Dolley Madison developed an influential political role through hospitality, social organization, and the management of public occasions in the early American capital. After marrying James Madison in 1794, she moved within Philadelphia's political society and later accompanied him to Washington when he became secretary of state. She sometimes assisted the widowed Thomas Jefferson as a hostess, building relationships across families and political factions.

As presidential wife from 1809 to 1817, Dolley made White House receptions a central part of the capital's political life. Her Wednesday drawing rooms welcomed visitors beyond a narrow circle of official dinner guests. Introductions and careful invitations connected officeholders who disagreed sharply in politics. She also worked with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe on furnishings and interiors that gave the presidential household an appropriate public setting.

During the British advance on Washington in 1814, Dolley arranged the removal of important possessions and ordered that Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington be secured before she fled. Workers, including free and enslaved members of the household, carried out the physical rescue; later accounts incorrectly credited her with personally cutting down and carrying the painting. She continued public hospitality after the burning of the White House, supporting the administration's presence in a damaged capital.

After leaving Washington, she helped manage life at Montpelier, a plantation sustained by enslaved labor. Following James's death in 1836, financial difficulties and her son's debts led to sales of property, including enslaved people. She returned to Washington and remained a prominent public figure, also promoting the publication and sale of her husband's papers. She died in 1849. Her political influence through social institutions existed alongside participation in slavery and the unequal labor supporting elite households.