First Lady Institution as Part of American Democracy

... mother, preferring to influence the president in an informal setting, make up the first group, while “activists” who try to change the world and go beyond the scope of traditional domestic surroundings make up the second. Dolly Madison and Eleanor Roosevelt are regarded as “the greatest and most prominent” First Ladies not just because they played the role of the First Lady longer than others (16 and 12 years, respectively), but because they saw their mission going beyond their role within the family of the President. They believed that the First Lady had public duties in the “larger world” outside ...