Three First Ladies, A Lifetime of Change

Image shows First Ladies Frances Cleveland, Mamie Eisenhower and Rosalynn Carter.

Images from Library of Congress and Eisenhower National Historic Site.

Mamie Eisenhower was blessed with a long life. In her eighty-two years, she was witness to dramatic political, technological, and social changes on a scale the world had never seen. When she was born few people had seen an automobile in person but by the time she died, cars were not only commonplace, but men had traveled into space to walk on the moon. When Mamie was born in 1896, Frances Cleveland was First Lady of the United States and when she died in 1979 that position was held by Rosalynn Carter. By examining the lives of these three First Ladies who occupied the White House at very different points in American history, not only can we illuminate the evolution of the role of First Lady but showcase how the role of women changed in society over the course of eighty years.

In the elite club of First Ladies Frances Cleveland holds two unique records, not only is she the youngest First Lady but she is also the only one to get married in the White House. Frances was only twenty-one when she married the forty-nine-year-old President Grover Cleveland in the Blue Room of the White House. Speculation about the bachelor president’s love life had been swirling for months and it was a surprise to many that he had married the young girl and not her mother. Frances was an instant success. She was young and beautiful and did much to bolster the President’s image. Despite being a recent college graduate when that was uncommon for most women, Frances appears to have shared her husband’s views on the proper role for women. After he left the presidency, Grover Cleveland in an interview said that a woman’s rightful place was as “the moral compass of the home.” In her book about Frances author Annette Dunlap wrote “At a time when the role of women in American life was coming under increasing scrutiny, Frances did more than simply avoid the growing public debate. She acted as if there were not even any issues to discuss.” (Dunlap, p.36) Frances saw her primary role as wife of Grover Cleveland and later mother to their children. As First Lady she confined herself to the traditional role of hostess. She strongly protested when her image was used to sell a wide array of products as well as the idea that during her husband’s second campaign, she could be used as a symbol for democratic women’s clubs. While women did not have the right to vote, these clubs were still seen as important to gather support for a candidate. Both Clevelands were vehemently opposed to that idea. Frances spoke out against women’s suffrage, though later in life she would vote once women had been granted the right. The only area that Frances felt comfortable in taking a leadership role was in the advancement of the cause of kindergartens. This was an acceptable cause for her to take on as it revolved around the education of children. When Frances Cleveland left the White House for the second time, it was an easy transfer back into a private home life since that was where she had always been most comfortable.

When Rosalynn Carter entered the White House, she and her husband had been married for thirty years and had not only a personal partnership but a political one as well. Where Frances was immediately thrust into the role of First Lady by marrying her husband, Rosalynn had more time to prepare herself. She climbed the political ladder with her husband. She was the First Lady of Georgia before she was First Lady of the United States. Where Grover Cleveland saw Frances’ natural role in their home, Jimmy wanted Rosalynn by his side in all matters. From the earliest days of his political career, she was a sounding board for her husband, helping him make important political decisions. Rosalynn was not, at first, a natural politician’s wife. She as painfully shy and did not speak at all during his first unsuccessful campaign for governor. (Eizenstat, p.105) However, as his political star rose, she learned to conquer her fears and became a successful campaigner. Once she arrived in the White House, it was immediately obvious she was going to be a different kind of First Lady. She was the first to have her own office as well as her staff in the East Wing of the White House (Eizenstat p.107) She sat in during cabinet meetings, taking notes but never joining in the conversation. “This process gave her the assurance that she understood the general thrust of what the administration was trying to accomplish and to field questions about it with accuracy and authority as she traveled around the county.” (Eizenstat p.107-108) She did travel not only domestically but internationally to support her husband and to be a voice for his administration. Rosalynn also came to the White House with a cause already in mind to support. Since her debut on the political stage, Rosalynn had been a advocate for mental health reforms. She became a honorary chairmen for the Presidential Commission on Mental Health and became the second First Lady after Eleanor Roosevelt to testify before congress. The Mental Healthy Systems Act of 1980 was signed into law shortly before her husband left office. Unlike either Mamie or Frances, Rosalynn only had four years in the White House. However, she and her husband have had some of the most successful post presidential years of any First Couple. Through the Carter Center and other charitable works, the Carters have continued to have an impact domestically and globally.

Mamie Doud Eisenhower had much in common with the women who occupied the White House when she was born and when she died. Mamie and Frances had a shared background as women who were raised with the expectation that they would run a household for their future husbands. Mamie and Rosaylnn would have had many shared experiences as the wives of military husbands. All of three of the women were mothers and eventually grandmothers. Despite these similarities, each of these three women had very different experience and expectations for them as First Lady. Mamie and Frances perhaps had more in common as both leaned heavily on their role as hostess and homemaker. Still Mamie was more politically minded than Frances. She was more than willing to step out on the campaign trail with her husband and let her image be used freely during the campaign. Though when compared to Rosalynn, Mamie seems distant from her husband’s politics. Mamie said she only stepped into the Oval Office three times while her husband was president and each time she had been specifically invited. Where Rosalynn thought it important to be a political confident to her husband, Mamie thought the best way to support Ike was to help create a relaxing home space for him to have a refuge from the stress of work.

Perhaps though, the most interesting thing that unites all three of these women is how much they reflected the beliefs society held about women at the time they were First Lady. Frances Cleveland was the ideal Victorian woman, a moral compass for her husband to look to when he turned away from the dirty world of politics. Mamie was the quintessential fifties housewife, always looking stylish and sophisticated while keeping her household running. Rosalynn was the modern woman combing both her family life with a fulfilling career outside of the home. When all three are placed together, it is astounding how far women came in less than a century. These three women stand as mirrors to the million of other American women through the twentieth century, reflecting the ever changing and evolving roles they hold.

For further reading:

Carter, Rosalyn. First Lady from Plains (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984)

Dunlap, Annette. Frank: The Story of Frances Folsom Cleveland, America's Youngest First Lady (New York: Excelsior Editions, 2009)

Eisenhower, Susan. Mrs. Ike (Herndon, Virginia: Capital Books, 1996)

Eizenstat, Stuart E. President Carter: The White House Years. (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2018)