First Lady of the United States Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Origins of the title == [[File:NPG 70 3 Custis Washington.tif|left|185px|thumb|[[Martha Washington]], who was referred to as "Lady Washington" during her husband's presidency, {{Circa|1825}}; the painting hangs at the [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]].]] 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". One of the earliest uses of the term "First Lady" was applied to her in an 1838 newspaper article that appeared in the ''St. Johnsbury Caledonian'', the author, "Mrs. Sigourney", discusses how Martha Washington had not changed, even after her husband [[George Washington|George]] became president. She wrote that "The first lady of the nation still preserved the habits of early life. Indulging in no indolence, she left the pillow at dawn, and after breakfast, retired to her chamber for an hour for the study of the scriptures and devotion."<ref>{{cite news |title=Martha Washington |work=St. Johnsbury Caledonian |date=August 7, 1838 |page=1}}</ref> [[File:Dolley Madison.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Dolley Madison]] is said to be the first wife of a president to be referred to as "First Lady" (at her funeral in 1849).]] According to popular belief, [[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, nor did any of the newspapers of her day refer to her by that title.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=4 |title=First Lady Biography: Dolley Madison |publisher=National First Ladies' Library |access-date=March 1, 2007 |archive-date=September 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915191544/http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=4 |url-status=live }}</ref> Sometime after 1849, the title began being used in Washington, D.C., social circles. The first person to have the title applied to her while she was actually holding the office was [[Harriet Lane]], the niece of [[James Buchanan]]; ''Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper'' used the phrase to describe her in an 1860 article about her duties as White House hostess. Another of the earliest known written examples comes from a November 3, 1863, diary entry of [[William Howard Russell]], in which he referred to gossip about "the First Lady in the Land", referring to [[Mary Todd Lincoln]]. 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 about Dolley Madison 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. When [[Edith Wilson]] took control of her husband's schedule in 1919 after he had a debilitating stroke, one Republican senator labeled her "the Presidentress who had fulfilled the dream of the suffragettes by changing her title from First Lady to Acting First Man".<ref>{{cite book |first=Sharon |last=Creeden |title=In Full Bloom: Tales of Women in Their Prime |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E2DyOCFDrcwC&pg=PA30 |year=1999 |publisher=August House |page=30 |isbn=9780874835762 |access-date=June 16, 2015 |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328223307/https://books.google.com/books?id=E2DyOCFDrcwC&pg=PA30 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the [[Nexis]] database, the abbreviation FLOTUS (pronounced {{IPAc-en|'|f|l|ə|ʊ|t|ɪ|s}}) was first used in 1983 by Donnie Radcliffe, writing in ''[[The Washington Post]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Safire, William|author-link=Safire, William|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/12/magazine/on-language-potus-and-flotus.html|title=On Language; Potus And Flotus|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 12, 1997|archive-date=September 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909183029/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/12/magazine/on-language-potus-and-flotus.html}}</ref><ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/FLOTUS "FLOTUS"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114220412/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/FLOTUS |date=January 14, 2021 }}. [[Merriam-Webster]]. Retrieved January 28, 2020.</ref> === Non-spouses in the role === Several women (at least thirteen) who were not presidents' wives have served as first lady, as when the president was a bachelor or widower, or when the wife of the president was unable to fulfill the duties of the first lady herself. In these cases, the position has been filled by a female relative of the president, such as [[Presidency of Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson's]] daughter [[Martha Jefferson Randolph]], [[Andrew Jackson#Presidency (1829–1837)|Jackson's]] daughter-in-law [[Sarah Yorke Jackson]] and his wife's niece [[Emily Donelson]], [[Zachary Taylor|Taylor]]'s daughter [[Mary Elizabeth Bliss]], [[Benjamin Harrison]]'s daughter [[Mary Harrison McKee]], [[James Buchanan#Presidency (1857–1861)|Buchanan's]] niece [[Harriet Lane]], and [[Grover Cleveland|Cleveland's]] sister [[Rose Cleveland]]. === Potential male title === Each of the 45{{efn-ua|[[Grover Cleveland]] served two non-consecutive terms, so he is counted twice, as both the 22nd and 24th president.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/grover-cleveland-24/ |title=Grover Cleveland—24 |publisher=White House}}.</ref> Here, "presidents" refers to the 45 men who have held the office and not the 46 presidencies that have been held.}} presidents of the United States have been male, and all have either had their wives, or a female hostess, assume the role of first lady. Thus, a male equivalent of the title of first lady has never been needed. However, in 2016, as [[Hillary Clinton]] became the first woman to win a major party's presidential nomination, questions were raised as to what her husband [[Bill Clinton|Bill]] would be titled if she were to win the presidency. During the campaign, the title of '''First Gentleman of the United States''' was most frequently suggested for Bill Clinton, although as a former president himself, he might have been called "Mr. President".<ref>{{Cite news|date=2016-10-29|title=US election: What will Bill Clinton's title be if Hillary wins the presidency?|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37790781|access-date=2021-05-15|archive-date=May 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515205128/https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37790781|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, state governors' male spouses are typically called the First Gentleman of their respective state (for example, [[Michael Haley (soldier)|Michael Haley]] was the first gentleman of South Carolina while his wife, [[Nikki Haley|Nikki]], served as governor).<ref>{{Cite web|last=THOMPSON|first=KRISSAH|title=What happens when a man takes over role of first lady?|url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/life/2015/04/24/happens-man-takes-role-first-lady/26315515/|access-date=2021-05-15|website=delawareonline.com|language=en-US|archive-date=May 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515040636/https://www.delawareonline.com/story/life/2015/04/24/happens-man-takes-role-first-lady/26315515/|url-status=live}}</ref> Ultimately, Hillary Clinton lost the election, rendering this a moot point. In 2021, [[Kamala Harris]] became the first woman to hold a nationally elected office when she took office as vice president, making her husband [[Doug Emhoff]] the first male spouse of a nationally elected officeholder. Emhoff assumed the title of [[Second Gentleman of the United States]] ("gentleman" replacing "lady" in the title) making it likely that any future male spouse of a president will be given the title of first gentleman.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Poised To Be America's 1st Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff Shakes Up Gender Stereotypes|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/11/25/938133209/poised-to-be-americas-1st-second-gentleman-doug-emhoff-shakes-up-gender-stereoty|date=November 25, 2020|website=NPR|publisher=National Public Radio|language=en|access-date=May 15, 2021|archive-date=November 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130214705/https://www.npr.org/2020/11/25/938133209/poised-to-be-americas-1st-second-gentleman-doug-emhoff-shakes-up-gender-stereoty|url-status=live}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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