Top Ten Most Influential First Ladies Part 1

There's no mention of them in the Constitution. They don't have any official powers or duties, yet they have unparalleled access and are often used as a sounding board. They are close and trusted advisors. They are...the First Ladies. I will present the top ten most influential First Ladies. It is a bipartisan, three part entry. Part One will deal with those I ranked from 10-6. The next entry will be 5-1, and the final entry will deal with Michelle Obama, and what her term as First Lady will be like.

So, let's get down to it.

10. Lucy Webb Hayes

Given the nickname "Lemonade Lucy", Mrs. Hayes, wife of Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes, was a woman who had strong beliefs and enforced them. She helped her husband decide to leave the Whig Party and join the Republican Party. She helped veterans of the Civil War. But perhaps her biggest claim to fame is being an ardent supporter of temperance and enforcing it. Thus the nickname "Lemonade Lucy". She and her husband were known to be devoted to each other, as shown with their 25th wedding anniversary, where they repeated their vows in a ceremony similar to their wedding, only in the White House.

9. Edith Bolling Galt Wilson

Derisively considered the "first female President", Edith Wilson, wife of Democratic President Woodrow Wilson, was a traditional hostess and First Lady, who observed strict rationing during World War I to set an example. She even went so far as to have sheep mow the White House lawns! However, she is best known for essentially taking over after her husband suffered a stroke during his campaign to get the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. Although there is some doubt as to how influential she was, Mrs. Wilson acknowledged her role as steward or gatekeeper, and merely limited her "decisionmaking" to determining what information Woodrow would receive. However, it is known that she resisted allowing the Vice President to take over, and many believe (they use "know") that she made decisions for her husband and gave orders.

8. Dolley Madison


Perhaps one of the better known First Ladies, Dolley Madison, wife of Democratic-Republican President James Madison, is known for saving the seal of the United States, important papers of state, the Presidential silver, the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington, and other historical and governmental pieces. She is described as being the face of American courage in respect to hardship and attacks by others, and when she died flags all across the country were lowered to half-mast in respect for one of the most revered Americans.

7. Pat Nixon

One of the First Ladies who spoke softly and is rarely thought about but was of great help and importance to her husband is Pat Nixon, wife of Republican President Richard Nixon. Graceful and understated, Pat Nixon was remarkable. She decided to initiate what she termed "personal diplomacy", meaning traveling and visiting people in other states and countries face-t0-face. She was often an unofficial Secretary of State or Ambassador for her husband's administration, and championed volunteerism and helping others. She personally went to disaster areas like Peru, which was struck by a massive earthquake, and war zones like Vietnam, being the first First Lady to do both. She became the most traveled First Lady until Hillary Rodham Clinton, visiting 80 countries (Hillary visited 93). And she had been privately fighting to keep her husband from resigning and giving up the tapes.

6. Nancy Reagan

Derisively called "Queen Nancy" and regarded as "out-of-touch", Nancy Reagan, wife of Republican President Ronald Reagan, was highly influential and a close advisor. Known for being the founder of "Just Say No", which aims and aimed to teach mostly children about drugs and drug abuse, she also became her husband's "chief protector" after his assassination attempt in 1981. She went so far as to consult an astrologer in order to determine which days were "safe" or good or "neutral" or "bad". And she managed to take down "Prime Minister" (the term used for the manner of working) Don Regan, White House Chief of Staff and former Secretary of the Treasury under her husband.