you know, we don't know anything much about dolley madison. is a story in the hemings' family and i read about it in elizabeth dowling taylor's book about paul jennings, who is james madison's body servant and the first person to write a white house memoir. he was a slave. and there was a story in the family that dolley madison asked sally hemings to name one of her sons after james madison. and that she would give sally a gift. and in this rendition of the story, she doesn't give the gift. >> a related question from michael on twitter was that, "what was dolley madison's opinion of thomas jefferson? and did the madisons, as far as we know, ever visit monticello?” edi: i think visited back and forth. they were -- they were good friends and had known each other for many, many years. maybe you have more information on the outcome of but -- >> what is the distance between montpelier and monticello? edi: they were good friends. gosh, i'm trying to do it in the car. it's a -- it's a little ways, it's a little ways. katherine: and, in fact, when we'l

first, dolley madison. this is about an hour and a half. ♪ >> dolley was both socially adept and politically savvy. >> madison is just not a lot of laughs but she was his best , friend and she compensated. >> it is aaron burr that lets her know that james madison wishes to meet her. >> she carved out a space for women, where they could wield a great deal of political power. >> here, dolley madison would sit at the head of the table and direct the conversation. >> she got these people to the white house and entertained them, got them together, got them talking. >> this was very important for dolley to make everybody feel welcome, be they enemies or allies. >> dolley popularized the style to american fashion, and that was considered her classic look. people noticed it. >> the octagon was the perfect setting for james and dolley madison as they try and resume government as quickly as possible. >> she sat side by side with madison for almost 20 years during his retirement, helping him compile and arrange his pap

dolley madison was very social by nature.he loved large reception, she loved dinners, was perfectly happy to get in her carriage go visiting all day long. elizabeth monroe wants to stay home with her family. she was devoted to her daughters, to her grandchildren. and at the white house, that's what she really enjoy, that's -- enjoyed, that's what she wanted to do. she wanted to be with her family. she did not like large crowds. it was very uncomfortable at the large receptions that the president had but was very charming in smaller groups, at small dinners when there was a small circle of friends together, a small group of visitors. everyone praised her charm, her affability, her conversation said she sparkled. so just a very, very different type of person than dolley madison. host: richard norton smith, explain washington in this time period and how important social was to political. mr. norton smith: well, it's interesting and of course as you've said that the monroe years are popularly known as the era of good feelings. i

swain: and here is where we have to bring in dolley madison. brady: dolley madison.ey madison, the great character of our program two weeks back. and what role does she have to play in this administration? brady: well, referred by carl anthony brilliantly as the queen mother, i think. she had a beautiful cousin. angelica singleton, martin van buren had four single sons including his secretary and chief aid and she introduced them all at a dinner party. swain: why was dolley madison back in washington? henderson: her husband had died. brady: and that they had to sell off the plantation. henderson: they had to sell - yes, her son, when you remember wasn't the best manager and so she moved back to washington. she also loved - she love the washington scene. brady: she love - she bought a house on lafayette square. she was right there, and she immediately jumped into the social swing. it's where she had been happiest and she came back there as a widow. swain: back to calls, terry (ph) in independence, missouri as we now talk about the van buren administration. terry, are

dolley madison. she really used the social forum to advance her husband's political agenda. what was elizabeth monroe's approach to the white house? >> she and dolley madison were great friends. they were at a very different temperaments. dolley madison was social by nature and was happy to get in her carriage and go visit all day long. elizabeth monroe wanted to stay home with her family. she was devoted to her daughter, her grandchildren, and, at the white house, that is what she really enjoyed and that is what she wanted to do. she wanted to be with her family. she did not like large crowds. she was very uncomfortable at the large receptions the president had. she was very charming in smaller groups. when there was a small circle of friends together, everyone praised her charm, her affability, her conversation said she sparkled. just a very different type of person. >> explain washington in this time and how important social was to political. >> it is interesting. these years were known as the era

dolley madison was still alive during the polk administration and a regular visitor. wonder if mrs. polk didn't adopt to that style after mrs. madison. ms. swain: connor hunt is the author of this cover story showing that you have done a lot of work on her approach to fashion. can you tell us about it? ms. hunt: she had a well-established sense of child from her childhood. during the white house years she dressed elegantly for evenings and receptions. in the summer of 1847, they sent an order to paris or some gallons for the first lady. -- gowns. that was not the usual style. the top designers in paris were asked to make some gowns for the first lady. this was usually done by a commercial agent that they had. jacob l martin got the order and immediately found his good friend who went around the paris shops and they found a shop which made three gowns. one is at the smithsonian. the other is pink and the other is the robe. it was very unusual for her. this order for clothes and lots of accessories cost about $450. dolley madison's order in 1811 cost $2000. the pink gow

she goes to a meeting of the orphan asylum trustees dolley madison with the local women. founded the orphanage asylum after the british invasion in 1814. so she goes to meetings of the trustees and one of the trustees says no need a new building. and she said why? what are you talking about? the woman said, that sessions have been very long. the fathers of the nation have left 40 cases to be provided for by the public and our institution was most likely to be called upon to maintain this illicit progeny. 40 pregnant women left behind and they were only about 200 members of congress now. [laughter] some of them could've been recidivists, i don't know so she says to john adams, i recommended a petition to congress next session for the great immoral body to establish a family institution, and should certainly move faq additional dollars a day which they've given themselves as an increase in pay may be appropriate as a fund towards the support of the institution. you know, it doesn't get any better than that. when i discovered this i just couldn't believe it. so i knew i knew

first, dolley madison. this is about an hour and a half. ♪ >> dolley was both socially adept and politically savvy. >>

dolley madison on sunday night on the c-span series examining the public and private lives of the women who filled the position of first lady and their influence on the presidency. from martha washington to michelle obama, sunday on american history tv on cspan3. c-span's new book is now available, presidential historians on the lives of 45 iconic american women providing lively stories of these fascinating women creating an illuminating, interchanging, and inspiring read. it is available as a hardcover or e-book. next on american history tv robert dunkerly talks about what happened to other confederate armies following robert e. lee's surrender appomattox. he describes the forgotten surrenders of the civil war including joseph johnston in north carolina and richard taylor in alabama as well as confederate forces and their allies in the trans-mississippi region and indian territory. indian territory. this talk was part of a symposium on the closing of the civil war, cohosted by longwood university and appomattox court house national historical park. it is about an hour. >> i want to int

if you're going to be traveling on the inner loop of the beltway from dolley madison road to colesville6- minute commute. eastbound on 66 again no issues to report from nutley street to l street northwest, a 26-minute commute there. as you travel northbound on i- 95 from prince william parkway up to i-395, a 12-minute commute. for those of you traveling westbound on 50 from crain highway to florida avenue northwest, you're looking at a 19-minute commute this morning. want to show you live how things are shaping up on 50. this is at vista road. you can see traffic on the westbound side starting to rock and roll but again no issues to report as you make your way to school and/or work. >>> josh groban has music's most -- one of music's most iconic voices and he spent time here in d.c. >> a certain place called 1600 pennsylvania avenue. he told our friend tommy mcfly about a small concert he performed at the white house. tommy joins us live in the 94.7 fresh fm studios. >> reporter: good morning. he said he played the white house pi anna. get -- piano. get this. >> the white house piano is

if you're going to be traveling from dolley madison to cherrywood lane, 22 minutes.nce william parkway into town, north lee highway, a 30-minute commute. no issues on 95 on either the northbound or southbound side. we had an earlier issue just south of occoquan on the southbound side but again that's all wrapped up so you're good to go there. from cardinal drive up to i-395 again this is traveling on the northbound side. you're looking at a 14-minute commute and westbound on 50 from crain highway to o street northeast an 18-minute commute. let's check some cameras. this is i-66 at route 7. you can see juthe road. maybe just a handful but again no issues getting to your destination on time this morning. for those of you out in leesburg, sterling, chantilly, centreville, you're good to go. also want to let you know if you're in southern maryland areas, you guys are good to go, too. 210, route 4, route 5, also 301 issue and problem free. so my friends out in brandywine, accokeek, oxon hill, fort washington, camp springs, you should be able to get to your destination on

. >> dolley madison because she was one of the first who had a real sense of duty to his constituency meaning the country. it was unusual for a woman back then too perceived as part of her proper role a sense of duty and connection to the general public to people she didn't know. shackling candidate very strongly because of her sense of where the u.s. was in the cold war how democracy could be presented in a way that it hadn't and in a sense america had come of age and have as much dignity and had a right to maintain that dignity on the world stage. and betty ford by taking very personal and really emotional issues and not losing that power up that using that to help others. i think it's those like michelle obama very much eleanor roosevelt and i have to agree it is eleanor roosevelt but they realize time is ticking. anything could happen in a moment. your husband could die, be shot, resign, anything. you have this opportunity make a change. people are going to like you and hate you no matter what. they will like you and hate you because of the way you look, because what you say becau

those of you traveling the inner loop of the beltway, a 20- minute commute this morning dolley madison to baltimore avenue. and a 20-minute commute prince william parkway to 20th street northwest. from joplin to i-395 a 21- minute commute there. no issues on i-395 as you make your way to the 14th street bridge and into town. in prince george's county no issues going on along a, the bw parkway or 95 on the maryland side. if you're traveling from collington avenue to penn street northeast, you're looking at a 17-minute. this is i-395 here i should say at 7100 in newington. no issues there. just volume building up mainly in dale city. i want to take you back right now to i-270 at montrose road. we had told you we had had that tractor-trailer accident between montrose road and the spur. that's cleared up. the tractor-trailer is now on the shoulder. traffic is now moving again. we're now giving the all clear for i-270 so no issues there this morning. so things on the whole starting to fizzle out for the most part. we still have the issue going on in clinton, maryland. this is at route 5 at

i think dolley madison is involved in working with orphans and getting her friends involved. >> louisa adams is talking about women's rights in the early 1800's. her husband is the jimmy carter that era. he's in the congress leaving the argument against slavery and she is winning the argument against suffrage. it was reported in the press one of the earliest recognitions by the white house behind the first health and safety regulation standards in the federal work ways. >> and the one thing about the let's move thing, we have been sort of we are not arguing with your premise susan. it's more informal than it used to be an example is michelle obama's admission that because this was an issue that was a presidential initiative. the eisenhower of and jack kennedy. so i think it has evolved and become much more formal. >> i'm going to go over just a little bit and really jumped to one last session before we go to the questions from the audience and that is the first lady and the media which is also banned the part of wilson's earliest days. i'm going to start with a modern one and that is a

susan: here is where we bring in dolley madison and what role does she have to play in this administrationmichael: -- pat: referred to by carl anthony brilliantly as the queen mother, i think, she had a beautiful cousin, angelica singleton martin van buren had four single sons including his secretary and chief aide and she introduced them all at a dinner party. susan: why was telemedicine back in washington? -- was dolly madison back in washington? pat: she immediately jumped into the social swing. susan: back to calls, terry in independence missouri. we have lost terry. it's go on sean in louisville kentucky. caller: i was calling first about mrs. jackson. i thought she had a son who passed away. and also, i would like to comment on angelica's impression with the press and hostess in the white house and abroad. and how dolly madison influenced her role as first lady. pat: there was an adopted indian child that had died. angelica singleton's first year -- then gearing spent the for -- martin van buren sprintspent the first year in the white house without a hostess. she was wildly successfu

and george washington's portrait that dolley madison saved is still up there and john adams' blessing is still on the mant until the state dining room. any picture of abraham lincoln brings tears to my eyes. so what an amazing privilege that was and to get a chance to do that was extraordinary. so i appreciated that so much and i appreciate your time. and i get the mug, it's awesome thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you. thank you so much. i'd also like to thank the national press club staff inclupding its journalism institute and broadcast center for organizing today event and if you would like a copy of today's program or to learn more about the national press club, go to our web site that is press.org. thank you very much. we are adjourned. [ applause ] >>> tomorrow declared and potential republican presidential candidates will be at the south carolina freedom summit. senator ted cruz and marco rubio join ben carson, carly fiorina and potential candidates rick perry and rick santorum in greenville, south carolina. live coverage begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >>> this sunday

madison. this is about an hour and a half. >> dolley was both socially adept and politically savvy. madison is just not a lot of laughs, but she was his best friend and she compensated. >> it is aaron burr that lets her know that james madison wishes to meet her. >> she carved out a space for women where they could wield a great deal of political power.