears, our forefathers, placed a marker to the significance of this particular event. Just 200 yards from the entrance to 

Emancipation Hall is the following statue—the following monument on the circle directly in front of the new Capitol Visitor Center. 

On this date, April 4th, Abraham Lincoln visited Richmond. He 

went to the Confederate White House and sat on the President’s 

chair. As he walked the streets of Richmond, crowds gathered 

around him, including former slaves who proclaimed him, among 

other things, and I quote, ′′the great messiah.′′ Overwhelmed by 

12

rare emotions, Lincoln said to one black man who fell on his knees 

in front of him, quote, ′′Don’t kneel to me. This is not right. You 

must kneel to God only and thank him for the liberty you will 

enjoy hereafter.′′ Describing these events in Richmond from a desk 

in the Confederate Capitol to the Philadelphia press shortly after 

Gettysburg was its reporter T. Morris Chester, a black man. 

Why do I not, as the Chairman, try to indicate and support the 

idea of Liberty Hall? Because, when Lincoln uses the word ′′liberty′′

here, he is talking about the human condition of moving from chattel slavery to liberty. The word ′′liberty,′′ in contemporary American 

English, has taken on a different meaning. ′′liberty′′ in today’s 

meaning has nothing to do with the transition of people from a particular condition to freedom. It has something to do, for example, 

with our ability as a Nation—Blackwater now argues that they 

have a liberty, a right, to do business in Iraq. General Motors, yesterday, announced their liberty, their right, to move their plants to 

other parts of the world and take advantage of workers. ′′liberty′′

today takes on a different meaning than the liberty for which Lincoln was talking about when this man fell to his knees. And therefore, freedom and emancipation more appropriately and more accurately capture precisely what Mr. Lincoln was talking about when 

he made this statement, which serves as a marker to the visitors’ 

center that we seek to build as the 110th Congress, and name. 

Lastly, the Congress of the United States is responsible for 

emancipation. The Congress did vote for emancipation. The first 

13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which 

passed this institution before the Civil War and before the secession of States from the Union, authorized the maintenance and the 

continuance of the peculiar institution of slavery from then until 

the indefinite future. With the secession of the States from the 

Union, such an amendment to the Constitution, even though it 

passed the Congress by the necessary votes, was never allowed to 

be added to the Constitution. 

Then, in 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln passed the 

Emancipation Proclamation in executive order, it freed the slaves 

in some States but kept them in place in other States, and there 

is great debate as to whether or not that Emancipation Proclamation actually had the power to free the slaves. After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, this Congress then voted again on a new 

13th Amendment with completely new language. And it is that 

13th Amendment that Southern States, in order to be brought back 

into the Union, had to ratify, which laid the foundation for the contemporary 13th Amendment, the 14th Amendment and the 15th 

Amendment to the Constitution. 

And therefore, it is appropriate that this Congress recognize that 

this is not an act by Lincoln; it is an act by the Congress to change 

the fundamental founding document of this Nation to ensure that 

emancipation would become part of who we are, going forward. 

So I conclude just by saying, Madam Chair, that this bill is appropriate before this Committee, but most importantly, Mr. Counsel and Members of the Republican Party who are still in attendance, it is important that this bill move through the Congress without objection. It is not to be divided, Democrats and Republicans, 

13

blacks and whites. This should not be the story that emerges out 

of the 110th Congress. 

I believe we can pass this bill because we have sufficient numbers to pass it as a stand-alone piece of legislation, but this legislation should leave this Congress unanimous. And we should not 

open up a national debate about who is a racist, who is not a racist 

because they did not understand the history and the context and 

the significance of this event. And that is why the appropriators, 

themselves, decided to move on it. And it is my hope that this Committee will give it thoughtful consideration, move it out unanimously, and let us move this chapter forward. 

I thank the gentlechairman. 

Ms. NORTON. I thank both of you for, really, deeply felt and important testimony. 

Let me just ask a few questions and then go to Mr. Cohen. 

Do you know of any other bill for naming the Great Hall that is 

pending in the House or Senate? 

Mr. WAMP. Not to my knowledge, no, Madam Chair. 

Mr. JACKSON. Not to my knowledge, Madam Chair. 

Ms. NORTON. Representative Jackson spoke of the symbolism of 

the stairs above the Great Hall and Lincoln, himself. The Ranking 

Member pointed to things in the Great Hall of which I am unfamiliar. 

Do you have any knowledge of what it was specifically that he 

was concerned about that would be in the Great Hall, as much as 

he is not here now? Perhaps you understand that. 

Mr. WAMP. Let me address that. 

The artist who actually did the Statue of Freedom above the 

dome is what he is talking about and the other things that that 

artist did in his life. I think, frankly, it was completely off track 

of where we are at and the focus of this hearing, because we are 

talking about Emancipation Hall being this great room, and if you 

have been there—and I have been there many, many, many 

times—you are looking right at the dome, which is exactly—now, 

the catafalque for Lincoln is also right off of this room, and that 

very display area, actually, would not be the most appropriate 

place to call Emancipation Hall, because it is already programmed 

in different areas. 

And if you listen to Tom Fontana, who is the expert who actually 

planned all this, they already have all of that programmed and exactly how it is supposed to step us up through the history of the 

legislative process. That whole space was designed to teach the visitor the legislative process and to tie the House and the Senate in 

with history, not a specific moment in history, like emancipation. 

That is why it is so important, I think, that when people come 

into this hall that it be referred to as Emancipation Hall, but that 

was really off the topic. 

Plus, let me say that, as to the idea that the theater might be 

called Emancipation Hall, it is not open to the public. There is no 

public access to the theater where the Congress is going to sit and 

meet. So he had two alternatives, neither of which is appropriate, 

frankly, respectfully, very respectfully, because Tom Fontana would 

tell you they have already programmed the way one of them is, 

14

which is to teach the visitor the legislative process, and the other 

one does not even have public access. 

Mr. JACKSON. In addition to the ranking Republican’s concerns 

and Mr. Wamp’s concerns about what is appropriate in the room, 

you cannot separate subsequent freedom movements or freedom 

events from this central event of overcoming the limitations of 

States’ rights and State-centered federalism over and against the 

idea of building a more perfect union for all Americans. It was the 

women’s suffragettes and the abolitionists who would fight and 

lead a great struggle that would lend itself to the new language of 

the 13th Amendment that ultimately freed the slaves. 

This whole idea of Juneteenth in Texas is not that they did not 

get the word of the Emancipation Proclamation, but the Texans 

would argue that, as long as the Constitution allowed their State 

to maintain the institution of slavery, only a 13th Amendment to 

the Constitution could free them. And that is why not until 1865 

did Texans get the idea that they could no longer maintain chattel 

slavery. 

Most importantly, when we started the Emancipation Hall and 

we recognized that suffragettes and abolitionists would fight for the 

language that would lead to the 15th Amendment and a great division in that movement would then lead the suffragettes to fight for 

their own language and their own amendment that would manifest 

itself in the 19th Amendment, many of these movements have their 

foundation in the struggle over ending the peculiar institution in 

the States. And so it is appropriate to have a hall named after the 

suffragettes. It is appropriate to have a hall named after other 

great movements. 

But the central movement that lays the foundation for those 

movements is the addition of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments 

and the role that these individuals played in this institution in constructing the building. 

Ms. NORTON. There is a vote on. I am going to ask Mr. Graves 

if he has any questions. I am going to go to Mr. Cohen at this 

point. 

Mr. COHEN. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

I just want to thank the two gentlemen for their remarks, both 

of whom well addressed the subject. 

And particularly, not with any derogation or lessening to my distinguished colleague from Tennessee, but, Mr. Jackson, it is an 

honor for me to be in this body, and your speech was one of the 

best I have heard since I have been in it. And it made me very 

proud to be a Member of this House of Representatives. 

Mr. JACKSON. Thank you, Mr. Cohen. 

Ms. NORTON. Thank you, Mr. Cohen. 

On visiting the visitors’ center, I asked if there was anything already in place. This was, of course, some months ago, and I was 

really saddened by what they pointed to—a kind of railing, a kind 

of token alongside—as if there were other events in the history of 

our country, far greater than building the Capitol, that were a symbolism of slavery across the face of this country from its beginning 

that could be captured in some way by some object in a room. 

We are going to have to try to clarify what it is, of course, that 

the Ranking Member brought up, and we are pleased to do that. 

15

I agree with the two Members who have worked so hard for this 

bill, and congratulate them. That delay is not in order because, this 

time, we really do think they are going to finish the Capitol Visitor 

Center, and we would like to give it a name. 

I close simply by saying, if you are a third-generation Washingtonian, there is always something personal in a discussion of slavery in the District of Columbia. My own great-grandfather did not 

arrive until the 1850s, but he arrived in the way so many African 

Americans did. He ran away from a slave plantation in Virginia, 

and, like so many slaves, he immediately found work on the streets 

because they were building the District of Columbia and there was 

not enough labor. That was one of the important reasons that slave 

labor in the prior decades was important to building the Capitol, 

especially since it required some skilled labor. 

The fact is, my friends, that every single public building in the 

District of Columbia until 1863 was built, in part, with slave labor, 

and you would never know it. May, at least, the visitors’ convention 

center give us a larger-than-life opportunity to commemorate that 

fact. 

Mr. JACKSON. May I make one observation? I did not even talk 

with Mr. Wamp about this. Because I am so concerned that this 

be done right, I do not know if it is appropriate, but at the appropriate time, I would be more than willing to make a unanimousconsent request to remove my name as one of the chief cosponsors 

and add you and Mr. Graves, if you are able to work it out, so that 

this reflects the kind of bipartisan approach that it deserves. 

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Jackson, I am already on the bill. This is not 

about whose name is on the bill. The Congress has closed in 

around this notion out of courtesy. 

Of course, the Ranking Member has raised issues. Those issues 

must be responded to on the record, but the point is to move the 

bill forward. And I do not see any impediment, except that I think 

we have an obligation to look at what the Ranking Member raised. 

I am pleased to call this hearing to a close and facilitate 

everybody’s rushing to the floor. 

Mr. JACKSON. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

[Whereupon, at 2:57 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

16


38171.003
17


38171.004
18


38171.005
19


38171.006
20


38171.007
21

Æ


38171.008