Presidentess: The Life of First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler (The East Wing in American Society)

The first full biography of the controversial and complex First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler—an unjustly scandalized New Yorker, the second wife to President John Tyler, and a savvy and consequential political figure in the age of the Civil War.

Myths, rumors, and gossip have long circulated around First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler. Commonly believed to be politically insignificant, most of our fascination with Tyler surrounds her reputation as a highly desired superficial flirt. This salacious mythos was based on her status in a politically influential New York family and the popular rumor that she posed for a sexually suggestive advertisement for a dry goods store in Manhattan.

Now, in the first full biography of Julia Tyler, Christopher J. Leahy and Sharon Williams Leahy correct such longstanding misconceptions about President John Tyler’s second wife and establish her reputation as an influential political force. Presidentess shows a presidential spouse who was more consequential than people realize and made a lasting contribution to the evolving role of first lady.

Leahy and Leahy present a compelling portrait of a determined woman who came to embrace her new Southern identity after marrying John Tyler, serving as a faithful defender of his views and values—including his decision to renounce the Union and join the Confederate government. In the aftermath of the Civil War, she orchestrated a public relations campaign to restore and protect her legacy as well as that of her late husband, the “traitor president.” In her later years, she successfully lobbied Congress for a pension and reclaimed her status as a former first lady.

Presidentess casts a new light on Julia Gardiner Tyler’s life and legacy, including new revelations about the scandalous “Rose of Long Island” advertisement, an exploration of the dark side of New York City’s print culture, and Tyler’s essential role as an unwitting character in the presidential election of 1844. Presidentess gives a fully developed portrait of Julia Tyler, illuminating this controversial first lady and this pivotal turning point in American history.

Christopher J. Leahy is professor of history at Keuka College. He is the author of President without a Party: The Life of John Tyler (LSU, 2020).

Sharon Williams Leahy is an independent scholar with a master’s degree in historic preservation from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She is the author of several articles on first ladies, including Julia Gardiner Tyler and Mamie Eisenhower.