The Invisibles

December 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)âwho 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 colorâbased 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.