If you compare the results from the first survey taken in 1982 to the last one, conducted in 2014, the top ten and bottom ten First Ladies have been fairly consistent. At the bottom are Jane Pierce, Eliza Johnson, Letitia Tyler, and Florence Harding. Even Mary Lincoln falls into the bottom ten category. Mary Lincoln and Jane Pierce are considered neurotic women whose behavior and attitude made their husband’s life more difficult. Instead of being helpful during their husbands’ presidencies, they did the exact opposite and undermined their husband’s reputation and proved to be a handicap for effective policy making. Florence Harding is often blamed for being too ambitious and pushing her unqualified husband to become president. He turned out to be one of the worst presidents in American history. Letitia Tyler and Eliza Johnson, on the other hand, had no interest in being First Lady. Both claimed to be ill and made their daughters surrogate First Ladies for their husbands.
At the same time, Eleanor Roosevelt has held the top spot in all five surveys taken since 1982. She was an exceptionally active First Lady who became a co-president to her husband. She clearly changed the role of First Ladies in U.S. history, and for this she is still admired and rewarded with the number one spot in all surveys on First Ladies.
Discussing ten evaluation criteria
The ten criteria included in the Siena Research Institute Survey were White House steward, value to president, own woman, public image, accomplishments, value to country, leadership, integrity, background, and courage. I define the ten criteria in this section in my own words and use them to rank the ten most influential First Ladies in Chapter 21.
White House steward
This category refers to a First Lady being a gracious hostess in the White House, holding dinners, balls, and teas. In addition, it includes taking good care of the building itself, providing new furniture and necessary repairs and renovations. Dolley Madison excelled in this category as did Jackie Kennedy, who established the White House Historical Association 60 years ago, which continues to steward the White House.
Value to president
Value to president refers to how helpful a First Lady was when it comes to the presidency. This can include having private policy discussions or a letter exchange on ideas, as was common. In addition, the criterion includes helping with correspondence and even going over campaign speeches as Eleanor Roosevelt used to do for her husband. Finally, it can include campaign activities that now every First Lady undertakes.
Own woman
This criterion refers to a First Lady being willing to express her own ideas publicly and privately. More recent First Ladies have been willing to give press conferences, campaign by themselves for the president, start pet policy initiatives, and even contradict the presidents publicly on occasion. Betty Ford and Eleanor Roosevelt score high in this category.
Public image
This criterion refers to whether a First Lady is well liked by the public. A well-liked First Lady can help the president overcome popularity problems. On the other hand, if a First Lady is disliked by the public, as Mary Todd Lincoln was, she can drag the president down with her. Some First Ladies were admired to a point where people would copy their looks and outfits and goods were named after them to take advantage of their popularity. From Dolley Madison snuff boxes to Frances Cleveland cigars, we’ve had it all in our history. Jacqueline Kennedy excelled with this category when she helped the country overcome the shock and grief at her husband’s funeral after his assassination. She displayed an extraordinary brave behavior, which helped the nation heal.
Accomplishments
This category ranks what First Ladies accomplished in their tenure. Did they start projects to help the American public, were they concerned about certain segments of the population, or did they just hide from the media and the public and not accomplish anything? Both Barbara Bush and Laura Bush excelled in this category with their literacy program as did Michelle Obama with her school lunch program.
Value to country
This category ranks a First Lady on how they were able to improve American reputation globally and how or whether they were able to increase morale in the U.S. during times of crises. Eleanor Roosevelt again excelled in this category. She traveled to meet with troops in the Pacific and in Europe during WWII and later received a global reputation for being responsible for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Most recently, both Laura Bush and Michelle Obama scored high in this category for trying to improve the status of women in Third World countries.
Leadership
Often First Ladies pick projects they intend to pursue while in office. They have to assume leadership roles for these projects to succeed. Lady Bird Johnson was concerned about the environment and the beautification of the country. She successfully assumed a leadership role and did succeed and continued her passion for her causes after she left office. Nancy Reagan assumed a visible role in the Just Say No program, targeting substance abuse, and the program survived her retiring in 1989. Most recent First Ladies rank high in leadership because today it’s almost expected that a First Lady focuses on a program and puts their stamp on it. That wasn’t expected before WWII, and, not surprisingly, most of the First Ladies of this period rank lower on the leadership scale.
Integrity
Most First Ladies score high on integrity. However, there were a few who manipulated their husbands for their own good and pushed them into an office they didn’t want or even pushed for policies that weren’t good for the nation. Florence Harding, who constantly pushed her husband until he became president, comes to mind. As stated previously, her husband, Warren G. Harding, turned out be one of the worst president’s in U.S. history.
Background
This category looks at how much a First Lady accomplished before she became a First Lady. Hillary Clinton scores high here, being selected twice as one of the top 100 lawyers in the country. Another one is Lady Bird Johnson who built a media empire and became a millionaire before she became First Lady. More recent First Ladies score higher in this category because early on in U.S. history, it was uncommon for women to be educated, become business leaders, or participate in public policy making.
Courage
There are many ways to define courage. Dolley Madison risked being captured by the British in the War of 1812 when she single-handedly saved many rare and historical items in the White House before the British burned it down. Betty Ford displayed courage when she came forward and publicly discussed her breast cancer and subsequent mastectomy. The point here is all these First Ladies displayed enormous courage in different areas and need to be given credit for it.
Part 2
Setting the Precedent
IN
