First Mother: The Women Who Made the Presidents

Author: Harold I. Guernsey (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: July 1, 2005
Features: Chapter 2 - The Missing Mother of Virginia: Jane Jefferson, Nancy Madison, Elizabeth Monroe, Jane Jefferson
If it is difficult to find the impact of George Washington's mother, at least one college is named after her (Mary Washington College in Virginia). Several of Washington's famous successors from Virginia—Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe—were not given such honor, although their sons were not as uneducated as Washington. In fact, their later success should be attributed more to their teachers than to their parents, and we know very little about their parents. Taking Jefferson as an example, his famous mentor was named William Small, an enlightened Scottish immigrant whom he met at the College of William and Mary. Among the teachers, only Small was not an Anglican clergyman. His "natural philosophy" covered mathematics and science, but his interests extended to every academic field. In his autobiography, Jefferson described his friendship with Small as "my good fortune, this friendship likely determined the course of my life." Small's "broad knowledge and enlightened thinking" expanded Jefferson's intellectual horizons far beyond the limits of classroom learning. Through Small's introduction, Jefferson met the inspiring class in Williamsburg, the capital of the colonies. A young member of the House of Burgesses had a particularly significant influence and was destined to become a famous judge and patriot. His name was George Wythe, Jefferson's "dear" friend, who constantly encouraged him to move forward. Similar to Jefferson, James Madison's mentor, James Robertson, was also Scottish, and Madison regarded him as the person who had the greatest impact on his career. From the age of eleven to fifteen, Madison boarded at Mr. Robertson's school, laying a broad foundation in classical culture for the American colonies. When Madison became an adult, he described Robertson as follows: "Everything I have is mainly due to him." At the College of New Jersey in Princeton, Madison met another outstanding Scot, Dr. John Witherspoon. Witherspoon was the president of the college and knew every student (how different that would be today). He encouraged Madison to study literature, philosophy, and importantly, the foundations of just government. For the young James Monroe, even the buildings of the College of William and Mary left an unforgettable impression on him, and the more aesthetically discerning Jefferson described them as "shapeless and rough houses." On the eve of the American Revolution, the college seemed to Monroe like a source of intellectual power, led by an "enlightened and patriotic administration." Then Monroe received basic training at the Parson Archibald Campbell Academy, where John Marshall also studied. As biographer William Payne Cullen described it, Monroe learned there "a solid foundation in classical culture, learned to respect the truth and accuracy of mathematics, and understood what loyalty, honesty, honor, and dedication were." But the parents who provided such learning opportunities