A House Built by Slaves

African American Visitors to the Lincoln White House

By: Jonathan W. White

Narrated by: Jesse Lipscombe

An award-winning look at Lincoln and Race

Widely praised and winner of the 2023 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, this book illuminates why Lincoln’s unprecedented welcoming of African American men and women to the White House transformed the trajectory of race relations in the United States. From his 1862 meetings with Black Christian ministers, Lincoln began inviting African Americans of every background into his home, from ex-slaves from the Deep South to champions of abolitionism such as Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth.

More than a good-will gesture, the president conferred with his guests about the essential issues of citizenship and voting rights. Drawing from an array of primary sources, White reveals how African Americans used the White House as a national stage to amplify their calls for equality. Even more than 160 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln’s inclusion of African Americans remains a necessary example in a country still struggling from racial divisions today.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Jonathan W. White (P)2023 Post Hypnotic Press Inc.

New Look at the Lincoln White House

I really enjoyed this look at the life of Abraham Lincoln, particularly his views on slavery and race issues. It was set up as an analysis of his views - whether or not he was actually a white supremacist. I don't remember the author saying which was the case, but he left that up to the reader to decide. There are also some scenes of presidents before and after Lincoln with their views and actions. I enjoyed the large amount of first person sources included. It was very well researched and plotted out thoroughly.

A Must-Read!

This is a great read by Dr. Jonathan White. I highly recommend. This book comes to the defense of Lincoln from those who would try to disparage the Great Emancipator, and it recounts many interesting stories of his personal interactions with black Americans. I’ll be listening to it again in the future!

Great story, okay reading

The account was interesting and I feel that I gained new perspective on the Lincoln administration. The accents used occasionally throughout the book are over exaggerated. I felt that they took away from the often solemn nature of the book

A Different View on History

This was very informative and showed how African Americans thought of Lincoln when they met him through their own words. Most of the testimonies were positive and therefore show Lincoln in a positive light. I liked how this book showed how the country looked throughout Lincoln’s life and after. It’s important to learn about such a pivotal point in our nation’s history from the people who were affected most.

Lincoln's lack of prejudice for the times.

The use of "voices" to distinguish individual speakers from the narrative was really rather poorly done. Many were "hoarse" and, therefore, would be indistinguishable as to gender were it not for the narrator's introduction. I think this could have been done much better using different "actor's" to voice male and female commentators. The narrator's voice was pleasant, but seemed to avoid emotional inflection - rather flat.