Seeking names & job assignments of slaves that worked around Congress

Hi Nika -- thank you for posting to History Hub!

I'd recommend starting with the National Archives web portal on African American Research, particularly the page on congressional records relating to American slavery. There's also an excellent Prologue article, "Living with the Hydra: the Documentation of Slavery and the Slave Trade in Federal Records," by Walter B. Hill, Jr.

For details on the life of John Quincy Adams or Andrew Jackson I'd recommend their personal papers and diaries. Information about the papers of Andrew Jackson is available through the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Library of Congress. Information on the papers of John Quincy Adams is available through the Massachusetts Historical Society. You may also want to search Founders Online.

Another thought is the Architect of the Capitol -- the AOC published a History of Slave Laborers in the Construction of the U.S. Capitol in 2005. They also have information on the marker established to commemorate the role of enslaved laborers in building the U.S. Capitol.

I'm not sure you'll find much detail on the lives of enslaved peoples in the records of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate -- we primarily hold official records of congressional committees. If you have a specific question about legislative records, you can email us at legislative.archives@nara.gov.

Cheers!

Sarah