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Article: Congress approves task force to honor slaves who built the U.S. Capitol.(BLACK HISTORY)
- Article from:
- Jet
- Article date:
- June 20, 2005
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Congressional leaders recently announced the creation of a task force to study the history of slave labor in the construction of the United States Capitol, and concentrate on how the slaves can best be commemorated.
"It is our hope that the work of the task force will shed light on this part of our history, the building of our nation's greatest symbol of democracy," House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and Democratic leaders Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid said in a joint statement.
Historians say slaves were the largest labor pool when Congress in 1790 decided to create a new national capital along the Potomac.
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