The legend of slaves building Capitol is correct

PolitiFact.com

Every now and then, a fact goes viral. Current case in point: that slaves helped construct the U.S. Capitol, where the son of an African man is set to be sworn in as the nation's 44th president.

Pundits and politicians have mentioned this dozens of times in the past few days, wielding it as potent shorthand for all the historical import of the moment.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, mentioned it in her remarks at the Dec. 2, 2008 dedication of the Capitol Visitors Center:

"The Capitol was built by slaves," Pelosi said. "Today, I want to talk about the fact that it's so appropriate that, though long overdue, this Capitol Visitors Center is ready for 2009, which is the 200th anniversary, the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the great emancipator."

Pelosi might have specified that slaves were only part of the workforce, but they were involved with almost every aspect of construction for at least the first several years. We find her statement True.

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