Martha Washington to Melania Trump

Tenure, Care, Causes of America’s First Ladies

A

n interesting snapshot and comparative view of their service during and after their time in the White House

  

1.     Martha Washington (a widowed mother, her second husband, the president)
April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797
“Lady Washington,” the term “First Lady” coined after her death. Concerned mostly with family matters

2.     Abigail Adams

March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801

Her husband's closest adviser

White House incomplete in her three months in Washington she dutifully held dinners and receptions.

3.     Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph

March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809

Daughter of long-widowed Thomas Jefferson -1801

4.     Dolley Todd Madison

March 4, 1809 - March 4, 1817

Well-known supporter of charities, e.g., Washington City Orphan Asylum involved with helping poor children without families; inspired later First Ladies’ concern for the nation’s youth

5.     Elizabeth Jane Monroe

March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825

Accomplished hostess, poor health curtailed her activities

6.     Louisa Catherine Adams (native of Great Britain)

March 4, 1825 - March 4, 1829

Suffered poor health and depression; entertained, but preferred reading, composing music and playing her harp

7.     Emily Donelson  - Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson, the latter married to Andrew Jackson, died before his inauguration; the former, her niece, assumed duties of First Lady

March 4, 1829 - March 4, 1837

8.     Hannah Van Buren – Sarah Angelica Singleton Van Buren (Daughter-in-law), the former died of tuberculosis before the president’s election; the latter, wife of their eldest son (a cousin of Dolley Madison),  assumed the duties of hostess at White House functions March 4, 1837 - March 4, 1841

9.     Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison

March 4, 1841- April 4, 1841

Held the title of First Lady but never entered the White House. Her husband, President William Henry Harrison, died of pneumonia one month into his term

10.  Letitia Tyler (d.1842), Julia Tyler (m.1844)

April 4, 1841- March 4, 1845

The former had suffered a stroke that left her partially paralyzed, too ill to get around easily and her daughter-in-law took on the duties of hostess at the White House. After the former’s death, John Tyler married Julia Gardiner who presided over White House parties during her 8 months as first lady

11.  Sarah Childress Polk

March 4, 1845 - March 4, 1849

(Privately) gave advice, helped her husband with his speeches, copied his correspondence; enjoyed politics

12.  Margaret “Peggy” Mackall Taylor

March 4, 1849 -July 9, 1850 (death of president)

Poor health, reclusive, took no part in formal social functions, giving the duties of official hostess to her youngest daughter, Mary Elizabeth.

13.  Abigail Fillmore

July 9, 1850 - March 4, 1853

Credited for improving the White House library

14.  Jane Means Appleton Pierce

March 4, 1853 - March 4, 1857

Seeing son killed in a train accident shortly before the inauguration resulted in long-term grief and difficulty in carrying out expected social obligations of first lady.

15.  Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston

March 4, 1857 - March 4, 1861

Niece of unmarried president James Buchanan carries out duties

On brink of civil war, her challenge working out seating arrangements in weekly formal dinner parties that dept political foes apart.

16.  Mary Todd Lincoln

March 4, 1861 - April 15, 1865

Active in efforts to provide care and services to Union soldiers; visited troops with President Abraham Lincoln; marshaled resources for an organization that helped recently freed former slaves and injured soldiers.

17.  Eliza McCardle Johnson

April 15, 1865 - March 4, 1869

Stricken with tuberculosis, an invalid, played a limited public role

18.  Julia Dent Grant

March 4, 1869 - March 4, 1877

Entertained extensively, lavishly, with Cabinet wives as her allies

19.  Lucy “Lemonade Lucy” Ware Hayes

March 4, 1877 - March 4, 1881

Temperance advocate; liquor banned in-house during administration

20.  Lucretia Rudolph-Garfield

March 4, 1881 - September 19, 1881

Held dinners, twice-weekly receptions at the White House; fell gravely ill from malaria not long before the assassination of her husband, President James A. Garfield

21.  Ellen Lewis “Nell” Arthur - Mary Arthur McElroy

September 19, 1881- March 4, 1885

Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur died of pneumonia before the president took office.

The president’s sister, Mary Arthur McElroy, served as hostess, acting in the role of first lady

22.  Frances Clara Folsom Cleveland (age 21, first woman to marry a president in the White House)

Served as the 22ndrd and 24th First Lady (a child born in White House) while married to President Grover Cleveland

Held two receptions a week, one on Saturday afternoons for working women

March 4, 1885 - March 4, 1889

March 4, 1893 - March 4, 1897

23.  Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison

March 4, 1889 - March 4, 1893

Helped found National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (d. October 1892 of tuberculosis)

24.  Frances Clara Folsom Cleveland (age 21, first woman to marry a president in the White House)

Served as the 23rd and 25th First Lady (a child born in White House) while married to President Grover Cleveland

Held two receptions a week, one on Saturday afternoons for working women

March 4, 1885 - March 4, 1889

March 4, 1893 - March 4, 1897

25.  Ida Saxton McKinley (wife of assassinated president)

March 4, 1897 - September 14, 1901

Invalid, received guests at formal receptions seated in a blue velvet chair.

26.  Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt (a second wife)

September 14, 1901- March 4, 1909

Hosted small parties, fiercely guarded her family’s privacy, tried to keep reporters at bay.

27.  Helen Louise “Nellie” Taft

March 4, 1909 - March 4, 1913

Inspired by the cherry trees she had seen while living in Japan, she focused on creation and development of what became known as West Potomac Park

28.  Ellen Louise Axson Wilson (d.1914) - Edith Wilson m.1915)

March 4, 1913 - March 4, 1921

A descendant of slave owners, “Ellen Wilson lent her prestige to the cause of improving housing for black Americans in the capital.” [Edith Bolling Galt Wilson 1915-1921: after the president’s severe stroke, she “pre-screened all matters of state, basically running the executive branch of government for the remainder of Wilson's second term”

29.  Florence Mabel Harding

March 4, 1921 - August 2, 1923

Reopened the White House and grounds to the public; held poker parties in the White House library

30.  Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge

August 2, 1923 - March 4, 1929

Among the “most popular hostesses of the White House”

31.  Lou Henry Hoover

March 4, 1929 - March 4, 1933

1st First Lady to make regular nationwide radio broadcasts; at the White House, she restored Lincoln’s study; and used her own money to pay the cost of reproducing furniture owned by Monroe for a period-sitting room in the White House.

32.  Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

March 4, 1933 - April 12, 1945

Politician, diplomat and activist [powerful opponent of segregation, lynching, fought actively for equality for African Americans]

Formed her own staff, held press conferences, traveled throughout the nation and the world, giving lectures and radio broadcasts; expressed her opinions candidly in a daily syndicated newspaper column ‘My Day’

After her term as First Lady, ER helped create the United Nations Charter on Human Rights, and remained an important figure on the world stage.

33.  Elizabeth Virginia “Bess” Truman

April 12, 1945 - January 20, 1953

In the years 1948 - 1952, the White House was undergoing interior restorations and the First Family lived at Blair House (located near Lafayette Park), the official guest quarters of foreign heads of state and government

34.  Mamie Geneva Eisenhower

January 20, 1953 - January 20, 1961

Entertained unprecedented number of heads of state, leaders of foreign governments

35.  Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy

January 20, 1961- November 22, 1963

Devoted much time and study to making the White House a museum of American history and decorative arts

36.  Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson

November 22, 1963 - January 20, 1969

Pioneered in her “First Lady” direct interactions with Congress, advocating strongly for beautifying the nation’ cities and highways; launched a campaign to inspire communities to clean up neighborhoods and highways. “Beautification”: “… people would become more active participants in their communities if the landscapes around them were clean and vibrant. Her advocacy helped lead to the “Highway Beautification Act of 1965” providing “funding for cleaning up highways” and setting up “limitations on outdoor advertising.

37.  Thelma Catherine “Pat” Ryan Nixon

January 20, 1969 - August 9, 1974

Avid supporter of charitable causes, volunteerism; added 600 paintings and antiques to the White House Collection

38.  Elizabeth Anne “Betty” Ford

August 9, 1974 - January 20, 1977

Vowed the White House would try not to keep secrets and she would do her part in ensuring openness; outspoken believer in equal opportunity for women and advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA); known also helping reduce the stigma surrounding addiction, and opening the Betty Ford Clinic.

39.  Eleanor Rosalynn Carter

January 20, 1977 - January 20, 1981

Focused on the performing arts; programs to aid mental health, the community, and the elderly; As honorary chairman of the President’s Commission on Mental Health (1979), she gave testimony before a Senate subcommittee

40.  Nancy Davis Reagan

January 20, 1981- January 20, 1989

Urged communities to solve social problems by spreading the word about the dangers of drug abuse and premarital sex

41.  Barbara Pierce Bush

January 20, 1989 -January 20, 1993

Promoted literacy, volunteerism, helped causes including the homeless, AIDS, the elderly, and school volunteer programs

42.  Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton

January 20, 1993 -January 20, 2001

Helped raise visibility of nation’s health care issues; as honorary chair of the ‘Save America’s Treasures committee,’ supported historic preservation and education

43.  Laura Welch Bush

January 20, 2001 - January 20, 2009

Advocated for historic education reform and well-being of women and families worldwide; focused on advancing education and promoting global literacy. After the September 11, 2001, she was “an outspoken supporter of the women of Afghanistan”

44.  Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama

January 20, 2009 - January 20, 2017

Advocate for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international adolescent girls’ education; “helped launch ‘Joining Forces,’ a nationwide initiative calling all Americans to rally around service members, veterans, and their families; and support them through wellness, education, and employment opportunities.”

45.  Melania Trump (native of Slovenia, Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia)

January 20, 2017 - present

Involved with charities including the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Boys Club of New York, the American Red Cross; her overall focus on the “well-being of children…”; and issues such as “drug addiction, poverty, disease, trafficking, hunger; teaching children the values of empathy and communication, which are at the core of kindness, mindfulness, integrity, and leadership” [First Lady’s spokesperson told to Vogue Magazine]

B

eing First Lady is tough job. At least it seems to be. I have no direct experience.

But from an outside view and some cursory research, it seems some First Ladies  —

Have served with grace, dignity, and genuine caring for the nation and its people

Some fallen ill while serving.

Some fell ill before entering the Mansion.

Some have pioneered into uncharted waters, stretching us and bringing us forward, bringing the whole world, forward.

Some have tried and been ridiculed and the hope is that for the good they will try again.

Some have healed and helped to heal the wounded, without asking a penny.

At least one, old enough to know better, has committed (and seems incapable of stopping herself form committing) irredeemable acts  — acts unbecoming the role and character and position of the First Lady of the United States of America.

All will be remembered 

long after their moment passes.

Compiled from Sources

Biography dot com First Ladies (selective) https://www.biography.com/news/first-ladies-and-their-causes-20770127

The Street “First Ladies [selective] of the United States and Their Causes” updated February 17, 2018https://www.thestreet.com/slideshow/14482238/1/first-ladies-of-the-united-states-and-their-causes.html

Wikipedia

First Family of the United States

Page last edited: August 20, 2019, at 22:53 (UTC).https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_family_of_the_United_States

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