First Ladies Throughout History | Biography

[Music] Abigail Adams greatest legacy I think to the role of first lady is that if you are political by nature be fully political she was born on November 11th 17:44 in Weymouth Massachusetts she was encouraged by her parents to read and to study and it wasn't just in the basics it was also in Shakespearean literature was in the letter as the classics in 1762 Abigail was reunited with John Adams an old acquaintance from her childhood he was smitten by Abigail's knowledge of poetry philosophy and politics they met when she was 15 and he was 27 there was a strong shared values John and Abigail Adams married on October 25th 1764 they had six children over 10 years but John's duties as a politician kept him away from home for long stretches John and Abigail Adams spent years apart and yet it never seemed to impair the relationship John Adams was helping to foment the revolution that would lead to independence he continually reported to Abigail through their letters the letters of John and Abigail Adams still serve as one of the most prized artifacts in the United States history if you read their letters you find a great deal of affection between them they give us not only a very personal sense of who the two of them were they give us also a sense of the uncertainty of the creation of the United States of America the role of John Adams in the Revolution elevated his status as a politician he served as vice president for two terms under President Washington she was very persuasive in her husband questioning George and Martha Washington and Thomas Jefferson's commitment to slavery in 1796 John Adams became the second President of the United States Abigail Adams couldn't help but express her opinion she had some really tough quotes about her weight mil peers she called them out pretty much as being hypocrites and that was pretty bold Abigail's critics returned fire with claims that her political activism was meddling in the president's affairs she was even sarcastically called mrs. president for the very overt political role that she took John Adams lost the election of 1800 to his rival Thomas Jefferson the Adams retired to Quincy Massachusetts John and Abigail Adams were able to spend real time together they had time to really reconnect she didn't live to see her son John Quincy Adams become president but she had great confidence that he would continue to rise politically Abigail Adams died on October 28th 1818 she was 73 years old Dolly Madison's greatest legacy is the idea that a First Lady is the mother of a nation she was born dolly Paine on May 20th 1768 in Newgarden North Carolina she was one of seven siblings raised in a strict Quaker household she was really not allowed to mix in the larger society she is known to have been very beautiful and attention was lavished on her and that but it has really with the Quaker religion in January 17 $90.00 married a Quaker lawyer named John Todd they had two sons but the marriage ended tragically when a yellow fever epidemic struck Philadelphia just a few years later she lost in a short period of time her husband her son her in-laws the following year Dolly Todd met James Madison they married that same year but James Madison's status as a non Quaker led to Dolly's expulsion from the Quaker community it was difficult for her at first she said to be at peace with that she and James Madison never had any children of their own but James Madison helped to raise dolly surviving son in 1800 James Madison had been retired from politics when President Jefferson beckoned him to return to serve as Secretary of State Madison accepted and a new world opened for Dolly when Thomas Jefferson became president both he and his vice-president were widowed and so Dolly Madison oftentimes came to serve as a hostess and she's credited with bringing a certain charm and etiquette to the White House when James Madison became president in 1809 Dolly Madison understood the political value of White House social functions in ways that her predecessors did not she hosted the first inaugural ball for 400 people she opened up the White House in a very stylish accessible way her physical appearance was regal but in contrast to that was her spirit her warmth her accessibility during the war of 1812 Dolly Madison risked her safety in order to save vital artifacts from the White House during a British Invasion of Washington she famously protected the portrait of former President George Washington after eight years in the White House the Madison's retired to Orange County Virginia where they lived until James's death in June of 1836 after his death she was burdened with the gambling debts of her son in 1837 Dolly Madison returned to Washington and continued her involvement in politics she served really as a mentor to her successors and in her own way continued to help through them shape the public role of first light Dolly Madison died in Washington on July 12th 18-49 at the age of 81 I think Mary Todd Lincoln is remembered as a First Lady of complete tragedy she was born Mary Todd in Lexington Kentucky on December 13th 1818 her life in a large wealthy family was comfortable but lonely unfortunately her mother passed away when she was six years old and her father quickly got remarried and Mary did not have a great relationship with her stepmother as she focused very intently on her studies she pursued education and she read the newspapers and she began to develop what people called a masculine mind Mary Todd left home in 1839 to live with her sister in Springfield Illinois it wasn't long before she met a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln it was an unlikely romance first of all physically they made an odd pair Mary was a little bit plump and rather short and Lincoln was very tall and very thin there wasn't a lot of love for Abraham Lincoln in the Todd family because they really felt like he came from nothing Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln were married in November of 1842 and it was the first time that Mary Todd Lincoln really realized what it was like to have heard chef so she sort of stood by her man if you will but in a sense felt a tremendous isolation from her family his isolation increased for Mary when Abraham Lincoln claimed the White House in 1860 and in the case of Mary Lincoln you had her as a member of the southern aristocracy married to the Union president who was leading the nation into civil war so without even doing or saying anything the odds are stacked against her she just felt this constant lack of support by the the Washington socialites who were just aboard that these Midwesterners have taken over the White House as the Civil War raged on Mary Lincoln's actions in the White House further angered her critics she spent an enormous sum of money I'm redecorating the White House she also spent a huge amount on her clothes but it did alienate her from people in Washington and of course from common people who were suffering from the war On February 20th 1862 Mary lost her son to typhoid fever when mrs. Lincoln lost her son Willie there was a very bitter sarcastic rather than supportive reaction through most of the north of the Union which was sort of this attitude of well at least you had comfort of seeing your son die on April 14th 1865 Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at the Ford's Theater Mary sat next to him after Lincoln's assassination her mental state overall started to decline and it was even after that point that she was institutionalized that she actually tried to commit suicide twice somebody once said at the time of her death then in many ways as she really had died in that theater beside her husband Mary Todd Lincoln spent her final years in Springfield Illinois with her sister she died on July 16th 1882 at the age of 63 Jackie was an icon even in her own time and she was worshipped and adored as if she were a movie star Jackie Kennedy saw her role as establishing the White House as a beacon for arts and culture she was born Jacqueline Lee bo ba on July 28th 1929 in Southampton New York she is the child of privilege they grew up in the Larkin summered in all the right places she went to Farmington which is a girls school in Connecticut and then went to Vassar and then studied in France at the sub-1 Jackie was a skilled writer and took an interest in journalism following her education Jackie could have had a brilliant career as a fashion journalist in 1951 she won both magazine's Prix de pari which was a writing contest with a prize of an internship in Paris but her mother wouldn't let her go in 1952 Jackie met US Representative John Kennedy at a dinner party of a mutual friend Jack was an inspiring politician and she was beautiful and she was charming and elegant and well educated so I think on paper she was the perfect partner for him as well as in person they were married in September of the following year at st. Mary's Church in Newport Rhode Island the transition to a life as a politician's wife was not easy for Jackie she wasn't a particularly political person she hated campaigning she didn't like to be out in a lot of crowds she was not by his side the way some wives are today on the campaign trail in 1960 John F Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon in a close election Jackie immediately set out to revitalize the culture of the White House Jackie Kennedy had a sense of style and she applied it to the White House Jackie always had lots of celebrities and glamorous people and she always had great entertainment it was just a whole different scene Jackie sense of personal style made her a darling to the media and an icon to American women Kennedy was the youngest American president and instead of trying to look older and more distinguished he and Jackie really font had their youth women were extremely admiring of her style and her sense of fashion and her glamour Jackie's popularity extended far beyond the borders of the United States she brought a level of travel and training and education to the White House that we really hadn't seen before she charmed all of the world leaders she was very sophisticated and she knew how to handle herself socially in 1963 the assassination of President John F Kennedy brought a tragic end to Jackie's time in the White House and John John celebrates his third birthday with a soldier's farewell to his father the assassination of Robert Kennedy in June of 1968 made Jackie fear for the safety of her children she moved to Greece and married a wealthy shipping magnate named Aristotle Onassis I don't think it was a very happy time she was married to this man who married her because he wanted a trophy wife and she married him because she wanted the money and the protection after her second husband's death in 1975 Jackie returned to the States and to her passion of the publishing industry she was a respected editor and she knew what she was doing she could walk around New York's and edit books but people always found her rather unapproachable there was always a sense of tragedy around her Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died on May 19 1994 she was 64 Pat Nixon was very much that helped me the quiet wife I think she's somebody PAP came out of a place of great struggle and made something of her life on her own by her own determination she was born Thelma Katherine Ryan on March 16th 1912 she lost both parents during her childhood and worked long hours on their farm in California she worked her early years probably harder than any first lady and put herself and her two brothers through college graduating [ __ ] laude while working as a teacher in Whittier California Pat met a recent Duke law graduate named Richard Nixon he was obviously smitten so smitten in fact that he would pick her up take her to dates that she had with other men and then drive her home after about a year when he asked her to marry him she said yes they were married in Riverside California in 1946 years later Richard Nixon made a run for a seat in the US House of Representatives I don't think Pat Nixon had any real interest in politics I don't think she cared about it that much on the other hand because of the strong work ethic she could do politics just some hours after her first child Patricia was born she was out doing campaign things their nominee or vice president after serving two terms as Vice President Richard Nixon made a run at the presidency in 1960 it was a close race that he lost to John F Kennedy but in 1968 Richard Nixon returned and scored a presidential victory over Hubert Humphrey the Nixon's moved into the White House the following January mrs. Dickson always had her own schedule when she traveled abroad his first lady she was the most well-traveled wife at least up to that point of a president she went to Liberia Ghana and the Ivory Coast well where's Jackie Kennedy had kind of gone sometimes and been this sort of dazzling person Pat Nixon very strongly took on the costumes and the culture of the places she went Pat Nixon's efforts within the White House were equally popular to the like she made the house as accessible to as wide diversity of people as possible she instituted evening tours she instituted tours of the gardens and the grounds she even had brochures made in foreign languages so people who didn't speak English could guide themselves through the rooms and at night she had the White House who lit up with floodlights I shall leave this office with regret if not completing my term with gratitude on August 9 1974 Richard Nixon resigned following news of his involvement in the Watergate scandal it was an abrupt ending for Pat Nixon she was deeply saddened and very distressed she believed that Watergate was simply a political firestorm that it was going to subside a lot of what she learned about Watergate occurred in the very last days when transcripts are released after the White House Pat Nixon wasn't well she had a fairly serious stroke later on she was diagnosed with lung cancer Pat Nixon died at her New Jersey home on June 22nd 1993 she was 81 years old she was born Elizabeth and bloomer on April 8th 1918 in Chicago Illinois she grew up really in Grand Rapids Michigan and when she was a young girl her father died a tragic death of her father two carbon monoxide poisoning put pressure on young Betty to provide for her family she took jobs modeling and teaching dance the love of her life was dance and she told her mother that when she finished school she was going to go off and be a dancer and her mother was really not committed to that idea in 1942 she married a Salesman named William Warren they were married for five years and in her autobiography mrs. Ford referred to this first marriage as the five-year misunderstanding just as her divorce was finalized bet he met a young lawyer named Gerald Ford who was just beginning his career as a politician he was a little apprehensive because if you aspire to a political life you would not necessarily marry somebody who'd been married before but he was so drawn to her they were married on October 15th 1948 just two weeks after Gerald Ford had won his first term in Congress when they moved to Washington she went through what a lot of congressional wives went through and still do is for children in pretty rapid succession throughout her husband's 13 congressional terms Betty Ford became a popular figure in organizations like the National Federation of Republican Women she was very comfortable with people I don't believe that she ever felt the tension of invasion of her privacy the way that some others have on October 12th 1973 Gerald Ford was nominated to the office of vice-president mrs. Ford had many reservations about Gerald Ford becoming vice president they had thought that when he finished his congressional term they were going to move back to Michigan after the Watergate scandal President Nixon announced his resignation on August 9th 1974 Vice President Ford was promptly sworn in as the 38th President of the United States there was a lot of distrust of the presidency and both she and Jerry Ford made the commitment to bring integrity back to government I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together she had causes she wanted to promote and an issue she wanted to talk about Betty Ford was a breath of fresh air after Pat Nixon just weeks after arriving in the White House Betty Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy she went public with the news in hopes of raising awareness in those days people didn't talk about that and so when you had breast cancer was shameful she probably saved enormous numbers of lives because she was so open about it Betty Ford continued to be an outspoken voice on a variety of hot-button issues including abortion and drug use her work for the women's movement and the ER a prompted Time magazine to name her a Woman of the Year in 1975 you never got a feeling that she was plotting or scheming she was just absolutely who she was in 1978 just one year out of the White House Betty Ford confronted her addiction to alcohol she went off to a rehab program and when she emerged she made a commitment to carry the message of sobriety she founded the Betty Ford Clinic in 1982 just as she did with breast cancer she took addiction out of the closet and made it okay to talk about today the Betty Ford Center is the most successful and the most widely known treatment center in the world Betty Ford died on July 8 2011 in Rancho Mirage California she was 93 years old she was born Anne Francis Robbins on July 6th 1921 in New York her birth father essentially abandoned her and her mother Nancy Reagan's mother was an actress and she was on the road and away from Nancy so I think she always felt kind of abandoned as a young child in 1929 Nancy was 7 years old when her mother married a prominent neurosurgeon named Loyall Davis they moved to his home in Chicago provided Nancy with a strong parental figure he was always there for her which her her biological father wasn't he was quite inspirational for her after graduating from Smith College in 1943 Nancy moved to Hollywood to pursue work as an actress it was there that she met an actor and recent divorcee named Ronald Reagan it ended up being an incredible love affair that people still when they reflect on it and speak of it Fela was one of the greatest relationship they never witnessed they married in a small ceremony on March 4th 1952 Nancy quickly settled into the role of homemaker while her husband moved toward a career in politics well it wasn't really too long into their marriage that she had her first child her daughter as a result of that there really wasn't all that much time for Ronald and Nancy Reagan to just be you know newlyweds he had two children from the first marriage and Nancy was a sometime mother to those two in 1967 Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California life under the political limelight was not easy for Nancy the political coverage she received as a governor's wife was hyper critical the press was very hard on Nancy Reagan they really played into the caricature and stereotypes of her as wealthy privileged distant Nancy Reagan responded to the criticisms by becoming a much more visible force and her husband's presidential campaigns every strategist knew what a powerful ally Nancy Reagan could be and if they got on the wrong side of her that they'd be gone in 1980 Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter to become the 40th President of the United States Nancy Reagan came in and undertook some refurbishing and redesign projects within the White House and it led to some negative press but even her harshest critics could not deny Nancy's devotion to her husband Nancy Reagan was there as the president's wife first and foremost she was highly conscientious about his nutrition about his rest and sleep about making sure he wasn't overworked in 1982 Nancy Reagan launched a national drug awareness campaign called just say no Nancy Reagan herself didn't just give it lip service she traveled about a quarter of a million miles to try to promote the just say no campaign eventually it became a policy issue that she was very much involved in after eight years in the White House Ronald and Nancy Reagan returned to California they were the most devoted couple and that most people had ever seen they traveled around the world they both wrote their memoirs but once his Alzheimer's set in mrs. Reagan became his caretaker Ronald Reagan passed away on June 5th 2004 that same year Nancy Reagan took an aggressive stance in support of stem-cell research Nancy Reagan became more involved asking then president george w bush to take a real look at everyone except cell funding and research nancy reagan has a fascinating legacy in that it goes from somebody seen as more style than substance and ended as having perhaps more substance than style hillary rodham was born in chicago in 1947 and raised in Park Ridge Illinois by mother Dorothy and strict demanding father Hugh although she would one day become a Liberal Democrat back in 1964 teenage Hillary pounded the pavement trying to get the vote out for conservative presidential nominee Barry Goldwater when she went to Wellesley she was a Goldwater girl and it was basically the Vietnam War that turned her around and by the time she spoke at the senior graduation she was an anti-war person very loudly so and then very articulate while focused on her studies at Yale Law School she clearly had some free time as she began a relationship with future husband Bill Clinton several years after graduating she moved to Bill's native Arkansas in 1975 she married Bill Clinton as he pursued a career in politics he became governor and for the next 12 years Hillary would work as a lawyer and sit on boards both corporate and nonprofit in 1980 she gave birth to their daughter Chelsea and became one of America's most powerful lawyers as a partner in the rose law firm in 1992 bill was elected president and Hillary became the first lady she was just as talented and educated as Bill Clinton was and he really viewed her as a partner this was someone that when he was campaigning he said you know you're getting two for the price of one and he got her involved immediately in the health care task force and that was something that made a lot of people uncomfortable because they weren't used to seeing a strong first lady role her task force to reform health care failed and the Clintons dealing in the Whitewater scandal made headlines when Kenneth Starr revealed an affair between Bill and Monica Lewinsky the lurid details of the affair became known to the world the Monica Lewinsky scandal was obviously very very personally troubling for Hillary Clinton she had to deal with probably the biggest humiliation of her entire life in front of the eyes of the world at the same time that the Congress was voting on whether to convict her husband she was meeting I believe in the residents of the white house with Harold Ickes her a longtime adviser discussing her prospects in the US Senate race and I think she saw this as a way to build a path for herself that was separate from her husband she won the New York Senate seat and quickly became one of the most prominent senators in the country in 2007 she announced her candidacy for the presidency at the time many political pundits believed she was the inevitable choice to be the next president unfortunately for Hillary another historic candidate had different plans one of the ironies of course both had dreamed of the day that they would see a black president of the United States in their lifetimes and what they never bargained for is that they would is that one day he would run against them on their watch during the Democratic primaries Hillary's inevitability became much less likely as Barack Obama rattled off an impressive stretch of primary wins Hillary kept her word to her millions of supporters by running till the very end of the primary process despite calls for her to quit the race for the sake of party unity On June 7th her historic presidential candidacy which saw her become the first woman ever to win a presidential primary came to an end and she threw her support behind Barack Obama she said if you support me you need to support him and right up until the end there were people who said no you know I believe in you Hillary Clinton but I am NOT transferring that to Barack Obama but she kept going back if Hillary Clinton has proved anything to the world it's that she's about as tough as they come and she won't be easily deterred always got the feeling that she was a force for good and when it came to her husband's temperament Laura is the love of my life Laura lein Welch was born in Midland Texas on November 4th 1946 she was an only child in a home where both parents contributed to her father's successful real estate business she grew up in a landscape that was dull but through the world of books I think her imagination took her all over the place on the night of November 6th 1963 Laura was involved in a tragic car accident she ran a stop sign and hit a car broadside and the driver was killed it had the effect of making her a little more thoughtful a little sadder a little more world wise Laura went on to get her degree in education from Southern Methodist University in Dallas she was working as a teacher when she met George W Bush at a barbecue hosted by mutual friends they hit it off right from the start and they were married shortly after meeting each other Laura Bush's life in politics began almost immediately after marriage when her husband ran for Congress in 1978 why can imagine at the time how startling it was for her she was not a public speaker and she was not particularly interested in politics the campaign ended in defeat a few years later George and Laura had twin daughters Jenna and Barbara George W drank too much and at age 40 had one of a dramatic turn around Laura had evidently given him an ultimatum - that he needed to - stop she played a very important role in george w bush's life and when he suggested to her that he might consider getting back into politics she was all for it in 1995 george w bush was elected governor of texas Laura Bush became more visible as first lady of the state she focused on two areas that would follow her into the White House one was education the other literacy George W Bush went on to win a close presidential race in 2000 ladies and gentlemen I give you the president the United States the transition to first lady of the United States wasn't easy for Laura I think Laura Bush is a very private person and the continual demands of the media were a challenge for her she herself in those first nine months really was a bit remote she spent a lot more time down at their new home in Texas than she did in the White House in 2001 after just months in the White House the terrorist attacks of 9/11 changed the expectations of the presidency including Laura Bush's duties as first lady for a while she was referred to as comforter in chief wore a bush began to address the concerns that parents had about fear and anxiety in children Laura Bush continued to expand her reach as first lady throughout her two terms she stressed the importance of issues like health literacy and gender equality she carried that message to a lot of the traditional Muslim countries where she had to be careful as not seeming to import American values Laura and her husband left politics in 2009 but Laura continues to work hard on the initiatives championed in the White House Michelle Obama is the first african-american first lady she will always go down in history for that and she will always be seen as a pioneer for others to follow born Michelle LaVon Robinson on January 17 1964 in Chicago Michelle Obama was raised in a blue-collar home on Chicago's South Side she went to Princeton University in 1981 and then on to law school after her college graduation after she graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 Michelle Obama moved back to her hometown of Chicago where she began working at a law firm she was assigned to be a mentor to a young summer intern named Barack Obama who then decided he wanted to ask her out on a date as his mentor Michelle thought that was inappropriate but eventually she did relent and they ultimately married on October 3rd 1992 Michelle Obama left corporate law to work in the public sector in 1991 she briefly worked as assistant to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and later started a non-profit to help train people for careers in public service she became an associate dean at the University of Chicago in 1996 and then a vice president at the University Medical Center in 2005 in addition to being the top breadwinner in the Obama family due to her position at the University of Chicago Michele also gave birth during that time to two daughters Malia in 1998 and Natasha known as Sasha in 2001 Michelle Obama helped her husband get elected to the Senate in 2004 she campaigned with him while still trying to maintain his normal life as possible with her daughters and raising them when Barack Obama ran for president in 2008 Michelle took a leave of absence from her work to help with the campaign and still have time for her kids Michelle Obama officially became the 44th first lady of the United States when her husband was sworn in as president on January 20th 2009 she was extremely effective in a number of her as first lady including let's move which was a program focused on eradicating childhood obesity through fitness as well as her extraordinary work in supporting military personnel and their families Michelle Obama in a time of extreme partisan politics has found issues that both parties can agree on and that really bring people together during Barack Obama's 2012 re-election run Michelle Obama traveled the country to support him and played an important role in his success she was so popular and effective on the stump she earned the nickname the closer Michelle Obama is a phenomenon in the White House she is managed to navigate the racial divide in this country the gender divide and the demands that she do something meaningful Michelle Obama is a popular first lady she was clearly a good mother clearly a good wife her husband clearly listened to her and she was a vigorous attractive presence it's hard to know what Michelle Obama will do after the White House she has the experience the temperament the education and the visibility to assume importance in many sectors to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them [Music] [Music] you work hard for what you want in life what happened at this podium last night was a fiasco few people blaming Melania but rather her speech [Music] you [Music] you

Channel: Biography

Views: 356,870

Keywords: mini biography, biography, full biography, bio, history, bio channel, biography channel, biography tv, celebrity, documentary, politics, political, american history, culture, biography documentary channel, the biography channel, full episode

Id: JHL90ER2oW8

Length: 38min 3sec (2283 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 15 2019