First Lady Analysis

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Pages: 6

What could be the thoughts and feelings of the first ladies when they first arrived to the White House? Maybe worry about all the social concerns of the nation, or perhaps just an exciting feeling for all those nice clothes that they can get. Originally, the primary role of the President’s wife was to be the hostess in the White House, which only was expected to do all the easy stuff as smiling and welcoming people to the house, or pick the home decorations. But now, as women's roles in society have changed over the time, the accomplishments of the first ladies have been growing in significance (“First Lady First,” 2001). Usually, the first lady is recognized as the spouse of the president; however, if a president is not married, he can ask …show more content…
Although it’s not a responsibility and they do not even get paid, some first ladies have been contributing in specific social issues becoming campaigners, social activists, policy advocates, and at the same time they also have to perform the role as hostess, wives, and mothers. The title of “First Lady” first appeared in the mid-19th century as Martha Washington was often referred to as Lady Washington (Puente, 2008). According to the article "Revolutionizing the Role of the First Lady" (2009), the first women in revolutionizing the role of “First Lady” was Eleanor Roosevelt, traveling across the country, giving speeches, meeting people, and witnessing the devastation of the depression in the first year of her husband’s term. The article also mentions that Eleanor's popularity ratings were even higher than her husband's, due to her speech for blacks, women, factory workers, and tenant farmers. She started a practice of writing memos to Franklin D. Roosevelt about issues that he needed to address, writing so many that he finally had to tell her to keep it to three per night. Indeed, there are great women with influential power behind the throne since they also seek better alternatives in social concerns for people in the country. Although they do not cover any position within the three branches of the federal …show more content…
She is the first African-American First Lady in the United States, but what makes her unique is not the color of her skin. Michelle Obama has become a role model for many people of any race, people of any economic standard, and people born within and outside the country following the American dream. Although she started out as the child of African-American parents who never had the opportunity to attend college, she later ended up attending the best schools in the county and building a successful career (Halász, 2011). She studied sociology and African-American studies at Princeton University and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 (Black, 2009). Moreover, Mrs. Obama has shown a benevolent interest to fight against childhood obesity. As First Lady she also has supported military families, helped working women to balance their careers and families, encouraged national service, promoted the arts and education, and fostered healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country. Certainly, Michelle Obama has become a role model for many Americans. Her popularity has remained and is considerably higher than the ratings of Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton (see Figure 1). Also, as is shown in Figure 2, Michelle Obama’s public imagen hold positive being considered as a good mother, an