If I had two words to
describe Dolley Madison,
they would be
vivacious and cunning.
She was very much the
center of attention,
the life of any room
and at the same time,
she knew exactly what she
was doing at all times.
(upbeat music)
- She's a very attractive woman.
She's slender, she has jet
black hair and blue eyes.
James Madison sees her and
apparently falls in love,
in lust, in whatever over her.
He's small, pedantic,
not the life of a party.
It's a remarkable marriage
of opposites attract.
- Dolley Madison was a
legendary entertainer
but in a subtle way,
that kind of entertaining
was also really
deeply about politics.
- Dolley carefully
constructs these invitations
to these dinner
parties to get people
on board to the policies
that James Madison
wanted to put forward
and to whip Republicans
into line to support him.
She introduced the idea
that the First Lady
could be a political matchmaker
and she was extremely
skilled at it.
- She was such a gracious
hostess and was so involved
in politics that one of her
husband, James Madison's,
opponents said it was
really unfair that he had
to run against both Madisons.
- Dolley really
did what she could
to, sort of, position
herself and her husband
in the best possible
light and she succeeded.
- Dolley Madison was
probably best known
for saving the portrait
of George Washington
during the War of 1812.
- The British Army was
marching right into the city.
There was the danger
of being killed.
She stayed in that
White House much longer
than she should've
to protect it.
- She actually
instructed the servants
to fill the carriages that
they were going to take
away from the White House
with government papers,
notes from the
Continental Congress,
things that were
important to the nation.
- As she's leaving, she
realizes that the portrait
of George Washington, which
Dolley always understood
the national symbolism of,
was still in the White House.
And they roll it up and
they carry it to safety.
- She wanted to make sure
that the government papers
were preserved, in addition to
George Washington's portrait
which hangs in the White
House to this very day.
- She knew that these
things were the stuff
that we build our sense
of a nation around.
- Dolley Madison was really
a force to be reckoned with
in her own right.
She was so influential
as First Lady
that for decades after she
left office, she was still
considered politically powerful
and important in Washington.
She was the only First
Lady to be granted
an honorary seat in Congress.
- She lived in a home
across the street
from the White House
and it was very common
for visitors and dignitaries,
anytime they went
to visit the President
of the United States,
they in turn went over to
visit Dolley Madison as well.
- She lives quite a long life.
She doesn't die until 1849.
When she dies, there
is a huge funeral.
- Zachary Taylor eulogized her
as the "First Lady
of the nation".
That was actually one of
the first times in history
that that term "First
Lady" was used.
