Talk with Edith Wilson

Edith Wilson, born Edith Bolling Galt, was the second wife of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States. Born on October 15, 1872, in Wytheville, Virginia, she came from a prominent Virginia family that claimed to trace its lineage back to Pocahontas.

Edith married Woodrow Wilson on December 18, 1915, during his first term as president. This was after the death of his first wife, Ellen Axson Wilson, in 1914. Edith quickly became an integral part of Wilson's life and his presidency, particularly during his second term.

Her most significant role emerged after President Wilson suffered a severe stroke in October 1919. Following his stroke, Edith effectively managed access to the president and took on a deeply involved role in managing his day-to-day affairs, effectively acting as a steward or gatekeeper. While she did not formally assume the powers or duties of the presidency, she decided which matters of state were important enough to bring to the bedridden president’s attention. This secretive arrangement has led some historians to describe her as the "secret president" or the "first woman to run the presidency."

Edith Wilson remained a devoted caretaker to her husband until he passed away in 1924, three years after his presidency ended. She lived decades beyond him, dying on December 28, 1961, and she spent much of her later life defending his legacy.

Edith Wilson did not play a direct role in the women's suffrage movement. Her tenure as First Lady came shortly after the suffrage movement achieved its greatest victory, with the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which granted women the right to vote. During her time in the White House, she was primarily involved in her duties as the First Lady and in her unofficial role as a close advisor to her husband, President Woodrow Wilson, especially after his stroke in 1919. Her involvement in policy or activism for women's rights during her time in the White House was not prominently recorded. Thus, while she was a prominent woman in political circles, her contributions to the suffrage movement specifically were minimal.

Edith Wilson did not have a role in the National Woman's Party. The National Woman's Party was a political organization that fought for women's suffrage, and while Edith Wilson was the First Lady during a key period in the women's suffrage movement, she was not actively involved with this organization. Instead, her influence and activities were more tightly bound to her role as a supportive spouse to President Woodrow Wilson and her involvement in his administration, particularly after his stroke in 1919.

After women gained the right to vote in 1920 through the 19th Amendment, Edith Wilson's role did not directly involve activism for women's suffrage, but her influence during her husband's presidency had significant implications for the role of women in politics and governance. As First Lady, Edith Wilson assumed an unprecedented role as a "steward" for President Woodrow Wilson following his severe stroke in October 1919.

While women's suffrage was secured nationally while she was First Lady, Edith's subsequent activities and influence were more oriented towards her husband’s health and indirectly maintaining the stability of the executive function. Her role involved relaying information, deciding which matters would be brought to the ailing president’s attention, and even making governmental decisions, thereby illustrating an unofficial yet significant exercise of political power by a woman in an era when such authority was largely reserved for men.

Edith continued to be a symbol and a figure of public interest after the presidency, involving herself primarily in her husband’s care and subsequently his legacy. She also engaged in various charitable activities and remained involved in the national Democratic Party. Her actions during and after Woodrow Wilson's presidency highlighted her capabilities and arguably set a precedent for more active and involved roles of women within the political and public spheres of the United States.

Edith Wilson, born Edith Bolling in 1872 in Wytheville, Virginia, came from a Southern family with a history that stretched back to Pocahontas, which instilled in her a deep sense of heritage and personal history. This background influenced her world view and her approach when she became First Lady.

Her upbringing in the post-Civil War Southern society, which was marked by economic hardship and reconstruction challenges, may have shaped her resilience and practicality—traits she later applied in her role as First Lady. After her first husband, Norman Galt, died, she managed his jewelry business, showing a flair for business and independence uncommon for women at that time.

When she married Woodrow Wilson in 1915 and eventually took on an unprecedented role in the presidency following his stroke in 1919, her actions could be seen as driven by a combination of her personal determination and her understanding of duty and loyalty — characteristics esteemed in her upbringing.

However, her direct involvement in activism is less noted compared to other First Ladies. Her primary influence came through her role in managing Woodrow Wilson’s affairs after his stroke, where she decided which matters were important enough to bring to the bedridden president, which indirectly influenced the administration's priorities and operations during that critical period. This has led many historians to describe her as the "secret" or "acting" president during the latter part of Wilson's second term. This level of involvement, while not necessarily activism in the modern sense, demonstrated a deployment of her personal capacities and background in governance, protecting both her husband's health and his presidency during tumultuous times.

Edith Wilson did not specifically organize events for women's suffrage. Her role as First Lady came after the major suffrage protests and activities had largely occurred, with the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote being ratified in August 1920, about a year into her tenure as First Lady. While Edith was supportive of her husband Woodrow Wilson's eventual endorsement of women's suffrage, she herself was not directly involved in organizing suffrage events. Her influence was more notable in her role as a confidante and advisor to her husband, particularly after his stroke in 1919, rather than as an active organizer of political events or movements like women's suffrage.

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