5. As First Lady and a celebrity, many ordinary Americans reached out to Julia, including those in desperate circumstances
Unlike many First Ladies, Julia Gardiner Tyler had little political experience before moving into the White House. She had never fought an election campaign, for instance, while her youth also meant she had only a rudimentary understanding of the complex machinations of American government. But that didn’t stop Julia from trying to be more than just a White House hostess. Above all, she felt she had a duty to try and help those who reached out to her in desperation. Her fame led to the First Lady receiving numerous requests for Presidential pardons or clemency.
In many cases, Julia did indeed petition the relevant Cabinet members, or even her husband, on behalf of individual citizens. And it worked too. In one famous instance, the First Lady successfully intervened on behalf of a New Yorker whose name was only recorded as ‘Babe’. Accused of ‘piracy on the high seas’ and sentenced to death, Julia managed to have his conviction overturned, saving an innocent man’s life. On numerous other occasions, she also convinced the military chiefs to grant individual soldiers extra leave, or she successfully found jobs in the Federal Government for the unemployed.