The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House

by Jesse Holland Narrated by JD Jackson

Overview

Jesse J. Holland's The Invisibles is the first book to tell the story of the executive mansion's most unexpected residents, the African American slaves who lived with the U.S. presidents who owned them. Interest in African Americans and the White House are at an all-time high due to the historic presidency of Barack Obama and the soon-to-be-opened Smithsonian National Museum of African American Culture and History.



The Invisibles chronicles the African American presence inside the White House from its beginnings in 1782 until 1862, when president Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that granted slaves their freedom. During these years, slaves were the only African Americans to whom the most powerful men in the United States were exposed on a daily, and familiar, basis. By hearing about these often-intimate relationships, listeners will better understand some of the views that various presidents held about class and race in American society, and how these slaves contributed not only to the life and comforts of the presidents they served but to America as a whole.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

12/14/2015
In this powerful follow-up to 2007's Black Men Built the Capitol, Holland, Washington correspondent for the Associated Press, shares the story of the slaves who worked inside the White House from its early years until President Lincoln's 1862 Emancipation Proclamation. Holland makes sure to note that 12 out of the first 18 American presidents owned slaves, putting them to work as cooks, butlers, maids, body servants, and doormen. Among Holland's superb slave portraits are several standouts, including those of William Lee (enslaved by George Washington), Oney Judge (Martha Washington), Sally Hemings (Thomas Jefferson), Paul Jennings (James Madison), and Elias Polk (James K. Polk)—who later partnered with the southern Democratic Party in defending the rights of white elites. Holland effectively captures the financial and political history of slavery, federal laws regarding fugitive slaves, race mixing, anxieties over slave revolts, and the rigid skin color–based caste system of house and field help. Holland's account of slaves who built and sustained the White House answers many hard historical questions, and it reveals how little tribute has been given to the enslaved persons who contributed extensively to the functioning of early American institutions. (Jan.)

From the Publisher

‘Jesse J. Holland's riveting book The Invisibles shines a long overdue light on the enslaved men and women who were forced to serve in the nation's seat of executive power—The White House. Not only does Holland reveal this ugly chapter of American history with sharp analysis and insight, he reveals the blatant hypocrisy of the nation's presidents and other leaders in permitting such a system of forcible servitude to exist. More importantly, he brings to life the stories and experiences of this group of nearly forgotten African Americans, who showed remarkable courage and resilient character despite being imprisoned by slavery in the heart of the so-called ‘land of the free.’’—J.D. Dickey, author of Empire of Mud: The Secret History of Washington, DC

“Oney Judge, who dared to flee to freedom from George Washington’s household. Edith Hern Fossett, a chef trained to prepare French delicacies for Thomas Jefferson. Andrew Jackson’s wily jockeys. Jesse J. Holland makes visible the courage, expertise and fortitude of the slaves held by U.S. presidents. Holland’s contribution to a complete history of our complex nation is one worth savoring.”
—Donna Bryson, author of It's A Black White Thing

“Jesse Holland's The Invisibles uncovers White House secrets certain Presidents surely would have kept buried. Those Presidents who owned human beings and those who rejected slavery will come as a surprise. The Invisibles is a revealing journey for all readers. This is American history told well.”
—Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, author of The U.S. Constitution: An African-American Context and Race, Law, and American Society: 1607 to Present

"If you want to know the real history of the White House or the U.S. presidency, you must read Jesse Holland's The Invisibles. He not only writes in crisp and engaging prose, but Holland has done the extensive research necessary to bring to life the slaves who toiled in anonymity for the nation's early presidents, sharing quarters in the executive mansion with some of the most powerful men in the world. From William Lee, George Washington's manservant, to the hundreds of nameless slaves who labored for another 11 U.S. presidents, Holland tells their complicated and engaging tales, providing critical heretofore largely overlooked context to events that we learned about in grade school."
—Del Quentin Wilber, author of Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

"A quick, informative history of a lamentable chapter in America's past." —Kirkus

Library Journal

01/01/2016
Journalist and historian Holland (Black Men Built the Capitol) invites readers to take "a first look" at the enslaved persons who served nine of the first 12 U.S. presidents to provide a perspective from and on the backstairs world of presidential residences. As the author shows, slaves were essential in building and maintaining the White House, especially because presidents provided their own staff at their own expense. Holland concentrates principally on the slaves who served George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, and James K. Polk and devotes more attention to their lives away from rather than in the presidential home, yet he points to the combination of loyalty and independence that marked the slaves' complicated lives and revealed their often ambivalent feelings about the presidents and first ladies they served. VERDICT Hardly definitive, often speculative, sometimes digressive but always suggestive, Holland's book shows how the personal became political, as presidents arguing for American liberty remained entangled by slavery in their private lives and public service. This is a useful first step toward a larger study of slavery and the presidency that we sorely need if we are ever to understand the hold slavery had on the republic.—Randall M. Miller, St. Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia

APRIL 2016 - AudioFile

Narrator J.D. Jackson’s deep, resonant voice melds seamlessly with this book. When Americans think about slavery, most envision field hands picking cotton under a broiling Southern sun. This audiobook brings home the fact that the African-Americans seen on a daily basis by the first 12 presidents of our nation were White House slaves. Using documents and historical records, the author, a reporter, recounts a fascinating and troubling history. Jackson varies his voice to capture individual characters and their stories. At times, if the action warrants, he shifts to a more breathless pace or makes his tone more urgent. The result is good, solid history that should be widely heard. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2015-10-28
Ten of the first 12 United States presidents were slave masters. In this brisk history, Holland (Black Men Built the Capitol: Discovering African American History In and Around Washington, D.C., 2007), Washington correspondent for the Associated Press, examines the tangled relationships between slaves and the presidents they served, from George Washington to Ulysses S. Grant, and exposes the convoluted laws enacted to impede slaves' quests for freedom. Of the first 12 presidents, only John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams, fierce opponents of slavery, did not own slaves, thereby incurring heavy costs for domestic help to maintain the White House. Although some slaves' lives have been lost to history, Holland creates a vivid portrait of many, including William Lee, who worked as Washington's "body servant," and Oney Judge, born at Mount Vernon, who was Martha Washington's favorite. They were among some 150 slaves that Washington amassed by the time of the Revolution, many bought by his wife. Martha cherished Oney, and she was devastated when the woman fled from servitude. Tracked down, Oney was told that the Washingtons would free her when she returned to them—but she didn't believe the offer. "I am free now and choose to remain so," she replied. Holland reprises Jefferson's connection to the Hemings family, whose descendants claimed that he fathered Sally Hemings' children, and he reveals that even presidents who spoke against slavery kept slaves to run their farms and work on their land. James Madison, convinced that slaves should not be freed into white America, founded the American Colonization Society, "dedicated to freeing slaves and transporting them to the west coast of Africa." James Monroe, Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson also endorsed that idea. Several thousand freed slaves were sent to Liberia from 1820 to 1840; in honor of Monroe, the capital was renamed Monrovia. A quick, informative history of a lamentable chapter in America's past.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171073565
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	02/02/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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