Dolly Madison's Influence on James Madison's Presidency

How did the marriage between James Madison and Dolley Madison come about and why was it so successful politcally?

Dolley Madison shaped the role of the First Lady to which all her successors had to live up to by successfully combining political knowledge and essential grace to influence relevant political figures regarding the well being of the Madison Administration.

Dolley Madison, originally Todd Payne, was born to a wealthy Quaker family in North Carolina in 1768. The Todd Payne family, which included her father, John Payne Jr., originally a non-Quaker, and her mother, Mary Coles, as well as seven siblings only spent a year living in North Carolina. In 1769 the family decided to move back to rural-eastern Virginia to live with Dolley‘s grandmother on her plantation, where Dolley spent most of her childhood. It was during this time that Dolley first experienced slavery, though after the Revolutionary War her grandfather decided to emancipate all his servants. Shortly after that, the Payne family decided to move once again; this time to Philadelphia, the capital from 1774-1800. Her father set out to make a fortune as a starch merchant - however, his business failed tremendously and he died in 1792. Dolley‘s mother, Mary Payne struggled to keep the family going and opened a boarding house. Despite her initial success, she decided to move back to Virginia to live with Dolley‘s sister Lucy, who‘d married one of George Washington‘s nephews.
How did Dolley Madison influence politics during James Madison‘s presidency? Dolley‘s attractiveness and youth earned her many invitations to the city‘s most exquisite balls and social events and helped her develop her good manners and charm that she‘d once be known for. It was at one of these events that Dolley met her first husband, a lawyer, fellow Quaker, John Todd Jr. At only twenty years old Dolley married John in 1790. Shortly after having given birth to her second child, a yellow fever epidemic broke out and tragically killed her young son and her husband, leaving her a widow with a young child to take care of.
After having lived with her mother for some time, both of them returned to Philadelphia and her mother continued her boarding house for Congressmen since her husband hadn‘t left behind any substantial money. A crucial visitor was New York‘s Aaron Burr who would later introduce her to James Madison.
After a relationship of only several months Dolley and James Madison married in Virginia in 1794.

Even if she wasn‘t the presidents wife yet, she already helped influence politics
Not long after being married, then president and Madison‘s best friend Thomas Jefferson, who was already widowed at that time, asked Dolley to attend and most importantly entertain a gathering of politicians at the White House since it was believed that it is impossible to have a successful evening without a female hostess. This event marked the beginning of her influential career, even though she wasn‘t the First Lady yet, and Dolley Madison served as an unofficial „Presidentress“ for eight years, from 1801-1809, hosting regular events at the White House. It was during this time that she acquired crucial knowledge on politics as she interacted with many powerful politicians. Even though she wasn‘t yet the First Lady, she already took the role of it by fundraising for the Lewis Clark Expedition to explore the Louisiana territory.
As Jefferson‘s presidency came to an end, James Madison decided to run for office.
Due to Dolley‘s reputation, Madison earned sustained popularity and got elected in 1808. After Madison won the presidency, Dolley started influencing social life and politics right away. Her first task was to organize the inaugural ball, with more than 400 invited people and she impressed everyone with her skills of decorating and organizing all the way up to her own appearance; an excellent start for a new president.
With the inauguration of James Madison, Dolley‘s influence was taken to a whole new level. Now residing in Washington D.C‘s center of political attention in the United States, and Dolley didn‘t fail to make use of this in every way she possibly could. At her legendary dinner parties, which she began to throw almost weekly, she invited all kinds of relevant political figures and would arrange a special way of seating, typically Federalists next to Anti-Federalists, to start conversations that would reveal the positions on issues facing the Madison Administrations or convince them to consider her husband‘s viewpoint in which she almost always was successful. Due to Dolley‘s years as a substitute wife for Thomas Jefferson she learned how to act around men of power which resulted in people feeling relaxed and appreciated, regardless of their political standpoint. She also exercised political power by devoting herself to personal relationships with the spouses of public figures and corresponding with their work. Mrs. Madison literally rewarded people with official government positions if they aided in James Madison‘s popularity or converted people to agree with the Federalists‘ political view which perfectly represents the power she had over her husband - even though she was only a „woman“ and thus was not supposed to interfere with politics she had the authority to employ people.

Dolley Madison was also the First Lady to publicly endorse a charity foundation, setting a precedent for all First Lady‘s to come. She fundraised and supported a orphanage home for young girls in Washington, DC. To further convince people to approve of Madison, she started a lifelong correspondence with a local Catholic School for girls which brought about deep friendships with the school‘s nuns that lasted until her death.

After Madison‘s re-election in 1812, which would not have been such a success without Dolley‘s years of devotion to his public image, tensions with England rose because of the British act of impressment. To stop the impressment, Congress first tried several embargoes to hurt Britain‘s trade but instead greatly damaged the American economy; angering citizens and resulting in them supporting the War Hawks. Eventually, even though its high controversy, Congress declared war on Britain in 1812. Even though some people supported this decision, Madison‘s popularity decreased tremendously because most citizens didn‘t wish for war with Britain since they were scared of the damaging effects it might have on the United States. Unfortunately, in the first years, the war didn‘t go well for either side, neither Britain nor the USA. Dolley Madison‘s legend was made lasting on the day of the 24th of August, 1814, when British troops burned the White House and the Capitol. Instead leaving immediately, Dolley performed a selfless act of heroism and nationalism by refusing to leave the White House until many important documents and George Washington‘s were removed and carried out to ensure that they wouldn‘t be harmed by the fire. The fact that his wife risked so much for the „life“ of her country and America‘s great victory in the Battle of New Orleans helped Madison gain some of the lost popularity back and resulted in a great upswing of American nationalism.

Dolley Madison is one of the best remembered First Lady‘s of all time - she often times is described as the first „First Lady“ because she so successfully yet undetectably incorporated herself into the country‘s politics. Always well behaved, knowledgeable and charming, Dolley made good use of her traits by drawing the attention she received to present her husband‘s outstanding political views. Mrs. Dolley Madison, as described by