The Role of a Political Spouse

The wives of the two presidential candidates are playing important roles in this year’s election campaign. Ann Romney and Michelle Obama gave speeches at their party’s national conventions this year, and both received very positive reviews. Who are these women, and what can we learn about their husbands through them?

Michelle Obama

Born on the south side of Chicago in 1964, Michelle Robinson attended public school, and then Princeton University, where she studied sociology and African-American Studies. After receiving her law degree from Harvard, she was hired by the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband, Barack Obama. They married in 1992 and had two girls together, Malia (1998) and Natasha (Sasha) (2001). While she still has her law license, Michelle Obama’s career has been mostly in public service. Her husband was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004. He began running for president in 2007. As the First Lady, Michelle Obama launched Let’s Move, to bring awareness to, and solve the problem of, childhood obesity. In the current election, she aims to inspire crowds and present her husband to them in personal terms. Michelle Obama often talks about their early years of marriage and his desire to make a difference in the lives of others.

Ann Romney

Ann Davies was born in 1949. Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, she attended private school where she met Mitt Romney, whom she married in 1969. The couple had five sons between 1970 and 1981. In 1975, Romney received a Bachelor’s degree in French from Brigham Young University. The college is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), the faith she shares with her husband. In 1977, she campaigned and won the position of town meeting representative in Belmont, Massachusetts. In 1997, Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which she manages with a combination of treatments. She is also a breast cancer survivor. Ann Romney has been active in her husband’s political campaigns, first his unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 1994, and later his victorious race for the Massachusetts governorship in 2002.  During Mitt Romney’s term as governor  from 2003-2007,  Ann Romney’s role as the state’s First Lady included supporting children’s charities. In the current presidential election, Mitt Romney has relied on Ann Romney’s speeches to help create a portrait of him as a trustworthy, family man.

First Ladies: A History

While the spouse of the president has always had a highly-visible presence in the White House, the title of First Lady wasn’t used until the 1930s. Explanations of the term’s origin vary. Some say it was how Zachary Taylor referred to Dolley Madison in the eulogy he gave at her funeral in 1817. Others say that it appeared in a diary of an Irish reporter, who called Mary Todd Lincoln, “the First Lady in the Land.”

The role of First Lady comes with no salary and has no official duties. However, the person who serves as First Lady is a highly public figure and is expected to oversee all social events of the White House. Some First Ladies have been considered important political advisers. The First Lady has an office and staff, although the number of staff members and their duties have varied widely. Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly only had two assistants, while the current First Lady, Michelle Obama has a staff of 24, including a chief of staff, a press secretary, a director of policy and projects, and a social secretary.

First Ladies have not always been presidential wives. When the president was a widower or bachelor, or if his wife was unable to perform the duties expected of the First Lady, a family member or friend took on those duties.  Andrew Jackson’s wife died two weeks after he had won the election. Jackson’s niece and later his daughter-in-law both served as hostess of the White House.  Another president, James Buchanan, was a life-long bachelor, so his niece served as his First Lady.

There are five living former First Ladies: Rosalyn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush. Each of these women promoted specific causes during their husbands’ time in office. Barbara Bush created a literacy foundation, while her daughter-in-law Laura promoted education. Reagan championed the “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign. Carter was an advocate for mental health issues. Clinton sought to reform healthcare and then worked as an advocate for women’s rights around the world.

In 1914, the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC opened the First Ladies Collection. There is also the National First Ladies Library in Canton, Ohio. Both exhibitions feature fashion items, art, important papers, and the important contributions of all of the First Ladies of the United States.