A Slave in the White House
Paul Jennings and the Madisons
St. Martin's Press · Print & ebook · February 19, 2013
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.
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- Who it’s for
- Readers interested in African American history and biographies
- Themes
- slavery, American history, biography
- Pacing
- Reflective
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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.
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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.
Who it’s for
- Readers interested in African American history and biographies
- Those curious about slavery and the early White House history
Where it sits
| Black & African American Lives | 61% |
|---|---|
| Slavery Studies | 33% |
| 19th-Century America | 26% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Presidents & World Leaders
- 19th-Century America
- Black History
- Authors
- Elizabeth Dowling Taylor, Annette Gordon-Reed
- Publisher
- St. Martin's Press
- Published
- February 19, 2013
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- slavery · American history · biography
- Reading lane
- Presidents & World Leaders