Before women had the right to vote in the U.S., we already had an acting woman president, according to Rebecca Boggs Roberts, the author of “Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson.”
In an interview at The Woodrow Wilson House, only blocks away from the home of former President Barack Obama and near Jeff Bezos’ house, Roberts sat in the dining room under the portrait of the second wife of the 28th president of the United States.
“I do think that at the end of 1919 and the beginning of 1920 to the degree that anybody was the chief executive of this country, it was Edith Wilson,” said Roberts.
In October 1919, former President Woodrow Wilson had a massive stroke, leaving his whole left side paralyzed.
“The treatment for stroke at the time was that the patient couldn’t be stressed, face bad news. They couldn’t make hard decisions,” said Roberts. “What does a president do all day? A president is stressed. A president makes hard decisions.”
Before she became first lady, Edith Wilson ran her late husband’s jewelry store and was the first woman in D.C. to have a driver’s license to operate an electric car.
Roberts said in Edith’s version of what happened, the only recourse opened to her was to do his job for him until he was better.
“Edith, the first lady, Cary Grayson, the president’s doctor and Joe Tumulty, whose title was secretary, but he was the chief of staff, together, they lied to the press, the public, the cabinet, the Congress, to the president himself. He never knew how sick he was,” said Roberts.
In a scene that would be even too bizarre for the HBO show Veep, Roberts said Edith and her cohorts were forced to go “Weekend at Bernie’s” when Republican Sen. Albert Fall from New Mexico started asking questions.
“They kind of propped the president up in bed. They pulled the covers up over his left side so no one could see that he was paralyzed on that side,” said Roberts.
Luckily, it was a good day for Wilson when the delegation walked in. Fall said to Wilson, “I’ve been praying for you, Mr. President.”
Roberts said Wilson jokingly replied, “Which way senator?”
By the time spring rolled around, Roberts said the press started pushing back, saying, “If he’s not OK, we need to know that. And if he is OK, let us see him.”
How did Edith and the doctor handle that issue?
“They propped him up in a car and kind of wedged him in a corner so he wouldn’t tip over, and they drove him around town,” said Roberts. “That was how they satisfied the critics.”
WTOP asked Roberts if there had been any situation like this in our country’s history, and she pointed out that you hear stories about Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy and Jill Biden, but that this is a different level.
“Woodrow Wilson waved to a crowd at Union Station in late September 1919 went to the White House, had a stroke and was not seen in public until April of 1920,” said Roberts.
Roberts said that the scope and scale are so radically different from those other examples of first ladies covering their husband’s health that it really can’t be compared.
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