Hero of the Week 71

Welcome back viewers,

This week's hero is...

Paul Jennings

Part 1

Paul Jennings was born in 1799, in Orange County, Virginia. He was raised on the estate as a slave to one of the most famous men in America. This man's name was James Madison. Paul Jennings was trained at first to be a footman for Madison. He became his personal valet. As a result, Jennings was in charge of Madison's everyday routine. 

For this reason, he was considered to be highly valuable to the Madison family. He was so valued that when James Madison was elected President in 1808, Paul Jennings accompanied him to the White House. For the next four years, he served as a dining room servant during the Madison administration. Little did he know that his life was about to change in a way he never could have predicted.

By August of 1814, the United States was embroiled in a second war against its old adversary, Great Britain. The War of 1812 had been a series of seesaw battles with neither side being able to gain a major advantage against the other. Unfortunately, the American army had been recently defeated at the battle of Bladensburg and British closed in on Washington DC. President Madison was absent when the Brits entered and marched to the White House virtually unchallenged. Before leaving, First Lady Dolley Madison had Jennings grab a famous portrait of George Washington and carry it to a nearby carriage. Less than an hour later, the White House was looted and burnt. The painting of Washington remains the only object in the White House before 1812.

For his part, Paul Jennings continued to serve President Madison through the latter's two terms. When Madison's terms were over Jennings accompanied him back to his home in Montpelier. He continued to serve Madison until the latter's death in 1836. Despite all he had done for her family, Dolley Madison sold Paul Jennings to a local insurance agent. But Jennings would not be a slave for much longer. Just six months later, a Massachusetts senator (Daniel Webster) purchased Paul's freedom. Thus began a new chapter in the life of Paul Jennings.

Part II

From this point on, Jennings became an abolitionist and an ardent opponent of slavery. It wasn't long before he began to secretly coordinate escape routes for slaves. He later took part in what was known as the, "Pearl Incident". Jennings aided 77 escaped slaves in escaping on a ship called the Pearl. Although they were initially successful, one of the slaves betrayed the escapees and all were recaptured (most were sold and never heard from again). 

Although the operation was a failure, Paul Jennings used it to campaign for an end to slavery. Eventually some good came out of it when the American Congress voted to end the US's role in the slave trade in the famous Compromise of 1850. Although slavery continued to exist for another decade, more and more of the American populace became anti-slavery and the abolitionist movement gained momentum. For the rest of his life Jennings continued to advocate for the end of slavery. When the Civil War broke out, his three sons all enlisted and served in the Union Army.

At the end of the Civil War, Paul Jennings wrote and published a book called, A Colored Man's Reminisces of James Madison. It was the first ever memoir of someone who lived in the White House. In this memoir, Jennings wrote of Madison's presidency and the time he spent with the Madison family. It provided a unique glimpse into the life of one of America's founding fathers from a slave's point of view.

Epilogue

For the rest of his life, Jennings worked at the newly established Pension Bureau for the Department of the Interior. He lived the rest of his life in Washington DC before he died in 1874 at the age of 75. Today Paul Jennings is remembered as one of the greatest contributors to abolishment of slavery and the documentation of the Madison Administration. He is definitely someone to be held in high regard.

https://www.montpelier.org/learn/paul-jennings

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/paul-jennings

https://web.archive.org/web/20120918235037/http://www.montpelier.org/explore/community/paul_jennings.php