Centuries ago, some of the arguments between the UK and the to be USA came down to the status of slaves. In the late 1700s the UK was moving towards abolition of slavery, and the wealthy US slaveholders saw the writing on the wall. 200 years ago today British forces, having attacked the US in the war of 1812, burned down the white house to be followed by an angry group of black people exacting revenge. Some blacks helped save artwork from the fire, others took the opportunity to get some personal reparations for slavery- grabbing valuables from their former master's house, and others ran angrily after the fleeing president presumably to force some radical political reform i.e. abolition . One of the slaves of that president's wife, Paul Jennings, later hired out to the next president James Polk, did eventually obtain freedom, and went on organize the largest slave escape attempt in US history.
Happy White House Slave Rebellion Day!
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