Lady Washington

This installment of ‘When Character Counted’ focuses on First Lady Martha Washington, who sacrificed her longing for a private life to help shape a new nation.

A painting of George Washington and family in his library at Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association

In 1789, the very first first lady of the United States, Martha Washington (1731–1802), wrote to Mercy Otis Warren—a writer and strong supporter of American liberty—describing her longing for home, Mount Vernon. Near the end of the letter, she added a remark that neatly summed up the quiet grit behind the sacrifices she had made for her country:

“I am still determined to be cheerful and to be happy in whatever situation I may be, for I have also learnt from experiance that the greater part of happiness or misary depends upon our dispositions and not upon our circumstances; we carry the seeds of one, or the other about with us, in our minds, wherever we go.”