dolley madison served as the first lady for the widowed james the widowed thomas jefferson. his daughter would also serve as host periodically. but so did mrs. madison, who was the secretary of state's wife. because in mixed company at the time, you had to have a hostess. you could not entertain ladies unless there was a hostess. so there was a real need to have a woman in the white house to perform that function. because so much even now, so much of washington life is carried on not on the floor of the house, not on the floor of the senate, not in official places, but at parties. in formal gatherings where you can talk in a calmer, more casual manner. all the women of washington really were responsible for keeping those networks open and that life happening. >> so is that sort of the point of showing the dress, that there is much more meaning behind the dress? >> there is more meaning behind the dress. one we show it because it's beautiful and people love them. but it does say something about the woman there is a real question. why do we care? why are we interested in what t

when dolley madison died in 1849, jennings had spent just the last two of his 50 years as a freeman, little thanks to her. she had offered him for sale for $200. jennings knew people in high places and he had gotten daniel webster, formerly a neighbor on the square to advance him his purchase price. he was working for webster paying off his debt when his former mistress died. she was given the grand estate funeral to date regarded as she was as one of the last relics of the founding generation. it took place right here at st. john's church. but now i have gotten ahead of myself, so let me back up. in my book released last month, "a slave in the white house: paul jennings and the madisons," i tell the story of jennings's one-of-a-kind journey from slavery to freedom which played out in the highest circles of ideas and power, the white house, james madison's study. in freedom, jennings worked with northern abolitionists in an underground railroad operation known as the pearl incident, the largest scale attempted slave escape in american history and he authored the first white house mem

so let's go in and learn about james and dolley. madison would have welcomed you into this room he created in that last remodeling. his drawing room. and it really was where every member of the public was welcomed. with virginia hospitality and madison's famed for his statesmanship in creating the nation, he was visited constantly -- foreign visitors, rising politicians in america, andrew jackson came at one point, and also just the merely curious. well, they all would have been welcomed, and they would have been welcomed in this room. and madison really created this room to make a powerful impression. visitor after visitor talked about the presidential splendor of this room, and really did reflect his entire career as a statesman, as a virginia planter, as a force in the creation of the american nation. they also talked about it as a real history lesson. and madison intended it that way, because for madison, the history of humanity was really his laboratory. and he had studied past attempts at self-government. so he knew that what america

he became madison's personal valet and he later purchased his own freedom from dolley and around the time, a little bit after the civil war, his recollections were written down and published with the title "a colored man's reminiscences of james madison." and he talks of madison being a very kind in his treatment of the slaves. he probably is the best indication we have of that. during madison's time there were as many as 100 slaves who lived and worked at montpelier and they really carried out all the jobs, but they also tended to be specialized. this sign tells you about the field slaves. they are the ones who worked the fields, tilled the soil, and really made montpelier a productive plantation. we've done just enough archaeology to know that we had a tobacco barn and field slave quarters on some of the ridges of this field here. so, it really -- this was a farming center for james madison's montpelier. now, there were other groups of slaves, too. the slaves who supported the household, who cleaned the house, who did the laundry, prepared the food, they were typically termed the ho

john's church and you see the dolley madison house. one reason i wanted to show you these particular two images is because they were both water colors, made by madam hyde denuville. hyden clay and martin van buren were notable whose rented the decatur house. these were some of the many people, many notable people, par sonages if you -- personages, whom jennings got to know. even as a slave, it helps to know people in high places. he was well connected, a networker and he took appropriate advantage of the connections in his pursuit of the right to rise. and i feel obliged to say that the door at dolly madison's house moved all over the place. first in front. then it moved to the side where you see it in that photograph. later that door was made a window. today it is further down on h street. you see president polk whom jennings worked for you. can believe that dolly kept all the earnings. and dolly herself, who is a little bit fuzzy, she is not holding her, her head straight enough is to the right of polk as you are looking at the photo