Mamie Eisenhower is often thought of as the quintessential 1950s housewife. In her signature pink dresses and curled up bangs, she brought a sense of normalcy to the White House after the tumultuous years of Depression, war, and unrest. However, as I learned more about her in this month’s Booking It Through History: First Ladies post, I realized that there was a steel spine under that frothy appearance that enabled her to survive severe hardships.
Each month, I’ll detail the life of the first lady and their legacy. Then I’ll share what I learned while studying them, along with ways you can travel in their footsteps through historical sites and museums. I’ll also share books, podcasts, TV shows, and websites where you can learn even more about that first lady. Read all of the way through the blog post or click on the links below to go straight to those sections.
Life
Childhood
Mamie Geneva Doud was born on November 14, 1896 in Boone, Iowa to a wealthy family who made their fortune in the meatpacking business. Mamie was the second child of John and Elivera Doud, and weighed only four pounds when she was born. She and her older sister were soon joined by two younger sisters.
When she was young, the family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa and then Colorado. Mamie had a rheumatic heart, and her older sister Eleanor also had a heart condition. Mamie soon acclimated to Denver’s altitude, but her sister was always sickly and died in 1912 at the age of 17. Mamie was devastated.
The family lived at 750 Lafayette Street and were very social. They hosted Sunday evening open house buffets and had a rec room in the basement where there was a piano, pool table, and Victrola. Mamie was popular and fun, the life of the party. She was considered the prettiest of the Doud sisters and was her father’s favorite – he called her “Puddy.” He spoiled her but was also strict.
In 1910, the family started wintering in San Antonio, Texas which affected Mamie’s education as she missed school while there. Her parents made sure she had feminine skills like piano and dancing and enrolled her at a Denver finishing school for one year.
Mamie was outgoing and vivacious which made her popular with the opposite sex. It attracted the attention of a certain young Army soldier in 1915.
Courtship and Marriage
While in San Antonio, Mamie visited family friends who took her to the nearby Fort Sam Houston. A handsome young soldier came out of a building across the street, and someone commented that he was a “woman hater.” Mamie took that as a challenge. When he asked her to accompany him on his rounds, she said yes. He thought she was attractive and saucy, and she thought him to be the handsomest man she’d ever met.
That soldier, Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower, called on her the next day, but she was out with another beau. She was booked solid for weeks, so he ended up sitting with her parents on their porch and getting to know them. When Ike and Mamie finally had dinner a few weeks later at the St. Anthony’s Hotel, he told her he was serious about her. They quickly were an item, and it was assumed they would get married.
They got engaged on Valentine’s Day when he gave her a miniature version of his West Point ring. She told him she wanted her own ring! Her parents made her promise to wait until she turned twenty before marrying because of Ike’s financial situation. Mamie had grown up in a wealthy household, wanting for nothing. Was she ready to be a poor soldier’s wife?
“All I wanted was that man.” Mamie Eisenhower
They planned a November wedding, but when war broke out on the Mexican border and Ike got orders to leave, they moved up the ceremony. The planned church service was canceled for a wedding at her Denver home on July 1, 1916. Ike and Mamie exchanged vows and had a formal luncheon in the dining room with her wearing a dress off the rack.
Marriage Adventures
The newlyweds honeymooned at nearby Eldorado Springs and then took a train to visit Ike’s family in Abilene, Kansas. His family was completely different from hers – farmers with no luxuries – but Mamie’s charm made her fit right in.
They took up residence on base in San Antonio where Mamie had to keep house for the first time. She decorated the space and enjoyed entertaining but never liked cooking or cleaning. She had to spend many nights alone as Ike was on patrol, which had to be scary as one of the few women on the base.
Her saving grace was knowing San Antonio society already, and she had many friends to visit off base. Her parents still wintered in San Antonio, so she was able to spend time with them as well. They were all thrilled when she found out she was expecting at Christmas.
Ike was sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia where he prepared to head to Europe for WWI. Mamie insisted on staying in San Antonio for the delivery so her mother came to assist. Doud Dwight was born on September 24, 1917 and was nicknamed “Ikky.”
While Ike was traveling all over the country with the army, Mamie and little Ikky visited family in Denver before meeting up with Ike in Gettysburg, PA. This began their many military moves over his career – they lived in over thirty houses in thirty-seven years!
Mamie visited her family in Denver with the baby, taking a long cross-country train, especially when she received word her sister had died. While she was away, Ike received new orders so he packed up the house. They moved to Fort Meade in Maryland, leaving Ikky in Denver until they could get their housing established.
Fort Meade was a happy time in Mamie’s life as she entertained and had many friends among the other military wives. Ike didn’t travel as much, and they both relished their time with their darling boy who was the mascot for the entire base.
All was well until early 1921 when little Ikky came down with scarlet fever, possibly from a new nanny. It quickly progressed to meningitis, and he died at the age of three on January 2, 1921. The griefstricken parents buried him in Denver. Mamie lost some of her optimistic spirit while Ike threw himself into work. On every anniversary of Ikky’s birth, Ike would send Mamie yellow roses, Ikky’s favorite color.
Panama
Mamie became pregnant again just as Ike got a promotion to Panama. She didn’t let her condition keep her from going with him, and they took ship there in January 1922. After a horrific sea voyage, Mamie arrived to find a house overtaken by the jungle and filled with pests, snakes, and bats. She had to get the house under control in a very inhospitable environment!
After getting her house in order, Mamie focused on helping the wives of enlisted men, helping to establish a maternity hospital. She enjoyed socializing and cut her hair into her signature style with short bangs. When her parents visited, they were horrified at the conditions and made Mamie come back to Denver to give birth.
John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower born on August 3, 1922 in Denver, and Ike was able to be there for three weeks. Mamie stayed for two months before taking little John and a nurse back to Panama. It didn’t go well as Ike was away frequently, leaving Mamie alone. She was depressed and lost weight, finally deciding to take John back to Denver. While at home, she realized how much she loved and missed Ike and made up her mind to rededicate herself to her marriage. She would have to accept life as an army wife where duty to country came first. When she went back to Panama, she had a better outlook and enjoyed her time there.
World Traveler
In 1924, Ike was ordered back to the US. They moved from Maryland to Colorado and then Kansas. Mamie made friends wherever she was stationed and became efficient at setting up their household. She was excited to finally move to Washington in 1927 and loved living in the Wyoming apartment building where card games and dinner parties were nightly occurrences.
Ike was sent to Europe in 1928 to write guidebooks on the army sites from WWI. Mamie seized the opportunity, and the whole family moved to Paris where they found an apartment on 69 quai d’Auteuil. They traveled with Ike to see the battlefields and European cities while John was in school. Mamie threw parties and went to the theater, making great friends with the other ex-pats. Before they left, they traveled with friends down to the French Riviera, having dinner at Cafe de Paris in Monaco. The trip also had a harrowing drive through the Alps!
When they went back to Washington, they lived at the Wyoming apartment again, and Mamie loved it there. She was a wonderful mother to John, overprotective but loving. He attended school and went out west for the summer, taking the train to Denver alone! Mamie reveled in her life at the Wyoming which was full of dinner parties, card games, and fun. She was described as direct, honest, flirtatious, and lovely – every man was drawn to her.
She entertained on a frugal budget that was sometimes supplemented by her father. She and Ike had a close relationship, and he always made sure to give her anniversary presents, signing his notes, “your lover.”
During the Depression, Mamie helped with some relief and was always ready to give the coat off her back to someone in need. Ike worked hard as General MacArthur’s chief of staff while Mamie helped set the standard for the other army wives. She loved this time of her life and relished her surprise 38th birthday party.
Philippines
Just a year later, Ike was sent to the Philippines. As John only had one more year of school, Mamie insisted on staying at the Wyoming until he graduated. Ike didn’t like it, but Mamie got her way.
She finally left for the Philippines in October of 1936 from San Francisco on a twenty-seven day journey, arriving to find Ike completely bald – he had shaved off his hair! They had to live in an unair-conditioned hotel which she hated. John was sent to a school in the countryside which Mamie visited, undertaking the harrowing drive there. She became ill during one visit, slipping into a coma. Ike rushed to her side and soon she recovered.
She realized how hurt Ike was that she hadn’t come with him right away, so she tried to join him on his outings whenever possible, learning golf to spend time with him. They loved entertaining friends and had a huge party before leaving for the United States in 1939. As they traveled home through the simmering tensions of the upcoming world war, Mamie worried how it would affect her family.
World War
Mamie and Ike returned to a United States preparing for war. They were sent first to Seattle and then back to San Antonio. They arrived in the city where they met on their 25th wedding anniversary.
Mamie set up house wherever she was sent, keeping their bedroom the same from location to location. She became an efficient packer and organizer, a perfectionist in what she expected the house to look like.
When Ike was sent back to Washington, Mamie had to pack up her home for a move once again, not knowing that she wouldn’t see these items for over a decade. Ike and Mamie moved into senior army housing at Fort Myers, Virginia, and Mamie quickly became involved. She served as the chairwoman of her group at the Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines club canteen and served on a committee for the army relief society. She loved being around friends, but this relief was short-lived.
In 1942, Ike became the commanding general of the army in Europe. He headed to London, and the last thing he did was reach out of the car and kiss her hand, saying, “Goodbye, honey.” He sent her a cable when he landed: “Because of you I’ve been the luckiest man in the world for twenty-six years.”
Mamie was only given one week to move out of base housing. She moved in with a friend and entertained constantly. She volunteered with the Red Cross and was a waitress at a soldier canteen despite her bouts of ill health left over from her time in the tropics.
The press was relentless in its pursuit of her, but she proved to be very savvy in her responses. The public scrutiny hit a new low as speculation about Ike’s relationship with his pretty Irish driver, Kay Summersby, took an ugly turn. Mamie was hurt by the rumors but never lost faith in her man, refuting the rumors by saying, “I know Ike.”
“She’s a career woman. Her career is Ike.” Elizabeth Henry, Washington Post columnist
She moved to her own apartment for privacy and had health issues, finally being diagnosed with Meniere’s syndrome which made her dizzy. Her unsteadiness at times led to rumors that she was a drinker, but they were not true.
She only saw Ike once from 1942 until he came home in late 1945. He snuck back home for Christmas in 1943, and they loved spending time together in Washington, Kansas, and at the Greenbrier.
Mamie was at John’s West Point graduation on June 6, 1944 when Operation Overlord took place. She worried about Ike’s safety, especially when he was hurt, but she could not go to him. She stayed busy traveling and was in Florida on Victory in Europe day. She couldn’t wait for Ike to get home, especially as the rumors about his supposed affair continued to persist. Mamie even met Kay when she came to Washington at one point.
Post-war
Ike came home for good in November of 1945 and everyone wanted him to go into politics. Mamie noticed how he had changed – more short-tempered and stubborn, always wanting his way. They moved back into base housing at Fort Myers, and she traveled with Ike all over the world on goodwill tours, having tea with the king and queen of England at Balmoral!
Their son got engaged, and Mamie hosted Barbara, her soon-to-be daughter-in-law who remembers her being intimidating but welcoming. She ran a tight ship and chastised Barbara when she left her room a mess! Mamie hosted the wedding but had to leave early when her mother broke her arm.
Civilian Life
Ike was tired of army life after 37 years, so in 1948, he accepted the role of president of Columbia University. He and Mamie moved to the president’s house at 60 Morningside Drive in New York City, and Mamie loved the grand home, entertaining frequently. For the first time in her married life, she didn’t have to worry about money.
Mamie did some volunteer work, raising money for a recreation center for underprivileged children to use after school. She gave teas for visiting dignitaries but for once, had trouble making friends with the other faculty wives who thought she was aloof. She got along better with the wives of Ike’s military aides he brought with him, serving as their counselor, mother-protector, and mentor.
She was thrilled to become a grandmother on March 31, 1948 and would soon have four grandchildren to spoil. She was a good mother-in-law, paying for her son’s family to have a maid and keeping the children whenever needed.
Her brief exile in civilian life was cut short by the outbreak of the Korean War. Ike was recalled into the service as the NATO commander, and he and Mamie moved to a villa outside of Paris. She entertained and enjoyed spending time in Paris, although she did not change her frugal ways. Only Mamie could pull off wearing mail-order dresses in the fashion capital of the world!
The Eisenhowers lived under the constant threat of terrorists as the French were not happy about NATO. Mamie was worried about their safety but didn’t let that affect her actions, traveling with Ike to Ankara, Istanbul, and Greece. She attended King George VI’s funeral and became friends with the British royals. Before leaving France, Mamie was given the Cross of Merit for her “unselfish service to mankind.”
On the Campaign
When the Eisenhowers returned to America, there was strong pressure for Ike to run for president. As she did with his military service, Mamie didn’t offer her opinion on the matter. Once he decided to run, however, she was all in, and his aides found her to be a valuable asset. Ike even said, “She is a better campaigner than I am.” Two campaign songs were written about her: “Mamie” and “I want Mamie,” and one reporter said she was worth at least 50 electoral votes.
“I like Ike but I love Mamie!” Campaign slogan
She gave up to ten interviews a day, the American public loving her pragmatism and common sense. Old rumors about Ike’s supposed affair surfaced again as well as unfounded gossip about Mamie’s drinking. Her health held up well during this grueling time, and all of the work paid off when Ike won in a landslide. Mamie was headed to the White House.
White House Years
“I’ve never had any social ambitions. I didn’t have to. I had my place in this world and I knew it. I came from a long family of Americans. I didn’t have to prove anything.” Mamie Eisenhower
The Eisenhower inauguration was the first time a newly sworn-in president had kissed his wife after taking the oath of office. Mamie and Ike continued to be affectionate with each other even with the public scrutiny – he called her “Mrs. Ike.” The eight years they spent in the White House were the longest they had ever spent together!
Her inaugural gown was beautiful and its color became known as Mamie pink! Mamie loved clothes and while frugal, was a clothes horse even with her extensive collection of bed jackets.
Mamie saw herself as an army wife first who happened to live in White House and went about her time there with the same organized determination as she did on an army base. She often conducted business from her bed as her inner ear disorder and circulatory problems kept her from doing downstairs. She reigned over the White House social scene, leaving politics to Ike, and continued to be very frugal, looking for household bargains in the newspaper!
She had strict rules for the staff, which caused some problems, but overall, they seemed to like her. She made sure the black staff members were treated on an equal basis.
Army life had been outstanding in preparation for scrutiny of being First Lady. She received a thousand letters each month and always wrote back with a personal note. She helped people with their requests and got things done. One senator said she had the country in the palm of her hand. In 1956 alone, Mamie shook hands with 100,000 people and launched as many as five charity drives a week. One of her favorite charities was the American Heart Association.
The Eisenhowers entertained more heads of state in their two terms than any presidential couple before them and hosted many friends in the White House, including the new Queen Elizabeth II. Mamie was a spectacular hostess and didn’t want to know a party goers’ political affiliation, treating everyone with respect. She wore glittering diamonds and gowns in her signature Mamie pink and was voted among the best dressed women every year as First Lady.
There was no money to renovate the White House after the huge Truman restoration project, so she made do with the furnishings there. She only changed the bedroom, rejecting separate bedrooms for her and Ike. She even made curtains from military surplus parachutes to cut costs!
“I’ve just had the first good night’s sleep I’ve had since we’ve been in the White House. Our new bed finally got here, and now I can reach over and pat Ike on his old bald head any time I want to!” Mamie Eisenhower
While in the White House, they were able to complete renovations of a Gettysburg farm house they purchased before going to Europe. This is the first and only home they owned during their marriage!
Her father had died when she was in Paris, so her mother lived with them at times. She and Ike also traveled to Denver frequently with her childhood home serving as the western White House. They also like traveling to Augusta, Georgia for its golf courses, even christening a cottage there “Mamie’s cottage.”
It was in Denver that Ike suffered his first heart attack on September 24, 1955. Mamie saved his life by wrapping herself around him to calm him down. This occurred on the anniversary of Ikky’s birth. They stayed in Denver for seven weeks, and she personally responded to 11,000 get-well letters and cards. They went to Gettysburg home to convalesce where Ike gave her a Tiffany pendant: “For never failing help, since 1916, in calm and in crisis, in dark days and in bright. Love, Ike”
Even with his poor health, Ike decided to run for a second term. During the campaign, he was stricken with a gastrointestinal illness that forced emergency surgery. In spite of these issues, he won a second term in a landslide.
The second term was full of visits from the grandchildren and poor health. Ike suffered a stroke in 1957, and Mamie relied more on the vice president’s wife, Pat Nixon, to help her host events. Mamie herself underwent a hysterectomy and didn’t go with Ike to Iran, India, Pakistan, Morocco, and Afghanistan where her daughter-in-law served as a stand-in hostess. Mamie was well enough to go on his last trip through Asia, but she saw the toll it was taking on him.
Her mother died in the fall of 1960, which made her last Christmas in the White House bittersweet. She wasn’t a fan of the Kennedys who won the 1960 election. In the often-told story, while she gave Jackie a tour of the White House, she didn’t offer Jackie, who was still recovering from a c-section, a wheelchair because Jackie didn’t ask for one.
Post-White House Years
Mamie and Ike retired to their Gettysburg farm, driving home themselves after Kennedy’s inauguration. She enjoyed entertaining at the farm, but she preferred spending her afternoons with her “stories” – watching soap operas. They didn’t have Secret Service protection (that would come after Kennedy’s assassination), and they sometimes had dangerous people come to their front door.
She continued her charitable works, serving as a co-chair with Jackie Kennedy on the National Cultural Center (which became the Kennedy Center). Mrs. Kennedy even hosted a tea in Mamie’s honor in 1962.
Ike and Mamie traveled to Augusta, Georgia and Palm Desert, California for golf. They also went to Europe with the grandchildren in 1962 and enjoyed watching their grandchildren grow and marry. Grandson David ended up marrying the Nixons’ daughter, and he used Mamie’s mother’s ring to propose.
Ike had two heart attacks, and the one in 1968 landed him in Walter Reed Medical Center where he spent the rest of his life. Mamie stayed by his side the entire time, holding his hand as he passed away on March 28, 1969. She said watching her husband die was the hardest thing she had ever done.
Mamie participated in the funeral at the National Cathedral and in Abilene, Kansas where he was laid to rest beside their beloved Ikky. She left for Belgium where her son was stationed and liked hosting parties there.
When she came back to the United States, she lived in Gettysburg and was very frugal. She still managed to give to causes she loved, selling her limousine to help fund the new Eisenhower College. She was deeply concerned about the cynicism in the country’s youth as the 1970s gave way to protests and riots.
She was hurt by the new tell-all by Kay Summersby and a revelation that Ike had asked General Marshall to approve his divorce from Mamie. While she didn’t believe it (and Marshall’s letters only contained a request from Ike to bring Mamie to Europe), it was a painful reminder of the time they spent apart. This story reared its ugly head again in 1979 with a TV miniseries and novel about the supposed affair.
She became isolated in her Gettysburg home and suffered several minor strokes. She was rushed to the hospital in September of 1979 and died peacefully in her sleep, alone, on November 1, 1979. Her funeral service was held at Fort Myers and Abilene where she joined her husband and little son.
Her Gettysburg house became a museum, and she kept scrupulous records as to the history and provenance of her things. When asked how she wanted to be remembered, she said as a “good friend.”
“Mamie Eisenhower was an original.”..She had the guts to be her classic self. She was Mamie.”
Legacy
Mamie is remembered as a conventional wife during one of America’s most tranquil times – the 1950s. However underneath her housewife facade, Mamie had a spine of steel forged by her service as an army wife. Even though she wasn’t educated, she had emotional intelligence, making sure everyone was comfortable and felt valued. That is a skill many people need to learn!
Her time as First Lady was groundbreaking – she reinstated the Easter egg roll and had it racially integrated. She also held a special first-time reception for the National Council of Negro Women, and she supported Ike when he sent troops to Arkansas to integrate schools.
For being the last first lady born in the 19th century, she had a progressive legacy and became a standard to which other First Ladies tried to meet.
My Time with Mamie
I enjoyed learning about Mamie this month and found her surprising. She wasn’t the wilting flower I assumed but had strong opinions. I admired her people skills and her adaptability. For a girl who grew up with luxuries, her transformation into an army wife chopping through the Panamanian jungle was amazing.
Her life was full of hard moments which she often had to face alone as Ike was wherever the army needed him to be. It had to be lonely but she seemed to make do with whatever she was given. I would hope to be the same.
She seemed like a lovely mother and grandmother. And her fabulous dresses like the one I just saw at the Smithsonian made me love her fashion sense. She was an original!
Travels with Mamie
After a stable childhood, Mamie spent her entire adult life traveling around to more than two dozen homes!
Iowa
Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace, Boone
Visit Mamie’s birthplace which celebrates her short time here. Plus it’s one of the few historical sites dedicated solely to a first lady!
Kansas
Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Childhood Home, Abilene, Kansas
Visit the Eisenhower presidential museum to see many artifacts from their time in the White House. There’s even a special Mamie section! You can also visit Mamie’s grave here.
Colorado
Family home, Denver
Mamie’s family home at 750 Lafayette Street is a private residence but has a historical marker on its front porch. This is where she and Ike married and came back to during their White House years. There’s also a park named for her here and a library!
Pennsylvania
Eisenhower National Historic Site, Gettysburg
It’s not just Civil War history in Gettysburg. Amidst the battlefields, you can visit Ike and Mamie’s home, the only one they could truly call their own. Check out my Gettysburg guide for helpful hints about planning a trip here.
Georgia
Mamie and Ike loved their cottage at the Augusta National Golf Course (privately owned). You can also view a historical marker nearby where Mamie shopped.
Washington, DC
Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Visit Mamie’s gorgeous pink dress and china here! She didn’t want to replace the new Truman china so she just had coordinating chargers made.
Wyoming apartment building
While you can’t go in, you can see the beautiful facade of Mamie’s favorite place to live in Washington at 2022 Columbia Road NW.
Morrison-Clarke Inn
Mamie is listed on the historical marker at this building which is the former home of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen Club at 1011 L Street NW.
To Learn More
Books to Read
There haven’t been many books written about Mamie. Maybe it’s because so many are focused on her husband’s important wartime efforts! Here are a few I found.
Links are Amazon affiliate links. Be sure to see my Bookshop.org list for all of the books related to my Booking It Through History: First Ladies project.
Nonfiction:
Mrs. Ike by Susan Eisenhower
Written by her granddaughter, this is a lovely look at Mamie’s extraordinary life. I really enjoyed the personal stories Susan shared.
Mamie Doud Eisenhower: The General’s First Lady by Marilyn Irvin Holt
Letters to Mamie by Dwight Eisenhower
This book contains over three hundred letters Ike exchanged with Mamie during the war.
Fiction:
It’s too bad that the only two fiction books about Mamie highlight a painful moment in her life and are based on a rumor.
Ike and Kay by James MacManus
This novel was a bit icky to read as it imagines the love affair between Ike and his Irish female driver. It has great period details, however, but I didn’t enjoy Mamie’s portrayal or the use of rumors.
The General’s Women by Susan Wittig Albert
TV Shows
C-SPAN First Ladies: Influence and Image
Podcasts
Websites
White House Historical Association
- The White House Christmas ornament about the Eisenhower administration features his helicopter. He was the first president to fly by helicopter.
Mamie Eisenhower is thought to be the quintessential 1950s housewife, but she had her own power and influence using her social skills. She was just what the country needed after the hardships of war.
One thought on “Booking It Through History: First Ladies – Mamie Eisenhower”