10125 - Dolley Madison, 1805-15

Dolley Madison, 1805-15

Wife of U.S. President James Madison, Dolley Madison was influential in establishing the concept of bipartisan cooperation among the political parties of the day. She held elaborate Washington social functions in which she invited members of both political parties to attend. Madison helped to create the idea that members of each party could amicably socialize, network, and negotiate with each other in peace and civility. Previously, politics often devolved into physical altercations – there would be none of that in her newly constructed White House. When the British set fire to it in 1814, she was credited with saving Gilbert Stuart’s classic 1796 portrait of George Washington. Dolley Madison did much to define the role of the President’s spouse, giving rise to the unofficial title of First Lady.