Program Information

For nearly five decades Mrs. James Madison, Dolley, was the center of social life in the nation's capital.

A Moment in Time is a brief, exciting and compelling journey into the past. Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the present and its impact on the future, A Moment In Time is a captivating historical narrative that is currently broadcast worldwide.

Transcript

Lead: For nearly five decades Mrs. James Madison, Dolley, was the center of social life in the nation's capital.

Intro: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: Born in North Carolina to Quaker parents, Dorothea Payne was raised in the simple manner common to that faith, taught to dress plainly, behave in a retiring manner, and shun a life of luxury and display. It is said her younger brother William began calling her Dolley, and the name stuck.

In 1783 her father, John Payne, sold his slaves and moved to Philadelphia to open a business. Its subsequent failure produced debt and, as a result, the Society of Friends disowned him and he went into seclusion. To get by, Dolley and her mother transformed their home into a boarding house and, as Philadelphia was the capital of the United States at the time, her business prospered and they attracted a distinguished clientele including the U.S. Senator from New York, Aaron Burr.

At 21 Dolley left home to marry John Todd, a Quaker attorney, but three years later yellow fever carried off her husband and one of their children. Dolley was an eligible and extraordinarily attractive young widow and when she rebuffed the advances of Burr, a married man, the senator introduced her to the brilliant but socially dull 42-year-old congressman from Virginia, James Madison, who many consider to be the father of the Constitution. They were married in late 1794.

From that point the little Quaker girl began to thrive. Disowned by the Society of Friends because she married an Episcopalian, Dolley Madison began doing what she never would have dreamed: wearing elegant gowns, attending balls, playing cards. Invitations to her dinner parties in Philadelphia and Montpelier, their Virginia estate, were highly coveted. Even stuffy, little Jimmy Madison began to loosen up under the loving attention of his remarkable wife. He learned to dance and his speaking style during campaigns improved. People couldn't seem to get enough of the couple and, when Madison defeated Charles Coatsworth Pinkney for the presidency in 1808, the loser complained, "I was beaten by Mr. and Mrs. Madison. I might have had a better chance if I had faced Mr. Madison alone."

Next time: Dolley and the British army.

At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

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