Hi there! I’m John Green, and welcome to my fun fact salon. Today, we’re diving into some interesting tidbits about America’s First Ladies. Did you know that Martha Washington used to join her husband, George, at his winter camp at Mount Vernon starting in 1775? She even charged her travel expenses to Congress, which would be quite the scandal today! Let’s celebrate America’s birthday with these fascinating facts. Happy July 4th!
Abigail Adams used the White House’s East Room to hang laundry, while Bess Truman disliked Washington, D.C.’s dry-cleaning so much that she sent her clothes all the way to Kansas City. Martha Jefferson never became a First Lady because she passed away before Thomas Jefferson was elected. Instead, his daughter, also named Martha, and Dolly Madison took on the role. Dolly was known for her love of turbans, spending a whopping $1,000 a year on them!
James Monroe’s daughter, Eliza, stepped in as First Lady when her mother fell ill. Eliza’s best friend was Hortense de Beauharnais, Napoleon Bonaparte’s stepdaughter. Louisa Adams felt like an outsider in the Adams family and even wrote an autobiography titled “Adventures of a Nobody.”
Some First Ladies had tragic stories. Rachel Jackson died before her husband became president, and Hannah Van Buren never set foot in the White House. Anna Harrison was preparing to join her husband in D.C. when she learned he had died. Letitia Tyler was the first First Lady to pass away in the White House.
On a happier note, Julia Tyler, John Tyler’s second wife, introduced the polka dance to Washington. Sara Polk was nicknamed “Sahara Sara” for banning hard liquor. Margaret Taylor promised to give up society’s pleasures if her husband returned safely from the Mexican War, and he did, so her daughter took over First Lady duties. Alva Gil Fillmore started the White House library with a $2,000 grant from Congress.
Before Franklin Pierce became president, his wife Jane prayed he would lose the election. James Buchanan’s niece, Harriet Lane, served as his First Lady and worked to improve education and healthcare for American Indians. Mary Todd Lincoln was a shopaholic who once tried to sell her clothes to pay off debts but ended up deeper in debt.
Eliza Johnson brought cows to graze on the White House lawn. The Grants were invited to join the Lincolns at Ford Theatre on the night of Lincoln’s assassination, but Julia Grant felt uneasy about the invitation and convinced her husband to visit their children in New York instead.
Lucy Hayes started the tradition of Easter egg rolling on the White House lawn after kids were banned from doing it at the Capitol. President James Garfield was almost assassinated, but the attacker hesitated because Mrs. Garfield looked so frail and loving.
Ellen Arthur was a talented soprano singer before she passed away. Grover Cleveland knew his wife Frances since she was a baby, and they married when she was 21 and he was 49. Caroline Harrison brought the first Christmas tree to the White House, and Ida McKinley knitted over 3,500 slippers for charity.
Eleanor Roosevelt was the only First Lady to hold a press conference, allowing only female reporters. She once sneaked out of a White House event with Amelia Earhart to fly around Baltimore. Eleanor later got her learner’s permit, and Amelia was going to teach her to fly.
Betty Truman was less chatty with reporters, preferring written questions. Mamie Eisenhower loved pink so much that a shade was named after her, “Mamie Pink.” Jackie Kennedy once used a supermarket intercom to talk about her husband, JFK, while shoppers continued their errands.
Lady Bird Johnson was so shy that she purposely let her grades drop to avoid giving a valedictorian speech. Pat Nixon’s real name was Thelma Katherine, but she was called Pat because she was born on St. Patrick’s Day.
On Gerald Ford’s last day in office, Betty Ford tap-danced on a conference table. Rosalynn Carter was a powerful influence in Jimmy Carter’s administration, attending cabinet meetings. Nancy Reagan believed in astrology and consulted an astrologer for major decisions.
Hillary Clinton worked at a cannery in Alaska during college and later helped with the legal team to impeach Richard Nixon. Laura Bush agreed to marry George W. Bush on the condition she wouldn’t have to make campaign speeches, but she forgot to add that she wouldn’t attend his art shows.
Michelle Obama loves “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” and when Van Dyke found out, he sent her a thank-you note. Her Secret Service codename is “Renaissance.”
Thanks for joining me on this journey through the lives of America’s First Ladies. If you have any mind-blowing questions, feel free to leave them in the comments. Remember, don’t forget to be awesome!
Research and create a timeline of America’s First Ladies. Include key events and interesting facts about each First Lady. Use colorful visuals and present your timeline to the class.
Choose a First Lady and prepare a short role-play or monologue about her life and contributions. Dress up as your chosen First Lady and perform your piece for the class.
Work in groups to create a trivia game based on the fun facts about America’s First Ladies. Use questions from the article and add your own research. Play the game with your classmates to test your knowledge.
Choose a First Lady and create a portrait that represents her personality and achievements. Use any art medium you prefer. Write a short description to accompany your artwork, explaining your design choices.
Research the different roles and contributions of America’s First Ladies. Participate in a debate about which First Lady had the most significant impact on American history. Use facts from the article and additional research to support your arguments.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, I’m John Green. Welcome to my salon. This is Mental Floss on YouTube. Did you know that Martha Washington joined George at Mount Vernon’s winter encampment starting in 1775? George was there for six years, so Martha would spend her winters with him, even building her travel expenses to Congress. That would have been a scandal these days! Anyway, that’s the first of many facts about first ladies I’m going to share with you today as we celebrate America’s birthday. Happy July 4th, everybody!
Abigail Adams used the White House’s East Room to hang laundry. Bess Truman, on the other hand, disliked the dry-cleaning in D.C. so much that she sent her laundry all the way to Kansas City to be washed. Martha Jefferson was not technically a first lady because she died eighteen years before Thomas was elected. He never remarried, so his daughter, also named Martha Jefferson, and Dolly Madison occasionally acted as first ladies. Speaking of Dolly, she loved turbans and allegedly spent a thousand dollars a year on them.
James Monroe’s daughter, Eliza, took over first lady duties for her sick mother, Elizabeth. Eliza’s best friend was Hortense de Beauharnais, Napoleon Bonaparte’s stepdaughter. Louisa Adams wrote an autobiography titled “Adventures of a Nobody,” reflecting how she felt about being part of the Adams family. She wrote, “Had I stepped onto Noah’s Ark, I do not think I could have been so utterly astonished.”
For first ladies, all of whom were possibly cursed, Rachel Jackson died months before her husband took office. Hannah Van Buren died before she ever stepped foot in the White House. Anna Harrison was sick when her husband took office and planned to join him later. One month after his inauguration, she was packing for D.C. when she learned that he had died. Letitia Tyler died of a stroke and was the first first lady to die in the White House.
Moving on to happier things, John Tyler’s second wife, Julia Tyler, introduced the polka to Washington. Sara Polk was known as “Sahara Sara” for her ban on hard liquor. Margaret Taylor vowed to give up society’s pleasures if her husband returned safely from the Mexican War. He did, and so her daughter took on the role of first lady. Alva Gil Fillmore started the White House library and even received $2,000 from Congress to do so.
Before Franklin Pierce was elected, his wife Jane prayed every night that he would lose the presidential election. In retrospect, that might have been good for both Jane and America. James Buchanan’s niece, Harriet Lane, served as his first lady and loved American Indian art, working with lawmakers to improve education and medical care on American Indian reservations.
Mary Todd Lincoln was a shopaholic and racked up quite a lot of debt at department stores. In an attempt to pay it off, she once tried to sell her used clothes at a store in Manhattan but ended up going further into debt. Eliza Johnson brought cows to the White House, which could be found grazing on the front lawn. The Grants were invited to join the Lincolns at Ford Theatre on the night of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, but Julia Grant was suspicious of the man who delivered their invitation, so she convinced her husband to visit their children in New York instead.
When Lucy Hayes was first lady, Washington kids were banned from rolling Easter eggs on the Capitol grounds, so she let them use the White House lawn instead, and a tradition was born. President James Garfield was almost assassinated by Charles Guiteau a few weeks before Guiteau actually succeeded. Guiteau explained at his later trial that Mrs. Garfield looked so thin and clung so tenderly to the president’s arm that he did not have the heart to fire on him.
Ellen Arthur, following in a storied tradition of American first ladies, died before her husband took office. Before that, she was a well-known soprano singer and even performed with the all-male Mendelssohn Glee Club. Grover Cleveland knew his wife Frances when she was a baby, and he was 28. In fact, he bought her first baby carriage. They married when she was 21 and he was 49.
Caroline Harrison got the White House its first Christmas tree. While Ida McKinley was ill and bedridden, she knitted and crocheted over 3,500 slippers for charity, which came in two colors: Confederate gray and Union blue. Edith Roosevelt, despite not being a drinker herself, was against prohibition and always had cocktails served at her parties.
FDR, by the way, was the better Roosevelt, but not the Roosevelt on Mount Rushmore. After Helen “Nellie” Taft took a trip to Japan, she requested that the famous Washington cherry trees be planted. Before she met Woodrow Wilson, Ellen Wilson was studying art in New York with plans to become a commercial artist. Woodrow Wilson’s next wife, Edith, was a direct descendant of Pocahontas.
Before he was president, Warren G. Harding owned a newspaper, the Marion Star, and Florence was its business manager for 12 years. Grace Coolidge loved the Boston Red Sox and was once invited to sit in the dugout with the team during the Boxer Rebellion. Lou Hoover transported supplies to the front line via bicycle and was once reported dead, reading her own obituary in a Beijing newspaper.
Now, I don’t want to pick favorites, but Eleanor Roosevelt gets two facts because she’s the best. She was the only first lady to hold a press conference, and only female reporters were allowed to attend. Eleanor Roosevelt once snuck out of a White House event with Amelia Earhart. They commandeered an airplane and flew around Baltimore. Eleanor soon got her learner’s permit, and Amelia was going to teach her how to fly.
Betty Truman was somewhat less willing to talk to reporters than Eleanor Roosevelt. She once agreed, but questions had to be submitted in writing. Here are some of her answers: Would she want to be president? No. Would she ever want her daughter Margaret to be first lady? No. If she had a son, would she try to bring him up to be president? No. Did any of the demands of her role as first lady ever give her stage fright? No comment. What would she like to do when her husband is no longer president? Return to Independence.
Mamie Eisenhower loved the color pink so much that a shade of pink was developed for her, called “First Lady Pink” or “Mamie Pink.” In 1960, when JFK was campaigning in Wisconsin, his wife Jackie got on an intercom at a local supermarket and announced, “Just keep on with your shopping while I tell you about my husband, John F. Kennedy.” She was just like Bess Truman!
Lady Bird Johnson was very shy, so when she learned that she was going to be valedictorian of her high school, she let her grades drop on purpose because she didn’t want to have to make a graduation speech. Pat Nixon’s real name was Thelma Katherine, but she was born on St. Patrick’s Day, so her dad started calling her Pam. She’s lucky she wasn’t born on Arbor Day!
On Gerald Ford’s last day in office, Betty tap-danced on the cabinet room conference table. Time magazine once called Rosalynn Carter “the second most powerful person in the United States.” She sat in on cabinet meetings and was very important to Jimmy Carter’s administration. Nancy Reagan strongly believed in astrology and frequently consulted an astrologer about Ronald’s decisions.
According to Donald Regan, virtually every major move and decision the Reagans made during my time as White House chief of staff was cleared in advance with a woman in San Francisco who drew up horoscopes to ensure that the planets were in a favorable alignment. In the middle of George H.W. Bush’s inaugural parade, Barbara saw weatherman Willard Scott and gave him a hug while he was live on the air.
Hillary Clinton worked at a cannery in Valdez, Alaska, during college. She later had an arguably more important job on the legal team to impeach Richard Nixon. Laura Bush promised to marry George W. Bush under one condition: she would never have to make a campaign speech. Unfortunately, she forgot to include a second condition that she would never have to go to one of his art shows.
Finally, I want to share a story about Michelle Obama. She loves “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and has mentioned it on multiple occasions. When Van Dyke learned this, he sent her a note that said, “Thank you for making me famous all over again.” Another fun fact: her Secret Service codename is “Renaissance.”
Thanks for watching Mental Floss here on YouTube, which is made with the help of all of these nice people. Every week, we endeavor to answer one of your mind-blowing questions. This week’s question comes from Karp’s 3-3-3, who asks, “Where does the word ‘Doug’ come from?” Well, Karp, the short answer is we don’t know, but that never suffices, so we’re going to tell you the long answer.
In the 15th century, “Doug” meant an item of clothing, which involved tattered clothing or rags. By the 17th century, scarecrows dressed in cast-off clothing were called “village men.” At some point in the 19th century, it came to mean anything useless or ineffective, and during World War I, unexploded artillery shells came to be called “duds.”
If you have a mind-blowing question you’d like answered, please leave it below in the comments. We’ll answer as many as we can. Thank you again for watching, and as we say in my hometown, don’t forget to be awesome!
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First Ladies – The wives of the Presidents of the United States, often involved in social and political activities. – Example sentence: First Ladies have historically played important roles in advocating for social causes and supporting their husbands’ presidencies.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs. – Example sentence: Understanding history helps us learn from past mistakes and shape a better future.
Education – The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university. – Example sentence: Education is crucial for empowering individuals and fostering informed citizens.
Healthcare – The organized provision of medical care to individuals or a community. – Example sentence: Access to quality healthcare has been a significant issue throughout history, affecting the well-being of societies.
Traditions – Customs or beliefs passed down from generation to generation. – Example sentence: Many families celebrate holidays with traditions that have been practiced for centuries.
Contributions – Something given or offered that adds to a larger whole, often in the context of societal or historical impact. – Example sentence: The contributions of various cultures have enriched the history and diversity of our nation.
Presidents – The elected heads of a republican state, particularly in the context of the United States. – Example sentence: Presidents have the responsibility to lead the country and make decisions that impact both domestic and international affairs.
Families – Groups of individuals related by blood, marriage, or a sense of belonging, often forming the basic unit of society. – Example sentence: Families have played a crucial role in shaping the social and cultural fabric of societies throughout history.
Roles – The functions or positions that individuals or groups are expected to perform in a particular context. – Example sentence: Throughout history, the roles of women in society have evolved significantly, leading to greater equality and opportunities.
Legacies – Something handed down by a predecessor, often referring to the lasting impact of individuals or events. – Example sentence: The legacies of historical figures can inspire future generations to strive for positive change.
