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

A Slave in the White House: Paul Jennings and the Madisons
by Elizabeth Dowling Taylor and Annette Gordon-Reed

Book Description
Publication Date: January 3, 2012

Paul Jennings was born into slavery on the plantation of James and Dolley Madison in Virginia, later becoming part of the Madison household staff at the White House. Once finally emancipated by Senator Daniel Webster later in life, he would give an aged and impoverished Dolley Madison, his former owner, money from his own pocket, write the first White House memoir, and see his sons fight with the Union Army in the Civil War. He died a free man in northwest Washington at 75.

Based on correspondence, legal documents, and journal entries rarely seen before, this amazing portrait of the times reveals the mores and attitudes toward slavery of the nineteenth century, and sheds new light on famous characters such as James Madison, who believed the white and black populations could not coexist as equals; French General Lafayette who was appalled by this idea; Dolley Madison, who ruthlessly sold Paul after her husband's death; and many other since forgotten slaves, abolitionists, and civil right activists.

Editorial Reviews
Review

“Thanks to Elizabeth Dowling Taylor's enterprise and craftsmanship in rescuing and reanimating this significant and remarkable, but nearly forgotten, American personality, A Slave in the White House is a gift to the early history of the republic and the long story of black and white interdependence.” -- David Levering Lewis, author of District of Columbia: A Bicentennial History and a Pulitzer Prize winning biography of W.E.B. Du Bois

"[Paul Jennings's] remarkable life sheds new light on the central themes of American history during his lifetime and beyond. Taylor’s sensitive reconstruction... yields fresh perspectives on... James and Dolley Madison... the African-American experience under slavery, the world of free blacks in Washington City during the late antebellum era, and the Civil War and its legacy. Scholars and general readers alike will not be able to put this remarkable book down."-- Drew McCoy, author of The Last of the Fathers

"Elizabeth Dowling Taylor has presented us with the gift of a new American hero. With precision and compassion, Taylor deftly brings Paul Jennings out of the shadows of history. Writer, property-owner, freedom fighter, husband, and father--Jennings's life reveals the complicated humanity behind the designation "slave." This story will humble and inspire all who believe in the American Dream." --Catherine Allgor, Professor of History at the University of California at Riverside, UC Presidential Chair

"Taylor's careful reconstruction of the life of James Madison's slave valet reveals American history from a different angle. Rescuing George Washington's portrait from the British army, helping fellow slaves escape, earning his freedom from Dolley Madison with help from Daniel Webster, Paul Jennings led a life full of vivid episodes and famous personalities." --Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848

About the Author

Elizabeth Dowling Taylor received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Over a 22-year career in museum education and historical research, she was Director of Interpretation at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and Director of Education at James Madison’s Montpelier. Most recently a Fellow at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Taylor is now an independent scholar and lecturer. She lives in Barboursville, Virginia.

Annette Gordon-Reed, historian and legal scholar, has a triple appointment at Harvard University, where she is Professor at the Law School, History Department, and Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. In 2009 she won the Pulitzer Prize in history for her book, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family.

READER REVIEW:

By Linda Linguvic (New York City)

Subtitled "Paul Jennings and the Madisons", this non-fiction book is the thoroughly researched story of Paul Jennings, slave to James and Dolly Madison, who eventually won his freedom and went on write about his experiences. The book has a reality which is indeed unique and which transported me to a time and a place and a way of thinking that is long gone. It also taught me some things about American history which I was not aware of before and brought to light the personalities of a wide variety of historical figures. I loved the fact that this is a true story of the early years of America when slavery was an accepted fact of life.

Paul Jennings started working in the White House at the age of 10 and was the personal slave of James Madison, serving him well until Madison's death. At that time Jennings was married to a slave woman at a nearby plantation and had a few children but Dolly Madison kept him on instead of setting him free. It wasn't until years later, when Daniel Webster, who was a staunch abolitionist, purchased him from Dolly that he was able to attain his freedom. After his wife died he married again and eventually worked at a clerical government job.

This was a fine book and I learned a lot from it. I learned about the day-to-day lives of slaves, I learned about the failed attempt to smuggle 75 slaves out of Washington on a ship. I learned about the politics of the time and the War of 1812 and the abolitionist movement and the various compromises that were made as the nation expanded. History indeed came alive for me and I found myself entranced throughout. There are also several pictures of Paul Jennings himself and a genealogical record and photos of his heirs up to the present day.

This is a fine book, well written and easy to follow. Definitely recommended.