The First Female President of the United States of America

The White House secret presidency

Portrait of Edith Bolling-Wilson | Image credit: The White House Historical Association

Throughout the history of the United States of America, the White House was ruled entirely by men. When former Senator Hilary Clinton vied for the 2016 presidential election, the world thought the U.S. might have been ready for a female president. But of course, it did not happen.

However, according to William Hazelgrove, a historian and the author of the book, Madam President: The Secret Presidency, the United States already had a female president in the early twentieth century. She was Edith Wilson, and she led the White House and the country in secret for over a year, which made her the sole female “unelected” president of the United States of America.

From Virginia to Washington

Portrait of young Edith Bolling | Image credit: History Daily

Edith Bolling was born in Wytheville, Virginia, on October 15, 1872. Her family’s line descended from English colonial aristocracy settlers in Virginia. She was the seventh of the eleven children by William Bolling, a lawyer and judge, and Sallie White Bolling. Through her father, she was also a direct descendant of the American Native icon…