Friday, March 19, 2010

I would have quoted a female President yesterday, but...

I would have had to find one outside of the United States. Finland, for example. So instead I found some info that I lifted straight from Wikipedia (to give credit where credit is due) on the wives of the Presidents of the United States.

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The use of the title first lady to describe the spouse or hostess of an executive began in the United States. In the early days of the republic, there was not a generally accepted title for the wife of the president. Many early first ladies expressed their own preference for how they were addressed, including the use of such titles as "Lady", "Mrs. President", and "Mrs. Presidentress;" Martha Washington was often referred to as "Lady Washington."


According to legend, Dolley Madison was referred to as "first lady" in 1849 at her funeral in a eulogy delivered by President Zachary Taylor. However, no written record of this eulogy exists. Sometime after 1849, the title began being used in Washington, D.C. social circles. The earliest known written evidence of the title is from the November 3, 1863 diary entry of William Howard Russell, in which he referred to gossip about "the First Lady in the Land." The title first gained nationwide recognition in 1877, when newspaper journalist Mary C. Ames referred to Lucy Webb Hayes as "the First Lady of the Land" while reporting on the inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes. The frequent reporting on Lucy Hayes' activities helped spread use of the title outside Washington. A popular 1911 comedic play by playwright Charles Nirdlinger titled The First Lady in the Land popularized the title further. By the 1930s it was in wide use. Use of the title later spread from the United States to other nations.


Role of the First Lady

The position of the First Lady is not an elected one, carries no official duties, and receives no salary. Nonetheless, first ladies have held a highly visible position in U.S. government. The role of the first lady has evolved over the centuries. She is, first and foremost, the hostess of the White House. She organizes and attends official ceremonies and functions of state either along with, or in place of, the president.

Both Martha Washington and Abigail Adams gained fame from the Revolutionary War and were treated as if they were "ladies" of the British royal court. Dolley Madison popularized the first ladyship by engaging in efforts to assist orphans and women, by dressing in elegant fashions and attracting newspaper coverage, and by risking her life to save iconic treasures during the War of 1812. Madison set the standard for the ladyship and her actions were the model for nearly every first lady until Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1930s. Plagued by polio, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was not free to travel around the country, so Mrs. Roosevelt assumed this role. She authored a weekly newspaper column and hosted a radio show. Jacqueline Kennedy added the role of decorator of the White House when she was first lady, engaging in an expansive campaign to restore the White House.

Over the course of the 20th century it became increasingly common for first ladies to select specific causes to promote, usually ones that are not politically divisive. It is common for the first lady to hire a staff to support these activities. Lady Bird Johnson pioneered environmental protection and beautification; Pat Nixon encouraged volunteerism and traveled extensively abroad; Betty Ford supported womens' rights; Rosalynn Carter aided those with mental disabilities; Nancy Reagan founded the Just Say No drug awareness campaign; Barbara Bush promoted literacy; Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to reform the healthcare system in the U.S.; and Laura Bush supported womens' rights groups and encouraged childhood literacy. Clinton was, for a time, given a formal job in the administration. She became a U.S. Senator from New York in 2001 and is currently the Secretary of State in the Obama administration. Many first ladies, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, and Michelle Obama have been significant fashion trendsetters.

There is a strong tradition against the First Lady holding outside employment while serving as White House hostess. However, some first ladies have exercised a degree of political influence by virtue of being an important adviser to the president. During Hillary Clinton's campaign for election to the U.S. Senate, the couple's daughter, Chelsea took over much of the First Lady's role; the latter then served as Acting First Lady during the fortnight between her mother's swearing in as a Senator and the end of her father's presidency; exercise of the First Lady's White House managerial authority by a sitting Member of Congress could have arguably run afoul of U.S. Constitution's Ineligibility Clause.

List of First Ladies:

1. Martha Washington
2. Abigail Adams
3. Martha Jefferson Randolph
4. Dolley Todd Madison
5. Elizabeth Monroe
6. Louisa Adams
7. Rachel Jackson (niece Emily Donelson actually performed duties of First Lady)
8. Hannah Van Buren (daughter-in-law Angelica Singleton Van Buren performed duties)
9. Anna Harrison
10. Letitia Tyler
11. Julia Tyler
12. Sarah Polk
13. Margaret Taylor
14. Abigail Fillmore
15. Jane Pierce
16. Harriet Lane
17. Mary Todd Lincoln
18. Eliza Johnson
19. Julia Boggs Grant
20. Lucy Ware Hayes
21. Lucretia Garfield
22. Ellen Arthur (President's sister Mary Arthur McElroy performed duties of First Lady)
23. Frances Cleveland
24. Caroline Harrison (also daughter Mary Harrison McKee)
25. Frances Cleveland (again)
26. Ida McKinley
27. Edith Roosevelt
28. Helen Taft
29. Ellen Wilson (daughter Margaret Woodrow Wilson also)
30. Edith Wilson
31. Florence Harding
32. Grace Coolidge
33. Lou Hoover
34. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
35. Elizabeth Truman
36. Mamie Eisenhower
37. Jacqueline Kennedy
38. Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson
39. Thelma "Pat" Nixon
40. Elizabeth "Betty" Ford
41. Eleanor Rosalynn Carter
42. Nancy Reagan
43. Barbara Bush
44. Hillary Rodham Clinton
45. Laura Bush
46. Michelle Obama

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