Michelle Obama, Best First Lady Ever?

[MichiganVote]

49. To my knowledge all women in the role of first lady

have attempted to aid soldiers and their families. Different times for different women. I only raise two as possibilities but there are certainly more. But for the two I mention,

The role of first lady as hostess largely began with Dolley Madison. It was in her role as first lady that the Congress in the WH space began to take shape and become civilized. Dolley Madison invented the role of first lady as a hostess, establishing certain ceremonies, just as she had created public spaces. She did this during a time of extreme partisanship, much like today. She was elegant (like Mrs. Obama and others). Her supporters called her "queenly" but her enemies smeared her. She was derided as an innkeeper's daughter. Nevertheless she reached out to people and made them feel comfortable. In later life, poor and in ill health, she was supported economically by republicans and democrats until her death.

Dolly Madison faced the British invasion of Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1814 with bravery and dignity. By the third week of August invasion was imminent and the city was in a state of chaos as the British approached. Mrs. Madison remained in the city. As the British troops moved forward on August 23 Mrs. Madison packed government papers into trunks. The next day, with James Madison still off with the army, Dolley Madison found herself guarding the gates of the executive mansion. And so we know of her determination to save the painting of George Washington as the WH would burn.

During WWII, Eleanor Roosevelt ER worked refugees from Hitler's Germany to enter the country, despite stiff resistance to changing America's strict immigration laws. She served as in both an official and unofficial role to groups trying to aid refugees from the Spanish Civil War. She worked with the Emergency Rescue Committee, the U.S. Committee for the Care of European Children, and the Children's Crusade for Children. She also offered key support to Varian Fry's rescue operations. She lobbied for the Child Refugee Bill which would have allowed 10,000 Jewish children a year for two years to enter the United States above the usual German quota, but Congress refused to pass the bill.

When the United States entered the war in December 1941, she continued to advocate a more open policy and to assist individual refugees to gain admittance to the country. She spoke out forcefully against the restrictive visa policies.

ER strongly supported women working outside the home. She urged their employment in defense industries during WWII. When women workers had trouble finding child care and adequate pay, ER lobbied to have day care centers and take-out kitchens within various factories, and spoke out strongly in favor of equal pay for equal work. She convinced FDR to establish the Fair Employment Practices Commission, which outlawed racial discrimination in industries that received federal contracts, urged equal treatment for blacks in the military, and helped to ensure that black units, such as the Tuskegee Airmen, had the opportunity to engage in combat. She also urged citizens to accept volunteer assignments and tried to make those assignments useful.

ER used the radio to boost American morale and to urge her listeners to remember that Americans must take strength from each other and rededicate themselves to democracy. In fact, ER addressed the nation the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. While the nations often refers to the speech of FDR, many women listened to ER address them.

ER interceded on behalf of many soldiers, their families. She traveled worldwide to military bases at home, in England, and in the South Pacific. She often aided the Red Cross, evaluating all the facilities she visited.