Quick! Everybody Hide!

The July 9 issue of Jet magazine reports excavations revealing that George Washington had a room to hide his slaves in when guests turned up.

. . . a recent archeological find-right next to the Liberty Bell-at the site of the house that once served as the presidential residence of George Washington and John Adams for 10 years in the late 1700s, has revealed that America's first president did indeed have slaves, even during a time when he spoke against servitude. One story below street level, on the corner of Sixth and Market, a recent dig revealed a brick and stone foundation of the President's House, which was built in 1757 and torn down in 1832. While experts expected to find the foundation, they didn't expect to unearth the outline of what is believed to have been slave quarters and an underground tunnel designed to hide some nine slaves from the chief executive's houseguests.