First Ladies

In 2008, Michelle Obama became the first Black First Lady after her husband, Barack Obama, was elected as the first Black President of the United States. Their presence in the White House inspired public enthusiasm and vicious attacks in e…

Jackie Kennedy’s time in the White House was short – thirty-five tumultuous months that promised a new dawn for America but were marked by private betrayal and public tragedy. Using rarely seen personal letters, photographs and intimate au…

Nancy Reagan is popularly known as the doting wife of President Ronald Reagan, but in reality, she had much more than a supporting role in the first ‘Hollywood’ presidency. From Ronald Reagan’s first campaign for the White House in 1980, t…

Eleanor Roosevelt and former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created arguably the most formidable political partnership in American history. Eleanor’s desolate childhood sowed the seeds of a life devoted to standing up for the poor and…

The Johnson administration enacted the Civil Rights Act, one of the most prolific legislative programs in U.S. history – but it likely wouldn’t have succeeded without Lady Bird Johnson’s steadying presence. Catapulted, by the assassination…

After entering the White House in 1992 with former President Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton was almost immediately attacked for being too ambitious and too involved in her husband’s administration. The criticism did not discourage he…