This lecture will focus on a number of First Ladies, some like Abigail Adams, Dolly Madison, Mary Todd Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Micelle Obama are among the more prominent ones. But other First Ladies like Sara Polk, Lucy Hayes, Frances Cleveland, Edith Roosevelt, and Edith Wilson also played important roles in their husbands' administrations.

We’ll also explore the myriad ways the First Ladies reflected the culture and values of the age they lived in and how some broke tradition with society's expectations of them. The lecture ends in the present as First Ladies possess greater independence and wield considerable influence over various areas of public policy. And there is now a real possibility that a former First Lady may be elected president.