Madison, Dolley | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

(b. May 20, 1768, d. July 12, 1849) As First Lady, saved many documents and White House treasures prior to burning of Washington, D.C. by the British during the War of 1812.

Throughout the history of the United States, only three First Ladies have come close to matching the fame of their husbands. Jacqueline Kennedy was much admired for her beauty, grace, and elegance. Eleanor Roosevelt was respected worldwide for her dignity, generosity, and greatness of spirit. Dolley Madison was known at first for her skills as a social hostess in the White House; but during war with the British, she proved herself both courageous and quick-thinking.

Dolley Payne, born in Piedmont, North Carolina, on May 20, 1768, was raised in rural eastern Virginia, the land of her parents, John and Mary Coles Payne. Her mother was a Quaker, and Dolley, one of eight children, was raised in that faith. John Payne freed his slaves in 1783 and moved the family to Philadelphia. After his death in 1793, Dolley's mother returned to Virginia with her two youngest children. By that time, Dolley had married John Todd, a young Quaker lawyer.

Yellow fever hit Philadelphia in 1793, and Dolley took her two sons, John Payne and William Temple, to escape the city. Nonetheless, William died of the fever that year, as did Dolley's husband. The following year, Aaron Burr, then a U.S. Senator, introduced the young widow to a mild-mannered, frail-looking bachelor seventeen years her senior. At the time, James Madison, who had served in the Continental Congress and had sponsored the first ten amendments to the Constitution, was a member of the House of Representatives. The vivacious Dolley and the shy James were married in 1794.

When Madison became the nation's fourth president in 1809, Dolley became the first First Lady to serve a full term in the White House. The president's home had not been built during Washington's years in office; John and Abigail Adams spent only four months there; and Thomas Jefferson was a widower. In fact, Dolley had often taken on the role of official hostess during Jefferson's administration.

Once in the White House, Dolley transformed the rather austere and neglected mansion into a visitor's paradise. She called upon architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe and his wife Mary for assistance. New paint and tasteful decorations brightened every room. They were neither too fancy nor too foreign. The front entrance was fixed

so that visitors no longer had to fear falling into a pit upon entering. Before long, White House functions were the most coveted invitation in town. And Dolley Madison, with her gowns of silk and satin and an ostrich feather stuck in her hair, established a ritual for every other First Lady to follow—that of showing off the nation's presidential home with pride. Since that time all First Ladies have followed her lead to a lesser or greater degree, although few have matched the elegance of Dolley Madison.

At the beginning of Madison's second term, war broke out between the United States and Great Britain over grievances arising from oppressive shipping practices during the Napoleonic Wars. Ironically, Madison asked Congress to declare war on Great Britain the day after the British had lifted the trade restrictions. Without telephone or other communication, it was some time before either side knew what the other had done. By then, the so-called War of 1812 was in full force.

The United States was ill-prepared for war against Great Britain. Despite some early and surprising U.S. Navy successes, by 1814 the British had landed in Maryland. On a late August morning, Madison rode out on his horse to investigate cannon fire. Dolley was left at the White House with 100 soldiers as guard and one spyglass. Before long, most of the guard left to join the fight.

Dolley spent the day peering through windows with her spyglass and trying to decide what she must save if the British came. After a soldier returned with the President's message to leave and meet him in Virginia, Dolley loaded as many Cabinet papers as possible into a wagon as well as any silver that could be carried. She was also determined to save the portrait of George Washington by famed painter Gilbert Stuart. When it proved too time-consuming to unscrew the frame from the wall, she ordered the frame to be broken and the canvas taken out and rolled up. Now restored, the portrait is the only object that has been in the White House since 1800.

Before she left, Dolley spent a few moments writing a short letter to her sister Anna. She ended it by saying, "I must leave this house, or the retreating army will make me a prisoner in it by filling up the road I am directed to take."

The British did arrive shortly thereafter and burned the city and the White House. It was a harsh blow to American pride. The Madisons returned to find their home in ruins. They never lived again in the White House, but it was rebuilt in three years, grander than before.

Dolley and James retired to Montpelier, Virginia, where she continued to entertain in her lavish style. After Madison died in 1836, Dolley went back to the Washington society she loved. She died at the age of 81 in 1849, shortly after attending a ball for President James K. Polk. Her funeral attracted thousands of mourners. Dolley Madison had become a folk hero and an icon in American culture for the courage she had shown in 1814 when Washington came under attack.

Adams, Abigail; Drinker, Elizabeth; Generals' Wives: Martha Washington, Katherine Greene, Lucy Knox; Republican Womanhood; Women and the Homefront: Diaries.

Editors of American Heritage. The American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans, Vol. 2. New York: Dell, 1967.

Whitney, Robin Vaugh. The American Presidents, 8th edition. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Books, 1996.

"The Dolley Madison Project." Virginia Center for Digital History. Available from <http://moderntimes.vcdh.virgini a.edu/madison>

Madison, Dolley. "The Burning of Washington, August 23, 1814." National Center for Public Policy Research. Available from<http://www.nationalcenter.o rg/WashingtonBurning1814.html>

The White House: First Ladies' Gallery. Available from <www.whitehouse.gov/history/firs tladies>

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