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    • Architecture 1 [-]
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  • CC0 Creative Commons - No Rights Reserved icon

    Block of Aquia Creek sandstone removed from the East Front of US Capitol

    Commissioned by
    Architect of the Capitol, American, founded 1793
    Date
    1824-1826
    On View
    Concourse 3, C3 053
    Exhibition
    Slavery and Freedom
    Medium
    sandstone
    Dimensions
    Overall with Weight: 15 3/4 × 21 1/4 × 14 1/2 in., 318 lb. (40 × 54 × 36.8 cm, 144.2 kg)
    Caption
    Enslaved African Americans, leased out by their slave owners, mined sandstone from local quarries and built the United States Capitol, the White House, and the Smithsonian Castle. Congress, the institution that guarded the peoples’ freedom, held sessions in a building constructed by forced labor, and the legislators would have witnessed lines of shackled slaves marching by daily en route to the Deep South. The block was quarried near Aquia Creek, Virginia, by free and enslaved workers and used in the construction of the Capitol building in 1824.
    Source: Nancy Bercaw, Curator, Slavery and Freedom
    Description
    A rectangular block of sandstone. One short side of the block has a smooth, finished surface. The other five sides are rough-hewn and pitted, showing evidence of quarry tool markings, softened by weathering. One of the long sides has mechanical tool markings across the surface, forming a cross-hatch pattern. The block predominantly is beige, with reddish-brown veins of color running lengthwise. The smooth side shows most clearly the variegation of reddish-brown strata. There is a loss at the lower-left corner of the smooth side.
    Place used
    Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
    Place collected
    Aquia Creek, Stafford County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
    Classification
    Slavery and Freedom Objects
    Buildings and Structures
    Type
    blocks (shaped masses)
    structural elements and structural element components
    Topic
    Architecture
    Building Arts
    Free communities of color
    Government
    Labor
    Local and regional
    Politics
    Slave hire system
    U.S. History, 1815-1861
    Credit Line
    Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
    Object number
    2013.182
    Restrictions & Rights
    No Known Copyright Restrictions
    Usage
    CC0
    GUID
    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd591da1639-8f87-43bb-9128-5c8ee6561cac
National Museum of African American History and Culture
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1400 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560

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