First Ladies of the White House: Quotes, Facts, and Resources
List of the American First Ladies in the order of the presidency’s term of office. A link to their biographies is provided under the resource section.
First Ladies of the United States of America
Martha Washington, wife of George Washington (1789-1797), 1st US President
Quote: “The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.”
Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams (1797-1801), 2nd US President
Quote: “Though I have been called to sacrifice to my Country, I can glory in my sacrifice, and derive pleasure from my intimate connection with one who is estimated worthy of the important trust developed upon him.”
Martha Jefferson, wife of Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809), 3rd US President
Martha Jefferson died 18 years before Thomas Jefferson was elected President in 1800. Her daughter Polly Jefferson Randolph served as hostess during the White House years on occasion.
Dolly Madison, wife of James Madison (1809-1817), 4th US President
Quote: “There is one secret and that is the power we all have in forming our own destinies.”
Elizabeth Monroe, wife of James Monroe (1817-1825), 5th US President
Despite the fact that Elizabeth Monroe was First Lady for eight years, very little primary source material exists for her. She made a name for herself during the last days of the French Revolution for her courageous visit to the imprisoned wife of Marquis de Lafayette.
Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams (1825-1929), 6th US President
Quote: “There is something in this great unsocial house which depresses my spirits beyond expression and makes it impossible for me to feel at home or to fancy that I have a home anywhere.”
Rachel Jackson, wife of Andrew Jackson (1829-1837), 7th US President
Quote: “… I am glad of it for Mr. Jackson’s sake, because it is his ambition. For me it is but one more burden. Even if I was qualified in other ways to do the honors of the White House, my health is not good enough to bear the strain.”
Hannah Hoes Van Buren, wife of Martin Van Buren (1837-1841), 8th US President
She died 18 years before her husband became president. One year and eight months after he took office he designated his daughter-in-law, Angelica Singleton Van Buren, to serve as hostess for the White House.
Anna Harrison, wife of William Henry Harrison (1841), 9th US President
Quote: “We are here for four years. I do not look beyond that, as many things may occur in that time, but I am very anxious to see the family of the President provided for properly.”
Letitia Tyler, wife of John Tyler (1841-1845), 10th US President
Letter to her from husband, John Tyler: “Whether I float or sink in the stream of fortune I shall never cease to love you.”
Sarah Polk, wife of James K. Polk (1845-1849), 11th US President
Quote: If I get into the White House, I will neither keep house nor make butter.”
Margaret Taylor, wife of Zachary Taylor (1849-1850), 12th US President
After praying mightily for her husband to lose the 1848 election, Margaret Taylor viewed the images of Washington with horror after the election.
Abigail Fillmore, wife of Millard Fillmore (1850-1853), 13th US President
Letter to her husband: “Mrs. Walsh called here on Monday and wished me to write you to ask you to use your influence for her cousin… So you can see, I am already beset by office seekers.”
Jane Pierce, wife of Franklin Pierce (1853-1857), 14th US President
Quote: Oh how I wish he [Franklin Pierce] was out of political life! How much better it would be for him on every account.”
Not Applicable. James Buchanan, 15th US President (1857-1861), never married.
President James Buchanan was the only US president who never married. His niece, Harriet Lane, fulfilled the position of First Lady of the White House during the term in office of her uncle.
Mary Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865), 16th US President
Quote: “I do not belong to the public; my character is wholly domestic, and the public have nothing to do with it.”
Eliza Johnson, wife of Andrew Johnson (1865-1869), 17th US President
Quote: “It’s all very well for those who like it, but I do not like this public life at all. I often wish the time would come when we would return to where I feel we best belong.”
Julia Grant, wife of Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877), 18th US President
Quote: “I became an enthusiastic politician.”
Lucy Hayes, wife of Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881), 19th US President
Quote: “Woman’s mind is as strong as man’s… equal in all things, superior in some.”
Lucretia Garfield, wife of James A. Garfield (1881), 20th US President
Quote: “I’m going to try harder than ever before to be the best little wife possible.”
Ellen Arthur, wife of Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885), 21st US President
She died in 1880, the year before her husband became President.
Frances Cleveland, wife of Grover Cleveland (1885-1889), 22nd US President
Quote: “I have not had a life yet. It is all before me…” (after leaving the White House)
Caroline Harrison, wife of Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893), 23rd US President
Quote: “Since this Society has been organized and so much thought and reading directed to the early struggles of this country, it has been made plain that much of its success was due to the character of the women of that era. The unselfish part they acted constantly commends itself to our admiration and example.”
Frances Cleveland, wife of Grover Cleveland (1893-1897), 24th US President
Quote after leaving the White House: “I have not had a life yet. It is all before me…”
Ida McKinley, wife of William McKinley (1897-1901), 25th US President
Following her husband’s assassination, she said: “Nothing can make me happy again… “
Edith Roosevelt, wife of Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), 26th US President
Quote: “Being in center of things is very interesting, yet the same proportions remain. When I read “The world is too much with us” or “Oh for a closer walk with God” they mean just what they did, so I don’t believe I have been forced into the “first lady of the land” model of my predecessors.”
Helen Taft, wife of William Howard Taft (1909-1913), 27th US President
Quote: “I had always had the satisfaction of knowing almost as much as he [W.H. Taft] about the politics and intricacies of any situation in which he found himself, and my life was filled with interests of a most unusual kind.”
Ellen Wilson, First Wife of President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921), 28th US President
Quote: “I am naturally the most unambitious of women, and life in the White House has no attractions for me.”
Edith Wilson, second wife of President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921), 28th US President
Quote: “So began my stewardship. I studied every paper, sent from the different Secretaries or senators, and tried to digest and present in tabloid form the things that, despite my vigilance, had to go to the President. I myself never made a single decision regarding the disposition of public affairs. The only decision that was mine was what was important and what was not, and the very important decision of when to present matters to my husband.”
Florence Harding, wife of Warren G. Harding (1921-1923), 29th US President
Quote: “I know what’s best for the President. I put him in the White House. He does well when he listens to me and poorly when he does not.”
Grace Coolidge, wife of Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929), 30th US President
Quote: “… this was I and not yet I, this was the wife of the President of the United States and she took precedence over me; my personal likes and dislikes must be subordinated to the consideration of those things which were required of her…”
Lou Hoover, wife of Herbert Hoover (1929-1933), 31st US President
Quote: “It is very possible to have both a home and a career, (for) in this modern age we are released from so many of the burdens our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had to bear.”
Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945), 32nd US President
Quote: “… but there isn’t going to be any First Lady. There is just to be plain, ordinary Mrs. Roosevelt… I never wanted to be the president’s wife, and don’t want it now. You don’t quite believe me, do you? Very likely no one would – except possibly some woman who had had the job.”
Bess Truman, wife of Harry S. Truman (1945-1953), 33rd US President
Quote: We are not any one of us happy to be where we are but there’s nothing to be done about it except to do our best and forget about the sacrifices and many unpleasant things that bob up.”
Mamie Eisenhower, wife of Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961), 34th US President
Quote: Of course, being mistress of the White House is a terrific responsibility, and I am truly grateful for my Army wife training.”
Jackie Kennedy, wife of John F. Kennedy (1961-1963), 35th US President
Quote: “I think the major role of the First Lady is to take care of the President so that he can best serve the people. And not to fail her family, her husband, and children.”
Lady Bird Johnson, wife of Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969), 36th US President
Quote: “The first lady is, and always has been, an unpaid public servant elected by one person, her husband.”
Pat Nixon, wife of Richard Nixon (1969-1974), 37th US President
Quote: “I just want to go down in history as the wife of the President.”
Betty Ford, wife of Gerald Ford (1974-1977), 38th US President
Quote: “I don’t feel that because I’m First Lady, I’m very different from what I was before. It can happen to anyone. After all, it has happened to anyone.”
Rosalynn Carter, wife of Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), 39th US President
Quote: “I don’t think that there is any doubt that the First Ladies have some influence on their husbands, because they are close to them, they talk with them all the time, they have the presidents’ ear. I don’t think there is any doubt about it.”
Nancy Reagan, wife of Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), 40th US President
Quote: “I think it’s an important, legitimate role for a First Lady to look after a President’s health and well being. And if that interferes with other plans, so be it. No first lady need to make apologies for looking out for her husband’s personal welfare. The First Lady is, first of all, a wife.”
Barbara Bush, wife of George Bush Sr. (1989-1993), 41st US President
Quote: “The First Lady is going to be criticized no matter what she does, if she does too little, if she does too much. And I think you just have to be yourself and do the best you can. And so what, that’s the way it is.”
Hillary Clinton, wife of Bill Clinton (1993-2001), 42nd US President
Quote: “The American people have made the role of the First Lady one of the most important jobs in the country… It is a tribute to American women that, coming from different social and economic backgrounds, from many different geographical regions, and with diverse educational preparation, each First Lady served our country so well. Each left her own mark, and each teaches us something special about our history.”
Laura Bush, wife of George W. Bush (2001-2009), 43rd US President
Quote: “The role of the First Lady is what the First Lady wants it to be.”
Michelle Obama, wife of Barack Obama (2009-present), 44th US President
Quote: “Policies that support families aren’t political issues. They’re personal. They’re the causes I carry with me every single day.”
An informative and interesting insight of the force behind the U.S. Presidents – the American First Ladies – what they think and feel about being one, and their influence on their powerful husbands.
Resources about the American First Ladies, Wives of U.S. Presidents: Facts, Quotes and Trivia
whitehouse.gov information about the U.S. Presidents
First Ladies of the White House, their best quotes and trivia
Biographies of the U.S. First Ladies
Tel Asiado is a writer, author, and business consultant, previously, IT manager & consultant. Her articles reflect her interests, from small business, biographies & histories, to classical music especially Mozart, art & literature, biographies, and Christian writings. Tel has produced non-fictions, e-books and anthologies. Her education is MBA in Computer Management, BSc Chemistry, Diploma in Small Business & Internet Mktg, and Cert IV Training and Assessment (TAA). Her small office/home site is homebizideasnow.com, and numerous information of Mozart and classical music, mozartandclassicalmusic.com.
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