Edith Bolling Galt Wilson Adolpho Muller-Ury, 1916 White House Historical Association

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, after leading the U.S. into World War I created and advocated for the League of Nations. In 1919 he was awarded the Nobel peace prize, and by his second term he installed the 19th amendment, giving women voting rights. The stress and pressure associated with making these mammoth deals suffered him a paralytic stroke while seeking American approval for the Treaty of Versailles. It was Edith Bolling, his second wife, who played the largest role in seeing him through this turbulent period and enabled him to continue running the nation. Edith Bolling, a widow when she married Wilson, is said to have been so unusual that she drove an electric car -- the only one of its kind at the time. Her intense relationship with Wilson allowed her access to all facets of his life, and he invited her to his side during his most secret moments -- even while making war plans. Never really having an interest in politics, she was only concerned about his health and well being. Like Eleanor Roosevelt, Bolling volunteered for the Red Cross during WWI and even arranged for a flock of sheep to graze the White House lawn when the gardeners were conscripted. When Woodrow Wilson suffered a major stoke that left him paralyzed for five months, Edith took his health into her own hands and kept the nature of his illness away from the public while also managing his political calendar and scheduling appointments. Critics assailed Edith for her close monitoring of Wilson's appointments and claimed that the U.S. was under a "petticoat government." Edith later revealed to a journalist, "I, myself, never made a single decision regarding the disposition of public affairs. The only decision that was mine was what was important and what was not, and the very important decision of when to present them to my husband."