The Office of the First Lady

                                                                                  The Important Role of First Lady as

                                                             Presidential Partner and her Office as Political Institution

      Short History : Title

• The president wife had many titles until the present term “The First Lady”.
• Martha Washington, the first presidential spouse was called Lady Washington.
• Other titles: Lady Presidentress, President's Lady, even Queen or simply Mrs.
• The first official mention of the term ”First Lady” was by President Zachary Taylor during his eulogy for Dolley Madison when he referred to her as “our First Lady of the Land for a half a century”.     

       Role and Importance 

• Scholarly research of the First Ladies is at this time still limited. Most of the research done focus on the period after 1930’s, starting with Eleanor Roosevelt.
• However, educated, active and famous First Ladies (President spouses) were noted by history, well before. Ex. Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Helen Taft.
• Today’s role can be understood and valued only by studying the contribution of all previous ladies.
• The role and importance of the First Lady as a concept and the Office of the First Lady as an institution residing in the White House, is the result of the work of the presidential spouses through out our entire history.
• Martha Washington, the “First” First Lady did not have a model of how to be a First Lady.
• It is an unique history documented by letters , diaries, and other papers written by First Ladies during their stay in the White House.                               
• According with Robert P. Watson in his article “The First Lady Reconsidered: Presidential Partner and Political Institution” Presidential Studies Quarterly, Fall 1997, V. 27, Nr. 4, pp. 805-818, there are a number of historical periods that lead to the current status of the Office of the First Lady.

       Development of the Institution of the First Lady 

• 1789-1817 First spouses shaping the image and role: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison.
• 1817-1869 Absent spouses, affected by illness and death: Hannah Van Buren, Abigail Fillmore, Eliza Johnson.
• 1869-1909 Transitional spouses: unfulfilled possibilities: Lucy Hayes activism limited by her husband, Lucretia Garfield limited by poor health.
• 1909-1945 Aspiring Spouses: Developing New Roles: Helen Taft, Lou Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt
• 1945-1974 Supportive spouses: Model Wives in the Public Era: Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Jackie Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon.
• This was a period of less assertive First Ladies. For different reasons they kept a low profile vis-à-vis their husbands in comparison with the more active roles played by their predecessors.
• 1974- present Modern Spouses: Public Presidential Partners: Elizabeth Ford, Rosalyn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hilary Clinton.
• The more recent First Ladies are not yet categorized: Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, Melania Trump
• These First Ladies are our contemporaries and we know them from their times in office. They are active and public partners of the president, attend cabinet meetings, initiate and follow personal projects consistent with the line of their husbands’ presidency.
• Public Law 95-570 passed in 1978 grants authority to establish funds to manage W.H.
• In the annual budget for its operational funding that the executive branch requests Congress to appropriate, there is federal funding to salary the staff of a spouse of a president to allow them to "help the president to carry out the duties of the presidency."
• The First Lady's office is located in the East Wing of the White House. East Wing was build during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency.
• First Ladies do not receive a salary for their service.
• Many of the presidents widows were wealthy enough to support themselves, but others were on the brink of poverty.
• Dolley Madison sold her late husband, President James Madison, papers and documents to the National Archives for $30,000
• Mary Todd Lincoln received a pension for life after much effort and support from friends, was awarded a pension of $5,000 annually on Feb. 2, 1882
• On March 31, 1882 Congressional action granted $5,000 for life for the presidential widows.
• In 1958 the Congress increased the pension to $20,000 per year for life for the presidential widows.
• An Act from Apr. 3, 1800 granted free lifetime mail services to presidential widows. This one still stands.
• The First Lady and family receive Secret Service protection in the W.H. and after.

     Capacities in which First Lady Serves the President

• Social hostess and household manager
• White House renovator-preservationist
• Campaigner and spokesperson
• Advocacy and Social activism
• Active participation in the Policy process
• Presidential and political partner
• Presidential companion
• Presidential advisor and confidante
• Wife and mother

       Advice to the First Lady from the Popular Press

• First Ladies have always been public figures and celebrities and perceived as a symbol of American woman. In this capacity they received all kinds of advice. Here it is a list from “Ladies Home Journal” by journalist Diana McLellan published January 1, 1993. It is kind of anecdotic, but with common sense and useful:
• As the nation’s top Hostess, don’t be stingy
• Include your family in White House celebrations
• Remember to have a social and private life
• Fulfill the role of wife by supporting and protecting the president
• As First Lady do not forget the women in Washington (have social functions for women)
• Expect criticism and get a very good Press Secretary
• Promote yourself and your accomplishments
• Practice making speeches
• Respect and give credit to the public
• Travel with and campaign for the president
• Assist the president with cabinet selections and staffing
• Be aware of president enemies

       The future of the Office of the first Lady

• Mrs. Barbara Bush in a challenged graduation speech declared: “And who knows? Somewhere out in the audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the President’s spouse. I wish him well!”
• The future is open to exciting events.
• The title of First Lady might change maybe to First Spouse to reflect a new couple in the White House.

                                  White House Years 
                           March 4,1909 - March 4,1913

Before the Presidency, the Tafts had an increasingly challenging and rewarding career in politics as William Taft took on: U. S. Solicitor General 1890, Governor General of Philippines 1902, T. Roosevelt’s Secretary of War 1902. In 1906 Helen Taft began to campaign for her husband’s nomination of the Republican Party. When she approached President Roosevelt for support he was not too pleased, commenting that she was more ambitious than her husband.

During the campaigning years she was a solid support for William Taft, writing and correcting speeches, following the press commentaries, giving advice.