Margaret Taylor, From Army Wife to Reluctant First Lady

The Preamble

Sharon McMahon

Government, History, Education

4.9 • 15.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Margaret “Peggy” Taylor was a true pioneer woman, so the White House was never the life she wanted. She spent decades roughing it at remote army posts, surviving war, illness, and devastating loss alongside her soldier husband. When Zachary Taylor became president, Peggy quietly stepped away from Washington society, choosing instead to focus on her faith and family. It’s a reminder that not every First Lady wanted the job. If you’d like to submit a question for Sharon to answer, head to ThePreamble.com/podcast – we’d love to hear from you there. And be sure to read our weekly magazine at ThePreamble.com – it’s free! Join hundreds of thousands of people who still believe understanding is an act of hope. Credits: Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks Audio Producer: Craig Thompson To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:01.7	Hello, friends. Welcome.
1:03.1	I'm so glad you're here with me today because we're moving from the political power
1:06.1	player that was Sarah Polk to our next first lady, a true frontier woman.
1:13.7	Margaret or Peggy Taylor spent her life on the edges of the nation, traveling to its most remote outposts. She was far more
1:19.7	comfortable roughing it alongside American soldiers than hosting a glittering society ball in Washington,
1:25.7	D.C., and that difference shaped everything about her time as First Lady.
	...

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