The Vice President's Black Wife

“Myers carefully stitches together the story of Julia Ann Chinn, the enslaved wife of Richard Mentor Johnson, Martin Van Buren’s vice president, recounting her life on his estate and the public controversy over their relationship.”—New York Times Book Review

“Illuminating. . . . Myers painstakingly pieces together this long-hidden history. The result is a revealing exploration of the intersection of race, gender, power, and property in eighteenth-century America.”—Publishers Weekly

“The [fascinating] story of a remarkable woman who experienced freedom and slavery simultaneously. . . . Myers has conducted arduous research, and she ably introduces a little-known yet important figure in American history . . . . A valuable addition to antebellum history.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Groundbreaking. . . . A deeply researched and elegantly written biography.”—Ms. magazine

“This book not only focuses on Chinn, but it also presents a complex, contested view of the social and moral ecology of the antebellum South and the nation. Myers extends that story to discuss current racial issues.”—Library Journal

“The Vice President’s Black Wife proves that there are a lot of things about history left to learn. . . . In many ways, as [Myers] shows, women both white and enslaved often had much more power than history books would like us to believe and that, surprisingly, extended to Julia Chinn. It’s truly eye-opening.”—Philadelphia Tribune

“Myers’s deft analysis of her sources and obvious passion for excavating well-buried family histories provide a much-needed account of enslaved women’s experiences in the nineteenth century. It is another laudable contribution in the ongoing work of giving a voice to silenced histories. . . . An important scholarly contribution.”—Journal of Southern History

“With The Vice President’s Black Wife, Myers finds lessons about America’s centuries long perception of race, gender, and politics in a very surprising story.”—National Book Review

“The first attempt to tell the full story of Julia Chinn’s life. . . . Myers has skillfully ‘woven together the fabric of Julia’s life from the threads that have been left to us to try and capture the essence of her existence’ (p. 8).”—Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

“A very fascinating biography of a forgotten historical figure. . . . The Vice President’s Black Wife plucks Julia out of obscurity and into history books! Hopefully, there will be more studies on Julia Chinn in the future!”—History From a Woman’s Perspective