Sarah Childress Polk was dignified, gracious, and held high morals. She was a helpmate to her husband and an accomplished hostess. In many ways, she was the quintessential nineteenth-century woman. In others, such as her higher education, her political interests, and her disdain of domesticity, she would herald the coming of the twentieth-century woman -- and of the twentieth-century First Lady.

Sarah Polk's reputation in Washington, D.C., was, in some ways, better known than her husband's. As wife of the Speaker of the House, she held an important social position in the capital and entertained large groups of people, inviting both political friends and foes to her parties. Many admired her moral code and commitment to religious principles, and she actually enhanced her social standing -- and her husband's political status -- by refusing to drink, dance, and attend the theater and racetrack.

As James K. Polk waged his Tennessee gubernatorial campaign, his wife was not only his social hostess, but his unofficial campaign manager as well. She sent important documents to her husband on the stump, oversaw his strenuous schedule, and, with his political aides, coordinated various elements of the operation. Few, however, knew of her contributions to her husband's successful bid for the Tennessee governorship; Sarah might have been a political force in her husband's campaign, but she complied with the Victorian conventions of the time dictating that women, like children, should be seen and not heard.

When Polk became President in 1845, Sarah implemented a very different social calendar than that of her predecessor, Julia Tyler. Gone were the waltzes and polkas, the wine drinking and opulent entertainments. The Sabbath was strictly observed; even the President did not conduct governmental business on Sunday. But Sarah did not ignore the important social responsibilities incumbent on the role of presidential spouse. She attended the inaugural ball -- though she did not dance -- and held special receptions on the Fourth of July and New Year's Day. Dispensing with invitations, she hostessed two evening receptions a week where she and the President would often greet visitors and shake hands for hours. Although her events were not as glamorous as her predecessor's, the public and the press respected Sarah's restraint, efficiency, and hospitality.

Although Sarah Polk willingly performed her social duties, she loathed any domestic obligations and instead chose to focus on political issues. Indeed, she freely admitted that she would "neither keep house, nor make butter" but would "always take a deep interest in State and national affairs." To that end, Sarah continued to be her husband's political partner even in the White House. She served as his private assistant and reviewed national and local newspapers, clipping those articles she deemed of interest to the President. She acted as Polk's proxy at certain functions -- at times attending events unescorted -- wrote the President's speeches, and copied his correspondence. Sarah was also the President's best judge of public opinion. Her political influence was extensive and acknowledged by President Polk when he asserted, "None but Sarah knew so intimately my private affairs."

Within the administration, Sarah was more than a silent political partner to the President. She attended cabinet meetings, discussed politics with White House guests, and spoke openly with reporters. She urged her husband to support a national bank, to no avail. Sarah was more successful in influencing him to fulfill the nation's "Manifest Destiny" by claiming territory as far west as the Pacific Ocean for the United States. She supported the President's decision to war with Mexico and adjusted his social calendar to include patriotic events in support of the nation's soldiers.

Outside of the White House, Sarah adopted an approach to politics that was more in keeping with Victorian conventions and her own southern upbringing. She enjoyed discussing political issues with members of the government and could be politically outspoken at times, but she often masked her own strident opinions by prefacing them with "Mr. Polk believes..." She refused to support the women's rights activists who convened the Seneca Falls Convention, and she supported slavery because she believed that the South would collapse without it.

When James K. Polk declined to seek a second term, Sarah Polk left the White House with her reputation of a moral woman, a devoted helpmate to her husband, and a gracious hostess -- to both political friends and foes -- intact. In doing so, she would elevate the position of First Lady by imbuing the role with her dignity. Yet this often-neglected presidential spouse should also be remembered for navigating her own course within the conventions of the era. Childless at a time when motherhood, in large part, defined a woman's worth, and contemptuous of domestic pursuits at a time when cooking and cleaning defined a woman's activities, Sarah Childress Polk looked to politics as a substitute activity. However, because of the century in which she lived, she was forced to mask her passion for politics, channelling it into promoting her husband's political career instead of her own.