Edith Wilson as a teenager.
The United States has yet to elect a female president but just over a century ago, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson became the nation’s first acting president when her husband Woodrow Wilson became incapacitated after a stroke.
Historian and author Rebecca Boggs Roberts tells the story in her new book “Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson.”
The Durand-Hedden House & Garden recently hosted Roberts to discuss the book recently at The Woodland.
“She’s fascinating,” Roberts said. “It’s very easy to dismiss her. She was a lot of fun, and I get her.”
Roberts calls Wilson “an unreliable narrator of her own life” because she downplayed her role in history.
Wilson was born in Wytheville, Virginia in 1872. At the age of 24, she married a wealthy Washington D.C. jeweler named Norman Galt. He died in 1908 and left his jewelry store to Wilson. She was a widow with no children. She became the first woman in Washington D.C. to get a drivers license. She drove an electric car that would go 13 mph.
“A sophisticated widow in control of her own money,” said Roberts. “Beautiful and beautifully dressed.”
Woodrow Wilson’s first wife died in 1914 and through Edith’s connections she met Woodrow. “Woodrow was bookish and nerdy,” said Roberts. “But he wrote her racy love letters.”
Roberts further explained that while Woodrow was being “gushy” in his letters, Edith was interested in political gossip. Woodrow proposed six months after meeting her.
“He figured out talking politics was the way to her heart,” said Roberts.
They married in a small private ceremony on Dec. 8, 1915.
During Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, Edith showed up everywhere. She was good at campaigning. “He was shy and a little socially awkward,” said Roberts.
When Woodrow endured his second stroke in 1919, Edith became the gatekeeper.
Woodrow died in 1924, and Edith lived to 1961.
“She went back to being a fabulous wealthy widow,” said Roberts. “She invited every first lady to tea, regardless of their party.”
After the presentation, audience members asked questions.
One of the questions was, “Where did she stand in the right for women to vote?”
“She was anti-suffrage, and it kills me,” said Roberts. “Why is this woman not interested in her rights as a citizen?”
Another audience member asked Roberts what drove her to write a whole book.
Roberts said while doing research to answer suffrage questions, she found a book that was poorly written.
“So many things made me mad, I put together a proposal,” Robert said. “If we reduce history to heroes and villains, that’s not how history gets made. These people were people. It’s okay for them to have flaws. Edith, for all her warts and all is a fascinating story.”
Following the event, guests were invited to Durand-Hedden House where refreshments were served. To learn more about Durand-Hedden House, visit: https://www.durandhedden.org/
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