Michelle Obama’s Speech Claims White House Built By Slaves — Is There Any Truth To First Lady’s Statement?

Michelle Obama made quite the ruckus at the Democratic National Convention Monday night. Mrs. Obama claimed that the White House was, in fact, built by slave laborers. Whether there is any truth to this or not, it was apparently enough to turn heads when Michelle delivered her speech. ABC News captured the essence of the First Lady’s speech in an article about the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, PA, on July 25.

“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves,” she said. “And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.”

Michelle’s speech played on the recent racial tensions that have divided the nation in the wake of several police shootings of unarmed black men. Many people on Twitter expressed their sympathy for those who were lost to police shootings, with some even mourning the existence of “white privilege” and lamenting their position in society.

As the First Lady of the first African-American president, Michelle Obama stands in a position equally unique and delicate. So, was she using this position responsibly when she claimed that the White House was built on the backs of slaves, or could this be a mistake or even outright lie?

The White House Historical Association may provide the answer. They state on their homepage that enslaved and freed African-Americans provided most of the labor for the White House and other U.S. government buildings. So, in some sense, Michelle’s speech is accurate, though like any good politician her rhetoric does not tell the whole story.

The use of slave labor to build the White House is not nefarious, but it does have quite a storied history. The land D.C. is built on once belonged to then-slave states Virginia and Maryland, but was ceded by them during the Civil War. Congress initially wanted to recruit European laborers to build the White House, but very few workers were interested. Thus, the government was essentially forced to use local labor (which happened to mainly consist of free and enslaved African-Americans).

Michelle Obama’s speech also had deep implications for the Democratic Party as well. Michelle stated in the same speech that Hillary Clinton has paved the way for a female president, as NBC News discovered. Michelle went on to discuss her feelings that the U.S. was already a great country, a not-so-hidden reference to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” platform.

When @MichelleObama said the White House was built by slaves, there's a reason folks were skeptical:https://t.co/nFJ1ednUUJ

— snopes.com (@snopes) July 26, 2016

So, what purpose did Michelle’s speech serve? Was it intended to show America just how far we’ve come, from slave labor to a woman in the running for president? Perhaps it was for pure shock value, or to remind everyone that we’ve got further to go? Michelle’s speech seems to paint Hillary Clinton as a symbol of social advancement; by contrast, some believe Donald Trump will “turn back the clock” on America and set back social progress.

Whatever the case, the debate over Michelle’s claims that slaves built the White House is causing quite an uproar on social media. One tweeter pointed out that slaves were paid for their work, and that there were also white laborers who helped build the White House. Meanwhile, another tweeted some simple words of wisdom, telling folks not to despair because Michelle Obama told them the White House was built by slaves, but because their history books didn’t.

Some conservatives have also claimed that there is no truth to Michelle’s speech or that it is at least not telling the entire truth. Detractors argue that the White House was actually built primarily by laborers from Europe, and not, as Michelle claims, slaves. However, some did argue that slaves were used towards the end of construction on the White House.

[Image by William J. Murphy/iStock]