多莉·麦迪逊

Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was known for holding Washington social functions to which she invited members of both political parties, essentially spearheading the concept of bipartisan cooperation. Previous founders such as Thomas Jefferson would only meet with members of one party at a time, and politics could often be a violent affair resulting in physical altercations and even duels. Madison helped to create the idea that members of each party could amicably socialize, network, and negotiate with each other without violence. Through these innovations, Dolley Madison did much to define the role of the president's spouse, known only much later by the title First Lady—a function she had sometimes performed earlier for the widowed Thomas Jefferson.

Madison also helped to furnish the newly constructed White House. When the British set fire to it in 1814, she was credited with saving Gilbert Stuart's 1796 portrait of George Washington; she directed her personal slave Paul Jennings to save it. In widowhood, she often lived in poverty aggravated by her son John Payne Todd's alcoholism and mismanagement of their Montpelier plantation. To relieve her debts, she sold off the plantation, its remaining enslaved people, and her late husband's papers.

Surveys of historians conducted periodically by the Siena College Research Institute since 1982 have consistently found Madison to rank among the six most highly regarded first ladies by the assessments of historians.

Early life and first marriage (1768–1793)

Dolley Payne was born on May 20, 1768, to Mary Coles and John Payne Jr. and lived with her family in a log cabin in New Garden, Guilford County (now Greensboro), North Carolina. Her parents had married in 1761, uniting two prominent Virginian families.……

Second marriage (1794–1800)

Madison, at the time named Dolley Todd, soon met James Madison. Their relationship was facilitated by Aaron Burr, a longtime friend of Madison. In May 1794, Burr made the formal introduction between the young widow and Madison, who at 43 was a longstanding bachelor 17 years her senior.……

In Washington (1801–1817)

Madison worked with the architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe to furnish the White House, the first official residence built for the president of the United States. She sometimes served as widower Jefferson's hostess for official ceremonial functions.……

Burning of Washington (1814)

The United States declared war in 1812 and invaded British North America in 1813, and a British force attacked Washington in 1814.……

At Montpelier (1817–1837)

Dolley and James Madison returned to the Montpelier plantation in Orange County, Virginia, on April 6, 1817, a month after his retirement from the presidency.

In Washington (1837–1849)

While Dolley Madison was living in Washington, Payne Todd was unable to manage the plantation due to alcoholism and related illness. She tried to raise money by selling the rest of the president's papers, but was unable to find a buyer. Jennings attempted to negotiate purchasing his freedom;……

Honors

During World War II the Liberty ship SS Dolly Madison was built in Panama City, Florida, and named in her honor.

Madison was a member of the inaugural class of Virginia Women in History in 2000.

Spelling of her name

In the past, biographers and others stated that her given name was Dorothea, after her aunt, or Dorothy, and that Dolley was a nickname. But her birth was registered with the New Garden Friends Meeting under the name Dolley, and her will of 1841 states "I, Dolly P. Madison".……

Representation in other media

Cecil B. DeMille, The Buccaneer, 1938 film, played by Spring Byington

Irving Stone, Magnificent Doll (1946), film directed by Frank Borzage, Universal Pictures, played by Ginger Rogers

Brown, Rita Mae, Dolley: A Novel of Dolley Madison in Love and War (New York: Bantam Books, 1994);……

Legacy

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of her death, the Dolley Madison silver dollar was issued by the U.S. Mint in 1999.

In 2024, the National Portrait Gallery obtained a daguerreotype of Dolley Madison, taken about 1846 by John Plumbe Jr., that is the earliest known photograph of any U.S.……

Regard by historians

Since 1982 Siena College Research Institute has periodically conducted surveys asking historians to assess American first ladies according to a cumulative score on the independent criteria of their background, value to the country, intelligence, courage, accomplishments, integrity, leadership, being their own women, public image, and value to the president.……