President Grant had just won his second term.
Inaugural Balls in General
When George Washington took his first oath of office in New York City, in 1789, it was a solemn occasion. His wife Martha did not arrive for another month.
Once she arrived, suitable entertainment (to include dancing) was periodically included on the Presidential agenda – but a formal “ball” to celebrate the presidency, was unheard of, and likely would have been disdained. The “office” was an awesome responsibility, in the biblical sense; not suitable for party-going – no matter how much President Washington enjoyed dancing!
When the second president, John Adams, was inaugurated, it was a lonely ceremony for the new chief executive. None of his four children were nearby. His wife, Abigail, was still in Massachusetts nursing John’s aged mother in her last days. She died a few weeks after the inauguration. Ergo, no ball. And since the Adams’ presidency was unpopular and fraught with complexities, formal entertaining was kept to what was necessary, especially since it was out-of-pocket, and John and Abigail were not wealthy.
The third president, Thomas Jefferson, had been a widower for nearly twenty years. No ball. Besides, he was not comfortable in crowds.
Enter The Madisons
James Madison had waited a long time for marriage. He was a 43-year-old Congressman of importance when he married the 25-year-old widow Dolley Payne Todd. She was pretty, stylish with a charisma that attracted people like a fly to honey. She thrived where people abounded.
As Mrs. Madison, a bride (for the second time) in Philadelphia, she entertained regularly and with effortless charm. Her social set increased, and with the financial security of Madison’s Virginia plantation, her soirées were well attended.
The long-widowed President Thomas Jefferson was a close friend of James Madison. Even before he took the oath of office, Madison was asked to be his Secretary of State, and were delighted to move to Washington, a city still being built from scratch.
Mrs. Madison had known Jefferson for several years, and he trusted her implicitly with the social and societal management of his office. As the ranking woman in Washington society, she served as his de facto First Lady for eight years. She concurrently opened the Madison house to luncheons, dinners, suppers, teas and a weekly salon. Everyone knew Mrs. Madison – and loved her.
Let’s Dance
Madison was sworn in as President on March 4, 1809. It was a new age. The White House (still called the President’s House) was in the process of being readied for Dolley to open it to the public. Mrs. Madison believed that a celebratory ball was in order. An organizing committee was named, arrangements were made at Long’s Hotel (the largest non-governmental building in town), and more than 400 tickets were sold at an exorbitant price of $4 apiece.
Cementing Mrs. Madison’s tact and universal admiration, she presided at the supper, sitting between the Ministers of England and France – whose countries were currently at war, and in any other circumstance would never have been in the same room – let alone the same table.
Fast Forward a Half Century…or More
Subsequent Inaugural Balls were either held or avoided at the discretion of later Presidents. Some were widowed, some in mourning, some with First Ladies whose health or dispositions made them uncomfortable with high-level entertaining.
The last Inaugural Ball prior to the Grant Administration was hosted in honor of President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural. The tickets were $10 apiece, and paid for by the Lincoln-Johnson Clubs – an ad hoc political organization organized specifically for the election of 1864, when the Civil War was at its nadir, and the word “Republican” was anathema.
The Grants
But the Grant election in 1868 (following the unpopular Andrew Johnson administration) was a hooray on steroids. General Ulysses S. Grant was hailed as the Victor of Vicksburg and the Hero of Appomattox! And the taciturn man was wildly popular. So was his generally plain-but-pleasant wife.
The economy of the country was booming, and the great industrial age of post-Civil War was soaring to even greater heights. New inventions, new industries, building at an unprecedented rate – and great fortunes to be made!
Grant, always an honest man, was still popular in 1872, despite indications of scandal among high-level underlings. His election to a second term was an easy romp.
And while neither of the Grants were showy or snobbish, they were always sociable. Ergo, a ball was in order. A committee was formed and arrangements were made.
Nobody Invited Mother Nature
A large temporary structure had been erected for the sole purpose of Grant’s Second Inaugural Ball. It was reported to be 350’x150′, with a floor constructed separately from the rest of the structure to prevent the shaking of the walls and roof if dancing became too lively. It was reported that the decorations were lavish, including hundreds of live canaries in cages hung from the ceiling. But there was no heat.
The weather in early March is always iffy, and in 1873, there was a prolonged cold spell in Washington, with frigid temperatures well below freezing for several days. But the ball went on as planned, although only half the planned 6000 ticket holders attended, due to the weather.
Despite their fashionable and expensive gowns, ladies were forced to stay bundled in their coats, as were the gentlemen. The foods on the banquet tables actually froze. The champagne turned to ice. Most of the revelers left early. Including the Grants.
And alas, the poor canaries froze. It is said that some of them actually fell dead, landing on the attendees. Brrr.
Sources:
Allgor, Catherine – A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation – 2006 Henry Holt and Company
Grant, Julia Dent – The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant: (Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant) – 1975, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/inaugural-balls
https://www.nps.gov/linc/learn/historyculture/lincoln-second-inaugural.htm
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