Ellen and Edith: Woodrow Wilson's First Ladies

2. The First Lady

Ellen Wilson could not look back for long. She had to face the future as the wife of a prominent political figure. Privately, she may have entertained misgivings, and even a few regrets, but she was prepared for her new role. At Princeton’s Prospect House, she had welcomed large numbers of diverse people. She had helped her husband develop his ideas and his speeches. By helping to found the Princeton Present Day Club, she was participating in the reform movement that was attracting increasing numbers of women. By 1911, Ellen was ready to be New Jersey’s first lady. New Jersey did not have a governor’s mansion, so the Wilsons moved into a hotel, the Princeton Inn, where they would be in familiar surroundings yet less than fifteen miles from Trenton, where the legislature would meet during the spring. Ellen was free from housekeeping duties—their grown daughters were often away from home. She was able to devote even more of her time to supporting her husband in his new position. She continued to read newspapers and clip articles for Woodrow, much as she had made digests of political philosophy texts when he was a young professor. She went over the material with Woodrow every day, suggesting people to see. Woodrow made notes in the little book he carried in his vest pocket.1 She also talked with many of her husband’s friends and supporters and helped his new secretary, Joseph Patrick Tumulty, deal with c h a p t e r t w o THE FIRST LADY 50 } { a flood of correspondence. Tumulty was a young man of thirty-one with a deceptively cherubic face, an Irish-Catholic progressive Democrat who had served in the New Jersey legislature. Outgoing and sympathetic, Tumulty’s character and experience complemented Wilson’s aloof exterior and academic background. Ellen had quickly made an ally of the young man; she herself had introduced him to Woodrow at a dinner shortly before the election. Tumulty came to discuss every issue with Ellen, sometimes deliberately excluding Woodrow. “She’s a better politician than you are, Governor,” Tumulty explained.2 Ellen’s assistance in writing letters and clipping articles was helpful , but her role in cementing the relationship between her newly elected husband and Democratic Party leader William Jennings Bryan was crucial. Woodrow preferred to spend his evenings with close friends and family. It was Ellen who recognized the opportunity that presented itself in March 1911, when Bryan scheduled a visit to Princeton. In the past, Woodrow had been critical of Bryan, the three-time Democratic nominee for president. In 1907, Woodrow had written that he would like to see William Jennings Bryan knocked “once and for all into a cocked hat,” that is, thoroughly beaten. In March 1908, Wilson had stated during an interview that Bryan’s theories were both “foolish and dangerous.”But if Woodrow Wilson wanted to go further in politics, he would need the support of the Great Commoner. The editor of the Trenton True American urged Ellen to impress this fact upon her husband.3 On March 1, 1911, Bryan, intrigued by Wilson’s growing national reputation, had written Wilson, saying he would soon be coming east and suggesting they meet. Woodrow had already left for a speaking tour in Georgia when it was announced that Bryan would be arriving on March 12 to address the Princeton Theological Seminary . Ellen, after ascertaining that it would be possible for Woodrow to get back in time, telegraphed him to return at once. Wilson complied . Bryan attended an intimate dinner with the Wilsons, which, Bryan’s host observed, was “due entirely to the desire and planning of Mrs. Woodrow Wilson.”4 The dinner was a success. As Woodrow told Mary Peck, he came away with “a very different impression” of Bryan from the one he had before, finding him on closer acquaintance to be a “truly captiThe First Lady 51 } { 52 Ellen Axson Wilson } { vating man.” The two men agreed to share a platform at an upcoming Democratic rally in Burlington, New Jersey.5 Ellen was modest about her role in this important meeting. When one of her friends congratulated her on “playing good politics,” Ellen protested that it was “only good manners.”6 What Ellen did not say, but clearly understood, was that social savoir faire helped achieve political goals. Joe Tumulty agreed with her and, like Ellen, helped...