Building liberty's capital: Black labor and the new federal city

American Visions, Feb-March, 1995 by Robert J. Kapsch

Carpenters made up the largest group of workmen who labored under the direction of James Hoban, the Irish-born architect of the President's House. Their payrolls establish that African-American labor was important to building the White House, that much of this labor was skilled and that most of it was enslaved The payroll for April 1796, for example, indicates that "Negro Tom," owned by carpenter foreman Pierce Purcell, and "Negro Peter," owned by james Hoban, earned seven shillings and six pence daily--the going wage for journeymen carpenters. These wages went to their owners, a fact evidenced in the same payroll: Purcell and Hoban signed for the receipt of the wages for these two black carpenters. Negroes Harry," "Daniel" and "Ben" are shown as earning somewhat less during the same month. The June 1796 payroll for the bricklayers indicates that "Negro William," a slave, worked alongside and for approximately the same amount as journeymen Thomas Maitland and David Tweedy.

In November 1797, the commissioners dismissed black carpenters and ordered "... that no Negro Carpenters or [white] Apprentices be hired at either of the public buildings." The commissioners took this action because they believed that largely enslaved black carpenters and white apprentices were actually doing most of the work for which the more highly paid, skilled white carpenters had been hired. That the ruling was not intended as an attack on African Americans is evidenced by the fact that the Federal government continued to provide opportunities for black workmen in the coming decades--though this was not part of any broad policy to assist the black population in the Federal capital.

The preserved records of the commissioners also help us to understand other aspects of the lives of the black men who built the President's House. Medical care was provided by the commissioners. From their records, we know that in 1798 they employed 90 blacks on the construction of the Capitol and the President's House. The average daily number of sick men was between five and six, and the commissioners paid Dr. May 50 cents each to treat them. Treatment wasn't much; from the records it appears that bleeding was the prevalent form of medical care.

Nor was the hospital very much, for in 1794 Elisha Williams reported to the commissioners that . ..... I have examined the Hospital & I find it not sufficient for the sick as there is no upper floor nor is there any more than the weather boarding on the sides." Sick black men were attended by black nurses, and the names of these nurses, such as Mrs. Cloc LeClair and Mrs. Sara McMahon, appear in the records of the commissioners. Both, like the majority of the laborers, were illiterate, and their mark is recorded in the National Archives. They were paid approximately $10 monthly for their services--about one third of what a journeyman carpenter would earn during high construction season.

The African-American legacy associated with the nation's capital, and particularly with the White House and the Capitol, is rich. More important, it is instructive. It reminds us that our democracy began with imperfections, and that, over the centuries, with help from many diverse hands, the greatness of the Founders' dream is slowly being realized. Robert Kapsch is Chief of the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record of the U.S. National Park Service.