13: The story of the first female President of the United States: Edith Wilson
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This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

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What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better, even when it's impossible to make time for them. Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow.

Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash darkhistory today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash darkhistory.

Hi friends, I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian and I'd like to welcome you to the Library of Dark History. This is a safe space for all the curious cats out there who think, hey, question mark, is history really as boring as it seemed in school? Oh nay, nay. I mean, this is where we can learn together about like all the dark, mysterious, dramatic stories our teachers never told us about. At least that's what I think I'm doing. I'm not sure yet.

Anyways, hi, how's it going? Quarantine, it's given me a lot of free time, you know? A lot of time to sit, think, reminisce on past experiences in my life. And I remember that my mother, mother?

"Mom?" She set me up on a blind date once and I was like, "Fine, fine, I'll go mom, whatever." So I meet up with him at some sushi place and we start talking about what we each do. And he's like, "Oh, I quit my job and I was working on Wall Street and I moved back in with my parents to pursue my career as a DJ." And I wasn't judging, hey,

Live your dreams. Go after them, you know? So then we headed to a karaoke bar where I sang TLC's No Scrubs. I mean, I was pretty sauced up at this point, but I believe I was hitting all the high notes, okay? Yeah. But what I'm getting at is that I wish my mom would have maybe set me up with like a wealthy president. I don't know.

I hope his career as a DJ worked out, though. Anyways, what I'm getting at essentially is today's story, which is about a blind date with a wealthy president. I know. You see how I, like, linked it together? I did. Welcome to my podcast. I link things together. Anyways, so...

Blind date with a wealthy president and then like shit just takes a left-hand turn. No blinker. Okay. And next thing you know, this woman, she's running the goddamn country. Oh, I know. I'm sure you didn't even know about this. First female president. I think so. I think so. Would you believe me if I told you that she was like propping up the president for PR photo op?

Mm-hmm. Like he couldn't even function. So she was just propping him up. Good for her. It's kind of hilarious. Like when you think about it, the story is kind of hilarious. And let's have a little fun. Let's do some giggling. Let's chat about Miss Edith Wilson, America's kinda maybe first female president of the United States.

Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I'm here all day. Thank you.

Okay, let's talk about Edith Wilson. Well, let me tell you about her. She was born Edith Bowling in 1872 in a small Virginia town. She lived in a really tiny town in the middle of like the mountains pretty much, but that didn't stop Edith from having a big old personality.

The biggest driving factor to this whole story is that Edith was full of opinions and she was fearless. And this was true even like when she was a little kid. Maybe it's because her dad was a circuit court judge or maybe she was born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline. Maybelline.

I know I'm just full of all the latest hits today. Anyway, so there was this one time when Edith was a teenager and these two guys came over to her house to visit the family. Well, Edith was hanging with her boys and she felt like they were being super dull. She's like, I'm bored. So she's like, hey, I dare you guys to both jump off the upstairs balcony, you know, for entertainment.

They were both like, okay, fine. You know, and they probably just wanted to like show off or impress her. I don't know. But they decided to do it. So they both jumped off the balcony. Well, actually, let me go back a little bit because they decided to hang or dangle onto the edge of the balcony and then drop to the ground. And they're about to fall, okay? And Edith is watching them and she thought it would be even more funny if she stomped on their fingers while they're holding on for dear life.

I know it kind of sounds like an episode of Murder Mystery Makeup, but nay nay, it is not. Anyway, she's stomping on their fingers and they did indeed fall, but luckily for them, they ended up not getting hurt. Later on in life, Edith would admit that she did it because she just thought they were boring. And she was like, you know what? I just wanted to laugh about it. Like, ha ha ha ha ha. I'm terrible. Oh me. This kind of gives you an idea of who Edith was as a person.

So it's the late 1800s. Women, you know, you're expected to be polite, pretty, and quiet. Like, shut up, don't talk. Not be pushing men off balconies out of boredom. I mean, we probably still shouldn't do that, but you get what I'm saying. You get it. Great. Okay. But Edith, she wasn't like all the other girls. She was not afraid to let anybody know how she felt. Good for her.

Anyways, when Edith turned 19, she met a man named Norman Galt when she was visiting Washington, D.C. Now, Norman was rich. He was rich.

rich rich you know i'm saying he was a businessman and he ran a successful jewelry shop and edith is seeing dollar signs yes she is she saw this as her opportunity to get the hell out of the tiny mountain town she was living in so um edith and normie that's so cute normie they dated for years no they didn't they dated for like four years specifically okay and then they decided to get married

Now, they were living the dream together, just being super rich. They would travel the world, go on lavish vacations, and just do whatever it is you do in the 1800s. But get this. Edith, she even had her own car at this point. This was a total flex on her neighbors because cars were only for rich people at this time, and she was showing off.

Edith would be the first person to get her driver's license in Washington, D.C. I mean, that's pretty iconic. The first person to get a driver's license? Hello? Groundbreaking. What were the driving tests like back then? You know? Like, how'd they test driving? I don't know. Because Edith, she was like pretty known in the neighborhood to be a very bad driver.

Yeah, it was said by the neighbors that she drove like an absolute mad woman. She was just all over the damn place. Edith probably thought that they were just jealous because she had a car. And not only that, like she was driving the damn car. She wasn't a sidecar, bitch, you know? She was a strong, independent woman and you couldn't tell her nothing, okay? And people actually loved her for it. Snaps to you, Edith. Snaps to you. Unfortunately though...

Happiness doesn't last forever, they say. And for Edith, only after five years of marriage, her sweet, rich husband Norman, Normie, Normie Boo Boo, he suddenly died.

Leaving Edith completely heartbroken. But the heartbreak wouldn't last forever because when he died, he left her a huge jackpot. Norman left Edith $125,000. And on top of that, he left her his jewelry shop, which today would be equivalent to over $4 million.

You go, girl. You are set. She is set. So Edith is now 36 years old. She's a widow, but she's in charge of the jewelry shop, which was so successful it was named the Tiffany's of Washington. It was a place where, like, you wanted to go to be seen, but also to get the best of the best, okay? If you were there, you had money. You know what I'm saying? It was all about show and status, not so much about jewelry. Okay?

Anyways, Edith didn't really have many friends in the area because she unfortunately was given the label as quote unquote someone who had new money. Such a shame. Which was heavily frowned upon by the super wealthy. New money? Ew. That means you were a peasant once before. Dirty.

So many people didn't want to associate with Edith, which honestly, I'm sure it was probably super lonely for her. So a friend of a friend was talking to Edith and was like, hey, you should meet my friend. Like you guys have so much in common, you know?

And she's like, tell me more. And she's like, okay, well, he lives in a super big house. There's like lots of natural lighting, super clean, super white. I mean, like really white. I mean, this guy is powerful and wealthy, but not only that, he's a sad boy, just like you, Edith. Wealthy and sad.

So Edith is like, ooh, tell me, who is this guy? I'm dying to know, you know? And that's when she was informed that his name was Woodrow Wilson, a.k.a. the President of the United States. Yeah.

What a hookup, huh? Let's pause for an ad. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better even when it's impossible to make time for them.

Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow. Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash darkhistory today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash darkhistory.

Edith wasn't really interested in dating or politics, okay? It seemed like she kind of thought it was lame for her and the president to bond over grief, but her friends were determined to make it happen. One of her friends trying to hook Edith up was literally Woodrow's first cousin.

So one day the friends invite Edith out for tea. They're like, oh my God, what a coincidence. We're like right by the White House. Let's like go pop in. Come on, it'll be fun. And Edith is like, oh my God, this is so embarrassing, but whatever, like let's go in and get this over with.

So since her friend is the first cousin, they can just, at this time, they can just walk into the White House. When they open the door, guess who's standing right there? Well, it's none other than the president himself, Mr. Woodrow Wilson, played by Richard Gere, if this were a rom-com. Because this kind of like sounds like a rom-com, right?

Like a widow and the president are perfect for each other, but they don't fall in love, but they can't help it after a series of planned coincidences by some mischievous friends. I'd watch that. Rent it. Not buy it, but you get it. Okay, since this story is mainly about Edith, I'm not going to go too much into Woodrow's past and like what he's all about, but I'll give you the talking points. How about that?

So who was this mystery bachelor? Well, first of all, his name was really Thomas, but everyone called him Woodrow or Woody. I don't know. I guess Thomas was too boring. Or maybe they didn't want to confuse him with Thomas Edison. No, I'm just kidding. But he went by his middle name. Great.

And some of the big things he did as president were setting up the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission, brought in labor laws, and he also raised income tax. Boring, but you know, it's important 'cause we still feel the effects of these things today. Woodrow was a master politician, super smart, very well-spoken, always dressed to the nines, and he was actually married once before. And it's kind of funny.

Is it? Kinda. Because Ellen, his first wife, was a soft-spoken intellectual. Basically the opposite of Edith. But Ellen and Woody, they adored each other and it was just a beautiful marriage. Until she died in 1914. That kinda ruined it. Now, Woody seemed to have mommy issues, and that's not me being mean. It seemed to be the truth because...

This man, he needed constant love and attention from a woman to function, okay? He even admitted multiple times throughout his life that if he didn't have a woman, he straight up couldn't work at all. What Woody strived for in his relationships was to connect deeply on a more personal, emotional level, having someone he could trust with his secrets, someone who was loyal, someone who was there to reassure him that he's doing amazing, okay?

Well, when Edith opens the door to the White House, Woody described their first meeting as love at first sight. Like doves are just flying everywhere. We hear their heartbeats a thousand miles away. An eagle turns towards the eastern wind and sheds a single tear. The world just stops. The two must have hit it off because within two months, he was writing her letters almost daily.

He knew him and Edith were meant to be together forever. Oh, yes. And he wasn't going to accept anything else. He was kind of like, honestly, low-key a stalker. Okay? But Edith, she was kind of into him. Okay? There were some red flags going on. I mean...

He was really pushing Edith to get married, just saying the corniest shit in his letters. And he even went as far as proposing to her via letters, saying, quote, What does that even mean?

It's funny because she responded to his proposal by saying, no, slow your roll, Mr. President. No. This didn't stop Woody, though. He would write letter after letter after letter to her to the point that he was neglecting his presidential duties. Duties. Duties. He wanted to see her every day and needed her to tell him that she loved him constantly. It's just like...

It's just a lot. It's just a lot, man. And I guess he did this with like multiple women throughout his life. And it was just honestly how he rolled. It's how he worked. He was a very passionate man, obsessive man, and he always seemed to get what he wanted. So by the summer of 1915, the two are still exchanging love letters. I think Edith had like given in a bit and was feeding into his kind words. But then Woodrow decided to take their relationship to the next level.

Well, he started sending her official government papers and in return was expecting her to tell him what she thought about the issues at hand. Now, Edith honestly thought this was weird, okay? Because for starters, he's the president, but also Edith,

They weren't married, you know? So, you know, it's just she wasn't even a politician. He was just basically venting to her about all of his presidential issues. He would go on expressing the problems he was having with Congress, possible wars that were going to happen. He was gossiping about his friends and enemies. Like he was just giving her way too much info that legally a president should not be giving.

It got to the point that he installed a private phone line between the White House and Edith's place so he could just like call her up and like get her thoughts on random high level intel. He's like, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Hey, babe. Hey, should I drop the bombs or no? He just trusted her. He trusted her so much. He's like, hey, Edith, like, can I send you these confidential messages? Just pretend you're me or something. I don't know. They won't know. And she's like, okay, fine.

Sure. So she started to send and receive these confidential messages to and from European countries pretending to be the president of the United States. They had no clue. They had no clue. They did not.

It was like they were catfishing the world together, you know? But Edith did express that she felt kind of weird doing this. I mean, she didn't really understand why he was confiding in her like this. Again, she had zero background in politics, but he was constantly reassuring her and told her that she was like, she was just as fit to guide him as anybody else in his inner circle was.

Now, Woody believed that even though his team was very smart, they weren't going to be as honest and transparent with him as Edith was. She was a fast-driving mountain woman and unfiltered. He loved that about her. Eventually, Edith learned how to decipher secret codes for him, and she actually really enjoyed doing it.

She had a photographic memory and she was very, she was a very quick learner, okay? And with all of this on her side, she started to enjoy the work she was doing. And even when Woody was being irrational, she felt comfortable enough to state her opinions on how the White House was doing certain things, you know? She was unafraid to tell him the blunt truth.

Edith, she didn't like to sugarcoat anything, okay? And at this point, she really started opening up about everything to Woody. She even joked about how she would like to be Secretary of State since technically she was like already doing his job. One time, Edith was talking to Woody about a former president she didn't like and she was saying something like, oh, I would knock his dirty teeth out. Okay, look.

In the olden days, saying something like, I want to knock his dirty teeth out from a woman. Ooh, that was shocking words, okay? And she loved shocking Woody. He was like, oh my God, you filthy, dirty woman. She's like, I know. Talk dirty to me more, baby. Anyways, Woody would just laugh because he just really enjoyed this side of her. He loved it.

So the two of them, they actually love talking shit together because normally Woody was like way too nice. I mean, he had to be. He was the freaking president, okay? He couldn't just go out and be a douche. But behind closed doors, Edith got that little gossip girl to come right out of him and he was spilling all that juicy info with her. He was like, oh my God, listen, listen. Congress wants to make booze illegal. Ugh.

Hilarious, hilarious, because half of them are alcoholics. And then they would just like giggle and like, yay all night. It's actually true though. You probably think I'm joking. No, the two of them would have slumber parties at the White House and like giggle all night. Facts, look it up or not, because I'm telling you, because I looked it up. Now we're gonna pause for an ad break really quick.

I'll be right back. I promise.

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Your cash back really adds up. Well, Woody was ready to propose to Edith again in September of 1915. Now this time she said, Yes, I do. I will.

Woody was so excited he could hardly contain himself and he went straight to the press to announce their engagement. And honestly, like they were super thrilled for him, okay? The people really liked the president at this time and they were heartbroken when his first wife died. So seeing him happy again, it just made everyone else happy. They're like, good for him. Good for him.

So this is a side note, but I thought it was kind of fun to add. Okay, so remember the Thomas Edison story? We mentioned the invention of the motion picture camera. Yeah. Okay, so you see, when word got out about the proposal to the media, the press decided to use this new invention to the fullest potential and go out following Edith, capturing her every move, you know, just like her doing stuff.

essentially inventing the paparazzi. Yeah, super iconic moment in history. Wow. So they literally got like footage of Edith walking her dog or something and the paparazzi's yelling at her like, Edith. Well, there's no sound at this time, but this is what I'm adding. Edith, like...

tell us about the proposal and she's like oh my god what like oh my god what and like edith we love your shoes edith and she was like oh my god thanks now she said it it weirded her out but come on i think she was loving it

She's like, oh my God. Oh my God. Stop it, you guys. She's just like posing while the video is being taken of her. She's like, oh my God, this is so weird, you guys. This is so weird. Thank you. Thank you for being jazzed for me. What I'm getting at is that the people were just excited, okay? And paparazzi was invented and that's kind of cool. The end. Nah, just kidding. Because there's more of this story, shush. So listen, most people...

We're excited for them, but not all people. You see, within Woody's inner circle, they were really worried about Woody getting married just like so soon after Ellen had died. They thought that the public would turn against him. I mean, who gets remarried so soon? It just wasn't a good look, you know? And there was one guy in particular who was not very fond of Miss Edith.

Okay. And that guy was Woody's closest advisor, Joe Tumulti. Now he didn't like Edith from the start. He thought she was a bit of an asshole. Honestly, he said it, not me.

But she had a voice of her own and she let it be heard. And you know how that makes men uncomfortable. None of these suggestions towards Woody mattered though. You couldn't stop him from following his heart. Now, one of Joe's biggest concerns was that his marriage would hurt Woody's reelection chances, which in turn would mean that he will lose his job.

But people are kind of saying behind Joe's back, like, you know, he really shouldn't be that worried about it because essentially she's already working his job as chief of staff. I mean, not officially, but honestly, kind of officially. And if Woody had to pick between Joe and his wife, who do you think he's going to pick? Who do you think he's going to pick?

Frigging his wife. And Joe was pissed, okay? And he was like, I need to get rid of this problem that we're having. So Joe did his best to try and stop the whole wedding thing. And he told Woody the truth. He's like, look, I don't think it's a good idea to get married to Edith, period.

Woody listened to Joe's words, but he took nothing to heart. He was madly in love with Edith and was going to marry her no matter what. But get this, because this is kind of funny. So Joe tells Woody this, and then Woody, he goes straight running to Edith, and he told her everything Joe said. The pure drama of it all. It's like the real White House wives of Washington, D.C. this Tuesday on Bravo. I'm just kidding, but I'd be interested.

As you can imagine, Edith did not let this go, okay? She would constantly belittle him, calling Joe common, which is like a rich white lady way of calling someone a basic peasant bitch. He's common. You don't need to talk to that commoner, you know? That's fighting words. It wasn't just Joe who didn't want them to get married. It was like everybody within Woody's inner circle. You see,

Some letters were found by the president's people addressed to Woody himself from another woman, a woman named Mary Peck. And there were a ton of these letters, like 200 of them. And it seemed like this was going on for years. Now,

This is just the ammunition they needed to get Edith the hell out of the White House. So Woody's people thought, hey, this is a great opportunity to blackmail him. So they go to the president and they're like, okay, you tell Edith about these letters or we're going to tell Edith.

Either way, they know that she's probably gonna be pissed and leave. And they're like, yeah, yeah. Our plan is gonna work to get her out of here. Goodbye, goodbye, bye, bye, goodbye. You're welcome. The question is like, what was in the blackmail letters from Mary to Woody? Was it nudes? Was it something freaky? Was it a love affair? Oh, the answer is an ad break. We're gonna take an ad break. Sorry about that. I love you.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24, 7, 365 days a year. So you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

This is an ad by BetterHelp.com.

What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better, even when it's impossible to make time for them. Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow.

Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash darkhistory today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash darkhistory. Okay, welcome back. So who the heck is Mary Peck?

Oh, that was good. That was good, you guys. I'm on a good roll today. I think I'm just done for the day, honestly. Like my rhyming skills and singing is off the freaking charts right now. 1907, Mary was on vacation in Bermuda and guess who she ran into? Okay, look.

Woody. It was Woody Woodrow. Okay. Now Mary wasn't just a nobody. She was a well-known socialite. Okay. She came from my knee. Yes, she did. And she was able to just go up to Woody and just have a conversation with him because you know, they come from like the same social circle.

And then they got along pretty damn great. They made jokes together and they're like, hey, we should keep in touch after our vacation. And they did just that. They wrote letters back and forth for years. And Woody did what he knew best. He would overshare, constantly oversharing.

He'd be like, "Hey, so I got this rash, you know, like you gotta see it, whoa." And they both were just very open and vulnerable with one another. Mary, she even opened up to Woody expressing how unhappy she was in her marriage. And when a woman opens up about how unhappy she is in a marriage, especially to the president, I'm sure we can agree that's not usually a good sign. And all of this was going on behind his first wife's back.

After he met Mary, he kept going back to Bermuda every winter while his wife stayed home and painted. Now, historians debate if anything sexual was happening in Bermuda. But like, come on, come on. You don't go on a thousand mile trip to meet a woman who's just your friend. Sure, sure. Yeah, I mean, so sure.

some shit they tried they say that you know they were just friends that's my response anywho again there's really no evidence that proves anything was sexual but some believe that they were knocking boots doing the nasty whatever you kids want to call it it was possible uh-huh mary and wendy synergy b a n

be um how you spell banging hold on b-a-n-g banging but the main reason the blackmail letter seemed credible was because at one point mary hit some hard times you see she finally got divorced from her then husband which left her completely broke so in one of her letters to woody she asked for some help you know some financial help

And since Mary was probably Yankee doodling his dandy, he had no problem sending her some money. You know, he offered her $1,500 to go towards, well, whatever it was she needed. So when Woody was faced with the idea that Mary may have written a blackmail letter, he was like, oh shit, whoops. Like just, he just believed it, you know? He knew how bad it looked for him at this time, a married man sending this woman a lot of money.

And a lot of letters, I mean 200 letters? He probably didn't even remember what he wrote half the time. When Woodrow was told about this blackmail letter, he freaked. And without hesitation, he sprinted his ass to Edith and he told her everything. Okay? It sounds like something an innocent man would do, sure.

Anyway, so he tells Edith, he goes, he's like, baby, baby, look, listen, babe, I love you. I freaking love you, babe. Listen, I'm being blackmailed. And then he goes into great detail about his relationship with Mary. Now, to make a long story short, Edith, she didn't really care. This all happened before she was even with him. So why would she care? She didn't care. So she just decided, you know what? I'm gonna ignore the rumors, okay? And we're gonna continue on with this engagement.

The funniest part of this whole blackmail letter situation for Mary? Yeah. It didn't even exist. No, it didn't. Woody's people, they were trying to sabotage the wedding and they made the whole thing up. Mm-hmm. If anything...

To you and I, that probably just shows how guilty Woody was over here. So sometime down the line, given who Edith was, she probably asked to see the blackmail letter revealing the truth. If she did, she caught those men with their pants down. She found out it was all bullshit, okay? And it would explain why she never really trusted Woody's people. And that was a bad move because grudges were her specialty. They sure were.

Edith always felt like an outsider and now she had the proof she needed and, you know, she would always be an outsider. It's like petty high school drama except like this is in the White House. So in December of 1915, Woodrow Wilson and Edith Bolling would officially become husband and wife. You're welcome, you guys. I know. You love my voice.

Anyhow, Woody, he became one of three presidents to get married during his administration. Who are the other two, you ask? I don't know. I didn't look that part up. I forgot. But he was one of three. Now, the wedding was a big deal, and the press, they loved Edith because she was serving mountain realness to Washington, D.C. Most of the time, the First Lady is expected to, like, just stand there and be pretty and, like, redecorate the Lincoln bedroom. But not Edith. Mm-mm.

She was like, let me put on my boots and do some shit. Let me dry the car. Like, yeah, she was wild. You know what you never see in TV shows and movies about the president? The first lady sitting next to him at his desk as he gets daily briefings. So Edith, she did just that. She would sit in on his important meetings and she would even like help him write his speeches.

Now, Woody, he was riding the new popularity wave as president, and Edith was right by his side, charming everyone along the way. In 1916, they, Edith and Woody, they would win re-election. You see, a lot of people think Woody wouldn't have won without Edith, you know? If I were Edith, I would have rubbed that right into Tmulti's cute face, that Joe guy. Yeah, Google him.

Okay, look, everyone was making fun of him. They're like, oh, he's so ugly, he's so ugly. But I Googled him. He's got a very strong nose. It's great, honestly. It's very, it's a sturdy nose. That's my review. Anyhow, so after the inauguration, another big thing happened. The United States joined World War I.

Now, Woody was public about how much he hated like all this war shit, okay? So he was like, you guys, I'm gonna go on a cross country road trip and tell Americans everywhere that they need to pressure their local politicians to support world peace. Like he was all about it. And you can imagine probably traveling across the country was very tiring for him. He was 62 years old and you know, so yeah, he was a little dehydrated. And then drama, drama strikes again.

You see, let me tell you, let me get comfy, hold on. One day while Woody was giving a speech in Colorado, mid-sentence he collapsed. Gas. So they sent him back to D.C. to get some rest. But the minute that he got back, Woodrow suffered from a stroke. Super gas. Gas.

Now, if you don't know anything about strokes, I hear that that shit can really fuck you up, you know? Which it definitely happened to Woodrow. It left him now paralyzed with no function over the left side of his body and he was bound to a wheelchair. He couldn't even talk for more than a few minutes before his voice became too weak to continue. Now, this isn't ideal for someone who needs to make, you know, public speeches or run the free world. So now what's gonna happen?

Who's going to take charge? Where do we go from here? Well, you'll never guess who steps in. I'm sure you can because who is this episode about? Silly.

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And we're back. Okay, so Edith stood by her husband and she was taking care of him in his every need. Oftentimes she would speak for him, telling people what he thinks or like what she thinks he wanted because like I said, his voice would get pretty worn out. Now Edith wasn't trying to take power from him. She wanted to ensure Woody kept his power, you know?

But that didn't stop people from claiming that Edith was some kind of political opportunist. Somebody who wanted to be the first female president of the United States. But was this true? Not really, but kinda. Kinda. It's not wrong, but it's not right, you know? So...

She did make a few major decisions while Woody was in recovery. The biggest one was not telling the public the true nature of his condition. She would not allow visitors to come and see him, and she would, like, hide this information from the people, the press, and the public.

Doctors who were taking care of Woodrow would tell the people he was recovering from a nervous condition, which is vague, you know, but they were doing that on purpose because they didn't want the vice president to know. Because what happens, you see, is that the vice president will then become president. It's just a whole mess, okay?

So Edith was like, look, I'm keeping quiet. I'm not going to say anything. Okay. She would like sit Woodrow up in his bed, put some sunglasses on him. She was like, look, see, he's good. See, let me guess. You think I'm joking.

I am not, I'm not. There's actually this very famous picture of Woody propped up at his desk. Okay, and it's like made to make it, it's supposed to look like that he's working. He has a pen in his hand and he's like looking down at papers, but Edith is right next to him holding the papers down and like kind of pushing him up a little bit. She's like, "Yeah, baby got it." You know? It just like, she's trying to make it seem like he can write. The only thing missing from my joke is the sunglasses.

Yeah, it's like weekend at Woody's. Honestly, this was just a full-on crisis being swept under the rug by Edith and the few people who knew. I feel bad for Woody, you know? He probably just wanted to take a nap. He was tired. Now, Edith wasn't kidding herself. She would never become or get the title of president, you know? But the power?

She was like, "That's something I don't mind too much." The people were getting so concerned because like no one had heard from the president in a while. So naturally rumors start spreading. People are talking, especially in the press. One of them were suggesting that the president had gone absolutely insane. There were bars put on the window to keep him from escaping.

To be fair, there were bars on the window, you see, but they had always been there and just no one had noticed before. Yeah. But he was in charge of controlling what information came to the president and she would filter out the ones she didn't feel were important or that he just didn't need to know. So in this way, she had a ton of power.

Now, whether it was power she was after or just taking care of her husband, she spent nearly all of her time in her husband's room just looking after him. The country was in need of a leader. I mean, we had just come out of World War I. Inflation and unemployment were high, and it just wasn't looking good for Woody. His doctor said that if he simply resigned, he would have no motivation to get better.

Right? But on the flip side, if presidential problems were too difficult for his weak mind to deal with, I mean, it could make his condition worse, technically. All this to say, Edith decides to take care of Woody in office and be the person to push his agenda forward without overexposing him to information. I mean, she was just trying to protect her husband, her man, you know? It just so happens that he was the leader of the free world. And if that meant she had to run the country, then...

So be it. So remember Joe Tumulti, Edith's enemy number one in the White House? Yeah. Well, he's thinking something fishy's going on. He's like, you know what? I've been sending the president important letters and nobody's answered them. That's a little weird. So kind of unlike him. So Joe was like, you know what? I need to go see him, sit down, talk about it. And he realized that he hadn't seen the president in over a month. So he's like, you know what?

Something's up. I'm going to find out. So what does he do? He puts pen to paper and writes Edith a letter demanding that the president sit down for a meeting with him. Show me the Woody. So finally, Joe's like, knock, knock, knock. I'm here to see the president.

All three of them sat down and got to talking about how to best help the country. Now, Edith transcribed Woody's thoughts into a series of letters that were then given to the Congress to work out like a few important decisions that were needing to be made ASAP, you know?

Now, the thing is, the thing is, these letters were very suspicious. A little suspish to everybody who was reading them. Edith wasn't known for being a good writer, so everyone was like, hmm, hmm, this is signed Woodrow, but like, how sure are we that it's Woodrow? In one of the letters, okay, look, the word America was misspelled.

So the thing about all of this is that there really wasn't any proof that, you know, Edith was doing something illegal. So nobody can do anything about it. And there was no television or radio at this time, just newspapers. So Americans were super used to not seeing the president or really having any insight as to like what's going on. But Washington insiders, they knew something was up. Okay. They knew better.

They were just confused over why the president suddenly stopped responding to problems he used to be able to handle in the morning. Now months were passing and simple things were stacking up and things weren't getting done. There were tons of empty positions at the White House that were never filled and 28 bills became law without the president's signature.

Previous appointments the president had were being ignored or canceled just altogether. And if it's not clear to you by now, Edith was struggling with her new position, if you know what I mean. So again, the press, they are sniffing around, okay? They're spreading rumors as to what they think is going on in the White House. And most settled on the idea that Edith was the one helping the president, probably more than she should, you know?

So since Woody wasn't responding to much of anything, that's when people started going right after Edith, just more directly.

Not only was she keeping secrets, but potentially a woman in charge? Oh, hell no. America is just not ready for that emotional rollercoaster that a woman would bring into the White House. Oh, she's bleeding on things. She's a woman. She probably eats, like, salt and stuff. I don't know. She cries when she eats chocolate. She's so emotional. We might have wars. You know, that's what they're probably doing. They still do it now.

There was this time during a congressional meeting, a Senator stood up and he was like, "You know what? We need to stop and take a break because the country is being run by a presidentress." That's like literally what he said, "A presidentress." He's like super mad about it. He's essentially complaining that there's a woman in charge and like, we need to do something about it 'cause this is not very America.

I mean, to be fair, she wasn't the president, you know? Like, she can't be doing that shit, but she was. One time, the Secretary of State went to Congress trying to discuss the president's stroke.

Well, this got back to Edith and she was like, oh, heck no. You're supposed to keep your mouth shut. Like, what are you doing? You're ruining this for me. I mean, us. So what does she do? She fires his ass. Yes, she does. Well, she didn't fire his ass technically. The president fired his ass. But everyone believes it was actually Edith who did that. Another big thing that happened while Edith was around was women got the right to vote.

good for you eat it good for you thank you thank you but guess what guess what this is dark history bitch listen up

The truth? The truth is that Edith hated women's rights. She did. She didn't like them. And like many rich white women of the era, Edith did not like the idea of women voting. In fact, she once referred to the women fighting for this cause as disgusting creatures and made it a point to let everybody know that she was not in any way related or supporting this feminist movement.

It was actually her husband who pushed for women's voting rights. Now, Edith may have been a progressive woman, owning a business, driving a car, running the country, but supporting other women? No, that was not high on her to-do list.

So despite his illness, Woody wanted to run for a third term with Edith's help, which was legal back then. Well, the leaders of this political party were like, dude, dude, bro.

Bro, you could barely, you're barely hanging on. Okay, we can't let you run again. Like, are you nuts? And yeah, he was nuts. Maybe it was Edith who was nuts, but they decided, you know what, maybe you're right. Maybe we shouldn't run. You know, maybe it's best not to run for reelection. So they decided not to. And it seemed to like break Woody's soul because just two years later, sadly, Woody would pass away.

Now for the rest of her life, Edith would be the protector of Woody's legacy and defend the work he did as president. She didn't die until 1961, almost 40 years after Woody. She never remarried and she never ran for office, but she did stay involved in party politics. I feel like I went on a really weird journey of my emotions towards Edith when I was like putting this together.

Let me tell you why. 'Cause first of all, I didn't know who she was, right? And then I heard that she was like secretly the first woman president. And I was like, "Oh my God, this is amazing. "We gotta tell a story, like I need to know more." And then I started to figure out like,

Oh, she actually wasn't that great. Like, she was kind of the worst. Yeah, you know? And, like, she didn't really do anything with his presidential power. She just propped Woody up and, like, made, like, a PR moment out of it. She didn't do anything helpful, and she used the highest office to take out personal vendettas against her enemies. Is that a bad thing, though? No. I mean, I'd probably do the same, honestly. Good for her.

Instead of opening doors for other women to have power, she put a weird amount of effort into preventing women from voting. Luckily, that didn't work. And I want to be really upset with her for totally blowing her chance at this, but eh, you know, this is who she was. She totally winged it. And she tried her best, I guess.

but she was mainly doing so just to protect her husband and his interest. She knew him very well. He constantly poured his heart out to her before he got sick, and she was just doing what she thought was best for him. And when you dive into history like I do, you know, sometimes you come across figures from the past who honestly

They didn't know that they were probably, maybe, perhaps become legends. Now this is one of those situations. History kind of chose her. She didn't choose it. And I have a feeling despite all of her faults, and there was probably like a lot of them, she played the best hand that she could.

This put her in a position that nobody could have ever seen coming, you know? Especially not Edith, who probably just wanted to like drag race and talk shit about Joe Tumulty. And honestly, this, it was a problem that even the United States Constitution wasn't really prepared for either. It wasn't until 1967 that the 25th Amendment was added, which makes it way more clear what the country needs to do when a president dies or like in Woody's case, becomes disabled.

So at least, you know, Edith got one thing done. She helped usher in the 25th Amendment. You go, girl. Woo! You did it. You fucking did it, girl. Yeah. When Woodrow Wilson died, it's said that some of his last words were to call himself a broken piece of machinery, almost like he was a robot or something. And if Woody was like a machine, he probably saw Edith as the engineer that kept him going. Aw. And then at the moment he died,

He said his last words, which were Edith. That's so special. In the end, it was always about her, whether she wanted that or not. What do you guys think? Did you learn something new about Edith? Well, everyone, thank you so much for learning with me today. Remember, don't be afraid to ask questions to get the whole story because you deserve that.

Now I'd love to hear your reactions or thoughts to this story, so make sure to use the hashtag darkhistory over on social media so I can see what you're saying. Join me over on my YouTube where you can watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs and also catch my murder mystery makeup which drops every Monday. Hope to see you there. Have a good rest of your day, I hope you make good choices, and I'll be talking to you next week.

Dark History is an Audioboom original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian, Chelsea Durgan from Slash Management, and Ed Simpson from Wheelhouse DNA. Produced by Lexi Kiven, Daryl Christon, and Spencer Strassmore. Research provided by Jed Bookout. Writers, Jed Bookout, Michael Oberst, Joey Scavuzzo, and me, Bailey Sarian.

Today's historical consultant, William Hazelgrove, author of Madame President. You can find the book below to learn more. And Professor Michael Felix, M.A. And I'm your host, me again. Hey, me. It's all about me. Bailey Sarian. I'm just kidding. It's not all about me, but it's me, your host.