Read Online Sex and the Founding Fathers: The American Quest for a Relatable Past (Sexuality Studies) by Thomas A. Foster - Free Book Online
Authors: Thomas A. Foster
Martha Dandridge.""' It is
often noted that his marriage to the wealthiest widow in Virginia catapulted
him up the social ladder to the highest echelons of Virginian planter society.
For many biographers, the evidence clearly suggests a calculated first meeting. Washington called on the extraordinarily wealthy widow too soon after
her husband died-and in a calculating measure to impress left a hefty tip
for her servants.
But even those who emphasize this initial motivation highlight evidence
that the union developed into something to be envied. Writes one pair, "The
marriage may initially have been one of convenience, [but] it seems to have
turned out to be an exceptionally happy one on both sides."' 16 Still another
author asserts, "If the main source of Martha's appeal was initially more economic than romantic, there is reason to believe that the relationship soon
developed into an intimate and mutually affectionate bond of considerable
17
If some later views are decidedly less romanticized, we still learn that the
marriage was a success from a public perspective. Historian Gordon Wood
points out that George and Martha had a model marriage. In New York and
Philadelphia, Wood elaborates, they operated as "matchmakers," and they
did so "with their own marriage... as examples." The result was a success in
quantity and quality: "He and Martha arranged sixteen marriages, including that between James Madison and Dolley Payne.""'
Biographers, however, anticipate any of this skepticism that readers may
have held about the marriage of Martha and George. Some remind us that
Martha was not a great deal older than George, as is often misremembered
by a public familiar only with her matronly portrait-indeed, she was only
three months older. "The fact that they had no children of their own is
almost certainly not a sign that they were sexually incompatible," assures
one."' "Late efforts to suggest that Washington's marriage lacked passion
... have all been discredited by most scholars," he continues.120 "The fact is
that George and Martha loved each other deeply," writes another.121
Indeed, the skeptics' view of the marriage has been well challenged by
romantic accounts. Twenty-first-century romantic depictions of their marriages enshrine the Founders as men far more virtuous than others. One
biographer of Martha Washington writes that during the Revolution,
George's conduct was exemplary, and his satisfying marriage was a key
aspect of this behavior:
Many British officers entertained themselves in camp with all-night
drinking bouts, high stakes gambling, and a plethora of easily available sexual partners. The Puritan strain in American society called
for greater discretion in their camp, but some men took the opportunity to kick off-or at least loosen-the marital traces. Not their
commander. Whatever George Washington's sexual experiences as a
young man may have been, he had never led a dissipated life-even
his love for the married Sally Fairfax had been well-nigh respectable. There would be no startling middle-aged outbreak: he was well
aware that he set the example for his men, and he genuinely delighted
in his wife's company and their "domestic enjoyments."
For this author, the love of husband and wife was not just privately
shared. It radiated outward, bolstering the beleaguered American forces: "Everybody enjoyed being with the Washingtons at headquarters because of
their obvious fondness for each other and the good cheer they radiated.""'
Turn-of-the-century popular accounts rely on lore and speculation as
much as the romanticized accounts published a century earlier. The introduction to Worthy Partner, a 1994 publication of the letters and writings of
Martha Washington, repeats a nineteenth-century account that the courtship was romantic "love at first sight.""' "After they married," explains the
author, "there is not a sign that George was a bored or unhappy husband.
They shared a
often noted that his marriage to the wealthiest widow in Virginia catapulted
him up the social ladder to the highest echelons of Virginian planter society.
For many biographers, the evidence clearly suggests a calculated first meeting. Washington called on the extraordinarily wealthy widow too soon after
her husband died-and in a calculating measure to impress left a hefty tip
for her servants.
But even those who emphasize this initial motivation highlight evidence
that the union developed into something to be envied. Writes one pair, "The
marriage may initially have been one of convenience, [but] it seems to have
turned out to be an exceptionally happy one on both sides."' 16 Still another
author asserts, "If the main source of Martha's appeal was initially more economic than romantic, there is reason to believe that the relationship soon
developed into an intimate and mutually affectionate bond of considerable
17
If some later views are decidedly less romanticized, we still learn that the
marriage was a success from a public perspective. Historian Gordon Wood
points out that George and Martha had a model marriage. In New York and
Philadelphia, Wood elaborates, they operated as "matchmakers," and they
did so "with their own marriage... as examples." The result was a success in
quantity and quality: "He and Martha arranged sixteen marriages, including that between James Madison and Dolley Payne.""'
Biographers, however, anticipate any of this skepticism that readers may
have held about the marriage of Martha and George. Some remind us that
Martha was not a great deal older than George, as is often misremembered
by a public familiar only with her matronly portrait-indeed, she was only
three months older. "The fact that they had no children of their own is
almost certainly not a sign that they were sexually incompatible," assures
one."' "Late efforts to suggest that Washington's marriage lacked passion
... have all been discredited by most scholars," he continues.120 "The fact is
that George and Martha loved each other deeply," writes another.121
Indeed, the skeptics' view of the marriage has been well challenged by
romantic accounts. Twenty-first-century romantic depictions of their marriages enshrine the Founders as men far more virtuous than others. One
biographer of Martha Washington writes that during the Revolution,
George's conduct was exemplary, and his satisfying marriage was a key
aspect of this behavior:
Many British officers entertained themselves in camp with all-night
drinking bouts, high stakes gambling, and a plethora of easily available sexual partners. The Puritan strain in American society called
for greater discretion in their camp, but some men took the opportunity to kick off-or at least loosen-the marital traces. Not their
commander. Whatever George Washington's sexual experiences as a
young man may have been, he had never led a dissipated life-even
his love for the married Sally Fairfax had been well-nigh respectable. There would be no startling middle-aged outbreak: he was well
aware that he set the example for his men, and he genuinely delighted
in his wife's company and their "domestic enjoyments."
For this author, the love of husband and wife was not just privately
shared. It radiated outward, bolstering the beleaguered American forces: "Everybody enjoyed being with the Washingtons at headquarters because of
their obvious fondness for each other and the good cheer they radiated.""'
Turn-of-the-century popular accounts rely on lore and speculation as
much as the romanticized accounts published a century earlier. The introduction to Worthy Partner, a 1994 publication of the letters and writings of
Martha Washington, repeats a nineteenth-century account that the courtship was romantic "love at first sight.""' "After they married," explains the
author, "there is not a sign that George was a bored or unhappy husband.
They shared a
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