ExclusiveElizabeth Monroe: The Royal Mrs. Monroe

Welcome to American Legends. My name is Tiffany Brannon. Each culture has its legends, and that could be myths or different stories, but here in America, our greatest legends are the wonderful heroes who are right from our history pages. Now, some of these heroes are very famous and some are obscure, but each person deserves to be discovered because each man or woman stands as a great example of how we can be better Americans Some countries have kings and queens. Others have emperors and empresses. Here in the United States, we have no royals or monarchs. Instead, we have our elected officials, most notably the President of the United States. The history of the presidents in the United States is a rich one, full of many different interesting individuals. Along with each president has been his first lady. This role is a very unique one because each lady has played it differently. Today, we're going to talk about the fifth president of the United States. Why? Elizabeth Monroe. It can be very hard to follow a successful act. Just as it's hard for a great president to be followed by another, it was very hard for Elizabeth Monroe to act as the fifth first lady. The first few first ladies had very different roles, but the fourth was Dolly Madison. As the wife of James Madison, and even the first lady at times for his predecessor, Thomas Jefferson, Dolly Madison made an indelible mark on the White House and government in Washington. She was so beloved, so welcoming, so open, that it was very hard for anyone to follow her. Now, James Monroe, the fifth president, is not nearly as well known as James Madison, but he was very popular. His wife had a bit more of a struggle as the first lady, so let's delve into what her life was like. Her ancestors were Dutch immigrants who had come to the United States when it was still called New Amsterdam. She was born in New York. Her father, interestingly, had loyalist tendencies. He was not in support of leaving the United Kingdom, so it was ironic that she would end up marrying one of the fighters for freedom who was involved in the Revolutionary War. James Monroe referred to his father as having been given ill fortune by the changing political times, but still she did have a lot more money than young James Madison did at the time. She was 17 when they were married, and he was 27. Although she wasn't what you could be considered a good match politically for him, it was a love match, and he cared very deeply for her. They had three children during their marriage, two daughters, both of whom lived to adulthood, and a son who died when he was only a few years old. Their oldest daughter was Eliza Monroe, and she would serve as first lady, helping her mother sometimes, because Elizabeth was known to suffer from frequent bouts of illness. Some believe that she had epilepsy. Their other daughter, Maria, would be the first person to get married in the White House when she was wed there in 1820. Before going to the White House, Elizabeth Monroe had served as the first lady in other capacities, such as when he was the governor of Virginia. She also had served as an important confidante and support when he was an ambassador. James Monroe was the ambassador to France during the Reign of Terror, after the French Revolution. While they were there in France, Elizabeth Monroe played a very important role. You see, they were good friends with the Marquis de Lafayette. He was an important French general who had helped the United States greatly during the Revolutionary War, but he needed some help after the French Revolution. Many of his relatives had been guillotined, and his wife, Madame Lafayette, was imprisoned and was soon to face the same fate. Now, hearing about this, Elizabeth Monroe took it upon herself to go in her carriage with only a few servants and visit Madame Lafayette. Not only did she cheer her, but by doing this, this bold move, which could have been viewed as dangerous and controversial, she showed that the United States was supporting the Lafayettes. Because of this, Madame Lafayette's life was spared. While they were in France, the Monroe's oldest daughter, Eliza, became good friends with the stepdaughter of none other than Napoleon Bonaparte. As a result, the Monroe's were invited to Bonaparte's coronation a few years later. As First Lady, Elizabeth Monroe had a few necessary duties. The first duty was to oversee the redecoration of the White House, because during the previous presidency, the War of 1812 had led the British to march right through Washington, D.C., and burn out the inside of the White House. So she oversaw redecorating it, and it was during Monroe's presidency that the building was painted white for the first time. It was not called the White House at the time, it was simply called the President's House. Now, under Dolly Madison, the White House, or the President's House, was very open. Dolly was always welcoming people in, making it very informal, and she also made a lot of visits to other ladies who would call on her. This practice was started by Martha Washington, although it was considered against protocol when Martha did it. Other people in government said that it would only lead to hurt feelings or supposed preference for the First Lady to go visiting and calling on people, but Martha Washington just couldn't see it as being the proper thing to do, to not return with a personal call. So she and Abigail Adams, who was the Vice President's wife, would make calls together. This didn't suit Elizabeth Monroe, partly because of her ill health, and the roads were so badly paved in Washington at the time, residents were spread out all over the city, so instead she sought to have more organized formal events rather than making these individual calls. This was not a popular decision. In fact, because of this, a lot of people started boycotting White House events and didn't even want to go and see the President and his wife because they saw this as being rather rude. They also saw her as being a bit too formal and reserved. This was because of her time in Europe, where she had observed the aristocracy and royals. She wanted things to be done in a more formal and dignified manner, but it wasn't that she didn't like people or didn't care about them. She simply had her own way of expressing it, and that way was being more reserved. Now, it actually became a matter of state when people were becoming offended at the type of gatherings they were giving, so the President and other members of the government had to figure out a way they could do it so that would be pleasing to both the First Lady and other people wouldn't be offended. So they ended up making a more formal schedule of when people would come and visit, and they would have levies, as they called them, and other gatherings. Although this might seem like she wasn't being very hospitable and maybe wasn't a good sport, these arrangements that they worked out set the tone for really what has continued to this day of certain protocol of allowing people to come into the White House and honoring guests. Can you imagine now if the First Lady went to pay personal visits? That would be not only so time-consuming, but very dangerous. So really, it was another important step toward making the government more formal, more organized, and more long-lasting. In the early days, many of the people who were in government were friends. They were like the original founding members of the club, but with each presidential term, as more and more years went on, very few people involved in the formation of the government were still active and even alive. They had to find a way to do it that would work beyond those founding members, and in her own way, Elizabeth Monroe was a big part of that. She was a very stylish, tasteful woman, not quite as extravagant in her style as Dolly Madison, who was known to wear jewels, bright colors, and feathered turbans. She did, however, choose to wear velvet dresses and the empire style, which was popular in America as well as Europe at that time, with the high waist and the sort of square neckline, and she often would wear little bonnets or smaller turbans. Very little is known about Elizabeth Monroe's education, partly because after her death, James Monroe burnt all of their correspondence and much of his other personal correspondence, as was a common practice at the time. She died in 1830, and he died the next year, on the 4th of July, interestingly, making him the third and final president to die on the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Because no writings of hers exist in letters, there really are no quotes or other examples of her writing, but there are some quotes about her. It was said about her, Mrs. Monroe is an elegant, accomplished woman. She possesses a charming mind and dignity of manners. Interestingly, although she did like the formality of Europe, in terms of how she decorated the White House and how she managed her social affairs, she didn't like showy titles. She chose not to be called Lady Monroe or the Presidentress. Instead, she simply wanted to be called Mrs. Monroe. In France, she gained the nickname La Belle Américaine because of her help in saving the life of Madame Lafayette, and some of her best moments were indeed when she was associated with the French. For instance, she gave a beautiful formal dinner to honor the Marquis de Lafayette, and this was considered one of her finest moments, since she had the perfect etiquette, the perfect formality with setting the table and honoring all her guests. As a formal hostess, she was truly in her element. Yet deep down, it seems she was a simple and perhaps shy woman, who simply wanted to be known as Mrs. Monroe. Elizabeth Monroe is a good example of a woman who perhaps wasn't a great politician. She didn't want to work angles or go above and beyond to win friends and influence people for her husband. Apparently, she didn't need to because he was unanimously elected the second time. She simply supported him in a kind, gentle, loving way as a simple wife who wanted to do things her own way and wasn't afraid to set boundaries. I think she serves a good example for all of us to not allow ourselves to be too pressured by what other people say to do things which we don't think are right for us or which make us feel uncomfortable. She wouldn't be pressured into doing visits and having all these extravagant affairs because it didn't feel natural to her, and she couldn't be a second Dolly Madison. That wasn't who she was. She had to be herself, and I think she serves a good example to all of us to be ourselves and to, of course, have moments of bravery like when she saved Madame de Lafayette, but to also know when we simply need to stay in the White House and not go out calling if it's not a genuine and appropriate thing for ourselves. Thank you for spending this time with me talking about Elizabeth Monroe, the fifth First Lady, and the interesting role she played in shaping the role which First Ladies would play in the future as hostess of the White House. Goodbye!