Martha Washington

The Nation’s First - First Lady

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (1731–1802) didn’t just marry George Washington—she partnered up with him in running the country before there even was a country. By the time she met the tall, ambitious Virginian in 1758, she was already one of the wealthiest widows in the colony, having inherited vast landholdings, enslaved laborers, and a knack for keeping a large estate humming. When she married George in 1759, she didn’t just bring love to the table—she brought resources, social clout, and the kind of management skills that would make even the most seasoned general take notes.

During the Revolutionary War, while George was busy leading the Continental Army, Martha was running her own kind of campaign. She traveled to military camps—most famously Valley Forge—where she mended uniforms, organized supplies, and provided hot meals to freezing soldiers. She boosted morale simply by showing up, which is impressive considering the “accommodations” often included drafty tents and the occasional musket fire. Her mere presence reminded the troops of what they were fighting for: home, liberty, and a warm hearth (preferably stocked with her cider cake).

As the nation’s first First Lady, Martha invented the job without any blueprint—hosting formal dinners, greeting foreign dignitaries, and making sure the president’s home was both welcoming and politically polished. She didn’t love the public spotlight, famously calling herself “a state prisoner,” but she understood the importance of appearances in politics. In a move that still baffles historians, she burned nearly all of her personal letters after George’s death—effectively proving she could keep a secret better than the entire Continental Congress.

Her legacy is one of grit wrapped in grace. She could command a room full of diplomats in the evening, then by morning be ladling stew for half the army. She wasn’t just the “wife of George Washington”—she was a leader in her own right, a wartime morale officer, and the original multitasker of American politics. And while countless men tried to shape a new nation on parchment and battlefield, Martha Washington did it from the parlor—with a teapot, a sharp mind, and the confidence to tell the Commander-in-Chief when it was time to sit down and eat his supper.

“I am still determined to be cheerful and to be happy in whatever situation I may be.”

—Martha Washington