Dolley Madison (1768 -- 1849), one of the most renowned American first ladies, was President James Madison's wife. She was born in North Carolina and spent her life's early years in Virginia in a very simple environment. In 1790, she married John Todd but he died only after three years due to the yellow fever epidemic. In 1794, Dolley married Madison and became the fourth first lady of the United States of America.1 In the subsequent years, Dolley proved herself as a charming, tactful and graceful official White House hostess for both President Jefferson and President Madison. It won't be incorrect to state that her guts, courageousness and the manner with which she conducted herself shaped the role of first lady in the Unites States of America forever.
When Madison took the office in 1809, Dolley took up her role as the first lady very seriously and concentrated on the decoration of the White House that was almost empty at that time. Due to her efforts, the fine art, libraries, an orphanage, and the Washington Monument building were promoted. Due to her sincere hard work, she soon gained fame and popularity all over the United States of America. A lot of people believe that the White House walls witnessed Dolley as the first person who dished up ice cream.2
However, Dolley is rather acknowledged for her gallant and epic actions in the 1812 war. One of her other greatest achievement was the promotion of both city and manor as national symbols of identity. Without a doubt, it was that period in which the people in America had started to identify with the city and the White House. Dolley's hard work in this field became even more critical after the invasion of the capital and the White House in 1814.
____ 1 The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. (Columbia University Press, 2013), s.v. "Madison, Dolley," http://www.questia.com/read/1E1-MadisonD.
2 T. McDevitt, "Dolley Madison: The Problem of National Unity," Library Journal 137,...
82 (2012).
When Washington was attacked by the British armed forces in 1814, Dolley was present at the White
House while President Madison had gone outside the city with his defense force, Before leaving the White House, Dolley was successful in gathering the government papers that were of vital importance. She also persisted to take a famous George Washington portrait along with all the other important things. The painting was then removed and was loaded in a wagon by her servants along with all the important papers she had already saved. Due to her witty nature and daunting attitude, everyone in the White House managed to escape before it was burnt down by the British.
Dolley Madison was not only an enigmatic first lady but she also worked excellently for the promotion of bipartisanship and brought together various political leaders. Not only this, she managed to keep the country united in various ways and thus set a standard for the first ladies after her. She was well aware of her alluring personality and used it to socialize with leaders of political parties. By doing so, she was successful in bringing the enemies closer together as friends thus encouraging courteousness and a universal apparition of the developing nation.3
As already mentioned, Dolley is widely admired as the decorator of the White House. If truth be told, she was in fact the restructurer of White House. In the previous times when she did not reside in White House, the city had not a single place where government officials or their families and the local community could get together.
____3 T. McDevitt, "Dolley Madison: The Problem of National Unity," Library Journal 137, 17, no. 82 (20
Before her, America demonstrated violent behavior politically and people used to fight even on Congress' floors. However, Dolley's drawing room proved to be that one place where both government officers and their families…
