Little Known First Ladies: Edith Wilson Quiz

Answer: Pocahontas

Edith Bolling was directly descended from Pocahontas and John Rolfe. Their granddaughter Jane married into the Bolling family, a large slave-owning family in Virginia. The Bollings remained a wealthy family until the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Edith's father, William, was a planter who became a lawyer after the war.

By the time Edith was born, much of her family's wealth had vanished. She had ten siblings and her family often lived in one room farm houses with other relatives.

Answer: Her grandmother

The Bollings could not afford to send all of their children to school when they were younger because of a lack of funds. Edith was one of the younger children and had to be educated at home. She was primarily taught by her grandmother Anne who taught her how to read and write. Anne was bedridden so Edith was also responsible for her care. Edith's father also taught her some of the classics of literature until he his financial situation improved.

After that, Edith was taught by private tutors until she attended Martha Washington College for a brief period of time.

Although intelligent, Edith hated formal education finding it too restrictive. She did enjoy her time at Powell's School for Girls but the school closed and her father refused to pay for any more schooling for his daughters.

Answer: Jeweller

Edith met her husband Norman Galt who was a mutual friend of her brother-in-law. Norman was wealthy and appealed to Edith's love for the finer things in life that she had long been denied. Very little is known about this marriage, including whether or not Edith worked with Norman at his jewellery store.

The couple had one son who died shortly after birth and leaving Edith unable to have children. Norman died suddenly in 1908. Edith managed the jewellery company for a short time but used her inheritance to pay off previous obligations and travel.

Answer: False

Edith was introduced to Woodrow Wilson by his cousin Helen Woodrow Bones. Helen was travelled in the same social circles as Edith and she introduced the two after believing the president was suffering from depression after his first wife Ellen died. Helen occasionally served as White House hostess alongside Wilson's daughter Margaret in the absence of a First Lady.

Woodrow and Edith immediately became smitten and this caused considerable controversy. The president's advisors feared he was acting inappropriately by seeing a woman within the appropriate mourning period. Wilson's opponents spread rumors that he and Edith killed his first wife Ellen even though the two had not met by the time Ellen died. There was considerable concern amongst Wilson's advisors that his marriage to Edith would cost him his re-election, but those concerns vanished with World War I on the horizon.

Answer: She basically ran the president's life

Edith took a very hands on role during her husband's presidency. She primarily served as a companion and aid to Woodrow and not so much as a romantic partner. As World War I was in full swing in Europe but before the U.S. had joined in, there was considerable amount of pressure on Wilson, who was reluctant to get into the war, to make a decision. The pressure was becoming too much on Woodrow so Edith seized control of his correspondence. This caused great consternation between the president and his aides/personal friends. Many of these relationships were damaged beyond repair because Edith often simply ignored requests for meetings and responses.

Edith lived very simply during World War I. She believed the first couple had to set an example for the rest of the country. They rationed food, gas, oil and other items. Edith bought sheep to graze the White House lawn and then sold the wool and gave the money to charities. She rarely, if ever, hosted social events during the war.

Answer: The signing of the Treaty of Versailles

Edith travelled to Europe twice while Woodrow was president, the first First Lady to do so. She once visited American troops and one the second occasion, travelled to France for the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Edith made a lasting impression of the women and men of Europe, especially the royalty, and this elevated the importance of the First Lady internationally. Edith was seen as an equal to the royal queens, princesses and wives, something an American First Lady had not achieved before. Since Edith, Europe has been fascinated with the American First Lady, very similar to how Americans love the British Royal Family.

Answer: False

Woodrow Wilson became paralyzed partially after a stroke in October 1919. Afterward, Edith refused to allow anyone to see him and all executive work had to go through her. This further aggravated the Cabinet and other politicians but Edith was relentless. She insisted during and after the presidency that she didn't make any of the decisions herself. She only said she decided what notes were important and when to give her husband the notes. Historians largely reject this and believe Edith was making a majority of the important decisions. She is sometimes colloquially referred to as America's first female president.

Edith attempted to have several Cabinet members removed for insulting her, not consulting her on issues and for trying to circumvent the powers of the president by acting unilaterally. In addition, Edith refused to pressure her husband on anything and this may have been responsible for the U.S. not joining the League of Nations. Edith claimed Woodrow would not compromise on the charter and she did not wish to aggravate his health by persuading him otherwise nor did she want to anger him by agreeing to the compromise without his permission on his pet project.

Many historians believe the president was totally incapacitated but since no one except Edith and his doctors were allowed to see Woodrow Wilson, there is no evidence to know for sure. The president recovered somewhat over time but was largely reliant on Edith for the remainder of his presidency.

Answer: My Memoir

Edith published "My Memoir" in 1939 to counteract criticisms of her. By this time, Woodrow Wilson had died and the public criticisms of Edith were increasing. Many former friends of her husbands began speaking out against Edith and how she controlled the White House. "My Memoir" was a response to these claims.

In addition, Edith had complete control over her husband's papers and refused to release them to the public like previous first ladies did. This led to more criticism that Edith was hiding something that would contradict her claims of just being a steward to her husband.

Answer: John Kennedy

Edith remained active in politics and was very close to her successive First Ladies and future presidents. Because Edith was so young when she married Woodrow, she lived over fifty years after leaving the role of First Lady and got to know many presidents and first ladies.

Although she had very strong opinions about politics and her husband was a Democrat, Edith befriended Democrats and Republicans and made sure to support the actions of the president at the time. She attended FDR's declaration of war after Pearl Harbor.

Her last public appearance was at John Kennedy's inauguration. Edith had campaigned vigorously for Kennedy despite her friendship with his opponent Richard Nixon and her pledge to stay out of campaigning.

Answer: Her husband's birthday

Edith died of a heart attack on what would have been Woodrow Wilson's 105th birthday. Her death was noticed when she failed to show up to a bridge dedication for her husband. She was 89 years old. After her death, she was buried alongside her husband at the Washington National Cathedral. Several of the homes she lived in during her life are museums today, including her birthplace in Virginia.