In 2008, Cokie Roberts was promoting her book Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation, and described her favorite letter discovered during her research:
It was the year of the Missouri Compromise, 1820 and Congress was in session much
longer than it normally is. It stayed in session in that era until March, usually and because
of hammering out the Compromise and having to do everything else they were here till
June, which totally screwed up everything. They were running out of food. Nobody knew
what to do about Washington with all these people in it until June. Finally, they go home
and Louisa Catherine Adams John Quincy Adams’ wife — He’s Secretary of State at this
point and running for President. Everybody is running for President which sounded familiar
and so after the Congress finally goes home she goes to a meeting of the orphans’ asylum
trustees.After the War of 1812, Dolley Madison had worked with the women in Washington to
establish an orphans’ asylum because there had been many orphans left by the British
invasion and so Louisa goes to this meeting of the orphan asylum trustees and is told that
they’re soon going to need more space because “Congress had left many females in such
difficulties as to make it probable they would beg our assistance” and Louisa says, “What
are you talking about?” and the answer comes back from the trustee “The session had
been very long. The fathers of the nation had left 40 cases to be provided for by the public
and our institution was the most likely to be called upon to maintain this illicit progeny.”
There were 40 pregnant women left behind as Congress goes home to its wives and
Louisa Adams is writing these letters to old John Adams, who’s home in Quincy. Abigail
had died by this time, and she’s trying to amuse him and so she discovers this shocking
fact. Then she says to him, “I recommended a petition to Congress’ next session for that
great and moral body to establish a foundling institution and should certainly move that the
two additional dollars a day which they have given themselves as an increase in pay may
be appropriated as a fund toward the support of the institution.”
You can listen to her share the anecdote at C-SPAN.
(Via Steven Dennis.)