Dolley and James: Opposites Attract
Today’s Historic America Journal entry is the first of a two-part series on presidential love stories in preparation for our limited-run Presidential Sweethearts Tour. If these true tales capture your imagination, you’re in luck! A ticket for our Presidential Sweethearts Tour is the perfect Valentine's Day gift for the history nerd in your life. More information about the tour can be found on our website or our Eventbrite page. This week, we journey back in time to visit Dolley & James Madison.
Picture this: The year was 1793. A young woman, Dolley Todd, strolled along the streets of Philadelphia, unaware that she was about to meet her future husband. Her mind, in fact, was not on love at all. Her husband, lawyer John Todd, had just passed away during the yellow fever epidemic leaving Dolley a widow and single mother to one boy. She was only 25 years old.
As if by fate, she soon caught the eye of Congressman James Madison. Upon seeing her, he immediately became infatuated, and sought to find out who she was. Determined to meet her in person, he recruited the help of his friend Senator Aaron Burr (yes, that Aaron Burr) to find out more. As luck would have it, Burr was currently renting a room from Dolley’s mother and agreed to arrange an introduction.
Soon they began to court, and their love story was born. Despite the fact that James was seventeen years Dolley’s senior, in him Dolley drew newfound joy. The two fell deeply in love. James, a romantic at heart, enlisted Dolley’s cousin to send a letter to her on his behalf weeks into the courtship, in which said cousin conveyed that James, “...thinks so much of you in the day that he has lost his tongue, at night he dreams of you and starts in his sleep calling on you to relieve his flame for he burns to such an excess that he will be shortly consumed.” This romantic ardor for one another would continue into their marriage, demonstrating what a good pair they were.
A young Dolley Madison
“...thinks so much of you in the day that he has lost his tongue, at night he dreams of you and starts in his sleep calling on you to relieve his flame for he burns to such an excess that he will be shortly consumed.”
They wed on September 15, 1794 in Virginia. Although Dolley’s family were Quakers, she willingly gave up her religion to be with James - an Episcopalian. After marrying, Dolley and her son moved to Philadelphia (the temporary capital) to live with James while he was a member of the House of Representatives . After Thomas Jefferson was elected to the presidency in 1800, he asked James to be his Secretary of State and so the Madisons moved from Montpelier (James’ plantation in Virginia) back to Philadelphia. Jefferson was widowed, so Dolley took on the role of executive hostess and interim First Lady, an experience which would serve her well when she ascended to the position herself 1808 after husband James became president. She would go on to set many precedents for First Ladies. She was the first to spend an extended period of time in the executive mansion. She managed White House events and had excellent political instincts. James trusted her implicitly.
To the outside viewer, the two seemed an odd couple. Many described James as gloomy and forbidding (just take a look at his portrait!). Dolley, on the other hand, was vivacious and beautiful, radiating joy. Weekly, she opened the White House to public receptions and firmly placed the first couple at the center of Washington City’s social elite. Although criticized by some opponents, Dolley’s social grace was a great benefit to her husband. Despite their opposite natures, the pair never fell out of love. Dolley described their connection saying, “...our hearts understand each other.”
When James’ presidential tenure ended in 1817, they moved back to Montpelier to live out their lives until James’ passing in 1836.
Statue of the Madisons in Montpelier