Editing Martha Washington (section)

== Legacy ==
Just as her husband had set the precedent for the presidency, Washington established what would eventually become the role of first lady. She was prominent in the ceremonial aspects of the presidency, assisting her husband in his role as head of state, but she had very little public involvement in his administrative role as head of government. This would be the standard of presidential wives for the next century.<ref name="caroli"/>{{Rp|page=|pages=7–8}} Washington was recognized for her humility and her mild-mannered nature, to the point that her contemporaries were often taken by surprise when meeting her.<ref name="boller"/>{{Rp|page=3}} No personal records of Washington exist from before the death of her first husband, and she destroyed many letters that she had written since then. Many recipients of her letters kept them, however, and those letters have been preserved in archives such as at Mount Vernon and the Virginia Historical Society. Several collections of these letters have been published.<ref name="gould"/>{{Rp|page=14}}

=== Honors ===
[[File:Martha Washington22 1903 Issue-8c.jpg|thumb|upright=.54|Martha Washington 1902 issue stamp]]During the Revolutionary War, one of the regiments at Valley Forge named themselves "Lady Washington's Dragoon" in her honor.<ref name="watson"/>{{Rp|page=14}}The Martha Washington College for Women was founded in [[Abingdon, Virginia]] in 1860.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tennis|first=Joe|title=Southwest Virginia Crossroads: An Almanac of Place Names and Places to See|year=2004|publisher=The Overmountain Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=noiiZPTGk9IC&pg=PA76|access-date=July 31, 2012|page=76|isbn=9781570722561}}</ref> It was merged with [[Emory & Henry College]] in 1918,<ref>{{cite web|title=A Brief History of Emory & Henry College|url=http://www.ehc.edu/175/history/brief|publisher=Emory & Henry College|access-date=July 31, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517190913/http://www.ehc.edu/175/history/brief|archive-date=May 17, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the main original building of Martha Washington College was converted to the [[Martha Washington Inn]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 1, 1937 |title=Martha Washington Inn Opens for Business at Abingdon |pages=8 |work=The Bristol Herald Courier |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bristol-herald-courier/45687534/ |access-date=June 22, 2023}}</ref> Martha Washington Seminary, a finishing school for young women in Washington, DC, was opened in 1905,<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 2, 1905 |title=Martha Washington Seminary |pages=14 |work=Evening Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-martha-washington-seminary/103017247/ |access-date=June 22, 2023}}</ref> and it ceased operations in 1949.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cherkasky|first=Mara|title=Mount Pleasant|year=2007|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8leSBRqU5CYC&pg=PA62|access-date=July 31, 2012|page=62|isbn=9780738544069}}</ref>

A [[postage stamp]] featuring Martha Washington, the first stamp to honor an American woman, was issued as part of the [[Series of 1902 (United States postage stamps)|1902 stamp series]]. An {{nowrap|8-[[Penny (United States coin)|cent]]}} stamp, it was printed in violet-black ink.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Second Bureau Issues (1902-1908) |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-us-stamps-bureau-period-1894-1939-definitive-issues/second-bureau-issues-1902-1908 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621234742/https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-us-stamps-bureau-period-1894-1939-definitive-issues/second-bureau-issues-1902-1908 |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |access-date=June 22, 2023 |website=postalmuseum.si.edu |language=en}}</ref> The second stamp issued in her honor,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fourth Bureau Issues (1922-1930) |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-us-stamps-bureau-period-1894-1939-definitive-issues/fourth-bureau-issues-1922-1930 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621212009/https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-us-stamps-bureau-period-1894-1939-definitive-issues/fourth-bureau-issues-1922-1930 |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |access-date=June 22, 2023 |website=postalmuseum.si.edu |language=en}}</ref> a {{nowrap|4-cent}} [[definitive stamp]] printed in yellow-brown ink, was released in [[US Regular Issues of 1922–1931|1923]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=4c Martha Washington single |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/object/npm_1980.2493.2263 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621235951/https://postalmuseum.si.edu/object/npm_1980.2493.2263 |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |access-date=June 22, 2023 |website=postalmuseum.si.edu |language=en}}</ref> A {{nowrap|{{frac|1|1|2}}-cent}} stamp was issued in 1938 to honor Washington as part of the [[Presidential Issue]] series.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Presidential Series (1938) |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-us-stamps-bureau-period-1894-1939-definitive-issues/presidential-series-1938 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601134341/https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-us-stamps-bureau-period-1894-1939-definitive-issues/presidential-series-1938 |archive-date=June 1, 2023 |access-date=June 22, 2023 |website=postalmuseum.si.edu |language=en}}</ref> Washington's image was featured on the one dollar silver certificate banknote beginning in 1886, making her the second woman to appear on an American banknote after [[Pocahontas]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fuller |first=Harcourt |title=Who was the first woman depicted on American currency? |url=http://theconversation.com/who-was-the-first-woman-depicted-on-american-currency-58245 |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=The Conversation |date=April 22, 2016 |language=en}}</ref> To prevent confusion with existing coinage, [[pattern coin]]s testing new metals have been produced by the U.S. mint, or a company contracted to it, with Martha Washington on the obverse.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Martha Washington featured on this fascinating 1965 pattern coin |url=https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/martha-washington-fascinating-pattern-coin.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=CoinWorld |language=en}}</ref>

=== Historian assessments ===
Since 1982 [[Siena College Research Institute]] has periodically conducted surveys asking historians to assess American first ladies according to a cumulative score on the independent criteria of their background, value to the country, intelligence, courage, accomplishments, integrity, leadership, being their own women, public image, and value to the president.<ref name="Siena2014">{{cite web |title=Eleanor Roosevelt Retains Top Spot as America's Best First Lady Michelle Obama Enters Study as 5th, Hillary Clinton Drops to 6th Clinton Seen First Lady Most as Presidential Material; Laura Bush, Pat Nixon, Mamie Eisenhower, Bess Truman Could Have Done More in Office Eleanor & FDR Top Power Couple; Mary Drags Lincolns Down in the Ratings |url=https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/FirstLadies2014Release_Final.pdf |website=scri.siena.edu |publisher=Siena Research Institute |access-date=May 16, 2022 |date=February 15, 2014}}</ref> Consistently, Washington has been ranked in the upper-half of first ladies by historians in these surveys. In terms of cumulative assessment, Washington has been ranked:
*9th-best of 42 in 1982<ref name="Siena2008"/>
*12th-best of 37 in 1993<ref name="Siena2008"/>
*13th-best of 38 in 2003<ref name="Siena2008"/>
*9th-best of 38 in 2008<ref name="Siena2008"/>
*9th-best of 39 in 2014<ref name="2014Sienna1">{{cite web |title=Siena College Research Institute/C-SPAN Study of the First Ladies of the United States 2014 FirstLadies2014_Full Rankings.xls |url=https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Appendix_A_Overall_Survey_Results.pdf |website=scri.siena.edu |publisher=Sienna College Research Institute/C-SPAN |access-date=October 21, 2022 |date=2014}}</ref>
*10th-best of 40 in 2020<ref name="Siena2020results">{{cite web |title=Copy of FirstLadies_Full Rankings_working_dl_2.xls |url=https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/First-Ladies-Full-Rankings-2020.pdf |website=scri.siena.edu |publisher=Siena Research Institute |access-date=March 11, 2025 |date=2020}}</ref>

In the 2008 Siena Research Institute survey, Washington was ranked 3rd-highest in the criteria of public image.<ref name="Siena2008">{{cite web |title=Ranking America's First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt Still #1 Abigail Adams Regains 2nd Place Hillary moves from 5th to 4th; Jackie Kennedy from 4th to 3rd Mary Todd Lincoln Remains in 36th |url=https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/FL_2008Release.pdf |publisher=Siena Research Institute |access-date=May 16, 2022 |date=December 18, 2008}}</ref> In the 2014 survey, Washington and her husband were ranked the 2nd-highest out of 39 first couples in terms of being a "power couple".<ref>{{cite web |title=2014 Power Couple Score |url=https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Appendix_C_Power_Couples.pdf |website=scri.siena.edu/ |publisher=Siena Research Institute/C-SPAN Study of the First Ladies of the United States |access-date=October 9, 2022}}</ref>