The Vice President's Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn

by Amrita Chakrabarti Myers

Award-winning historian Amrita Chakrabarti Myers has recovered the riveting, troubling, and complicated story of Julia Ann Chinn (ca. 1796–1833), the enslaved mixed-race wife of Richard Mentor Johnson, owner of Blue Spring Farm, veteran of the War of 1812, and US vice president under Martin Van Buren. Johnson never freed Chinn, but during his frequent absences from his estate, he delegated to her management of his property, including Choctaw Academy, a boarding school for Indigenous men and boys. This meant that Chinn, while enslaved, had substantial control over economic, social, financial, and personal affairs within the couple's world, including overseeing Blue Spring's enslaved labor force. Chinn's relationship with Johnson was unlikely a consensual one since she was never manumitted.

What makes Chinn's life exceptional is the power that Johnson invested in her, the opportunities the couple's relationship afforded her and her daughters, and their community's tacit acceptance of the family—up to a point. When the family left their farm, they faced steep pews at the rear of church, burial in separate graveyards, exclusion from town dances, and more. Outliving Chinn, Johnson was ruined politically by his relationship with her, and Myers compellingly demonstrates that it wasn't interracial sex that led to his downfall but his refusal to keep it—and Julia Chinn—behind closed doors.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, American History, Politics, Biography Memoir, 19th Century

296 pages, Hardcover

First published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[David Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

By the end of this book, the author has thoroughly convinced me of the book's importance. She suggests that, far from thinking that the entire story of the history of enforced black servitude in the United States has been told, there is still much to uncover and learn, especially about the lives of black women, who had the additional disadvantage of gender to add to that of race. There are simply not as many records available to the historian by which he/she may share details of daily life in the antebellum South as it was experienced by the slaves, male and female. -- This book focuses on Julia Chinn, who was the acknowledged wife of the 9th Vice President of the United States, Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky. I appreciate the method the author uses to approach her subject, detailing Julia's life domestically, as an overseer of the Choctaw Academy on Johnson's estate, in the church community, among the locals, and, finally, nationally. This, of course, means overlap...and that suggests repetition. And there is a great deal of repetition in this volume. I confess to finding this frustratingly annoying at first: how many times do I need to be told that Julia Chinn was a slave? That women were considered of less importance than males? That Johnson left a great deal of responsibility in Julia's hands? That people in the community had mixed feelings/reactions to the Johnsons, Richard and Julia, as well as their daughters Imogene and Adaline? And then there is all the speculation. "We don't know exactly why..." "She may have hoped..." "he was likely..." "There's no indication that..." "he may have been..." "The name of [her] mother isn't known." and so on. (These few examples, mind you, come from a single page of the book, early on, but they are repeated in various forms throughout. And repeated. And repeated.) -- However, the cumulative aggregation of the repetitions and the speculations (many of which, it should be noted, are intelligently drawn from other sources, primary and secondary) is extraordinary in its overall effect: helping the reader (or, THIS reader, at least) to appreciate the difficulty of the work of the antebellum historian as well as the patchwork quilt of information provided. -- One aspect of this book that I found especially interesting was the epilogue, 'Past Meets Present,' in which the author has the opportunity to interact with -- and get to know -- various contemporary descendants of the Chinn/Johnson marriage. The reactions shared of white people discovering that they have a black ancestor -- and of black people discovering that they have white ancestors -- (or that their spouse does) is both fascinating, insightful, and, sometimes, sad. It was most enlightening for me to read things like this: "The history of this nation is such that the freedom of some Black southerners was birthed, shaped, and solidified by the continued bondage of others, those with whom they ought to have shared common cause but from whom they were separated by the twisted structures of white supremacy." I leave this volume with an increased appreciation for the interconnectedness of historical race issues and contemporary society, where the teaching of history such as is found in this book, is under threat and condemnation. The seventh chapter ends with these words, as thorough a description of the book as any of my words in this review: "The Chinn-Johnson-Pence saga is truly a tangled and somewhat tortuous web. Filled with pain, secrets, violence, and shame on the part of some folks because of the country's history of race-based chattel slavery and anti-Black racism, it is also a narrative of sacrifice, resilience, courage and survival. It is the story of people like you and me: flawed, imperfect, human, and struggling to stay alive. To succeed. It's the story of women and men trying to make a better life for themselves and their children, often at great costs. It is, at its core, the story of an American family." -- Ultimately, this is OUR story, too! Highly recommended!

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was excellent if a bit dry in places.
I learned SO much.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amita Chakrabarti Myers brings Julia Ann Chinn, the secret wife and mistress of Richard Mentor Johnson, to life. Johnson, vice president to Martin Van Buren, lived in Kentucky, and Julia was enslaved by his parents and eventually given to him. Though they never married, Julia and Johnson had two daughters, Imogene and Adeline, and Julia exercised powers typically associated with white women and wives such as running the property (a farm and an Indigenous school), which came with social, economic, and financial power. While this, of course, did not result in Julia, Johnson, and their daughters being accepted by society and the local church, this narrative represents a fascinating individual shift in the treatment and power of enslaved Black women in the early nineteenth century. Myers’ analysis of documents and other primary sources adds a great amount of detail and information to the book, ultimately revealing that Johnson’s social and political status dropped because of the public nature of this relationship (social power, financial power, white-passing daughters etc.), not because the relationship itself was offensive. Not only spotlighting a forgotten yet fascinating historical woman, Myers expands on the conversation of interracial relationships in the nineteenth century in this fascinating new book.

Thanks to NetGalley, University of North Carolina Press, and Ferris and Ferris Books for the advance copy.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Myers has provided readers with the results of her deep dives in research and creative sleuthing to find out every morsel of evidence of the life of Julia Chinn and her progeny, and the story we never heard. It's beyond time for the Other Side of slavery days to be told. . .

Along with Julia Chinn's life of exceptionally rare freedom within slavery (a gilded cage?) readers learn of the randy Richard Mentor Johnson who took a different road than many of his contemporaries and spoke openly, often with pride, of his mixed-race relationship (he called Julia his wife). He tried the social walls of his day by bringing her to events in that role. Had he brought her as his slave it wouldn't have caused a ripple. He seemed to be a man that liked to push boundaries.

I appreciated the author's many notes, especially about language, terminology, and the endpapers with notes on descendants. Observations throughout as well informed the read with interesting sidebars.

The subject of the book is very interesting and one about which I'm always looking for the next nugget, but the read itself was at times repetitious and dry. The organization of it lacked the spark I needed to stay engaged on such an important topic.

That said, I will still seek out works by this author as her willingness to go the extra-mile and dig deep is clearly evident.

*A sincere thank you to Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, University of North Carolina Press | Ferris and Ferris Books, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*

[Lauralee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Vice President’s Black Wife tells the story of Julia Chinn. She was the secret wife of Robert M. Johnson, who was the vice-president during President Martin Van Buren’s administration. Julia was Robert M. Johnson’s slave. After Julia secretly married Robert M. Johnson, she tried to assert herself on the same status as a wealthy white woman. Julia’s marriage would destroy Richard M. Johnson’s political career.

Julia was born the slave of Robert and Jemina Johnson. Her mother was a field slave, and her father was a white man. She was chosen to become a house slave. Julia was gifted to Richard M. Johnson as his housekeeper. She bore him a daughter named Imogene. Julia then married Richard in a secret ceremony in order to give her daughter a better life than herself. Even though she was Richard’s wife, he never freed her and she would remain a slave for life. Julia also gave birth to another daughter named Adeline. As Richard’s wife, she became the mistress of his plantation and helped run his school for Native Americans named Choctaw Academy. Her daughters were given the best education. They often flaunted themselves in society and rode in carriages. Her daughters would marry prominent local white men and were given estates and slaves. Mrs. Myers claimed that Julia’s marriage with Richard was consensual, and she was given many benefits.

Overall, this was a very fascinating biography of a forgotten historical figure! I had never heard of Julia Chinn, so I found her story to be enlightening! There were times that I thought this book was drawn-out and repetitive. However, I felt that Julia’s story needed to be heard! 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! I recommend this book for fans of Jefferson’s Daughters, The Hemingses of Monticello, and The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts!
(Note: I read an ARC copy of this book in courtesy of Netgalley.)

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
The Vice President's Black Wife
Amrita Chakrabarti Myers

Utterly fascinating book exploring the life of Julia Chin. She had so much power yet none at all. I admit, I had never heard of her prior to reading this book. I am baffled by how a woman so important can basically be wiped out of American history.
The Vice President's Black Wife is insightful, enraging and so very sad all at the same time. This book is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the terrible ramifications of slavery combined with being a woman. I learned so very much.
I highly recommend this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley.

[Alanna Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good research and history. She really looks everywhere to find the story of Julia Chinn when the historic records ignore black women. Appreciate how she imagined the different ways Julia and her family could have felt or needed to live to survive. I think it could have been a bit shorter and was a bit repetitive in some areas. But worth the read and definitely a part of history we need to know.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a book club at work and got to hear the author speak when she came to campus. This is a fascinating story, true Kentucky history, that I had never heard of. Myers does a good job of adapting an academic project to something that feels more accessible, and it provided so much to discuss for our group this semester.

[JanElla Schnepp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy for review.

Award-winning historian Amrita Chakrabarti Myers has recovered the riveting, troubling, and complicated story of Julia Ann Chinn (ca. 1796–1833), the enslaved wife of Richard Mentor Johnson, owner of Blue Spring Farm, veteran of the War of 1812, and US vice president under Martin Van Buren. Johnson never freed Chinn, but during his frequent absences from his estate, he delegated to her the management of his property, including Choctaw Academy, a boarding school for Indigenous men and boys on the grounds of the estate. This meant that Chinn, although enslaved herself, oversaw Blue Spring's slave labor force and had substantial control over economic, social, financial, and personal affairs within the couple's world. Chinn's relationship with Johnson was unlikely to have been consensual since she was never manumitted.

What makes Chinn's life exceptional is the power that Johnson invested in her, the opportunities the couple's relationship afforded her and her daughters, and their community's tacit acceptance of the family—up to a point. When the family left their farm, they faced steep limits: pews at the rear of the church, burial in separate graveyards, exclusion from town dances, and more. Johnson's relationship with Chinn ruined his political career and Myers compellingly demonstrates that it wasn't interracial sex that led to his downfall but his refusal to keep it—and Julia Chinn—behind closed doors.

I was impressed with the amount of research that Myers did for this book. That being said, I found the information repetitive and dull. While the book was well formatted and the information of Chinn's life, the events and issues of the time, and the reactions of the characters were all historically informed and accurate, the writing was extremely clinical and journalistic. So much so that I actually looked up an interview done with Myers to figure out why the telling of such an important piece of history would be emotionless, unengaging and dry. A YouTube video explain that this writing style was chosen intentionally as we have no evidence of what Chinn thought or felt about the happenings.

I do believe that had the information been provided in a more engaging way, while still remaining true to the lack of Chinn's perspective on the world in which she lived, this would have been a five star read for me. I am also aware that I may not be the audience to truly appreciate this writing style. I do know people who would appreciate the no nonsense, journalistic approach to this biography, people to whom I would highly recommend this book. It just didn't really work for me.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew!? Like seriously, who knew!? I remember learning about Martin Van Buren, one of the founders of the Democratic party, 8th president of the United States, but not his Vice President, Richard Mentor Johnson. In fact, Johnson doesn't take the Vice President's to President route, he kind of fizzles into the background of American politics. Why you may ask!? Because he openly lived with a black woman, his slave, and fathered children with her. Children he ensured had a good education and married well. However, this book isn't about Johnson, but Julia Chinn. Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, with what can be pieced together of the hidden history of Julia Chinn, tells the story of a black woman who ran a plantation and school while Johnson was away working as a congressman. Julia took on the roles and responsibilities no one would bat an eye at if she were a white woman. Yet, the color of her skin is why we know so little, including where she is buried. Johnson's reluctance to hide his relationship impacted, if not most certainly, stunted his political growth despite Julia passing before he took office as vice president. Also, this entire story, layered with other stories about interracial relationships, really makes you wonder how many black people are out there who are descendants of white men who kept their relations far more private than Johnson. Men who may have been the loudest in opposing anti- slavery laws and anything regarding the fair treatment of people of color.

[Yvonne Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important story, albeit on the secondary level. Vice presidents don't rate major books, and their wives especially not ... except for this one. I have known about this lady's existence for years, but no details. The only downside is that the author's comments throughout the book are overly repetitive; I found myself muttering, "I get it, I get it." Well worth reading.

[Stacey Korson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like no other nonfiction I have ever read! It will challenge everything you learned in history class, force you to face white privilege, and make you wonder about your origins and ancestors.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and well-researched, though a bit repetitive at times.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

“This isn’t a romance novel. Richard M. Johnson was always an enslaver. He held close to 100 Black souls in bondage, including Julia Chinn. He flogged many…sold some… ‘downriver’ as punishment, mortgaged others to escape from debt, and engaged in coercive sex with several of the women he owned.”

Amrita Chakrabarti Myers presents a vital book about the untold life of Julia Chinn, an enslaved woman of mixed-race descent, including African, sometimes classified as one-eighth African descent. She was married to the 9th vice-president of the United States, Richard Mentor Johnson. He was also her enslaver. She was raised and educated in his home. The Johnsons also owned Julia’s mother, Henrietta. By around 1811, Julia and Richard M Johnson were in a sexual relationship. Consent was not something that could be given because of Julia’s status as an enslaved woman. Because of this, countless situations occurred where white enslavers or their sons or anyone else in power on the plantation, even visiting relatives, raped and sexually violated the enslaved women and girls and in some cases even enslaved men. Putting aside the issue of whether or not this was a coerced or wanted relationship, Julia gave birth to their first daughter, Adaline, in 1812. Then their second daughter, Imogene. The law banned interracial marriages. Nonetheless, Johnson insisted that his daughters take his surname and receive education at the Choctaw Academy that he established. When Johnson’s father died, Richard M. Johnson inherited Chinn, who became his property. He outwardly treated her as his wife, which was not something common during the time period (early 19th-century).

In all of my studies of enslaved people of African descent, I hadn’t yet come across as a story as unique as Julia’s. She became the person who, even though she was still of enslaved status, and who Johnson did not manumit, ran the Blue Springs plantation that he owned. She supervised the house and garden, tavern, planned entertainment and hospitality, as well as looking after the education of their children. She handled budgets and lines of credit and worked as Johnson’s estate manager. Further, she was an authorized user of his bank accounts and paid for goods in his name. She paid the white, salaried workers on the plantation, including the teachers of the Choctaw Academy. However, Johnson being an enslaver always looking for his best interests, he mortgaged Julia’s brother Daniel and his wife to raise money so that he could pay his debts.

Eventually, Chinn focused more on the Choctaw School where she acted as a nurse. The Native American students who paid for their tuition did not appreciate Chinn’s reports on any misbehaviour by them to Johnson, which could lead to further punishments for them. Johnson never liberated Chinn, but he did free their surviving daughter. Toward the end of the book, after the author has revealed conversations and interviews with descendents of Imogene, Myers brings up the very firm likelihood that Richard Johnson had children with the other enslaved women of African descent he forced himself onto.

The author of this new monograph about Julia tells the reader that Julia Chinn’s final resting place remains unknown and unacknowledged to this day. Further, “… no one has ever tried to unearth the full story of her life.”

Although one might have expected Richard Johnson to have followed in the footsteps of so many white men in power who had their white wives and "official" families, then Black branches of the family as with Thomas Jefferson, Richard did not have a white wife or family. Johnson also referred to Julia as his wife, which was rare at the time. He also never denied paternity of their two daughters, introducing both of them to his colleagues, ensuring they received an education, and handing down to them them substantial property, as well.

What is even more interesting is that Kentucky whites tolerated Julia and Richard’s relationship, which is remarkable for the time period. More predictably, newspapers published angry pieces when Adaline married a white husband. Neighbours also made a huge fuss when Julia rode around in the family carriage, which was a marker of white womanhood. Essentially, it messed with all of their white supremacist ideals about what Black women could and could not do.

When Richard ran for the vice presidency, Julia had been dead for 3 years, having died of yellow fever. The news media of the time made a mess of his reputation, fixating on his interracial marriage with Julia. They published articles attacking him, Julia, and their daughters. The outrage came from the fact that they were open with their relationship. This cost him a lot. Most took umbrage with Richard's insistence on putting Black women on equal standing to white women. This was seen as breaking the decorum of white society of the time. Because he brought things into the light of day for all to see, other whites took issue with him.

There's also a significant exploration of the fact that Richard's brothers, John T and Henry, destroyed his records after his death to erase the evidence of Julia's existence and also to deny inheritance to his daughters. They were deeply ashamed that he had been involved with a Black woman and had daughters of African descent. They claimed that Richard died without a will, enlisted the help of a racist judge, robbed Imogene, one of Richard's daughters, of what remained of her father’s estate, and caused huge gaps in the archival record of what historians and scholars can point to about Black women's lives and experiences.

One of the reasons this book is vital now more than ever is because of the white politicians who are working overtime to try to erase truth, Black and non-white history, and atrocities committed by white Americans, indoctrination of young children that continues, and more. Authors, library workers, archival workers, scholars, historians, teachers, and those who believe in teaching the truth have had to work very hard since 2016 and in the current political nightmare of a climate to fight against book bans and the insistence of these politicians to spread as much misinformation as possible. It is a very difficult fight, and a crucially important one. It is one of the major reasons why everyone needs to read "The Vice President's Black Wife" particularly at a time when for the first time in history, there is not only a female Vice President of the United States, but also a Black and South Asian mixed race woman in that role--something the author also points to.

The book also painfully and starkly illustrates why context is everything. Yes, Julia’s life and focus were on survival. However, she lived in a very specific time and in the context of “the institution of slavery...[T]he Johnson women engaged in… ‘shady behavior.’ They focused on the freedom and prosperity of their family, and their family alone.” This reminded me a great deal of Marie-Therese "Coin Coin" Metoyer, her white husband Philippe who emancipated her and a few of her children that they had together, but not all. Coin Coin was also living a live of survival. When I've asked experts in this subject matter and on Louisiana history in particular whether Coin Coin had any moral or ethical dilemmas about enslaving other Black people -- even though she herself had been an enslaved person for much of her life -- one of them rightly pointed out that she was focused on making sure that her children did not suffer the same way she did, perhaps. It's a very morally ambiguous, grey area in which there are no easy answers or "good is good and bad is bad." And it's the same with Julia Chinn and her daughters.

The author has one line in particular toward the end of the book that reflects this morally grey area. It applies both to Julia Chinn's descendents as well as to Coin Coin and her descendents, and countless others:

"The history of this nation is such that the freedom of some Black southerners was birthed, shaped, and solidified by the continued bondage of others, those with whom they ought to have shared common cause but whom they were separated from by the twisted structures of white supremacy.”

Also of huge importance are the tales within the book of other enslaved people of African descent who resisted and fought back, particularly women like Celia in one of the early chapters of the book.

Readers who found "The Grimkes" by Kerri K. Greenidge to be meaningful and immersive will find the same feelings with this book in the world of Johnson and Julia Chinn. A remarkable, exceptional story, this is a history that should be far more widely known. Gripping, powerful, and moving at several points throughout the text, "The Vice President's Black Wife" deserves to be nominated for all of the history book writing awards for which it is eligible.

[JanElla Schnepp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy for review.

Award-winning historian Amrita Chakrabarti Myers has recovered the riveting, troubling, and complicated story of Julia Ann Chinn (ca. 1796–1833), the enslaved wife of Richard Mentor Johnson, owner of Blue Spring Farm, veteran of the War of 1812, and US vice president under Martin Van Buren. Johnson never freed Chinn, but during his frequent absences from his estate, he delegated to her the management of his property, including Choctaw Academy, a boarding school for Indigenous men and boys on the grounds of the estate. This meant that Chinn, although enslaved herself, oversaw Blue Spring's slave labor force and had substantial control over economic, social, financial, and personal affairs within the couple's world. Chinn's relationship with Johnson was unlikely to have been consensual since she was never manumitted.

What makes Chinn's life exceptional is the power that Johnson invested in her, the opportunities the couple's relationship afforded her and her daughters, and their community's tacit acceptance of the family—up to a point. When the family left their farm, they faced steep limits: pews at the rear of the church, burial in separate graveyards, exclusion from town dances, and more. Johnson's relationship with Chinn ruined his political career and Myers compellingly demonstrates that it wasn't interracial sex that led to his downfall but his refusal to keep it—and Julia Chinn—behind closed doors.

I was impressed with the amount of research that Myers did for this book. That being said, I found the information repetitive and dull. While the book was well formatted and the information of Chinn's life, the events and issues of the time, and the reactions of the characters were all historically informed and accurate, the writing was extremely clinical and journalistic. So much so that I actually looked up an interview done with Myers to figure out why the telling of such an important piece of history would be emotionless, unengaging and dry. A YouTube video explain that this writing style was chosen intentionally as we have no evidence of what Chinn thought or felt about the happenings.

I do believe that had the information been provided in a more engaging way, while still remaining true to the lack of Chinn's perspective on the world in which she lived, this would have been a five star read for me. I am also aware that I may not be the audience to truly appreciate this writing style. I do know people who would appreciate the no nonsense, journalistic approach to this biography, people to whom I would highly recommend this book. It just didn't really work for me.

[Maura Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

In Julia Chinn, historian Amrita Chakrabarti Myers has identified a fascinating woman whose life’s course was both tragically common and highly unusual. Born into slavery in the late 18th century, Chinn was selected at a young age for training in the main house rather than life in the fields. At some point in her teenage years, she moved to the home of her enslavers’ son—Richard Mentor Johnson, a Kentucky politician on the rise—and soon after became involved in a sexual relationship with Johnson.

Johnson was far from the only white male enslaver to view his Black female laborers as sexual targets. Here, though, is where Chinn’s path takes a turn—sort of. Johnson treated her as his wife, and presented her as such when guests visited his home. He acknowledged their two daughters as his children, arranging for their education, marriage, and inheritance during his lifetime. He trusted Chinn with management of his farm, finances, and the school for Native American boys on his property. He did not hide their connection—an openness that would eventually come to harm his political career, which reached its peak when Johnson served as Vice President to Martin Van Buren.

Regardless of how well Johnson treated her or their daughters, Chinn suffered from slippage between the status of enslaved woman and wife. When push came to shove, she was, in the end, always a Black woman who would never enjoy the benefits or respect accorded to a well-born white man’s wife. And Johnson, in the end, was always an enslaver who felt entitled to buy, sell, punish, and abuse the people who lived and worked under his oversight. He never granted Julia (or other members of her family enslaved on his farm) freedom. As Chakrabarti Myers reminds her readers early in The Vice President’s Black Wife, “This isn’t a romance novel.”

Julia Chinn might have been fond of Richard Mentor Johnson; she might have been satisfied with the structure of their relationship; she might have found ways to maximize it to her advantage. Chakrabarti Myers has assembled a wealth of sources to reconstruct much of Chinn’s life, but she cannot know what transpired in her head. There are places in the book where the tendency of Chakrabarti Myers to engage in supposition and hypothesize about the inner worlds of her subjects goes a step too far, in my eyes, but I respect her willingness to take this risk.

The Vice President’s Black Wife is an eye-opening book, emphasizing how complicated the relations of race and power have been and continue to be in the United States. And, as Chakrabarti Myers states, it’s an atypical but entirely typical story—“the story of an American family.”

[Jessica Layman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first heard about Julia Chinn from a panel at a history conference where the presenter was talking about the Choctaw Academy and its possible preservation. A fascinating multi-layered story that covers so many aspects of history, this story was definitely begging to be told.

In a lot of ways, I'm glad it wasn't a fictionalization of the story. Even if done well, I think any subject like this deserves to be examined academically at least as a starting point for exploring the story. I do think, however, that this version of the book won't be as popular as a historical fiction novel might be on the subject.

The real strength of this book was the very beginning and the very end. I felt like those two distillations of this story were really effective at hooking me in and keeping me interested in not only the story, but the broader implications. I also thought that the author's interpretations were well balanced with the little amount of facts at our disposal. However, I found that despite this being a relatively short book, there was a lot of repetition. The author did not make any assumptions that we would remember any details from chapter to chapter. I'm wondering if this was a fault of organization or if the book was a combination of essays or other smaller chunks of text. My initial suspicion is that the organization of the book, kind of by topic, did not lend itself to a linear narrative that history often follows. I think that it's worth it to not just do chronological order every time, but in this case, it was hard to avoid "spoilers" in each chapter that required a lot of explanation. I think this book would have been a little more successful if organized differently.

That being said, the history really is just fascinating. I like that the author did her best to center Julia and her descendants and family, rather than Richard Mentor Johnson. I think this is worth it to read, if only to be caught up on the story when there's inevitably more press and work done on this site and these people.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Vice President's Black Wife:  The Untold Life of Julia Chinn.  Amrita Chakrabati Myers.  The University of North Carolina Press, 2023.  296 pages.


Even the buffest of history buffs outside of Kentucky have probably never heard of Richard Mentor Johnson, the ninth Vice President of the United States and presidential contender who was a US Representative and Senator for years and whose political career was enhanced by stories that he was the man who killed Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames. His family was among the first white settlers of Kentucky and was a prominent family in the area of Georgetown for decades.  However, Johnson's story goes much deeper, and it is an incredibly important and quintessential part of southern history and the legacy of slavery.   


For six months each year, Johnson lived in a boarding house in Washington while doing the young nation's business by day and attending the young society's most exclusive society affairs by night.  As far as Washingtonians knew, he was a lifelong bachelor.  His Kentucky neighbors knew different, and, later, political opponents used that knowledge to tarnish his career and to thwart his presidential aspirations.  The secret?   He was married.  To an enslaved woman that he "owned," a woman named Julia Chinn.  He and Julia had two daughters who were legally his property as well.  He never officially freed wither Julia or his daughters.  Julia died enslaved, and her daughters weren't freed until the ratification of the 13th amendment.  That doesn't make Johnson that unique.  The history of American slavery is the history of interracial sex, consensual and not consensual.  Slaveowners viewed enslaved women as their sexual property, and that view was universally accepted even if it was not stated aloud.  Slaveowners raped, cajoled, bribed.  Some treated their concubines as wives.  Some freed their lovers and children. Some sold them when there was too much gossip and people started noticing resemblances.  A few left their property to their enslaved or freed wives or children.  


Johnson stands out because he called Julia his wife.  The preacher of the church that Johnson's family co-founded married them.  He gave Julia complete and total authority to run his plantation and the Choctaw Academy (a federally funded school for young Choctaw men that provided a major income for Johnson) that was located on his property.  His daughters married local white men, and they and their descendants have "passed" ever since, with the vast majority of their descendants never knowing their family history until the last few years.  In this book, Myers digs deep to tell Julia's story for the first time.  Because there isn't much of a paper trail,  (Johnson's papers are sparse for such a political man.  It is thought that his brothers destroyed most of his letters and documents upon his death due to shame.), there is a lot of "could have," "probably," "possibly," and the like, and a lot of references to similar stories, but she does an excellent job of telling the important story and bringing it to light.  Important and extraordinarily complicated.  Spoiler alert: don't go thinking Johnson was heroic.

[Susanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

My local bookstore was highlighting this book and with this enticing title, I bought a copy.
Julia Anne Chinn was an enslaved woman in Kentucky in the late 18th century. Her enslavers were prominent landowners and politicians of the era. When Julia is chosen as a housekeeper, the trajectory of her life changes forever as Richard Johnson, her enslaver, takes her as his “wife”. They have two children, and Julia runs the plantation while Richard is away. Richard becomes vice president to Martin Van Buren but his political ambitions are quelled, as the press cannot abide by a politician who openly calls a woman of color his “wife” and insists his daughters participate in white society. Julia is a remarkable woman, and although she and her daughters were never emancipated, her family lived productive lives, although Julia tragically died young.
This is a fascinating story and deserves to be widely read, both as an homage to the very difficult physical and psychological lives endured by enslaved peoples, but also to highlight how slavery brings out the worst hypocrisy and behavior of people who enslave and insist that race has some social meaning. Unfortunately the writing is a little tortured in this book—it clearly needed a better editor. Every sentence ended with “….because she was enslaved” or “…because she was Black”. Readers are aware of these facts; they don’t need to be constantly reiterated. I recommend this book because it is history that needs to be told so we do not forget remarkable people as Julia Chinn. However it gets three stars from me because the writing was so repetitive and dry.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Repetitive, very much like the writing style of All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles. Booth read like expanded academic papers or thesis.

Quotable:

The history of this nation is such that the freedom of some Black southerners was birthed, shaped, and solidified by the continued bondage of others, those with whom they ought to have shared common cause but whom they were separated from by the twisted structures of white supremacy. One couldn't keep up one's land in the south without workers. And the workers were enslaved. One also couldn't become an open abolitionist in the Old South. Not if one wanted to remain free. Or alive. So some Black people became enslavers. They focused on what they felt was best for their families. They weren't thinking about the larger Black 'community,' and they weren't revolutionaries trying to overthrow the system. Neither heroes nor victims, instead these folks worked to secure their own positions and survive within the system in a time and place where their options were limited. Because from their perspective, there seemed to be on other way up. Or out.

In a society shaped by patriarchy, where women have traditionally taken their husband's names upon marriage and children are given their father's surnames at birth, we have been conditioned to look to who our male ancestors were and what they accomplished, as opposed to the women in our family lines. Unless you were raised in a culture that honored and valued the contributions of women, why would you think about the wife of your famous forefather?

[Mariga Temple-West · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is difficult to write a short review for a book like this. I don't even know where to begin. In the early 1800's in Kentucky, Richard Johnson, wealthy landowner and enslaver, marries his enslaved housekeeper, Julia Chinn.

Johnson made no secret of this and it created scandal. He had two daughters with Julia, also enslaved. Yet, at the same time, these three women were elevated to a social status unheard of at the time. But they were always enslaved.

It makes one wonder about the psychological balancing act these women had to do. Johnson was no abolitionist. His plantation was rife with beatings and rapes. Did Julia and her children feel loved? Or did they simply learn to toe the line, play the game?

The story deepens when a government school for the Choctaw Nation opens on Johnson's land. Now teenage Choctaw boys are thrown into the mix, who view the enslaved workers as racially inferior, a concept absorbed from settler colonialism.

Enslaved yet socially privileged women own slaves of their own. Choctaw Native Americans buy into racial superiority even as the very concept ultimately works against them and their land is taken from them. It is a fraught, twisted world.

This is an amazing, stunning book. The writing, however, is a little repetitive at times. And when Julia Chinn, the subject of this biography dies in a cholera epidemic, the fact is casually mentioned in passing. This, after the author imagines in other instances how Julia would have felt in a given situation. Was she raped by Johnson? Persuaded? Worn down? The author guesses at how Julia would have felt in any number of situations, how her daughters might have felt, what they might have done, etc. Yet, when Julia dies, we get nothing, not even a description of the epidemic itself.

Nevertheless, I recommend this book highly. It would make a terrific Netflix series.

[Tamika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me a bit longer to read for many reasons! First, I was so fascinated by the Cover. It caught my eye as I was visiting my local independent bookstore, and just had to get it. Second, I’m a fan of African literature, history, biographies, even fiction but this was such an interesting story, only because I had never heard of Julia Chinn. Kudos to this Author for bringing awareness to Julia Chinn and her family.
My thoughts/notes:
Antebellum: refers to the period in the Southern US before the Civil War (1815-1861) known for its plantation economy, slavery and agricultural growth.
This is the first full length study of Julia Chinn and her daughter’s, Imogene and Adaline. “Bringing the Johnson women in front from out the shadows and placing them at the forefront of US history, it’s a story that highlights the complicated nature of Black female privilege in the South while illuminating anew what life looked like for enslaved women in the nineteenth century.”
Why had this story gone untold? Richard’s brothers destroyed records to inherit his wealth, especially the fact they may have been embarrassed that their brother had been with a black woman for almost a quarter of a century and had descendants.
“No matter how educated, wealthy or refined, Julia and her daughters had been, they were still Black, and they were still enslaved.”

[Synful · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stumbled into a mention of this book by, I believe, a historian on social media site Bluesky. I'm not big on politician memoirs/bios, but I thought this would have a different angle than the usual about (almost exclusively) well-off White men.

It took me a really long time to get through this book and I only finished it because I wanted to see it through to the end. That was mostly my struggle with the way it was written, completely admitedly by necessity. Thanks to the White family members hard work to destroy and/or erase family history connected to Black ancestry, some 90% of the book was based on one-sided correspondence, third-party correspondence, and the few snide mentions in local journalism.

This resulted in a lot of conjectured wording, suggestions of probability, and some repetitiveness. I found it frustrating and wished there'd been more concrete writings and history to reveal and convey than I felt this book imparted. The final chapter and epilogue which cover the end of Chinn's and Johnson's lives and quick stories about their descendents were actually much more satisfying than the rest of the book. Like many histories of enslaved people, I think there was just too much willful destruction for this book to satisfy me.

[David Swartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished Amrita Chakrabarti Myers’s *The Vice-President’s Black Wife*. On one hand, Julia Chin ran Choctaw Academy, a boarding school for indigenous boys, and oversaw the substantial holdings of Blue Spring Plantation near Georgetown, Kentucky. Her talented husband became vice president of the United States under Martin Van Buren.

On the other hand, Julia Chinn remained enslaved her entire life. And when Richard and Julia left their farm, they had to sit in pews at the back of the church, were buried in separate graveyards, and were barred from town dances, among many other indignities. Interracial sex was fine—except when antebellum Americans didn’t keep it behind closed doors. That’s what makes Johnson, whose political career was ruined by his marriage, different from Henry Clay, who hid his interracial affairs in the slave quarters.

A smart and sensitive narrative about a twisted era in which the enslaved Julia oversees violence toward fellow enslaved people and Richard never gives his own wife manumission papers.
Money quote: "Julia's story clearly, and at times painfully, highlights how white supremacy wounds *everyone* in the United States."

[Is Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe closer to a 3.5 stars…undecided.

This book was obviously well-researched, providing readers with insight into the (unfairly) forgotten Julia Ann Chinn, and her descendants. The author did a wonderful job illuminating the complexity of American race relations during this time period, chiefly the patriarchal and white supremacist ideas that dictated what forms of interracial couplings were seen as acceptable, etc.

However, I think this would have benefited from another editing session. The repetition (often with several sentences being repeated basically verbatim only pages apart) started to drive me bonkers. I understand that the author was fairly limited as there are no surviving primary sources from Julia herself — or her daughters — but I felt the material could have been approached differently…

[Andrea Wenger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This intriguing tale explores the complex relationship between Richard Mentor Johnson, US vice president under Van Buren, and Julia Chinn, the mixed-race enslaved woman he never freed but entrusted to manage his estate. Although likely not consensual given Chinn's enslavement, their partnership granted her unusual power and community acceptance, within limits. Johnson's refusal to conceal his marriage to Chinn ultimately sparked his political downfall.

This well-researched and easy-to-read book provides an interesting story that sheds light on a hidden part of American history. It's not told in a narrative style but reveals facts based on historical documents.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Roslyn Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book drew me in because I never heard of a Vice President in the early years of the Republic having a black wife, this book intrigued me so much. The author laid out the claim that Richard Johnson, a Vice President of the United States, did indeed have a black wife and had two daughters by her. I am baffled by how a woman so important can basically be wiped out of American history. This book is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the terrible ramifications of slavery combined with being a woman. I learned so very much.
I highly recommend this book. #netgalley #thevicepresidentsblackwife

[Tiffany Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an important history to be told— the work of moving through traditional historic sources to get to the root of history that has been erased: that of Black women (and interracial relationships) in the antebellum South. I’m so grateful to now know the name Julia Chinn, and hope that this work spearheads more historians to uncover these previously untold and seemingly impossible stories. This book is definitely written by a historian, and though the prose is well-crafted, it does still get dense in parts. I still highly recommend and am glad to have made it through.

[Krystie Herndon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, written by one of my daughter's college history professors (my daughter completed a History minor), has been on my to-read list for months. A story pieced together from meticulous seeking and finding, Dr. Myers did an amazing job of sketching faces and lives who were lost to even their own flesh and blood, till decades after they had left this earth. The story of the Johnson family is an example of the untold stories in so many families in this country; as Dr. Myers wrote, on page 191: "It is, at its core, the story of an American family."

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an important story to tell. I hope many people learn about Julia Ching. These stories are part of our national heritage whether you like it or not. So from that standpoint I would recommend this book.

At times the book gets a bit dry. We really don’t know many of the details of a specific slave’s life. So Myers has to fill in the gaps with educated guesses. I understand why this is necessary but I wish some of the information was more specific.