Not Your Father's Founders (28 page)

Williamsburg, Virginia
June 2, 1731–May 22, 1802
Second Husband, First Lady

Martha Dandridge enjoyed an advantage over the young ladies in her neighborhood early in her life. Her father made sure she received a basic education in mathematics, reading, and writing, which was not a common practice for young ladies at the time.

Her first husband, Daniel Parke Custis, died in 1757, leaving her with two young children. (Two others had died at young ages.) Custis died without a will, which left her with over 17,000 acres of land to manage. That, too, was uncommon. In Virginia in the 1750s, most wealthy men used to leave their estates and minor children in the hands of a guardian, who managed both—and the guardian was almost never their wives.

Daniel's death highlighted the value of Martha's early education, as basic as it was. With the help of her former husband's business managers and a few lawyers, Martha managed the estate efficiently.

But a large plantation was a lonely place for a twenty-six-year-old widow in the mid-1700s. Most young widows remarried in those times. She was not one to defy tradition. Martha married a young military officer named George Washington on January 6, 1759. They would remain husband and wife for forty years.

Both Martha and George benefited from their marriage. She gained a husband to help her manage the plantation. He gained the plantation that he helped manage. They also loved and respected one another. It was a perfect union—until the unpleasantness over British tax policies tore Virginia and the other colonies apart.

The couple's finances took a hit in the 1760s due to uncertain economic conditions and the couple's penchant for hosting expensive parties. The parties and accompanying festivities occupied Martha's time. The economic conditions kept George busy on the political front. Before long he was involved on the military front as well.

In June 1775, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington as the commander in chief of an army that barely existed. That changed Martha's life dramatically.

There were rumors that Virginia's Royal Governor Dunmore would try to kidnap Martha to gain leverage against the general and the patriots. That placed added stress on her, although the kidnapping never took place.

As the war raged, Martha made it a practice to visit George every winter at his various camps. Her trips were marked by parades and parties all along the route as patriotic citizens thanked her for George's leadership on their behalf. She was leery of the attention at first, but she learned to live with it.

Martha performed her own patriotic deeds. She helped the Ladies of Philadelphia transfer money, clothing, and supplies directly to George Washington. And she recruited Thomas Jefferson's wife, also named Martha, to head a similar campaign in Virginia.

During the war, Martha—who had in 1773 lost her third child—suffered another devastating setback. Her son from her first marriage, Jacky, died in October 1781 of fever while serving as a civilian aide to General Washington at the siege of Yorktown. She had never coped with the deaths of her loved ones particularly well. This time was no exception.

Despite the hardships caused by deprivation, travel, and separation, Martha and George survived the war with their lives and marriage intact. The next test of their marriage would be less severe, but just as demanding.

For a short while after the war, Martha and George returned to their home, Mount Vernon, to live what they hoped would be a normal family life. Once again, the country demanded George's services. He was elected president of the United States in 1789.

Martha's life became a whirlwind of activities. She moved from Mount Vernon to New York City to Philadelphia. Wherever she was, Martha dressed formally, received visitors, hosted parties, and visited leading members of society. She did whatever it took to make sure the presidential home was open and the right people were treated with respect.

One of the leading social dilemmas at the first capital was what to call the First Lady. Some people called her “Lady Washington.” Others referred to her simply as “Lady Presidentess.”

Once again the couple got through the difficult time on a “learn as you go” basis. They could not have done too badly: George was elected for a second term.

Finally, after eight years as president and “Lady Presidentess,” George and Martha returned to Mount Vernon—but not for long. George died less than two years after he left office. Martha lived for two-and-a-half years beyond that.

The nation may have suffered two great losses when Martha Washington died. The first was her death. The second was all the letters she and George had exchanged over the years, which may have contained some riveting historical information. She burned them all in March 1802.

Martha Washington also burned her own name into U.S. history. That will never be lost.

East Lothian, Scotland
February 5, 1723–November 15, 1794
Committee Commando

John Witherspoon, a prominent evangelical Presbyterian minister, lived—and preached—in Scotland. Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton traveled from New Jersey in 1766 to invite Witherspoon to America as head professor and president at the Presbyterian College of New Jersey in Princeton. Initially, his wife Elizabeth was reluctant to travel overseas. She relented two years later, and the Witherspoons arrived in America soon thereafter.

It was not difficult for the colonists to win Witherspoon over to the cause of the patriots once he arrived in America. Since the Scottish and English were never bosom buddies, it was a foregone conclusion that he would adopt an anti-British stance. But he was not involved heavily in politics in his early years in New Jersey. He had to resurrect the college first.

Witherspoon made some significant changes at Princeton. He upgraded the physical facilities, revamped the curriculum, improved the quality of the faculty, and did whatever he could do to bring the college on par with Yale and Harvard.

Witherspoon had his critics in his early days at Princeton, especially when it came to politics. Some of them accused him of turning the college into a “seminary of sedition.”

Dealing with the criticism occupied his time for a while, but the growing interference by the British in American affairs and the concomitant influence of the Anglican Church bothered the staunch Presbyterian. He took the changes personally.

Witherspoon became heavily involved in the American fight for independence. He began working with the Committee of Correspondence and Safety in 1774. His dedication was recognized and he was elected to serve as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1776, along with Richard Stockton and Francis Hopkinson. The previous delegates, who had resisted independence, were kept home.

Witherspoon was a rarity among the delegates to the Second Continental Congress. He was a Presbyterian, whereas most of the delegates from the north were Congregationalists, and those from the south were Episcopalians (Anglicans). And he was the only active member of the clergy—and the only college president—to sign the Declaration of Independence. In that same year, Witherspoon attracted a lot more attention when one of his sermons, “The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men,” was published widely.

John Hancock appointed Witherspoon as the Congress's chaplain. Committee after committee benefited from his participation. In his time in Congress, Witherspoon served on more than one hundred committees.

Witherspoon was a meticulous delegate. As a late arrival to the Congress, he made sure he had all the facts at hand before voting for independence.

And when delegates argued about whether or not the country was ready for independence, he was quick to insist that it was, so they would not have to do Parliament's bidding.

On July 1, 1776, Adams presented an impassioned speech on behalf of independence, which he completed before the New Jersey contingent arrived. When Stockton, Hopkinson, and Witherspoon arrived, they demanded that he repeat the speech. Adams accommodated their request. It was only then that the New Jersey men said they were satisfied and ready for the question, which was then voted on in the affirmative.

The British extracted a price for Witherspoon's support of the Declaration of Independence. The British army set up camp at Princeton in November 1776. Witherspoon knew that damage to the school was a possibility. He closed the campus and sent the students away on November 1. His worst fears were realized. The British destroyed the main building on the campus, Nassau Hall, and Witherspoon's personal notes and papers. Continental Army troops also did their share of damage. An artillery unit commanded by Alexander Hamilton fired a round through a window in the campus prayer hall and destroyed a portrait of King George II. Even British army commanders were concerned about the misconduct among their soldiers in the New Jersey campaign, although they blamed the Hessians. Congress assigned a committee to look into the matter on January 16, 1777. Witherspoon was one of the seven members.

Witherspoon assumed the responsibility of rebuilding Nassau Hall after the war. That created a great deal of financial difficulty for him and affected his personal life as well. He was unable to rebuild his life as quickly as he could restore the damaged campus.

By 1794 the aging Witherspoon's health was deteriorating. He had lost sight in both eyes in separate accidents in the preceding two years. He died that year on his farm near Princeton. He never lost the belief that he had done the right thing by voting for American independence.