"slavery denialism"?

[kpete]

https://twitter.com/Limerick1914/status/757952402498682880



...as the first lady pointed out in her speech, slaves first helped build the residence where the first African-American first family has lived for the past seven and a half years.



They then turned to African Americans, "enslaved and free -- to provide the bulk of labor that built the White House, the United States Capitol, and other early government buildings."

For the raw materials needed to construct the building, a stonemason, Collen Williamson, "trained enslaved people on the spot at the government's quarry” in Virginia, according to the association.

Immigrants were also part of the crews that built the White House.

"The slaves joined a workforce that included local white laborers and artisans from Maryland and Virginia, as well as immigrants from Ireland, Scotland, and other European nations," the association website states.



http://abcnews.go.com/US/fact-checking-lady-michelle-obamas-speech-white-house/story?id=40887848
http://abcnews.go.com/US/fact-checking-lady-michelle-obamas-speech-white-house/story?id=40887848&cid=abcn_tco

[Brickbat]

1. The slaves were paid, you say?

OH, WELL THEN.....

[Aristus]

8. The people who claimed to own them got paid.

n/t

[Iliyah]

2. WOW.

A GOPer I use to work with truly believed that "slaves" got paid and were very happy.

[erpowers]

3. How Did Irish Immigrants Story Start?

So, how did we get the story that Irish immigrants built, built the bulk of the White House?

[Act_of_Reparation]

7. Because it is partly true.

The White House was designed by an Irishman (James Hoban), and partly constructed by Irish.

This is no doubt a source of pride for Irish-Americans... so much that they seem to have forgotten they weren't the only ones who built the damned thing.

[lillypaddle]

4. These people make dirt look smart

*sigh*

[muntrv]

5. ....

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/25/michelle-obama/michelle-obama-correct-white-house-was-built-slave/

[Igel]

6. A decent percentage of the first WH was built by slaves.

It was a mix of workers, but we're talking about a large undertaking with a bit of specialized work.

Scottish masons doing most of the stonework and some designing. Grunt workers did most of the hauling and did the work that used common skills.

Problem is, the slaves mostly worked on the carpentry, plastering, and less specialized kind of work.

In the War of 1812 the place was gutted by fire. The masonry remained. The innards, all the parts that were wood and gypsum, the roof, in other words, the lion's share of the grunt workers' contribution (whatever their color or status), were reduced to ash or removed as unsalvageable. We know that, but still think of the place as being what was built in the late 1790s. The building was rebuilt.

You know, I can't find much information about who was hired to rebuild it. That in itself makes me suspect that there's no great political point to be made in that, which is why we focus on the original building--not the floors that the First Lady actually walks on.

Perhaps, on the other hand, we simply don't have the records. Or even this makes for too convoluted a narrative.

The insides were partially gutted nearly a century later. And again in the mid 20th century.