Subject Areas |
History and Social Studies
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U.S. History - Women's Rights/History |
Literature and Language Arts
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Biography |
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Time Required |
| One to two class periods for each of five lessons. More time as needed for student research and presentations.
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Skills |
| primary document analysis
critical thinking
collaboration
information gathering
information analysis
statistical analysis
essay writing
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Date Posted |
| 5/21/2002 |
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Remember the Ladies: The First Ladies
Introduction
On
March 31, 1776, future First Lady Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John Adams,
who was soon to be appointed a member of the committee drafting the Declaration
of Independence: "...In the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will
be necessary for you to make I would desire you would Remember the Ladies....
Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands.... If particular
care and attention is not paid to the Ladies, we are determined to foment a Rebellion,
and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation."
Mrs. Adams's remarks were well ahead of their time. The representation
she wrote about did not formally materialize until 1917, when Jeannette Rankin
was elected the first female member of the House of Representatives. In 1920,
the 19th Amendment finally gave women the right to vote. In the absence
of official power, women had to find other ways to shape the world in which they
lived. The First Ladies of the United States were among the women who were able
to play "a significant role in shaping the political and social history of our
country, impacting virtually every topic that has been debated" (Mary Regula,
Founding Chair and President, National Board of Directors for The First Ladies'
Library). Through the lessons in this unit, you will explore with your
students the ways in which First Ladies were able to shape the world while dealing
with the expectations placed on them as women and as partners of powerful men.
Learning Objectives
After completing the lessons in this unit, students
will be able to: - Name at least five First
Ladies and describe something significant each did.
- State
five traditional duties of First Ladies.
- Discuss
some untraditional things First Ladies have done.
- Hypothesize
about why some First Ladies are better remembered than others.
Guiding Question: What does a First Lady do? Who
have some of our First Ladies been? How have they helped shape the social history
of our country?
Preparing to Teach this Lesson - Review the lessons in this unit. Select a
variety of archival materials from the various lessons to use in your classroom
discussions of the First Ladies. Bookmark them, if practical, or download and
print out the archival documents you select and duplicate copies as necessary
for student viewing.
- Locate individual biographies of the First Ladies
available through the EDSITEment resource White
House website, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed National
First Ladies Library. Resources from your school or local library would also
be suitable.
- Hillary Rodham Clinton can serve as a powerful example
of the contemporary First Lady (career as a lawyer, advocate for children and
health care, successful campaign for senator); however, discussions of Mrs. Clinton's
role during the tumultuous years of her husband's presidency should be handled
with sensitivity.
- The
Digital Classroom, available through EDSITEment, offers a series of worksheets
for analyzing primary source documents, including written documents and photographs,
that you may wish to use or adapt to help students in reviewing the materials
presented in this unit.
- Tips on using the NARA
Archival Information Locator (NAIL) search function within the National
Archives and Records Administration website:
- Select "NAIL Standard
Search" from the opening screen.
- Check the option to receive "Only Descriptions
Linked to Digital Copies" in your search results (located near the top of the
page).
- Appropriate keywords are provided for individual searches within
the lessons in this unit. Notice that NAIL offers two fields for entering search
terms, with options to qualify your search by using "and," "or" and "not" to define
the relationship between the search terms.
- When you have entered your
search term(s), click "Submit Search" near the top or bottom of the page.
- When search results are returned, click "Display Results."
- To go to
one of the pages indicated in your search results, select the page using the check
box in the far right column of the search results page, and click "Display Selected
Hits" at the top of the page.
Suggested ActivitiesLesson 1: The Perfect
Image of a First Lady Lesson
2: Traditional Roles of the First Lady Lesson
3: Non-Traditional Roles of the First Lady Lesson
4: Who Were the First Ladies? Lesson
5: Remembering the Ladies Extending
the Lesson
Lesson 1 The Perfect Image
of a First Lady
How have First Ladies traditionally been viewed?
How much has that view changed in two centuries? To answer these questions, begin
by comparing visual images of First Ladies and their husbands from the nation's
early years and more recent times. (Note: The photograph
analysis worksheet available through the EDSITEment-reviewed The
Digital Classroom may be useful in comparing the portraits in this lesson.)
1. Share with your class portraits of Abigail
Adams and President
John Adams from the original paintings by Gilbert Stuart, available through
the EDSITEment-reviewed American
Memory. Despite similar poses, these portraits are quite different. What details
do the students notice in the two portraits? (For example, the President is shown
with a book.) How do these portraits differ from each other? What reasons can
the students offer for these differences? What is their significance?
2. Now share with your class official White House portraits from the EDSITEment
resource American Memory
of Jimmy Carter (color
version or black
and white) and Rosalynn Carter (color
version or black
and white), created in January and February 1977, respectively. What differences
do students recognize between the two modern portraits? Are the differences similar
or dissimilar to those present in the Adams portraits created nearly 200 years
earlier? Does this indicate a change in the public image of a First Lady?
3. Ask students to think about whether the role of First Lady might have
changed between 1977 and today. In what ways? Why? If desired, the students
can look at home for news or magazine articles or web news about the First Lady.
Lesson 2 Traditional Roles
of the First Lady
Traditionally, the First Lady has been regarded
primarily as a political helpmate for her husband, a social leader in Washington,
and an unofficial representative of the female population throughout the United
States. Pass out to small groups an appropriate number of the following
images. Appoint a spokesperson for each group. Give the groups time to analyze
their images. (The document
analysis worksheets available through the EDSITEment resource The Digital
Classroom [www.nara.gov/education] may be useful in completing this analysis.)
Then, the group spokesperson should share the image with the class, describe it
and hypothesize about the First Lady role represented. Make a list of the traditional
First Lady roles that come up through this discussion and save it for future reference.
Setting Fashion Standards
Uplifting National Spirit During a Crisis - A photo of Eleanor
Roosevelt awarding a Purple Heart in New Caledonia during World War II is available
through the Franklin
Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library website, a link from the EDSITEment
resource The
Digital Classroom.
- Jacqueline Kennedy became a symbol of dignity
in the face of grief after the assassination of her husband, President John F.
Kennedy. She also planned his dramatic funeral. Her actions helped the nation
recover from the tragedy. Access photos of Mrs. Kennedy after the assassination
of her husband through the Digital
Classroom's NAIL Digital Copies Search. One useful image of Mrs. Kennedy is
titled "Lyndon Baines Johnson takes Presidential Oath of Office"; to find it,
use the search terms "Lyndon Baines Johnson" and "Oath." Another is titled "President's
Family leaves Capitol after Ceremony"; search for this image using the terms "President's
Family" and "Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy." (Note: For more information, see the
tips on using the NAIL search
provided under Preparing to Teach This Unit, above.)
Serving as the White House Representative in Areas of Special Interest to Women
Campaigning
for Her Husband (both with and without him) Promoting
Charities and Causes - In what has developed into a modern practice
of First Ladies - adopting a particular cause - Bess Truman poses with Michael
Danna, the Muscular Dystrophy Appeal poster boy, at the official opening of the
1952-53 Muscular Dystrophy Appeal Campaign. This photo is available through the
Digital
Classroom's NAIL Digital Copies Search by searching for "Bess Truman" and
"Danna."
- Nancy Reagan promoted the famous "Just Say No" anti-drug
campaign, as seen in a photo taken at the First Lady's Conference on Drug Abuse
in 1985, available on the Ronald
Reagan Presidential Library website, a link available through the EDSITEment
resource The
Digital Classroom.
Accompanying the President
at Important Functions - Through the EDSITEment-reviewed Project
Whistlestop, access a photo of Bess Truman at Harry Truman's oath of office
ceremony, 1945.
Making Good Will Travel Missions
- Access a photo of Jacqueline Kennedy visiting the Taj Mahal in
1962. From the home page of the John
F. Kennedy Presidential Library website, a link available through Digital
Classroom, select "Jacqueline Kennedy Travels Abroad" (click on the photo
to enlarge, if you wish).
Serving as White House
Hostess - Through the Digital
Classroom's NAIL Digital Copies Search, find a photo of Betty Ford discussing
preparations for a state dinner for Israel's Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin by searching
for the terms "Mrs. Ford" and "Malcom Moran."
Maintaining the Role of Wife and Mother - Through the Digital
Classroom's NAIL Digital Copies Search, find a photo of Betty Ford helping
her husband, a U.S. Representative at the time, with his overcoat as their young
sons look on by searching for "Betty Ford helps."
Taking an Interest in White House Restoration, Renovation and Preservation
- Older Americans will remember the televised White House tour given by
Jacqueline Kennedy that was broadcast by CBS to more than 50 million Americans
in February 1962. So well received was this tour that the National Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences presented Mrs. Kennedy with an Emmy Award in honor
of her achievement. She also oversaw the publication of a Guidebook
to the White House. Its sales are still used today to support the work of
the White House Historical Association, which she founded.
Lesson 3 Non-Traditional Roles
of the First Lady
Circumstances and individual personalities have
sometimes resulted in a First Lady taking on responsibilities not generally (or
at least not publicly) associated with the role. Share with your class
the story of Dolly Madison and the British attack on the White House, a brief
version of which is available on The
White House for Kids, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed National
First Ladies Library. Discuss the story with the class. What do students think
of Mrs. Madison's actions? Do they think she did more than would have been expected
of a First Lady? Pass out to small groups an appropriate number of images
from the list below. Appoint a spokesperson for each group. Give the groups time
to analyze the image. (The document
analysis worksheets available through the EDSITEment resource The
Digital Classroom may be useful in completing this analysis.) Then, the spokesperson
should share the image with the class, describe it and hypothesize about the First
Lady role represented. Make a list of these non-traditional First Lady roles as
they are discussed and save it for future reference.
Advising the President - In the EDSITEment resource American
Memory, locate the 1862
letter from Mary Todd Lincoln to Abraham Lincoln advising her husband to remove
the hesitant Gen. George B. McClellan from command. Background information is
available by searching American
Memory for the exact phrase "Letter, Mary Todd Lincoln to Abraham Lincoln."
Lobbying for Causes Behind the Scenes
- In the EDSITEment resource American
Memory, locate the 1936
letter from Eleanor Roosevelt to Walter White detailing the First Lady's lobbying
efforts for federal action against lynchings. Background information is available
by searching American Memory
for the exact phrase "Letter, Eleanor Roosevelt to Walter White."
Taking a High-Profile Moral Stand - Eleanor Roosevelt resigned
from the Daughters of the American Revolution in protest of its refusal to allow
African American vocalist Marion Anderson to sing at Constitution Hall. Access
background
information and a digital version of Mrs. Roosevelt's resignation letter from
the EDSITEment resource The
Digital Classroom.
If desired, background information and a portrait
of Marion Anderson by Laura Wheeler Waring are available from the EDSITEment
reviewed National Portrait
Gallery. Assuming Important Roles after Being
First Lady - Eleanor Roosevelt served as an American representative
at the United Nations from 1945-1951 and again in 1961. Through the Digital
Classroom's NAIL Digital Copies Search, access a photo of Eleanor Roosevelt
at United Nations Meeting in London by searching for the terms "Eleanor Roosevelt,
United Nations" and "London."
Taking a Stand for
the Rights of Women - Through the Digital
Classroom's NAIL Digital Copies Search, find a photo of Rosalynn Carter and
Betty Ford at a rally for ERA in 1977 by searching for the terms "Betty Ford"
and "ERA."
Having a Career - Prior
to her marriage to John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier worked as a reporter and
photographer for the Washington Times-Herald, earning $42.50 per week. She wrote
a column titled "Inquiring Camera Girl by Jacqueline Bouvier." Later in her life,
Mrs. Kennedy served as a well-respected book editor. Access a photo of the camera
Ms. Bouvier used as the Inquiring Camera Girl through the John
F. Kennedy Presidential Library website, a link available through The
Digital Classroom.
Lesson 4 Who Were the First
Ladies?
Give your students the opportunity to get to know some
of the nation's First Ladies with whom they are likely to be less familiar. An
expanded knowledge base about First Ladies will help students clarify what they
learned in Lessons 2 and 3. Surveying many First Ladies will also prepare students
for the culminating activity found in Lesson 5. Biographies of all of
the First Ladies are available online through the White
House website and through the National
First Ladies Library, both accessible through links from the EDSITEment resource
American Memory. Provide
students, working individually or in small groups, with biographies of one or
more First Ladies. Cover as many of the First Ladies as appropriate to the class.
Review with students the traditional and non-traditional roles of the
First Lady that were discussed in Lessons 2 and 3 of this unit, and ask students
to find examples of those roles in the biographies of First Ladies. Does the information
in the biographies support the documentary evidence of the traditional and non-traditional
roles the students have already studied? Have the non-traditional roles received
more or less public attention and recognition than the traditional roles? Why
do students think this is the case? Do the lists of roles need to be redefined?
Is the distinction between traditional and non-traditional roles a valid one?
Does the current First Lady fall more into the category of traditional roles or
non-traditional roles? Has the role of the First Lady changed? In what ways?
Lesson 5 Remembering the Ladies
Why are some First Ladies more memorable than others? At home,
your students will conduct a poll of adults to find out which First Ladies come
to mind for them. 1. Let students decide the "ground rules" for the poll,
such as: - How should the question(s) be worded?
- How many adult
opinions should the class solicit?
- Should parallel questions about the
Presidents also be asked?
- What type of knowledge about a First Lady constitutes
a "memory" (e.g., a first name, something specific she did, etc.)?
2. Share
and analyze poll results. As a class, choose a certain number of First Ladies
appearing in the poll (about five, or any number appropriate to the size of your
class) for further research in small groups. In addition, let students choose
an equal number of First Ladies who did not appear in the poll to research as
well. Groups of two to three students then do an in-depth study of the First Ladies
they selected. Group research should attempt to answer the following:
- Why are particular First Ladies remembered more (or less) than others?
Does it have to do with what the First Lady did? the First Lady's personality?
her appearance? the way the First Lady was pictured in the media (Mary Todd Lincoln,
Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton are examples of First Ladies not always
treated kindly)? the historical moment? the roles of women? her husband's success
(or lack thereof) in office?
- Of the First Ladies not represented
in the poll, why are they less remembered? What, if anything, did they do that
ought to be remembered? Do some (or all) deserve more credit?
3. Have each
group present its findings to the class, alternating between presentations on
"memorable" and "unmemorable" First Ladies. Presentations, which should include
a biography, could be oral reports or a display such as a "mini-museum" of her
life, much like the rooms devoted to the First Lady in Presidential Libraries.
Student museums could be constructed in large boxes, or tech-savvy students could
create a Power Point presentation for the class. 4. Take a class poll.
Establish a list of the First Ladies most worth remembering, based on student
responses. How does the list differ from the poll of adults? Make a list of First
Ladies who deserve more recognition. The class could create a bulletin board for
public display promoting the lesser-known First Ladies.
Evaluation If desired, use a rubric to evaluate students' presentations
on First Ladies from Lesson 5. To be completely effective, a rubric should be
designed for your class with student skill level, your curriculum, and the specific
assignment in mind. The following is a sample. If desired, click HERE
to download this rubric to copy or to use when designing your own.
Name _______________ |
Exceeds Expectations |
Meets Expectations |
Does Not Meet Expectations |
Structure:
(Note: This section of the evaluation asks if the elements are present.)
Did the presentation or display: | | | |
- get the audience's/reader's attention?
| | | | - clearly
introduce the First Lady?
| | | |
- provide information about the subject's life
before she became First Lady?
| | | |
- provide information about the subject's
tenure as First Lady?
| | | |
- provide historical information?
| | | |
| | | |
Content: (Note: This section evaluates the quality of the information
presented.) Did the presentation or display: | | | |
- provide sufficient information on the life
and career of the First Lady?
| | | |
- provide sufficient information on the
historical era of the First Lady?
| | | |
- arrive at informed conclusions about the
memorability of the First Lady?
| | | |
Delivery (speech): Was the speaker's: | | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
Mechanics (display): Does the piece evidence care taken with:
| | | | - labels
(neat and readable)?
| | | | | | | |
- other mechanics issues as required?
| | | | | | | | - creation,
duplication and placement of objects or images?
| | | |
Overall Rating (circle one): Exceeds Expectations
Meets All or Most Expectations
Meets Adequate Expectations
Needs Revision |
Comments: |
Extending the Lesson - Write to the First Lady
Your students can send
an e-mail to the First Lady. Additional contact information is available through
the White House website.
- The First "First Gentleman"
There
has never been a "First Gentleman," though someday there will be! Would that person
perform the same duties as the First Lady? Do your students expect to see a female
President in America's future? What characteristics would they want her to have?
What hurdles would she have to overcome in order to be a successful candidate?
What hurdles would her husband have to overcome to be a successful First Gentleman?
Encourage discussion about how the roles of women have changed since the administration
of George Washington. - Today's Independent
Girl (or Boy)
When she was 14 years old, Lou Henry (future wife of
Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States) wrote a very intriguing
essay titled "The Independent Girl," available through the EDSITEment-reviewed
Digital
Classroom's NAIL Digital Copies Search by searching on "Independent Girl"
and "Hoover." The essay, which revealed much of the writer's own vivacious and
independent spirit, closes with the prophecy that the independent girl would sooner
or later "meet a spirit equally as independent as her own . . . and with combined
strength go forth to meet the world." Would such a statement likely appear
in an essay written today? How would the subject of individual independence be
treated today by a young person? After hearing the teacher read selections from
the future Mrs. Hoover's essay, students can discuss or write brief essays on
the subject, "Today's Independent Girl (or Boy)." - Mapping
First Ladies
For a geography extension, create a map showing where
First Ladies grew up. Students could also map the birthplaces of Presidents and
compare the maps. For example, Virginia has the nickname "Birthplace of Presidents"
since more Presidents have been born in Virginia than anywhere else. Should any
state be called "Birthplace of First Ladies"? - The
Quality of a First Lady's Life
Have students conduct simple statistical
research on the quality of life for First Ladies. The role of First Lady, the
culmination of a lifetime partnership with a powerful man, would appear to be
exciting and rewarding. Do students think the role has tended to provide a high
quality of life for the women involved? One objective standard of quality
of life is longevity; statistically, women have tended to live longer than men
- an average of two years longer for people born since 1900. Using the brief biography
of each President found at the EDSITEment-reviewed website The
American President or another similar resource such as an almanac, have students
determine the life span of every deceased President and every First Lady by subtracting
the year of birth from the year of death. Use a division of labor to gather the
statistics, with each student doing the math for about one to three individuals.
If appropriate, allow students to determine how to organize the information
they've gathered (e.g., in a graphic organizer such as a bar graph). On average,
have First Ladies tended to live longer than their President husbands? Did the
trend change at some point? What factors might account for any changes in this
trend? - First Ladies and Their Causes
The causes associated with First Ladies (for example, Eleanor Roosevelt as an
advocate for Civil Rights, Lady Bird Johnson for the environment, Nancy Reagan
for reduction of drug abuse) and the First Lady's involvement could be fruitfully
studied. What did the First Lady do? Where does the country stand now on that
particular issue? - First Lady Firsts
Interested students could compile a list of First Lady firsts. For example:
- Dolly Madison was the first First Lady to attend her husband's swearing-in
ceremony. She also started the traditional Easter Egg Roll on the Capitol grounds
and planted the first tree on the White House lawn in a public celebration.
- Julia Tyler began the tradition of playing "Hail to the Chief" when the president
entered a room, and hired her own press secretary to control news coverage of
her activities as First Lady.
- Julia Grant was the first wife of a President
to write her memoirs.
- First Ladies and
Traditional Roles for Women
First Ladies have been faced with an ambivalent
role. They have been expected to exemplify an era's prevailing modes of proper
conduct for women, even though some of them were ambitious in a way not in keeping
with the prevailing mode. Interested students can interview adult women in their
own families to see how they balance demands placed upon them and use this information
as a point of comparison to the First Ladies they have studied. Contemporary women
juggle many of the same competing roles as the First Ladies: mothers, wives, volunteers,
workers and maybe even social activists. Their experiences might shed some light
on the pressures women (such as First Ladies) face as they assume multiple roles.
Students should share their findings with the class. How does the situation of
a contemporary woman compare to that faced by First Ladies in history? What is
the same? What is different? How does the historical moment affect contemporary
women? How did the historical moment of any particular First Lady affect her?
- Related EDSITEment Lessons
For
related activities, see these other EDSITEment lesson plans for Grades 3-5:
I've Just Seen a Face: Portraits I
Do Solemnly Swear: Inaugurations
Selected EDSITEment Websites
-
American Memory
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amhome.html
-
The American President
http://www.americanpresident.org/
-
Digital Classroom
http://www.nara.gov/education/classrm.html
-
Document Analysis Worksheets
http://www.nara.gov/education/teaching/analysis/analysis.html
Many presidential libraries, including the following referenced in these
lessons, are accessible through links from Digital
Classroom:
-
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
http://www.jfklibrary.org/
- Ronald
Reagan Presidential Library
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/
Franklin Delano
Roosevelt Presidential Library http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/
National First
Ladies Library http://www.firstladies.org/
The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov
-
Biographies of the First Ladies
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/index.html
-
The White House for Kids
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/
Project Whistlestop
http://www.whistlestop.org/ Additional
Resource:
History Matters: A Brief Timeline of American Literature and Events Pre-1620 to
1920 http://www.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/enl310/time.htm
Standards Alignment
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