Paul Jennings; “Mr. Madison, I think, was one of the best men that ever lived.”Guest post by Rolf Lindgren Paul Jennings was born a slave in 1799 to the family of James Madison, Sr., who was the father of famous Founding Father James Madison, Jr. Jennings was born on the Madison plantation, called Montpelier, in Virgina. It should be noted that when James Madison, Jr. was writing the Constitution, Federalist Papers and Bill-of-Rights, he didn’t own any slaves.James Madison had a younger brother named Ambrose, who was supposed to inherit the Madison plantation. However, Ambrose had died in 1793, so James Jr. was chosen to inherit the property.James Madison Sr. died on February 27, 1801, just ten days after Thomas Jefferson was elected President, when Paul Jennings was still an infant. Six days after James, Sr. died, on March 5, 1801, James Madison Jr. was appointed Secretary of State. Madison Jr. served as Secretary of State for eight years and then was President of the United States for another eight years.In those 16 years, Madison was arguably the most powerful and influential executive leader America has ever known. As Secretary, he orchestrated the Louisiana Purchase and managed the logistics of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. He was often referred to as the “Co-President” because he conferred with Jefferson on every important decision. As President, he led America to victory in the War of 1812, while following Constitutional rules to the letter. This was the only war fought under the Constitution where the enemy had a bigger Gross National Product than us. The British Empire had a five times larger economy.As James Madison Jr. was doing groundbreaking work in Washington DC, young Paul Jennings was growing up. When Jennings was ten, in 1809, he moved into the President’s House with new President James Madison. When Jennings was 15 years old, on August 24, 1814, he helped save the famous painting of George Washington from the President’s House that was soon to burn down from a British attack. Although Dolley Madison ordered the painting to be saved, young Jennings is the one who was actually in the room with two others, the gardener and the butler, who preserved it.In 1817, James Madison and Paul Jennings moved back to Montpelier. By this time, Madison was 66 years old. Madison’s mom Nelly also lived there. She lived until 1829 and died there when she was 98 years old. Paul Jennings married a slave named Fanny and had five children. Three of their sons later fought for the Union in the Civil War. Jennings was the personal slave of James Madison until Madison died in 1836.There was a big problem in the Madison household. Dolley Madison had a severely delinquent son from her previous marriage, named Payne Todd. Dolley’s previous family had been killed by smallpox in 1793. Her husband and all her other children died, except Payne Todd. He grew up as the step-son of a President. He was a terrible alcoholic and gambling addict and racked up $50,000 in debts. That’s a lot of money in the 1820s. Dolley siphoned off money to pay these debts which meant there wasn’t any money in 1836 to free the slaves, including Paul Jennings. Jennings eventually became free in 1847 when Daniel Webster purchased him and then set him free. After he was free, Dolley had become broke and bankrupt, so Paul Jennings gave her money and free food so she could survive.Jennings then lived through the Civil War and died in 1874. He is an unsung hero of American history. But before Jennings died, he published an incredible book in 1865, called “A Colored Man’s Reminiscences of James Madison”.In this book, Paul Jennings says:“Mr. Madison, I think, was one of the best men that ever lived. I never saw him in a passion, and never knew him to strike a slave, although he had over one hundred; neither would he allow an overseer to do it. Whenever any slaves were reported to him as stealing or “cutting up” badly, he would send for them and admonish them privately, and never mortify them by doing it before others.”Rolf Lindgren is the Pints & Politics Director of the Republican Party of Dane County.The post Paul Jennings; “Mr. Madison, I Think, Was One of the Best Men that Ever Lived.” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.