First Ladies

Eleanor Roosevelt

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 dispossessed. By the time she reached the White House, she was at the forefront of efforts to ease the suffering caused by the Great Depression and a leader of the campaign for civil rights.

Lady Bird Johnson

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 of President John F. Kennedy, into a role that she didn’t prepare for, Lady Bird played a vital role in shaping her husband’s presidency.

Hillary Rodham Clinton

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 her, however, and following Bill’s scandal, Hillary chose to forge her own path and became a Senator, Secretary of State, and nearly elected as the first female President of the United States.