The Real Martha Washington: Full Show

Step back in time and meet Martha Washington, America’s first First Lady. Martha Dandridge Custis married George Washington on January 6, 1759, and moved to his family home, Mount Vernon, several months later.

Mrs. Washington’s incredibly full and vibrant life is portrayed by historical interpreters. Susan Zickel portrays young Martha Washington’s life up to the American Revolution. Living biographer Mary Wiseman shows students what the first lady’s life was like after the Revolutionary War. The interpreters answers questions posed by the student audience and from e-mails. Also featured are comments by historian Rosemarie Zaggari, author of Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic and journalist Cokie Roberts, author of Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation and Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation.