Slaves in the White House

This article at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/us/16jennings.html
is about a reunion that was held at the White House with the descendants of one of James Madison’s slaves in attendance. Slaves played an important role everyday in the White House in the 1800s, and many people are unaware of this fact.
Paul Jennings began serving in the White House as a slave in 1809 when he was just 10 years old. He was the first White House slave to record his experiences in a memoir. His remarkable story was shared with all who attended the reunion.
In 1865, Jennings published his story under the title "A Colored Man’s Reminiscences of James Madison". Jennings’s memoir is very interesting because it describes many significant events that took place during Madison’s presidency from a slave’s perspective.
When the British burned down the White House in the War of 1812, Paul Jennings helped to save George Washington’s portrait from the burning building. This portrait is still on display in the White House today and is considered the White House’s most historical object.
Jennings was eventually able to buy his own freedom and even attempted to help other slaves escape.
This reunion is significant because it demonstrates how far our country has advanced in terms of equality. The White house was built by slave labor to house wealthy white presidents. Today, a black president and his family are living in the White House. This is something that no one even considered could happen back when our nation was first developing.
Today, historians are still uncovering more documents and information about Paul Jennings’s life. These documents are continuing to reveal from a firsthand perspective what it actually would have been like to be working as a slave in the White House during this historical time.