Since the founding of the U.S., the role of the president’s roles and responsibilities has been defined through the Constitution. The duties a commander-in-chief’s spouse plays in the political arena, however, has been more open to interpretation and has evolved over the centuries.
In more recent presidencies, First Ladies have commonly rallied around disparate causes — some more top-of-mind than others — as they have publicly accompanied and supported their presidential spouses at various key functions.
The war on drugs, caring for the environment and tackling the obesity epidemic one pushup at a time are among some of the examples of the causes First Ladies have brought front and center to America’s collective consciousness in more recent decades. In some instances, motherhood has either overtly or subtly played a part in the various campaigns.
Since the role of a First Lady has historically had fewer parameters around it, each of the 46 women who have held the role have used a certain degree of creative license while assuming the duties. In her paper, “Changing the First Lady’s Mystique,” scholar Ashlee A. Paxton-Turner looks at how the prominence of First Ladies has been refined over time, though she points out even today it still is steeped in traditional gender norms.
“Behind every president has been an unelected, unpaid woman,” Paxton-Turner writes, later providing a famous quote from Jacqueline Kennedy about the need for a First Lady to contribute something to the role. Paxton-Turner continues, “But what that ‘something’ is tends to be vary greatly from First Lady to First Lady and is likely to be ‘something’ radically different when the country has its first First Gentleman.”
While the conventions linked to the spouse of the commander-in-chief could very well change in the road ahead, particularly once a woman is elected to the nation’s highest political office, modern history does provide a vivid snapshot of how maternal instincts have tied into the informal role. Here are five examples:
Betty Ford
Betty and President Gerald R. Ford had four children: Michael, Jack, Steven and Susan. As chronicled on the website White House History, Betty took on a growing number of family responsibilities as her husband’s political career grew.
“She supervised the home, did the cooking, undertook volunteer work and took part in the activities of ‘House wives’ and ‘Senate wives’ for Congressional and Republican clubs,” a passage on the site states about Betty’s work before her husband’s presidency. “In addition, she was an effective campaigner for her husband.”
Betty’s prominence in the First Lady spotlight grew when she had to undergo radical surgery for breast cancer in 1974. She also used her platform to weigh in on other important issues of the time, including the Equal Rights Amendment.
Her legacy, however, could perhaps be best tied to her open and successful battle against drug and alcohol addiction, which she said she desired to combat, in part, because of the love and support from her family. The Betty Ford Center for Addiction Treatment stands today as a testament to her campaign against the serious condition.
Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson
Claudia reportedly earned her infamous “Lady Bird” nickname from her nursemaid, who noted the First Lady’s staunch advocacy for the environment and education. She and husband Lyndon B. Johnson had had two daughters: Lynda and Luci.
Lady Bird’s maternal instincts were on vivid display at a time when the nation was deeply wounded from the tragic, horrific death of John F. Kennedy at the hands of an assassin in 1963.
“Her courageous presence helped set the tone for Johnson’s transition to presidency,” her profile reads. “She applied the same tact and skill to her husband’s Great Society programs as she did to soothing the feathers the often brusque Johnson ruffled.”
Lady Bird also gained notoriety during her husband’s presidency for riding what colloquially became known as the “Lady Bird Express” as she traveled to the south, by train, in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Jacqueline Kennedy
The spouse of one of the nation’s most influential, but shortest lived, presidents in recent modern American history has long been synonymous with motherhood — in part because she was thrust into the role of a single parent very abruptly as she dually became a widow.
Jacqueline had four children with husband John F. Kennedy, though two resulted in premature deaths. Caroline and John Jr. are etched in American’s minds for a number of reasons, including their prominence near the casket of their father as the nation mourned.
During her brief stint as the nation’s First Lady, Jacqueline undertook a number of causes, many focused on the importance of the arts and culture. She oftentimes is cited with helping create the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities, which were established during Johnson’s presidency.
Jacqueline, who went on to remarry Greek businessman Aristotle Onassis, once made a still-popular statement about her priorities as she assumed the role of a First Lady: “If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do well matters very much,” she said at the time.
Michelle Obama
In her eight years as First Lady alongside President Barack Obama, Michelle undertook a number of initiatives focused on the country’s startlingly stratospheric rise in obesity.
“Let’s Move” was focused on increasing physical fitness, incorporating nutritious foods into school lunch programs and seeking solutions to the growing prevalence of so-called food deserts in impoverished areas. Later, Michelle established the “Reach Higher Initiative” to bring education and job opportunities to students.
“Throughout her time in the White House, Mrs. Obama worked to support veterans and military families,” her biography states. “She also focused her energies on what she calls her most important role: mom-in-chief to her daughters (Malia and Sasha), who grew into accomplished young women during their eight years in the White House.”
Nancy Reagan
America’s First Lady for most of the 1980s met her spouse, former President Ronald Reagan, in Hollywood and once was quoted as stating, “My life really began when I married my husband.” The couple had two children: Patti and Ron.
Prior to her husband’s presidency, when Reagan was governor of California, Nancy would routinely visit hospitals, nursing homes and schools for disabled children — the efforts yielding a self-penned book, “To Love a Child.”
But Nancy’s war against drug and alcohol abuse, particularly as they applied to youth, were front and center throughout her time as First Lady through the “Just Say No” campaign. Nancy reportedly traveled nearly 250,000 miles and made a range of appearances to discuss the importance of curtailing the growing problem.
