The Sunday Story: America's first female president?

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4.6 • 59K Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2023

⏱️ 16 minutes

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Summary

On October 2, 1919, then President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke that left him blind in one eye, partially paralyzed and barely able to write his own name. He was in the midst of his second term. For the remainder of his presidency, some 17 months, his wife managed his duties, serving as a kind of de facto president. Today, as we celebrate Women's History Month, Steve Inskeep joins us to share his interview with Rebecca Boggs Roberts, author of Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The United States has never had a female president, at least not officially.
0:04.4	Are you intrigued?
0:05.4	Yes, you should be.
0:06.4	Today, we have the story of a first lady who in some ways filled that role.
0:10.6	She had unprecedented power and responsibility in the White House.
0:14.3	She also went out of her way to hide her contributions.
0:16.4	I'm Rachel Martin and this is up for Sunday and today, as we celebrate women's history
0:23.5	month, Morning Edition host Steven Skeep joins me to talk about Edith Wilson, the wife of
0:27.8	the 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson.
0:30.4	Hey, Steve.
0:31.4	Hi there, Rachel.
0:32.4	I want to begin here with a little mood music, which also is music that pointed me to the
0:39.1	way to try to tell this story.
0:41.2	Can I just play this for you?
0:42.4	Yeah.
0:43.4	If you think to tell you about this piano, first, the person playing it is my mom.
0:53.9	Huh?
0:54.9	What?
0:55.9	Yes.
0:56.9	The piano is at the Woodrow Wilson House here in Washington, DC.
1:01.1	Wilson was the only president ever to remain in Washington after he left office up until
1:04.9	Barack Obama, who's in the same neighborhood as the Wilson House.
	...

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