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! == Role == [[File:Mrs. Bush and Missouri Governor John Ashcroft attend a Parents as Teachers parent-child group at the... - NARA - 186437.jpg|thumb|left|First Lady [[Barbara Bush]], joined by Missouri governor [[John Ashcroft]], with a "Parents as Teachers" group at the [[Greater St. Louis]] [[Ferguson-Florissant School District]] in October 1991. Mrs. Bush, who championed literacy as first lady, is reading ''[[Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?|Brown Bear, Brown Bear]]'' to the children.]] The position of the first lady is not an elected one and carries only ceremonial duties. Nonetheless, first ladies have held a highly visible position in American society.<ref name="role">{{cite web|url=http://www.america.gov/st/elections08-english/2008/September/20080926162204naneerg0.8945886.html|title=The Role of the First Lady|date=September 26, 2008|access-date=May 4, 2009|last=Anthony|first=Carl Sferrazza|publisher=America.gov|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510171719/http://www.america.gov/st/elections08-english/2008/September/20080926162204naneerg0.8945886.html|archive-date=May 10, 2009}}</ref> The role of the first lady has evolved over the centuries. She is, first and foremost, the hostess of the White House.<ref name="role" /> She organizes and attends official ceremonies and functions of state either along with, or in place of, the president. Lisa Burns identifies four successive main themes of the first ladyship: as public woman (1900β1929); as political celebrity (1932β1961); as political activist (1964β1977); and as political interloper (1980β2001).<ref>{{cite book |first=Lisa M. |last=Burns |title=First Ladies and the Fourth Estate: Press Framing of Presidential Wives |year=2008 |location=DeKalb, IL |publisher=Northern Illinois University Press |isbn=978-0-87580-391-3}}</ref> Martha Washington created the role and hosted many affairs of state at the national capital (New York and Philadelphia). This socializing became known as the [[Republican Court]] and provided elite women with opportunities to play backstage political roles.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=David S.|last1=Shields|first2=Fredrika J.|last2=Teute|name-list-style=amp|title=The Republican Court and the Historiography of a Women's Domain in the Public Sphere|journal=Journal of the Early Republic|volume=35|issue=2|year=2015|pages=169β183|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/580270/summary|doi=10.1353/jer.2015.0033|s2cid=144440598|access-date=July 24, 2016|archive-date=October 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010060812/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/580270/summary|url-status=live}}</ref> Both Martha Washington and [[Abigail Adams]] were treated as if they were "ladies" of the British royal court.<ref name="role" /> [[Dolley Madison]] popularized the first ladyship by engaging in efforts to assist orphans and women, by dressing in elegant fashions and attracting newspaper coverage, and by risking her life to save iconic treasures during the [[War of 1812]]. Madison set the standard for the ladyship and her actions were the model for nearly every first lady until [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] in the 1930s.<ref name="role" /> Roosevelt traveled widely and spoke to many groups, often voicing personal opinions to the left of the president's. She authored a weekly newspaper column and hosted a radio show.<ref>{{cite book |first = Brigid |last = O'Farrell |title = She was one of us: Eleanor Roosevelt and the American worker |location = Ithaca, NY |publisher = Cornell University Press |year = 2010}}{{page needed|date=February 2017}}</ref> [[Jacqueline Kennedy]] led an effort to redecorate and restore the White House.<ref>{{cite journal |first= Gil |last= Troy |title = Jacqueline Kennedy's White House renovations |journal = White House Studies |volume = 1 |issue = 3 |year = 2001 |pages= 395β404}}</ref> [[File:Four first ladies.jpg|thumb|First ladies (from left to right) [[Rosalynn Carter]], Sen. [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Barbara Bush]] and first lady [[Laura Bush]] at the opening of the [[Clinton Presidential Center]] in 2004]] Many first ladies became significant fashion trendsetters.<ref name="role" /> Some have exercised a degree of political influence by virtue of being an important adviser to the president.<ref name="role" /> Over the course of the 20th century, it became increasingly common for first ladies to select specific causes to promote, usually ones that are not politically divisive. It is common for the first lady to hire a staff to support these activities. [[Lady Bird Johnson]] pioneered environmental protection and beautification.<ref>{{cite book |first = Lewis L. |last = Gould |title = Lady Bird Johnson and the environment |publisher = University Press of Kansas |year= 1988}}{{full citation needed|date=February 2017}}</ref> [[Pat Nixon]] encouraged volunteerism and traveled extensively abroad; [[Betty Ford]] supported women's rights; [[Rosalynn Carter]] aided those with mental disabilities; [[Nancy Reagan]] founded the [[Just Say No]] drug awareness campaign; [[Barbara Bush]] promoted literacy; [[Hillary Clinton]] sought to reform the healthcare system in the U.S.; [[Laura Bush]] supported women's rights groups, and encouraged childhood literacy.<ref name="role" /> [[Michelle Obama]] became identified with supporting military families and tackling childhood obesity;<ref name="Michelle Obama White House Page">{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/about/first-ladies/michelleobama|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|title=Michelle Obama|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|access-date=May 4, 2010|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114220410/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/first-ladies/michelleobama|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Melania Trump]] used her position to help children, including prevention of [[cyberbullying]] and support for those whose lives are affected by drugs.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Superville|first1=Darlene|title=Melania Trump Filling Out Her Agenda as First Lady|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2017-10-09/melania-trump-saying-2-words-more-often-first-lady|access-date=November 8, 2017|work=U.S. News & World Report|agency=Associated Press|date=October 9, 2017|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114220417/https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2017-10-09/melania-trump-saying-2-words-more-often-first-lady|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 1964, the incumbent and all living former first ladies are honorary members of the board of trustees of the National Cultural Center, the [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts]].<ref name=board>{{cite web| url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/about/kctrustees.html| title=The Kennedy Center: Board of Trustees| access-date=2014-11-04| archive-date=August 14, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814095210/http://www.kennedy-center.org/about/kctrustees.html| url-status=live}}</ref> Near the end of her husband's [[Presidency of Bill Clinton|presidency]], Hillary Clinton became the first first lady to seek political office, when she ran for [[United States Senate]]. During the campaign, her daughter [[Chelsea Clinton|Chelsea]] took over much of the first lady's role. Victorious, Clinton served as [[List of United States senators from New York|junior senator from New York]] from 2001 to 2009, when she resigned to become President Obama's [[United States Secretary of State|secretary of state]]. Later, she was the [[2016 Democratic National Convention|Democratic Party]] nominee for president in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 election]], but lost to [[Donald Trump]]. 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. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page