Sapphic Voices Young Adult

Kitchen Table Politics

Miss Cook was still pale and barely able to stand when the ship finally docked at Penn's Landing. She stood leaning against the railing supported by Miss Ashley and their partner Jo, who didn't have a problem with seasickness. The three of them made their way from the ship to the docks of Philadelphia where Jo made the two women sit on their steamer trunks while she got them a carriage.

After loading the carriage and making sure the ladies were settled in comfortably, Jo climbed easily up and onto the tiny seat and took the reins of the cart in hand. She drove the carriage down Front Street. As they went past Carpenter's Hall, they all got a glimpse of it's back side, but not it's front. They turned left onto the newly cobbled Walnut Street.


Jo stopped the carriage in front of a house that was just as Miz Pinckney had described it to her. The Todd House was a beautiful mauve color, light, airy, and brand new, like most of this city. The family house currently belonged to Dolley Todd Madison and her husband James. Almost before the carriage had come to a complete stop, a petite dark-haired woman ran out of the house, her apron flying behind her. She had neglected to tie one side of it down.

"Dolley!" Miss Ashley Jumped down from the carriage. "It's good to see you!" She swept the much smaller woman up into her arms in a tremendous bear-hug. "I haven't seen you since the wedding. How is James anyway?"

"You know James. He's very intense, especially when he's working."

While Jo unloaded the carriage, the women went into the house and settled down in the kitchen. Miss Cook looked around the house. "Is James here now?"

"No. He's got everyone locked up in Independence Hall right now. He doesn't want any of the men to spread out too far. No one leaves until he can get them to come up with a new constitution."

"A new constitution? I thought he wanted them to strengthen the Articles of Confederation."

"No. James is talking about throwing the Articles out altogether."

"Janice was right to send us then. There are suspicious things going on here in Philadelphia. It looks like we've got a lot of work to do."

"First let me get you settled in. I've sent for Betsy and she'll be here soon with reinforcements."

"You've done well Dolley." They followed her into the side door leading to the kitchen.

"Jo if you'll show the gentlemen where to put our stuff, we'll begin plans. Come on back here when you know things are settled."

"Don't you dare leave here without me, now. If you do I'll tell mama."

"Sure. Then we'll all be in trouble. I promise, we'll wait for you this time. No sneaking off."

"Humm." With that she left the room and those three crafty ladies knowing that a plot was already on its way to unfolding.

The first thing the ladies decided to do was let their kinsman Charles, also a Pinckney like their friend Janice, know they were in town. Since it was almost the end of one of James's shorter lecture sessions, the two women dressed in some of the servants old clothes, grabbed a handful of old newsletters, and waited just outside the hall for the delegates to come out.

Along with a small handful of other news-mongers, they surrounded the delegates as they tried to leave for the evening. They made sure to avoid James, afraid that he might recognize them before they were ready to be seen. They managed to find Charles, and get noticed by him before they began to run off. As they hoped, he followed them as they headed down Front Street toward the docks. As he approached them, Jo faded into the background and followed them at a distance, so that she was behind Charles the whole time.

"Miz Cook, Miz Ashley, what ya'll doin' here? And why ya'll in those clothes? Ya'll look like a couple of Old Ben's print devils."

"That's what we hoped for. What's going on here Charles? You have Miss Pinckney all upset."

"Well..I'm not at liberty to discuss it right now."

"Come on Charles. This is family you're talking to."

"I really can't."

Miss Cook tried a new direction. "You threw out the articles didn't you?" Charles looked at the ground without answering. "Okay just do this. Tell us what issues are on the table. Come on, Charles. It's not like we're going to print it in the local gazette. This is for Janice. You remember her? The woman who raised us." Charles blinked unable to lie to his beloved friends he answered. "Just the issues?"

"Just the issues."

"Okay, but you never heard this from me." Both ladies did their best not to grin. "New rules for a strong central government, better representation, trade regulations, and expansion."

"What about Slavery?"

"Not an issue."

"Why not?"

"Because John Rutledge and Rawlin Lowndes told James that if he and Hamilton really wanted this constitution to pass he had to leave slavery alone."

"James agreed to that?"

"That's why everyone is still here." Charles looked around nervously. They saw the set of his jaw and knew that was all he would tell them. It had been more than enough though.

"Thank You Charles."

"Your Welcome. May I have the pleasure of escorting you ladies back to town?"

"That would be very nice, but since we aren't dressed for it why don't we say good-bye here?" He gallantly bowed and said good-bye to the two women and turned back up toward the tavern. It seemed to him an adequate place to stop.

Once Charles was headed for the tavern Jo joined the ladies and walked back to Dolley's house with them, ever watchful that they didn't try any of that funny business like before when they slipped away and disappeared for months.

Dolley met with the women after dinner. "I don't know if I should really be doing this, but here's the key to James's desk. He'll be leaving in a few minutes, so give him time to leave before you go through it."

"Thanks Dolley. You know we wouldn't ask you to do this if it wasn't important."

"I know. Good Luck!"

Miss Cook and Miss Ashley waited another half hour before they headed to the library. They found James's notes easily enough and read through them at the desk.

"Look at all this. James has been planning this from the very beginning. So this meeting is to get all the delegates to back him up. Isn't it nice for him that Mr. Jefferson is conveniently out of the country."

"Umm. He couldn't have planned it any better."

"Liz?"

"Hmm?"

"Look at this." She handed Miss Cook a single paper. He wanted to take powers away from each of the states and give it all to one central government."

"That's no good. People who make the laws are going to be too far away from the rest of us. I don't like this at all." There was a loud bang. "What was that?"

"I don't know, but let's get out of here." The women scrambled to gather up the papers and return them to their original order. They both heard the sound outside the library doors. The women slid back behind the desk, taking the lamp with them. The door opened. There was silence for a long long second, then a hesitant whisper filled the air. Miz Ashley, Miz Cook ya'll in here?" They breathed out he air they had both been holding in. It was Jo.

"Yes."

"Miz Dolley says to tell ya'll that James is in the house."

"Thanks Jo."

"Yes Ma'am" She closed the door behind her.

"Let's get out of here."

"Good Idea."

As they opened the door of the library they ran into James.

"Hello ladies. I didn't expect anyone to be here. Sorry to disturb you."

"That's quite all right, James, we were just searching for a good story to keep us company tonight."

"Ah." He nodded. Good thing he was more that just a little preoccupied. He might have noticed that neither of the women had a book with them. "I'll bid you both a good night then." James wandered into the library and left them standing in the hallway.


To decide on their next campaign movement, the ladies went out for a stroll in the sun. As they neared Mr. Franklin's house, they saw him seated on the upper porch, a newspaper on his lap. Ever the gentleman, he rose to greet them. Unfortunately it was the hour of his daily air bath and the elder statesman was completely starkers, not a stitch of clothing in sight. He smiled and bowed as they walked by with what little dignity they could manage to maintain. He waved and they laughed all the way to Lady Ross's house.

They told Betsy what they found and she made an interesting suggestion: "How about having a dinner? Feed them and get them drunk. Who knows what you might get them to say."

"It's a good idea but we can't ask Dolley to do that. She's already done more than she should."

"Don't worry. I'll have the dinner. You just tell me who you want on the guest list."


The widow Ross's dinner was a smashing success. At every course of the meal, Brandy was poured all round. What none of the men knew was that each dish had been carefully prepared so that the homemade special wine added to each dish remained undetected.

By dessert the men were arguing politics across the table, oblivious to the women who had retreated to the kitchen. Jo, dressed more appropriately for a woman was serving the meal. Her ears took in everything which she reported every few minutes to one of the women tip-toeing to the doors to listen in on the conversation.

"What now?"

"Mr. Washington and Mr. Adams are aspiring to kingship."

"Hmmm."

"Charles is supporting Madison's Federal Plan."

"Little Traitor."

"Well he IS a Pinckney." Miss Cook was not always talkative except when conversing with Miss Ashley.

"Here's good news."

"What?"

"The committee on Representation is holding court tomorrow night at the Tavern."

"I think we should pay them a visit."

"You know I was thinking the same thing. We haven't visited the Tavern in a while, and I've certainly been missing it."

"You've been dipping into the wine again, haven't you?"

Miss Cook smiled. "Did you happen to bring our South Carolina plan along?"

"Why yes. I wouldn't forget such an important document like that." She winked.

"Good. Do you think you can manage to walk to the closet and stick it inside Mr., Franklin's duty pouch? Or should I come and help you?"

"Let's do it together."

"Before or after more Brandy?"

"Better do it before."


It was fairly easy for Miss Cook and Miss Ashley to blend in as serving girls at the tavern since many of the men didn't know them anyway. What was difficult was listening to these men of such knowledge, power, and importance hurling insults at each other across a checkered tablecloth. Spurred on by the grudging acceptance of the three-fifths rule, Pierce Butler gave them his Fugitive Slave Law, which was supported by all the southern delegates.

Colonel Mason, an avowed abolitionist was outraged. He challenged Mr. Butler to a Midnight Duel, but Miss Ashley and Miss Cook intervened.

"There will be no duels in this city. There should be nothing between you delegates but brotherly love. If you can't find a compromise then play a game to settle it. Here Use the dart board. It can't be any worse than what you are already doing."

Colonel Mason was angry. Pierce Butler was drunk. That made it a pretty even match. At the end of the game one point separated the players, but Pierce won the game and his Fugitive Slave Law. Colonel Mason stormed out of the tavern vowing to oppose the constitution every chance he could get.

After breakfast the next morning all the women met in Betsy's kitchen for their own constitutional session. Betsy had invited every woman she knew and they all decided that if the South Carolina plan didn't pass they would be there when the session was over to voice their protest in public. The women followed Miss Cook and Miss Ashley who were back in their print devil outfits to Constitution Hall, where they waited for the men to finish.

The women listened as Franklin proposed what he thought was Pinckney and Butler's South Carolina Plan , and managed to talk the others into passing part of the plan containing a list of rights and protections of the individual, much to the delight of a rather perplexed Charles, and a very large group of women including Jo, Miss Cook, and Miss Ashley. Having done a hard days work the men were mildly surprised and rather pleased to see the number of women waiting for them as they exited the hall, never knowing how close they had come to a rebellion by their most intimate subjects.

The End

If you have enjoyed pj leslie's "Kitchen Table Politics", then please be certain to e-mail her at  bbrinker1940[at]yahoo.com  and thank her for posting this Story.

Click here for a list of all of pj leslie's  Stories and Poetry at  Sapphic Voices Authoresses.