A Slave in the White House: Paul Jennings and the Madisons

A very well researched book---about 20% or more of Kindle edition consists of footnotes. As already mentioned (too much so, I think, in the editorial reviews) Paul Jennings was a slave born on the Plantation of the father of future president of the U.S., James Madison. He was half white, and one quarter Native American.At the age of 10 he was taken to the White House, when President James Madison and his famous first lady Dolley Madison began their residence there. He was there for the attack on Washington DC by the British in 1812 and the burning of the White House.James Madison comes across as an interesting "First Father", a man of high morals and beliefs, EXCEPT that he never freed one of the slaves on his plantation, even Paul Jennings who had been his "body servant" or valet for most of his life, and all of his old age, illness and up to death. Dolley Madison fares far worse than her husband. Though she came from a Quaker background----and they were among the first and most outspoken of the anti-slavery movement----she sold off slaves on the Madison plantation after her husband's death, in part to support the ne'er well do, alcoholic son of her first marriage. Her own personal maid, life-long, known as Sukey, was eventually sold as were most of Sukey's five children. These were so called "house slaves", who, by most versions of pre-Civil War Southern life, were special, privileged, and part of their white family. Mrs Madison had to have known all of Sukey's children from birth....but even the youngest, a 15 yr old girl, was to be "sold South" by Mrs Madison, until a warning allowed her to escape....don't want to spoil the "plot"---of course, its no novel, but the lives of real people----but she escaped, was recaptured...and, I'll leave it there.To be sold into the Deep South was to be sent to the huge cotten plantations where the slave people were worked incredibly hard, often mistreated, beaten, raped, separated from families....So it was a vision of the worst that could happen to the African Americans of the time. Not that such things could not and did not happen in the upper south, ie, Virginia where the Madison's plantation was located. During his lifetime, James Madison did not permit any beating of slaves, sold none, and at first, after his death, Dolley Madison sold slaves "only" to friends and family in the immediate area....but this changed over time as she and her adult son needed more money. (Ironically....another SPOILER:....................Ironically, her adult son who inherited everything of the Madison's from his mother, freed the slaves of the Madison plantation in his will.).............................................................................Paul Jennings is seen as an intelligent, hard working and loyal man. He gave "sums of money out of pocket" to Mrs Madison after he'd bought his freedom, and she was living in poverty. He also never try to destroy the reputations of either President or Mrs Madison is his interviews with reporters or in his written "reminiscences". (Note: that slim volume, "Reminiscences of a Colored Man....." is included in the back of the book under discussion, so no need to buy it separately.His life after he purchased his freedom, with the help of the anti-slavery politician/speaker/writer Daniel Webster, was also interesting. He worked hard, managed to bring all his children from Virginia to Washington DC where he lived, and was obviously one of the mainstays of African-American society as it existed in Washington DC in that era.The follow up: a family tree of his descendents, and photos, are interesting.Overall a very well researched book, a look at the life of a slave----not a typical slave perhaps--- but nevertheless a slave of the 19th Century United States.

This book is so educational I wish more people would read it. Taylor goes into the life of a slave, in this case Paul Jennings, a literate man who just happened to be owned by James Madison, the man who is called the Father of the Constitution. Fortunately, Jennings left what is considered by many to be the first presidential memoir, as well as letters, but a lot of Taylor's work also involves researching the letters and diaries of many of Madison's relatives, as well as those of his wife, Dolley. And, she doesn't hesitate to observe early and often how galling much of Jennings' life must have been to him, from hearing his esteemed owner talking about freedom and the rights of man with other famous men of the day, including neighbor Thomas Jefferson, on to reading that Madison died alone because the people in the room with him when he passed were black.Does this book give an accurate portrayal of the lives of slaves in upper Virginia in the late 1700s and early 1800s? I'm not sure, but it's interesting to read about Jennings' courtship of a slave on a neighboring plantation, his "marriage" to her, and their family life -- limited by his absences in Washington with his owner -- that still produced a number of children. And, it also touches on why the plantation system was already economically unsustainable in northern Virginia at the time because of the toll growing tobacco took on the land.It also reveals a lot about the lives and attitudes of whites toward slaves and slavery during this time. Dolley Madison, particularly, gets a black eye for not following her husband’s wish to free his slaves on his death. Instead, she sold them piecemeal because she needed the money. About the best that can be said for her is that she let Jennings buy his freedom, and at a reduced rate (his children were eventually freed, as well). On the other hand, there were people such as Daniel Webster, the U.S. senator from Massachusetts, who advanced Jennings the money to buy his freedom, and the whites involved with the “Pearl,” an aborted attempt to free several dozen slaves from their Washington owners.The final chapters cover Jennings’ life as a free man, including his economic success buying and developing property and his employment by the federal government. It also covers his sons’ service in the Civil War, and ends with his descendants visiting the White House. In all, it’s a remarkable story of an American family of which we all should be proud.

This book provides a wide range of information on slavery and abolition. I was totally unaware of . My insight into. Jefferson,Madison and even George Washington as real people changed dramatically . The concept of being anti slavery but at the same time anti living as equals with free black people was unknown to me . This book is not an easy read both because of the underlying theme but also backseats the author. Introduces so many characters that is is sometime difficult to remember the relationships .For information and thought provoking a top read

This is the first written proper account of behind the seen at the white and it is written by a blackman who is a slave the the president of the United States Of America. It is worth reading