Sherry Chandler

Some things I learned about our 43 first ladies

Well, not all 43 really.

And technically, we haven’t had 43 first ladies. Some of our presidents were bachelors or widowers during their time in office. These men asked daughters or nieces or daughters-in-law to serve as hostess for them. Woodrow Wilson, on the other hand, became widowed and remarried while in the White House, so he had two first ladies. So if you define “first lady” as meaning a woman married to the President of the United States during his time in office, we’ve only had 37.

In their article “The Real Mrs. Lincoln” (The Lincoln Herald, Spring 2008), Watson, Berger, and Yon consider what a strange position “first lady” actually is:

First ladies are neither elected nor appointed, there is no constitutional or statutory basis for their “office,” and, therefore, no firmly established roles or responsibilities for presidential wives. Often, first ladies end up forging their approach to the office according to their personal inclination, the nature of the presidential marriage, and within the parameters of public opinion, prevailing sex role norms, and historical precedent.

In addition to the “scholarly rankings” I talked about last post, Watson et al. include several other comparison tables for first ladies that I found fascinating.

Take education. Six of our first 14 first ladies had “none.” That is 16% of our presidential wives, up through the Civil War to Eliza Johnson, who have had no formal education. That includes Martha Washington and Dolley Madison. Abigail Fillmore had “some.” Eleven (30%) have gone to finishing school. Our “finished” ladies include Mary Todd Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, and Nancy Reagan. Florence Harding went to a music conservatory and Betty Ford studied dance at the Calla Travis Dance Studio. Fifteen (40%) have gone to college, and Rosalyn Carter went to junior college. Hillary Rodham Clinton, with her Yale Law degree, is arguably our most highly (and impressively) educated first lady to date, most closely followed by Laura Bush, who has a Masters Degree in Library Science from University of Texas in Austin. If Barack Obama is elected, Michelle will become our second Ivy-League lawyer in the role of first lady.

Francis Cleveland was the youngest first lady, being 21 when she entered the White House. Anna Harrison was the oldest at 65 (Barbara Bush was 64, Nancy Reagan a young 59). Anna Harrison also had the most children: 9. Sarah Polk and Edith Wilson had none.

As you might expect, Jackie Kennedy has had the most “biographical works” (37), followed by Eleanor Roosevelt (35), Hillary Rodham Clinton (27), and Mary Todd Lincoln (19). Twelve, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, Rosalyn Carter, and Nancy Reagan, have written memoirs or autobiographies. The love letters of the Wilsons, Trumans, and Reagans have been published.

Those most involved in their husbands’ political careers include Abigail Adams, Florence Harding (a very colorful character), Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosalyn Carter, and of course Hillary Rodham Clinton. Letitia Tyler, who was only 22 when she entered the White House, and Jane Pierce are rated least involved.

As for those rankings, Eleanor Roosevelt is always #1. Abigail Adams always #2 or #3. Mary Todd Lincoln, Florence Harding, and Jane Pierce are always in the bottom five. Nancy Reagan spent some time there too but lately her star has risen. By and large, in modern times, wives of Democrats fare better than wives of Republicans.

It would have made for real interesting times to have had a First Dude to factor in to all of this. But, ain’t gonna happen, so scholars of first wives can rest easy for a while. I would like to see that terminology “fist lady” changed, though.

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