America's First Female President
The Unexpected First Lady
On May 14, 1787, George Washington was unanimously elected the United States’ first President. In the succeeding 237 years, all American Presidents have been men. Or so it has been thought.
By the spring of 1914, the world was at war. The war to end all wars, as it would become known. President Woodrow Wilson initially promised America’s isolationism, but after threats to American safety from Germany in the form of secret treaties and unrestricted submarine warfare that claimed American lives, Wilson petitioned Congress to join the war in April of 1917. Following a year and a half of bloodshed and strife for Americans and four long years for European nations, the war finally came to an end on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, at the eleventh hour. However, just because the fighting had come to an end, there was still a lot of work yet to be done.
In the summer of 1919, President Wilson boarded the U.S.S. George Washington to journey to France to negotiate a peace treaty. Wilson was not alone. He was accompanied by his wife, Edith, for this significant event. This was the first time a First Lady accompanied her husband overseas.
On the evening of April 3, after a long series of negotiations that ended in a deadlock, Wilson’s doctor, Cary Grayson, was called after he began to suffer from a violent cough. The culprit was the Spanish Flu. While the virus had been spreading for well over a year, his symptoms were not initially recognized.
For five days, he suffered, confined to his bed. Even after he recovered, Edith stayed close to home in case he should get a break or take a walk, since he continued to exhibit cognitive changes. Historians speculate that if he had been healthy throughout the negotiations, the outcome of the Treaty of Versailles may have been very different. In a later letter to a friend, Dr. Grayson wrote,
"The President was suddenly taken violently sick with the influenza at a time when the whole of civilization seemed to be in the balance. And without him and his guidance, Europe would certainly have turned to Bolshevism and anarchy. From your side of the water you can not realize on what thin ice European civilization has been skating. I just wish you could spend a day with me behind the scenes here. Some day perhaps I may be able to tell the world what a close call we had."¹
Upon return to America, Wilson then had to try to sell the Treaty of Versailles and, more importantly, the idea of the League of Nations to Congress. The League of Nations relied on a provision called Article X, which noted that all nations must act as one against any aggressor nation. The goal with the provision was to keep peace, with the idea that no one nation would want to take on the rest of the world. According to historian William Hazelgrove, “This was Woodrow Wilson’s answer to the millions of dead soldiers. American mothers had not given their sons in vain, because the world would have an organization ending war.”²
While Wilson had great hopes for the organization, it was met with stiff opposition. Wilson was not willing to back down. Woodrow and Edith went on a grand tour around the country to sell the idea of the League of Nations directly to the American people.
President Woodrow and Mrs. Wilson onboard USS George Washington, 1919. Courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy.
The Secret Presidency
After suffering from headaches for much of the month-long trip, Wilson was rendered more or less blind. The train tour was cut short, and they returned to the White House. In the early morning of October 2, 1919, Edith checked on her husband and found that his entire left side was paralyzed. She rushed to dispatch Dr. Grayson and was just hanging up the phone when she heard an alarming noise and rushed to find her husband unconscious on the floor after suffering a massive stroke.
In the subsequent days, several doctors, including Dr. Grayson and Dr. Francis Dercum, attended Wilson. Although the President was paralyzed and incapable of attending to the duties of his office, Edith was adamantly opposed to his resignation, arguing that to do so would be fatal to him.
In fact, this decision became the most consequential one she made during Wilson's illness. Dercum proposed to Edith,
“Have everything come to you, weigh the importance of each matter, and see if it is possible by consultations with respective heads of the Departments to solve them without the guidance of your husband. In this, you can save him a great deal.”³
Edith took this recommendation and ran with it. She felt that if Wilson continued all of the duties of President, he would die. If he resigned, he would die. If he were to die, world peace would never be achieved. The decision to keep the illness a secret was made to protect him at all costs. She did just what Dr. Dercum suggested from the time of his stroke to the end of his term on March 4, 1921.
Woodrow and Edith Wilson, 1919. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
America's First Female President
As 'president', Edith Wilson’s primary aim was to keep her husband alive, which led her to assume many of his responsibilities and limit access to him. Her approach to the presidency aligns with constitutional definitions of presidential duties, which include consultation with executive departments, granting pardons, making treaties, appointing officials, and filling vacant roles during Senate recesses.
According to the United States Constitution, a president's primary role is to serve as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Although World War I had concluded, the peace terms remained unsettled, placing Edith at the center of efforts to secure the Treaty of Versailles and establish the League of Nations with United States involvement.
Edith undertook five out of the six defined presidential duties. Many find it surprising to think that, in 1919, a woman arguably led the United States, especially someone with only two years of formal education. Yet Edith Wilson defied these conventions. While we may not know every detail of the Wilson White House operations, preserved letters provide a glimpse into her role in governing the United States from October 1919 to March 1921.
Today, more than a century later, America has met the possibility of a female president in the nominations of Hilary Clinton in 2016 and Kamala Harris in 2024, respectively. Although Edith Wilson was never officially nominated, elected, or sworn in, she shouldered the weight of presidential authority during a national crisis, steering the country through challenging times.
Edith's contributions in that period are rarely recognized. Despite never seeking acknowledgment, and even asserting that she was not the president, Edith took on the responsibilities and came to understand the boundaries and the emotional toll of such power.
Her unofficial presidency offers valuable lessons for future female leaders. Much like the Wright brothers’ initial experimental flights, her tenure was brief and anxious, yet it left a legacy of experience and insight. The next journey will likely be longer and more revealing. Ultimately, experience is the greatest teacher, and Edith Bolling Wilson, by the end of her efforts, stands as America’s first woman president.
President Woodrow Wilson, seated at a desk with his wife, Edith Bolling Galt, standing beside him. First posed picture after Mr. Wilson's illness, White House, June 1920. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
- Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938, “Cary T. Grayson to Samuel Ross,” 1919 April 14, WWP15722, Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.
- William Hazelgrove, Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson (Simon and Schuster, 2016), 128.
- Rebecca Boggs Roberts, Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson (Penguin, 2023), 171.
Krystal Teale is a seasoned historian and educator with over a decade of experience teaching history at various levels. Holding a master’s degree in Public History, she specializes in making the past accessible, engaging, and deeply human. As a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she has a profound appreciation for uncovering and sharing the personal narratives behind pivotal historical moments. With a passion for connecting people to history through compelling storytelling and thoughtful interpretation, Krystal strives to bridge the gap between academic rigor and public understanding. Whether in the classroom, through public history projects, or digital platforms, she is committed to helping audiences see the relevance of history in their lives today.
