I wonder if slaves were ever used as labor in the White House… I know they helped build it. Why is that never mentioned? Washington didnt live there…Adams didnt have slaves…Jefferson? Did he use slave labor there? Wash Dc is in “the South”…Madison and Monroe were southerners… I wonder did this happen and how long?
When the District of Columbia was established in 1800, the laws of Maryland, including its slave laws, remained in force. Additional laws on slavery and free blacks were then made by the District, and by Southern standards its slave codes were moderate. Slaves were permitted to hire out their services and to live apart from their masters. Free blacks were permitted to live in the city and to operate private schools. By 1860 the District of Columbia was home to 11,131 free blacks and 3,185 slaves.
Thomas Jefferson brought nine slaves from his Virginia plantation to work in the Executive Mansion. James Madison, the fourth president, who sponsored the Bill of Rights, brought his own slaves to the mansion from Montpelier, his plantation in Virginia.
Andrew Jackson’s slaves lived in the White House cellar or attic. His personal servant slept on the floor in the president’s bedroom.
James Polk, like others, reduced White House expenses by substituting slaves for salaried servants. When he became president, he replaced ten paid staff members with slaves recently purchased or brought from Polk’s Tennessee plantation. They lived in the White House basement.
President Zachary Taylor brought 15 slaves, including children, from Louisiana to Washington. However, by the time of his administration (1849-1850), there was considerable anti-slavery sentiment in the country. As a result, Taylor kept his slaves hidden from the public. They slept in eight attic rooms, and were restricted to the Taylor family’s private rooms on the mansion’s second floor.
On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia. Passage of this act came 9 months before President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation.
Damn, Walloon. Nice work. Thanks for the Straight Dope™!
Thanks Walloon, thats what I wanted to know…It seems that this should be part of White House history and should be included in guide books and documentries, etc…I have never seen this before…Thanks again
These days, it is. See the book Real life at the White House : two hundred years of daily life at America’s most famous residence, by John Whitcomb and Claire Whitcomb (2000).