The Invisibles
The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House
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Narrated by:
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JD Jackson
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By:
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Jesse Holland
About this listen
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 US 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, which 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 lives and comforts of the presidents they served but to America as a whole.
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Much has been written about Thomas Jefferson, with good reason: His life was a great American drama, one of the greatest, played out in compelling acts. He was the architect of our democracy, a visionary chief executive who expanded this nation's physical boundaries to unimagined lengths.
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After Leaving Office
- By Roy on 09-23-10
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Bury the Chains
- Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In early 1787, 12 men - a printer, a lawyer, a clergyman, and others united by their hatred of slavery - came together in a London printing shop and began a remarkable grass-roots movement, battling for the rights of people on another continent. Masterfully stoking public opinion, the movement's leaders pioneered a variety of techniques that have been adopted by citizens' movements ever since, from consumer boycotts to wall posters and lapel buttons to celebrity endorsements.
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Great Eye-Opener
- By Carl Thompson on 01-06-19
By: Adam Hochschild
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Capital Dames
- The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868
- By: Cokie Roberts
- Narrated by: Cokie Roberts
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social, Southern town of Washington, DC, found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year battle that would determine the future of the United States. After the declaration of secession, many fascinating Southern women left the city, leaving their friends - such as Adele Cutts Douglas and Elizabeth Blair Lee - to grapple with questions of safety and sanitation as the capital was transformed into an immense Union army camp and later a hospital.
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Enlightening
- By Jean on 05-07-15
By: Cokie Roberts
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Revolution Song
- A Story of American Freedom
- By: Russell Shorto
- Narrated by: Russell Shorto
- Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of the acclaimed history The Island at the Center of the World, an intimate new epic of the American Revolution that reinforces its meaning for today. With America's founding principles being debated today as never before, Russell Shorto looks back to the era in which those principles were forged. Drawing on new sources, he weaves the lives of six people into a seamless narrative that casts fresh light on the range of experience in colonial America on the cusp of revolution.
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An inspiring book
- By Frank on 08-27-18
By: Russell Shorto
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David Crockett: The Lion of the West
- By: Michael Wallis
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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His name was David Crockett. He never signed his name any other way, but popular culture transformed his memory into "Davy Crockett", and Hollywood gave him a raccoon hat he hardly ever wore. Best-selling historian Michael Wallis casts a fresh look at the frontiersman, storyteller, and politician behind these legendary stories.
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Author is very bias.
- By Michael on 05-31-12
By: Michael Wallis
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Jefferson's Daughters
- Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America
- By: Catherine Kerrison
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Thomas Jefferson had three daughters: Martha and Maria by his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, and Harriet by his slave Sally Hemings. Although the three women shared a father, the similarities end there. Martha and Maria received a fine convent school education while they lived with their father during his diplomatic posting in Paris. Once they returned home, however, the sisters found their options limited by the laws and customs of early America. Harriet Hemings followed a different path. She escaped slavery — apparently with the assistance of Jefferson himself.
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Don't waste money on this book.
- By Amazon Customer on 02-17-18
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A Slave No More
- Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation
- By: David W. Blight
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey, Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Slave narratives are extremely rare. Of the 100 or so of these testimonies that survive, a mere handful are first-person accounts by slaves who ran away and freed themselves. Now two newly uncovered narratives, and the biographies of the men who wrote them, join that exclusive group.
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A Piece Of History
- By John on 07-10-09
By: David W. Blight
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America's Women
- 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Gail Collins
- Narrated by: Jane Alexander
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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America's Women tells the story of more than four centuries of history. It features a stunning array of personalities, from the women peering worriedly over the side of the Mayflower to feminists having a grand old time protesting beauty pageants and bridal fairs. Courageous, silly, funny, and heartbreaking, these women shaped the nation and our vision of what it means to be female in America.
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Not all there
- By Dirk Williams on 04-02-12
By: Gail Collins
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Be Free or Die
- The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls' Escape from Slavery to Union Hero
- By: Cate Lineberry
- Narrated by: J. D. Jackson
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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It was a mild May morning in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1862, the second year of the Civil War, when a 23-year-old slave named Robert Smalls did the unthinkable and boldly seized a Confederate steamer. With his wife and two young children hidden on board, Smalls and a small crew ran a gauntlet of heavily armed fortifications in Charleston Harbor and delivered the valuable vessel and the massive guns it carried to nearby Union forces.
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Great Book about a Great man
- By Evan on 02-19-18
By: Cate Lineberry
What listeners say about The Invisibles
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sharon Jones
- 12-11-18
Loved it. Bought the actual book after listening.
I really enjoyed the audio version and even purchased the actual book after I listened to it. Will re-read and share.
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- JayHey
- 02-27-16
A history that all Americans should know.
Would you listen to The Invisibles again? Why?
This is a fascinating, all too short history of the enslaved African-Americans who were the support staff of the great majority of our early presidents.
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
The great variety of human stories - from the young woman who escaped George Washington's Philadelphia Executive Mansion to P. Jennings who showed charity to his former mistress (Dolly Madison) even though she had broken every promise made to him and his fellow slaves she had made. And the last slave of a US President lived until 1943!
What about JD Jackson’s performance did you like?
Mr. Jackson had an easy to listen to clear voice and showed flexibility in both expressing the author's and the quoted slaves emotions and ideas while keeping the listener's interest.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
The Real Backstairs of the White House.
Any additional comments?
I only regret that Mr. Holland did not have more to share with us ( which he bemoans himself) and thank him for educating me on a subject that was never mentioned in my time in school.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Maggie Fry
- 02-12-16
Finally Visible
This is a captivating story of people who have been ignored by history. Holland uses his impressive research abilities to finally bring some of their tales to light. It is a masterful effort.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jean
- 02-13-16
Riveting Book
Each February in honor of the National Black History Month, I read a book by or about African Americans. “The Invisibles” is my choice for 2016. Holland tells the stories of the slaves who worked inside the White House from President Washington until President Lincoln’s 1862 Emancipation Proclamation. The slaves worked as cooks, butlers, maids, body servants, doormen and footmen. Holland provides in-depth stories of some slaves, primarily those that had documented history, such as, George Washington’s William Lee, Thomas Jefferson’s Sally Heming and James Madison’s Paul Jennings. President John Adams and President John Q. Adams did not have slaves. I noted an error in the book, Holland stated that the Adams were Quakers; that is incorrect they were Unitarians. Holland also provided an over view of the history of slavery in American including race mixing.
Holland is a journalist who wrote the book “Black Men Built the Capitol”. The book is well research, documented and well written. Holland provides analysis and insight into the period of American slavery. Overall the book provides a look at the White House from the viewpoint of slavery. J. D. Jackson did a good job narrating the book.
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6 people found this helpful
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- CC
- 08-15-17
Well documented
A well planned guideline through America's darkest years. Good insight from the enslaved. All the laws passed to deny slaves freedom is shocking.
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- Susan M Robbins
- 06-29-16
Fascinating
Very informative and to the point history that we otherwise would not have known. Well done!
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- granny
- 08-07-16
Good info poorly written
The information in this book is useful and I'm glad to have expanded my general understanding of the subject of slavery and the history of the White House
However - it seems disjointed and often out of sequence. If I hadn't known the presidents in order I'd have Ben turned upside down.
Sometimes facts are repeated several times in a section - with exact same wording each time. It seemed at times previously stated facts were forgotten in the narrative. For example, Martha Washington's personal maid ran away because she was about to be given as a wedding present to a harsh mistress - later the maid is asked why she ran away and could give no answer why she'd left such a kind mistress. Eventually she said she wanted to be free. Any of the story may be correct or accurate, but it didn't make much sense listening to it. At the same time, the point is valid and presumably accurate that freedom is one of mankind's most basic needs and desires.
It may be some of my frustrations with the chronology would have been clarified by reading the book itself rather than listening to it.
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- Kim W
- 02-29-16
Fascinating
So much history that I've never been privy to before. Wish I could ask the author some questions over tea. I hope he writes more on the subject.
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- i am the world!!
- 09-17-22
The author's voice is clear and eloquent.
reading and Listening to this book takes you back to the time the author speaks of
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- Queen
- 11-19-17
interesting srubject
The subject matter was interesting. However, the writing remindd me of a research paper. I struggled to read through it as it did not hold my attemtion. I also tried the audio version in order to complete. However, it still diid not grab my attention.
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