Dolley Madison

American First Lady

• Born: May 20, 1768
• Birthplace: Guilford County, North Carolina
• Died: July 12, 1849
• Place of death: Washington, D.C.

First Lady Dolley Madison’s popularity and social acumen made her a political asset to President James Madison. The leading social figure in the capital city for years, she was arguably the most beloved and important American woman of her times, and she served as a role model for future First Ladies.

Early Life

Dolley Madison was the daughter of John and Mary Coles Payne, who moved to Piedmont, North Carolina, from Virginia. It was there that Dolley was born in 1768. The following year, the Payne family moved back to their native Virginia. In 1783, after freeing his slaves, John again moved his family, this time to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the Paynes raised their eight children in the strict disciplinary tradition of the Quaker Society of Friends. Dolley was also raised modestly, as her father had failed in business.

In 1790 Dolley married John Todd, Jr., a successful lawyer and Quaker. Dolley and John had two sons: John Payne in 1790 and William Temple in 1792. Tragedy struck when the yellow fever epidemic hit Philadelphia in 1793 and claimed the lives of Dolley’s husband, both of his parents, and Dolley’s son William, leaving her a young widow with an infant child. The strong-willed Dolley was determined to persevere and make something of herself. Among her many courters at this time was the “Father of the Constitution” and author of the Bill of Rights, Representative James Madison of Virginia. They seemed to make an unlikely couple, as the longtime bachelor James was seventeen years Dolley’s senior. He was also unlike most of the dashing gentlemen of his time, because he had not been a soldier, did not dance, and did not ride horses. However, Dolley eventually fell for the intelligent but dour James. They were married on September 15, 1794, and enjoyed a happy but childless marriage. After abandoning her Quaker roots for James’s Episcopalianism, she was disowned by the Quakers.

Life’s Work

Dolley appears to have completely shed her conservative Quaker upbringing after her second marriage and developed a love of music, gardens, and socializing. She also acquired a taste for fashion that could not have been further from the social standards of the day that included bright colors, scandalously low-cut dresses, and a bold hairstyle of large curls. Incredibly, for much of the early nineteenth century she was at the center of social life in Washington, D.C. During this time, Dolley was quite possibly the most widely known and beloved woman in the country. A highly capable woman, Dolley managed the Madison family plantation when James was away in Washington, D.C. Admired for her outgoing, pleasant personality, her legacy belongs to her famous social events. Even among present-day First Ladies, Dolley is widely considered to have been the most talented social hostess in the history of the White House. In this endeavor she was aided by what appears to have been a deep, selfless, and genuine love of people and a knack for remembering everyone’s name.

In 1801, newly elected President Thomas Jefferson appointed James as his secretary of state. As a widower, Jefferson asked James’s wife Dolley to help serve as the White House’s social hostess. For eight years she presided over the social affairs of the Jefferson White House. This was followed by another eight years during which her husband was president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. It was Dolley who presided over the nation’s first inaugural ball in 1809.

Among the Washington social crowd and much of the nation, Dolley was hailed as “Queen Dolley,” “Lady Presidentress,” or the “Queen of Washington City.” Her socials were the events of the social season, and all of Washington awaited an invitation. Breaking with tradition, she served American dishes for dinner (even contacting people all over the country for recipes), rearranged rooms to better accommodate her guests, and defied convention by sitting at the head of the table at dinners.

Dolley set a precedent for future First Ladies when she renovated and redecorated the White House. Strategically, she invited members of Congress to the White House so they could see the poor condition of the building; after securing congressional funding for the renovation project, she even worked with the supervising architect. She successfully blended European flair with American homespun simplicity in her entertaining and invited a wide array of guests to the White House. Although the historical record is far from complete, she seems to have made a positive impression on almost every visitor to the White House. She also emerged as a fashion trendsetter as the nation took a keen interest in her taste for European attire, jewels, bird plumes, and even what became known as “the Dolley Madison turban.” Details of her social events and attire were reported in newspapers.

Along with her successful social role, she was the perfect political partner for James. In comparison with his subdued seriousness, she was funny, talkative, and engaging. As was the norm for women of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Dolley had little formal education and was not as well read or intellectual as her predecessor, Abigail Adams. She had been tutored at her childhood plantation home in Virginia and had received some education at a Quaker school in Pennsylvania. Yet, in an era during which women rarely spoke publicly and took no interest in politics, Dolley functioned as an adviser to her husband on both social and political matters. She traveled with him, campaigned with him, and appeared in public with him. James was proud of his wife’s accomplishments. He appears to have recognized her social abilities and his limited interpersonal skills. He often sought and took her advice, appreciating her political astuteness, warm personal touch, and legendary tact.

Even though James had been the secretary of state, it was Dolley who was the diplomat. She took no formal or public role in politics and claimed to not be interested in political affairs. However, her actions revealed her many political contributions to James’s presidency. Many historical accounts exist of Dolley disarming her husband’s political opponents, charming his potential supporters, and captivating statesmen, dignitaries, and other White House guests. Dolley made sure she invited every member of Congress to dinner at least once during legislative sessions. In doing so, she was a century ahead of her time as the first presidential spouse to blend White House social events with political agendas. She also held socials in honor of U.S. accomplishments, including the capture of British ships during the War of 1812.

When the British sacked the capital city and set the White House ablaze during the War of 1812, Dolley was among the last Americans to leave. The president and cabinet had already evacuated the city. Refusing pleas to abandon the capital city, Dolley watched the approach of the British through a spy glass. Unconcerned about her own safety, she thought to load as many White House archives as possible (including official papers, china, and silver, as well as such artifacts as the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington) onto a wagon while the British army literally marched into the city. With a wagon full of priceless items, she fled to Virginia at the last possible moment. Her courageous act inspired a nation stung by the defeat and the August 24, 1814, burning of the White House. After the war an unfazed but heroic Dolley continued entertaining in her temporary quarters in a private home on Penn Avenue in Washington, D.C. She proclaimed to a cheering city, “We shall rebuild Washington!”

Significance

After James’s second term as president ended in 1817, he and Dolley returned to Montpelier, their plantation home in Virginia, where they enjoyed a comfortable retirement highlighted by the many visitors and guests who attended Dolley’s parties. Dolley continued to support her husband’s political work by taking dictation for him through his failing health during the last years of his life. James Madison died in 1836 and, in the autumn of 1837, Dolley returned to the capital city to live. She moved into a small home that James had built some years earlier. Back in Washington, Dolley returned to the social and political life, enjoying an honorary seat on the Senate floor, attending social events, and receiving lifetime franking privileges from Congress. She wisely sold James’s official papers to the government for $30,000 to both assure their preservation and provide for herself financially. She remained a central figure until her death in 1849.

Dolley Madison loved living in the White House and was perhaps the first presidential spouse as well as one of the few women prior to the twentieth century to develop an identity of her own beyond that of her husband. She fashioned the social side of the office of First Lady and consequently became a role model for many future First Ladies. On her death, President Zachary Taylor aptly described her as “Our First Lady for a half-century.”

Bibliography

Anthony, Carl Sferrazza. First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents’ Wives and Their Power, 1789-1961. New York: William Morrow, 1990. Contains a chapter on each First Lady, including Dolley. Anthony provides both personal and political details of Dolley’s life.

Arnett, Ethel Stephens. Mrs. James Madison: The Incomparable Dolley. Greensboro, N.C.: Piedmont Press, 1972. A source for Dolley’s life before meeting James Madison and later in the White House. Examines her personality and character.

Cote, Richard N. Strength and Honor: The Life of Dolley Madison. Mount Pleasant, S.C.: Corinthian Books, 2004. A well-researched, comprehensive biography of the woman Cote describes as the “best loved first lady of the nineteenth century.”

Gould, Lewis L., ed. American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy. New York: Garland, 1996. Contains a chapter on each First Lady that includes an examination of their contributions to the presidency. Includes a helpful bibliography.

Hunt-Jones, Conover. Dolley and the “Great Little Madison.” Washington, D.C.: American Institute of Architects Foundation, 1977. Hunt-Jones explores the Madisons’ marriage, their long life together, and Dolley’s influence on her “Great Little Madison.”

Ketcham, Ralph. James Madison: A Biography. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1990. Insights on the life and presidency of the fourth president. Dolley is discussed periodically, but it also benefits one studying Dolley to know James Madison, his times, and life in the Madison White House.

Madison, Dolley. The Selected Letters of Dolley Payne Madison. Edited by David B. Mattern and Holly C. Shulman. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2003. Contains a carefully edited selection of letters to and from Madison. Also features short, factual essays placing Madison’s letters within the context of her life and times, and biographies of the people mentioned in the letters.

Truman, Margaret. First Ladies: An Intimate Group Portrait of White House Wives. New York: Random House, 1995. Contains numerous discussions of Dolley’s sense of style, famous social events, renovation of the White House, and heroism during the War of 1812. The book is written in a conversational, nonacademic style and is very readable.