CSPAN3 — America 250 Early First Ladies
20260810 081900 UTC
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[00:00:00] IN THE PUBLIC EYE AND BE
[00:00:02] RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR
[00:00:05] BACKGROUNDS, THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS, THE FACT THAT THEY ARE THE ONLY PERSON
[00:00:10] ARGUABLY IN THE WHITE HOUSE THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY TRULY
[00:00:14] CARES ABOUT THEIR HUSBAND'S SUCCESS.
[00:00:17] THE PRESENT SUCCESS, AS YOU
[00:00:19] MENTIONED, REBECCA, EVEN THOUGH
[00:00:21] WE CAN TAKE ISSUE WITH WHAT EDITH WILSON DID, KNOWING THAT
[00:00:24] THE COUNTRY WAS AT RISK, SHE WAS CARING ABOUT HIM.
[00:00:28] SO I THINK IN LONG, YOU KNOW, A
[00:00:30] SHORT ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, OF
[00:00:32] COURSE, THEY'RE CONSCIOUS OF WHO'S BEEN THERE BEFORE. THEY ARE CARETAKERS OF THE PLACE
[00:00:36] THAT THEIR PREDECESSORS HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING
[00:00:40] CUSTODIANS AS AS WELL. AND THEY JUST WANT TO BE
[00:00:45] REMEMBERED FOR WHO THEY ARE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, ANITA.
[00:00:47] C-SPAN'S AMERICA 250 PROGRAMING IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CABLE,
[00:00:51] SATELLITE AND STREAMING
[00:00:54] COMPANIES THAT PROVIDE C-SPAN AS A PUBLIC SERVICE.
[00:00:58] WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. WE'VE HAD AN EMERGING DAY OF
[00:01:01] FIRST LADIES AND ONE MORE PANEL TO GO, BUT IT'S A REALLY GREAT ONE.
[00:01:04] SO I'M DELIGHTED TO BE HERE WITH THIS GROUP OF PANELS RATHER THAN
[00:01:09] ME DOING THE INTRODUCTIONS. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE REALLY
[00:01:12] MUCH MORE ENGAGING FOR EACH OF THEM TO TELL YOU ABOUT THEIR
[00:01:16] WORK AND HOW THEY GOT INTO IT. SO LET'S BEGIN.
[00:01:18] WE'VE GOT PEOPLE WHO HAVE
[00:01:20] CREATED THEIR OWN BRANDS IN THE
[00:01:22] FIRST LADY'S MAN AND HISTORY MOM.
[00:01:25] SO THIS IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TAMMY, WHO
[00:01:27] IS AN ACADEMIC AND TEACHING STUDENTS. WE HAVE PUBLIC HISTORIANS WHO
[00:01:31] ARE PRESENTING DIRECTLY TO THE
[00:01:35] AMERICAN PUBLIC OUT THERE IN VERY INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGICAL WAYS.
[00:01:38] SO WE'RE GOING TO LEARN HOW THEY DO THAT AND HOW THEY GOT INTO IT. TAKE IT AWAY.
[00:01:43] HI, MY NAME IS LIBBY MCNAMEE AND I AM A RECOVERING LAWYER.
[00:01:48] AND I LAUNCHED INTO WRITING
[00:01:51] BOOKS, WRITING MY FIRST BOOK.
[00:01:52] IT'S ACTUALLY ABOUT A ANCESTOR
[00:01:56] OF EDITH BOLLING WILSON AND THE
[00:01:58] BUSH FAMILY AND AS I WAS FINISHING UP THAT BOOK, MY
[00:02:02] FRIEND JADA AND I WERE WE'RE
[00:02:06] MAKING PLANS. WE HAVE A BIRTHDAY A DAY APART. AND SHE SAID, HEY, WOULD YOU
[00:02:10] LIKE TO GO TO THIS LECTURE ON DOLLEY MADISON OR, YOU KNOW, FOR
[00:02:14] OUR BIRTHDAYS? AND I WAS THINKING, NO, DOLLEY
[00:02:16] MADISON, THE WORTHY 1812. WHAT A SNOOZER.
[00:02:19] BUT IT WAS HER BIRTHDAY. SO I SAID, OKAY, I'LL GO.
[00:02:23] AND IT WAS WE WERE ONLY HALFWAY
[00:02:25] THROUGH THE LECTURE AND I KNEW THIS IS MY NEXT BOOK.
[00:02:28] AND I WAS ON FIRE. SO THAT'S HOW I GOT INTERESTED
[00:02:30] IN DOLLY MADISON. AND I LIKE TO SAY THAT I SPENT
[00:02:34] COVID WITH DOLLY AND THERE'S NO BETTER COMPANY THAN THAT.
[00:02:38] THE SPENDING THING, A PANDEMIC, DOLLY MISSING.
[00:02:42] SO AND I HAVE SINCE WRITTEN ANOTHER BOOK.
[00:02:45] IT'S CALLED THE UNION SPY MASTERS, ABOUT A WOMAN NAMED
[00:02:48] ELIZABETH VAN LOO WHO RAN A
[00:02:50] UNION SPY RING AND SEE A LOT OF
[00:02:52] DEALINGS WITH THE CONFEDERATE AND FIRST LADY AS WELL.
[00:02:57] SO NOW NOW I'M ALL IN FOR THE
[00:03:00] FIRST LADY'S JAYDA.
[00:03:02] YES, I'M JAYDA JUSTICE AND I'M A
[00:03:05] FORMER LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR ON THE HILL. AND WHEN WE MOVED TO RICHMOND,
[00:03:09] WE WERE HAVING A FAMILY. I'M DRAGGING MY KIDS AROUND TO ALL THE BATTLEFIELDS AND ALL THE
[00:03:12] MUSEUMS IN RICHMOND AND IN VIRGINIA. AND I HAD FRIENDS JUST ASKED ME
[00:03:16] LIKE, HOW DO YOU FIND OUT ABOUT ALL OF THESE HISTORICAL SITES
[00:03:19] AND HOW DO YOU GET YOUR KIDS TO GO WITH YOU TO THE. SO I STARTED MY BLOG CALLED THE
[00:03:23] HISTORY MOM TO ENCOURAGE
[00:03:26] FAMILIES OF AND OF ALL AGES TO VISIT HISTORICAL SITES ALL
[00:03:30] AROUND THE WORLD. FOCUS ON US AND EUROPE WITH SOME
[00:03:33] IN ASIA. AND I VISIT SITES AND I
[00:03:36] RECOMMEND BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU GO OR AFTER YOU VISIT. SO YOU CAN REALLY GET THAT
[00:03:41] ENHANCED VIEW OF HISTORY. AND I THINK THERE'S NOTHING
[00:03:43] BETTER THAN WALKING IN HISTORY. AND I THINK FOR KIDS, HISTORY
[00:03:47] COMES ALIVE WHEN THEY'RE ABLE TO WALK ON THE SAME FLOORBOARD AS A
[00:03:50] PRESIDENT GROWING UP OR, YOU KNOW, SOME SOMEONE SOME REVERED
[00:03:54] HISTORICAL FIGURE THEY CAN THINK ABOUT WHO CAN CAN RISE TO THAT LEVEL.
[00:03:57] SO THAT'S MY PASSION, IS TO BRING HISTORY TO LIFE OR FOLKS.
[00:04:00] AND I'M ALSO A WRITER ON MY
[00:04:03] BLOG, BUT ALSO I READ ABOUT THE FIRST LADIES ON MY BLOG
[00:04:06] BEGINNING IN JANUARY 2023, I STARTED A NEW BLOG SERIES EVERY
[00:04:11] MONTH WHERE IT'S CALLED LOOKING AT THEIR HISTORY FIRST LADIES.
[00:04:13] SO I'VE READ MANY OF THE BOOKS THAT WERE OVER HERE FOR MY MY
[00:04:17] PROJECT, BECAUSE EACH MONTH I FOCUS ON A DIFFERENT FIRST LADY, BEGINNING WITH MARTHA WASHINGTON.
[00:04:21] AND ACTUALLY, THIS IS MY LAST MONTH OF IT. I'M ENDING IT WITH BARBARA BUSH THIS MONTH.
[00:04:25] SO I'M VERY EXCITED. I'LL BE SAD TO LOSE MY TIME WITH
[00:04:28] THE LADIES, BUT NEVER FEAR.
[00:04:29] I'M STILL GOING TO BE FOCUSING ON FIRST LADIES.
[00:04:33] AND ACTUALLY, I WAS SO INSPIRED BY ONE OF THE LADIES THAT I READ
[00:04:36] ABOUT THAT I'VE WRITTEN A HISTORICAL FICTION NOVEL ABOUT
[00:04:39] LOUISA, CATHERINE ADAMS, BECAUSE HER LIFE WAS JUST SO EXTRAORDINARY.
[00:04:43] AS I HOPE YOU'LL HEAR LATER, I HOPE YOU'LL AGREE. AND SO I'M RIGHT NOW ACTIVELY
[00:04:46] PURSUING PUBLICATION FOR THAT. I THINK MANY OF THE PEOPLE IN
[00:04:51] THIS ROOM KNOW THAT ANDY AND I HAVE A PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP
[00:04:54] ALL CENTERED AROUND FIRST LADIES. BUT TELL THIS GROUP AND OUR
[00:04:57] C-SPAN AUDIENCE AND OUR STREAMING AUDIENCE HOW IT ALL GOT STARTED. SURE.
[00:05:01] MY NAME IS ANDREW OKE AND I'M THE FIRST LADY'S MAN.
[00:05:04] I'M ALSO RECOVERING AS YOU ARE RECOVERING FROM A LAWYER.
[00:05:08] I'M A RECOVERING 24 HOUR NEWS PRODUCER OF WHICH I WILL
[00:05:11] PROBABLY NEVER RECOVER. BUT IT PUT ME IN THE RIGHT PLACE
[00:05:15] TO JOIN SUSAN AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MARC FARKAS AND AN
[00:05:19] INCREDIBLE TEAM AT C-SPAN AND
[00:05:21] ANITA MCBRIDE AND THE WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
[00:05:24] THAT CREATED THE SERIES FIRST
[00:05:27] LADY'S INFLUENCE AND IMAGE. MY SPECIFIC JOB FOR THAT WAS THE
[00:05:31] SERIES PRODUCER THAT TRAVELED TO EVERY HOME LIBRARY, CHURCH,
[00:05:33] SCHOOL, BIRTHPLACE, CEMETERY,
[00:05:36] ATTIC, VAULT, TRAIN STATION,
[00:05:39] TRAIN TRACKS, EVEN FOR EVERYONE. FIRST LADY MARTHA WASHINGTON TO
[00:05:43] THEN MICHELLE OBAMA.
[00:05:45] MY RESEARCH CONTINUES AT EACH OF
[00:05:49] THESE LOCATIONS. YES, PEOPLE EITHER RUN TOWARDS A
[00:05:51] CAMERA OR THEY RUN AWAY.
[00:05:53] I RUN TOWARDS NO SURPRISE THERE. BUT THE PEOPLE THAT DID COME UP
[00:05:56] TO ME AT EVERY LOCATION. WHAT DO YOU DO? WHAT ARE YOU FILMING?
[00:06:00] WHAT SHOW? I SAID, WELL, IT'S A SHOW ON FIRST LADIES.
[00:06:03] I REMEMBER SPECIFICALLY AT MONTICELLO BEING RIGHT OUT ON
[00:06:07] THE PATIO THERE. WELL, WHAT FIRST LADY, I MEAN,
[00:06:11] CLEARLY, MARTHA JEFFERSON, MARTHA, PATSY, JEFFERSON RANDOLPH.
[00:06:15] BUT ALL OF THEM. WELL, WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALL OF THEM? WHICH. NO, NO, ALL OF THEM.
[00:06:19] MARTHA WASHINGTON AND THROUGH
[00:06:20] MICHELLE OBAMA, NO ONE HAD THE GUMPTION OR THE AUDACITY TO TRY
[00:06:25] THAT BEFORE OR SINCE. WE HAD A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.
[00:06:28] IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT IN OCTOBER OF 2013, THE LONGEST UNTIL
[00:06:32] UNFORTUNATELY RECENTLY AND NOT A RECORD THAT YOU WANT TO BEAT.
[00:06:35] BUT WE HAD TO SHUT DOWN AND WE WEREN'T ABLE TO SPEAK TO ANYONE AT ANY OF THESE LOCATIONS.
[00:06:39] IT WAS BREAKNECK SPEED. I WAS IN PLAINS, GEORGIA FILMING.
[00:06:41] I JUST COMPLETED FILMING THE SEGMENTS THAT WOULD GO INTO THE
[00:06:45] ROSALYNN CARTER SHOW. AND I WATCHED UPSTAIRS IN MY
[00:06:48] ROOM THE PAT NIXON SHOW LIVE.
[00:06:50] THERE WAS NO WIGGLE ROOM. IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE DONE.
[00:06:54] MARK FARKAS AND I LAUGH ABOUT IT TODAY. RECENTLY, IN AN INTERVIEW WITH
[00:06:58] EAST WING MAGAZINE. DID WE REALLY DO THAT?
[00:07:00] WAS IT WAS IT ABLE TO BE DONE? AND IT HAPPENED IN SUCH A FLASH.
[00:07:03] BUT AT THE END, EVERYONE WANTED TO HEAR MORE. THERE'S THERE'S TRUTH TO WHAT
[00:07:08] LANDS ON THE EDIT ROOM FLOOR.
[00:07:10] THERE'S HOURS OF FOOTAGE AND INFORMATION AND I'VE PUT THOSE
[00:07:13] INTO MY SPEECHES AND PUT THOSE INTO MY BOOKS AND IT ALLOWS ME
[00:07:16] TO BE HERE. SO THANK YOU TO C-SPAN.
[00:07:20] THANK YOU, THE WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE IN THIS
[00:07:24] ROOM WHO CONTINUES THIS TYPE OF RESEARCH IN THIS TYPE OF EDUCATION.
[00:07:27] NOW I GET TO SIT ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR A NATIONAL FIRST
[00:07:30] LADIES DAY COMMISSION. I'M A LIFETIME MEMBER OF FLAIR
[00:07:34] AND I'M HERE SPEAKING TO EVERYONE TODAY TO THESE FIRST LADIES.
[00:07:38] MADE ME THE FIRST LADY'S MAN.
[00:07:41] YOU KNOW, FROM JOB NUMBER ONE. I GREW UP IN ROCKVILLE, RIGHT
[00:07:44] OUTSIDE OF D.C., THE SMITHSONIAN WAS OUR PLAYGROUND.
[00:07:47] IT'S WHERE WE TOOK RELATIVES. IF I TOUCH THE MOON ROCK ONE MORE TIME, I WAS GOING TO DIE.
[00:07:51] NOW I CAN'T WAIT TO GET BACK INTO THESE MUSEUMS.
[00:07:53] YOU KNOW, AS AN ADULT, NOT A
[00:07:55] KNUCKLEHEAD KID, BUT FROM THE
[00:07:58] FIRST TRIP THROUGH VIRGINIA, I
[00:08:00] SAW THINGS AND I WAS TAUGHT ABOUT WOMEN.
[00:08:02] THESE WOMEN, IN A WAY THAT I HAD NEVER BEEN TAUGHT ABOUT IN A
[00:08:06] GOOD SCHOOL SYSTEM WITH A MOTHER WHO WAS A SCHOOLTEACHER, A
[00:08:08] FATHER WHO WAS A CIVIL WAR BUFF. SO I OH, C-SPAN, THE WHITE
[00:08:12] HOUSE, HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, A GREAT DEBT OF GRATITUDE, BUT
[00:08:15] MORE SO THE FIRST LADIES WHO MADE ME THE FIRST LADY'S MAN.
[00:08:18] WHY AM I THINKING CURB YOUR
[00:08:22] ENTHUSIASM.
[00:08:27] WE WE LOVE HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THE SUBJECT MATTER.
[00:08:29] TAMMY VIGIL AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY ENGAGES HER STUDENTS IN
[00:08:33] UNDERSTANDING THE CONTRIBUTION AND SOME FIRST LADIES.
[00:08:37] TELL US ABOUT YOUR WORK THERE. SURE. FIRST OF ALL, THIS PANEL IS
[00:08:40] MAKING ME THINK I NEED TO COME UP WITH A CATCHY NAME WITH
[00:08:43] PROFESSOR V IS ABOUT AS CLOSE AS IT EVER COMES.
[00:08:46] AND I GUESS THAT DOESN'T REALLY QUITE GET IT IN THE SAME WAY WE,
[00:08:49] YOU KNOW, SO THANK YOU.
[00:08:51] I'M AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF COMMUNICATION AT BOSTON
[00:08:55] UNIVERSITY, AND I CAME TO THE STUDY OF FIRST LADIES THROUGH A
[00:08:59] KIND OF WINDING ROAD, STARTED WHEN I WENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF
[00:09:03] KANSAS AS A GRADUATE STUDENT. AND I WAS ASKED TO BE A RESEARCH
[00:09:08] ASSISTANT BY THE FLOWER PRESIDENT.
[00:09:10] NOT AT THAT TIME, BUT NOW DIANA
[00:09:12] KARLAN AND SO SHE GOT ME EXCITED
[00:09:14] AND INTERESTED IN STUDYING POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS AND
[00:09:18] POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING WHEN WE WERE DOING THE DEBATE.
[00:09:23] WATCH 1990S SIX PROJECT. AND FROM THERE ON I SORT OF BEEN
[00:09:26] BOUNCING AROUND STUDYING LOTS OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF CAMPAIGN
[00:09:29] THINGS AND WHEN I WAS WORKING ON MY FIRST SOLO AUTHORED BOOK
[00:09:33] ABOUT THE NATIONAL NOMINATING CONVENTIONS AND THE SPEECHES
[00:09:36] THAT ARE GIVEN THERE, I DID A CHAPTER ON THE SPOUSES SPEECH.
[00:09:40] THE FIRST LADY'S AND ALSO THE
[00:09:43] SPOUSES OF THE ALSO RANS, WHICH PEOPLE DON'T ALWAYS REMEMBER, BUT THEY ARE SUPER FASCINATING
[00:09:47] AS WELL. AND AND I REALIZED THERE'S THERE
[00:09:50] WAS NOT A LOT OF RESEARCH ABOUT
[00:09:53] HOW THE SPOUSES OF THE NOMINEES AND THE SPOUSES OF THE
[00:09:55] CANDIDATES, WHICH ALSO INCLUDED SITTING FIRST LADIES DURING
[00:09:58] REELECTION CAMPAIGN WINS. AND SO THAT LED ME TO MY SECOND
[00:10:02] BOOK, WHICH WAS ALL ABOUT THE
[00:10:04] WOMEN, THE THE FEMALES ACTUALLY,
[00:10:08] I CAN'T SAY THAT EITHER. THE SPOUSES OF THE NOMINEES, BECAUSE IT DID INCLUDE 2016.
[00:10:12] SO THERE WAS THE MALE SPOUSE IN THERE AS WELL.
[00:10:15] AND SO FROM THERE ON, I STARTED JUST WRITING MORE AND MORE,
[00:10:19] GETTING DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO THIS FASCINATION WITH FIRST LADIES.
[00:10:22] I WROTE A BOOK CALLED MELANIA AND MICHELLE FIRST LADIES IN A
[00:10:25] NEW ERA, AND NOW, FOR SOME
[00:10:29] REASON, I WRITE ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT CHAPTERS ABOUT MELANIA
[00:10:32] TRUMP AND OTHER FIRST LADY.
[00:10:34] SO I BRING THE INFORMATION INTO
[00:10:38] THE CLASSROOM IN MY POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS CLASS AND TRY TO
[00:10:42] INFECT THE STUDENTS WITH THE NEED TO KNOW MORE.
[00:10:45] SO THANK YOU AT EVERY ONE OF THE BREAKS.
[00:10:47] I THINK I'VE COMMENTED TO SOMEONE THAT THIS CONFERENCE HAS
[00:10:51] BEEN EXTRAORDINARY. THE FACT THAT SO MANY OF YOU ARE
[00:10:53] SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AND THE
[00:10:55] LEVEL OF QUESTIONING HAS BEEN SO
[00:10:57] DEEP AND INTERESTING AS A RESULT OF THAT.
[00:11:00] IT'S ONE BIG ROOM OF CONGRESS, AND YOU ALL KNOW ME AND MY
[00:11:04] ORIENTATION ABOUT GETTING PEOPLE INVOLVED. SO PREPARE YOURSELVES.
[00:11:07] I HAVE QUESTIONS, BUT I.
[00:11:09] I LIKE TO USE THEM RARELY BECAUSE FOR THIS SESSION, WE
[00:11:12] REALLY WANT TO WRAP UP BY HEARING WITH YOU ESTABLISHED A LOT OF THEMES.
[00:11:16] AND NOW WE HAVE A DIFFERENT GROUP OF FIRST LADIES TO APPLY THEM TO.
[00:11:19] AND I ALSO WOULD REALLY LIKE TO INVITE THE FOLKS WHO ARE
[00:11:22] WATCHING ON OUR STREAMING SERVICE. I'VE GOT MY PHONE HERE. I CAN READ YOUR QUESTIONS AS
[00:11:26] THEY COME IN. SO THIS IS YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY
[00:11:28] TO GET THAT QUESTION OUT TODAY. AS YOU'VE BEEN LISTENING TO ALL THIS, OUR PANELISTS HAVE
[00:11:32] ASSEMBLED THEMSELVES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THEIR FIRST LADIES.
[00:11:36] SO WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN WITH LIBBY AND DOLLEY MADISON. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
[00:11:40] AND I HAVE SOME SLIDES IF
[00:11:42] THEY'RE AVAILABLE.
[00:11:45] SEE WHEN DOLLEY JAMES MADISON
[00:11:49] MOVED TO WASHINGTON AND CITY,
[00:11:51] THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE OVER HERE, WHAT HAVE YOU.
[00:11:54] YOU COULD SEE ALL THE WAY FROM THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE, ALL THE
[00:11:57] WAY TO THE POTOMAC RIVER. AND THERE ISN'T A CAR IN SIGHT.
[00:12:01] IMAGINE THAT. SO IT REALLY WAS PRETTY BLEAK.
[00:12:04] WASHINGTON CITY WAS WHAT THEY
[00:12:07] CALLED STREETS WITH NO BUILDINGS
[00:12:10] AND BUILDINGS WITH NO STREETS. SO WHEN DOLLEY AND JAMES MOVED
[00:12:14] TO WASHINGTON CITY, THEIR ADDRESS WAS SIX BUILDINGS BECAUSE THEY LIVED WHERE THERE
[00:12:18] WERE SIX BUILDINGS TO GO.
[00:12:20] SO THIS IS WHAT DOLLEY WAS DEALING WITH.
[00:12:23] AND THERE WERE REALLY NO NO BUILDINGS FOR ANY OF THESE
[00:12:27] CONGRESSMEN TO LIVE WITH. SO NONE OF THEM COULD COULD BRING THEIR FAMILIES.
[00:12:31] SO THEY ALL LIVED IN THESE BOARDING HOUSES AND WITH THEIR
[00:12:34] ROOMMATE. AND THE ONLY WAY TO ESCAPE THE
[00:12:38] ESCAPE, YOUR ROOMMATE WAS PROBABLY TO GO TO THE OUTHOUSE.
[00:12:41] SO RIGHT AWAY, DOLLEY ENDED UP
[00:12:43] BECOMING A HOSTESS QUITE OFTEN
[00:12:45] FOR PRESIDENT JEFFERSON AND WHEN
[00:12:47] MADISON RAN FOR OFFICE AND ONE
[00:12:50] HIS OPPONENT, CHARLES PINCKNEY,
[00:12:52] SAID, I LOST TO MR. MRS. ADAMS. MR. MRS.
[00:12:56] MADISON, I WOULD HAVE STOOD A BETTER CHANCE HAD I RUN AGAINST
[00:12:58] MR. MADISON ALONE BECAUSE DOLLEY
[00:13:01] WAS SO INCREDIBLY POPULAR AND
[00:13:05] SHE CAME INTO THE PRESIDENT'S
[00:13:08] HOUSE AND FACED A VERY DAUNTING
[00:13:11] SITUATION WHERE THE COUNTRY WAS EXTREMELY DIVIDED.
[00:13:15] AND MOST PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT HOW DIVIDED THE FEDERALISTS
[00:13:18] WERE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICANS AT THAT POINT.
[00:13:21] AND DOLLEY WAS DETERMINED TO FIND A SOLUTION.
[00:13:25] NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
[00:13:27] SO SHE BASICALLY FORCED HENRY
[00:13:30] CLAY AND CONGRESS TO GIVE HER
[00:13:32] MONEY TO REDECORATE THE FRONT
[00:13:35] ROOMS OF THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE, WHICH BASICALLY HAD NEVER BEEN
[00:13:38] DECORATED THERE. ADAMS LIVED THERE FOR ONLY THREE MONTHS AT THE END OF HIS
[00:13:43] PRESIDENCY, JEFFERSON NEVER ENTERTAINED.
[00:13:45] HE HAD THE ENTIRE HOUSE
[00:13:47] DECORATED WITH ARTIFACTS FROM
[00:13:50] THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION. THOSE WERE GONE.
[00:13:52] SO IT BASICALLY THE ONLY THING THAT WAS LEFT IN THE WHITE HOUSE
[00:13:56] OF ANY VALUE WAS THE PORTRAIT OF
[00:13:58] GENERAL WASHINGTON, THE LIFE SIZE PORTRAIT.
[00:14:02] SO DOLLEY CALLS IN HENRY CLAY
[00:14:06] AND AND THE THIRD RANKING
[00:14:09] MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND BASICALLY SHAMED THEM INTO
[00:14:13] GIVING HER MONEY SO THAT SHE CAN DECORATE THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE.
[00:14:17] AND SHE COMES IN UNDER BUDGET
[00:14:19] WITH THIS LOVELY, LOVELY SETTING
[00:14:22] WHERE ABIGAIL ADAMS SAID ONCE
[00:14:24] HUNG HER LAUNDRY OUT TO DRY AND
[00:14:28] SHE INVITED EVERYONE AND AT FIRST THE FEDERALISTS WHO HATED
[00:14:32] JAMES MADISON WANTED NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.
[00:14:34] AND THEN THEY REALIZED FREE
[00:14:38] FOOD, FREE DRINK AND I CAN GET OUT OF MY BOARDING HOUSE AND
[00:14:42] AWAY FROM MY ROOMMATE. SO EVERY BUDDY CAME.
[00:14:44] EVERYONE IN WASHINGTON CITY CAME
[00:14:46] BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE
[00:14:48] TO DO AND THERE WAS ALCOHOL AND THERE WAS A BAN.
[00:14:52] AND SHE ALWAYS SAID, IF YOU TREAT PEOPLE WELL, THEY WILL BEHAVE WELL.
[00:14:56] SO THIS WAS A HUGE RISK BECAUSE
[00:14:58] THIS WAS THE TIME OF DUELS AND
[00:15:01] ALREADY THE BRITISH AND AND THE
[00:15:03] FRENCH DIDN'T TAKE US SERIOUSLY. YOU KNOW, THEY HAD BUCKINGHAM
[00:15:07] PALACE AND THEY HAD BACI AND WE
[00:15:09] HAD THIS PATHETIC BUILDING THAT REALLY WASN'T EVEN COMPLETE. IT.
[00:15:13] SO SHE DECIDED THAT SHE WOULD
[00:15:16] CREATE WHAT WAS CALLED A CHARM
[00:15:18] OFFENSIVE AND CREATE A SENSE OF
[00:15:21] AMERICAN IDENTITY.
[00:15:23] SO WHAT WHAT I HAD TO DO TO WRAP
[00:15:27] MY HEAD AROUND THIS IS REALIZING THAT GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THEIR
[00:15:31] ONLY BEEN INAUGURATED 20 YEARS EARLIER.
[00:15:33] SO LET'S SAY THAT OUR COUNTRY
[00:15:36] BEGAN IN 2006, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN GEORGE W BUSH'S SECOND
[00:15:40] TERM, AND THAT'S WHEN OUR COUNTRY BEGAN.
[00:15:44] SO IT WAS SO NEW, SO FRESH.
[00:15:47] WE HAD WON THE CONTEST, BUT WE DIDN'T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO DO
[00:15:51] WITH THE PRIZE. SO SHE STARTED ESTABLISHING ALL
[00:15:54] THESE TRADITIONS AND HER FIRST WAS THESE SHE CALLED THEM DOLLEY
[00:15:59] MADISON TO WEDNESDAY NIGHTS. AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE PRESS
[00:16:01] EARLIER, THE PRESS, HER FRIEND
[00:16:05] WAS VERY CONVENIENTLY MARGARET
[00:16:07] BAYARD SMITH WAS RUNNING THE
[00:16:10] NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE OR WHO WAS
[00:16:12] HER FRIEND, ADVERTISED THE
[00:16:15] EVENTS AND EVERYONE WAS THERE.
[00:16:17] AND EVERY EVERY WEEK MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WOULD COME IN TO THE
[00:16:19] POINT WHERE EVERYONE WOULD SQUEEZE IN AND THEN EVERYONE
[00:16:23] JUST STARTED TO CALL THEM SQUEEZES OR JAMS AND WHAT WAS
[00:16:27] NOVEL IS THAT THE WOMEN WERE INVITED.
[00:16:29] THE CHAUFFEURS WERE INVITED, YOU KNOW, THE COACHMEN, NO MATTER
[00:16:33] WHO YOU WERE, YOU WERE INVITED
[00:16:35] TO COME IN AND BECAUSE IT WAS THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE AND IT
[00:16:40] BELONGED TO EVERYONE. AND THAT WAS LIKE A HUGE MIND
[00:16:43] BLOWING CONCEPT IN THIS AGE OF
[00:16:46] OF, YOU KNOW, OF DEMOCRACY BEING
[00:16:51] SUCH A NEW THING. AND PEOPLE WERE ONLY USED TO ROYALTY.
[00:16:53] SO PEOPLE CALLED HER QUEEN DOLLY, BUT SHE DIDN'T WANT TO BE QUEEN DOLLY.
[00:16:57] THAT'S WHY SHE STARTED WEARING PEARLS. SO SHE'S THE ONE THAT STARTED
[00:17:00] THE WHOLE AMERICAN PHENOMENON. AND SO SHE WAS JUST A MASTERMIND, A SYMBOL ISM AND OF
[00:17:06] KINDNESS. SHE WAS BROUGHT UP AS A QUAKER
[00:17:08] AND SHE WAS AND BASICALLY
[00:17:11] REMOVED FROM THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BE HER
[00:17:14] FRIEND ANYMORE AFTER SHE MARRIED A NON QUAKER.
[00:17:17] BUT THAT KINDNESS THAT WAS
[00:17:19] EMBEDDED, EMBEDDED IN HER AS A
[00:17:22] CHILD THAT THEY BELIEVED THAT
[00:17:24] EVERY PERSON HAS AN INNER LIGHT.
[00:17:27] AND WHEN I WAS WRITING THE NOVEL
[00:17:29] ABOUT HER, I AND PEOPLE WOULD
[00:17:31] COME TO THESE SQUEEZES AND THEY WOULD SAY NASTY THINGS ABOUT HER
[00:17:35] AND NASTY THINGS ABOUT HER HUSBAND. AND SHE WOULD ALWAYS RISE ABOVE
[00:17:39] AND IT REALLY, YOU KNOW, I TRIED
[00:17:41] TO MAKE A JOKE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I'M REALLY TRYING TO FIND THIS
[00:17:45] PERSON'S INNER LIGHT. I'M TRYING HERE. BUT I DON'T SEE IT.
[00:17:48] BUT SHE WOULD BASICALLY KILL
[00:17:50] THEM WITH KINDNESS.
[00:17:52] AND THAT'S HOW SHE DEALT WITH
[00:17:55] THE THE OPPOSING PARTY OF HER HUSBAND.
[00:17:58] SHE WOULD HAVE THESE DOVE PARTIES AND SHE WOULD INVITE ALL
[00:18:02] THESE SPOUSES OVER AND SHE WOULD GIVE THEM GOOD FOOD AND GIVE
[00:18:05] THEM GOOD DRINK AND PUT THEM IN A GOOD MOOD.
[00:18:08] AND THEN SHE'D EXPLAIN HER HUSBAND'S POLICIES AND WHY HE
[00:18:12] BELIEVED WHAT HE DID. AND THEN IN HOPES THAT THEY WOULD GO HOME AND TELL THEIR
[00:18:16] HUSBANDS AND CONVINCE THEM TO COME ON OVER TO MADISON SIDE.
[00:18:19] SO SHE USED WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, THIS SOFT DIPLOMACY.
[00:18:23] AND IT WAS GENIUS. SHE REALLY WAS A SOCIAL GENIUS.
[00:18:26] AND THE REAL REASON SHE WAS HAVING THESE SQUEEZES WAS TO
[00:18:30] ADVANCE HER HUSBAND'S AGENDA.
[00:18:33] SO SHE WOULD ASK HIM BEFORE THE
[00:18:36] EVENT, WHO DO YOU WANT TO TALK TO? WHO DO YOU WANT ME TO BRING OVER
[00:18:40] TO YOU? AND HE'D SAY, HENRY CLAY, I WANT DANIEL WEBSTER.
[00:18:43] AND MADISON WAS FIVE FOOT, 400
[00:18:47] POUNDS SOAKING WET. AND HE'D BE IN THE CORNER
[00:18:50] WEARING HIS REVOLUTIONARY WAR STYLE BREACHES.
[00:18:54] ALWAYS WORE BLACK, ONLY HAD ONE SUIT, AND DOLLEY WAS THE BELLE OF THE BALL.
[00:18:58] SHE HAD THESE AMAZING OUTFITS AND THESE TURBANS THAT, YOU
[00:19:01] KNOW, WENT UP TO HERE WITH FEATHERS MATCHING HER OUTFIT.
[00:19:05] AND WHAT IS SO NEAT, THIS
[00:19:09] HISTORY NUGGET THAT I FOUND IS PART OF THE REASON SHE BOUGHT
[00:19:12] THOSE OUTFITS WAS SO THAT MADISON COULD FIND HER BECAUSE
[00:19:15] SHE COULDN'T FIND HIM BECAUSE HE WAS SO TINY AND HE WAS VERY
[00:19:20] HAPPY. OFF IN THE CORNER, IN THE DARK.
[00:19:22] BUT IF SHE SAW PEOPLE ARGUING OR
[00:19:24] GETTING UPSET WITH EACH OTHER, SHE WOULD JUST SEND OVER MORE
[00:19:27] CAKE OR SHE WOULD SEND OVER A DRINK OR SHE WOULD GO OVER AND
[00:19:30] INQUIRE, HOW IS YOUR GRANDSON? AND I HEARD THAT, YOU KNOW, HE'S
[00:19:33] NOT FARING WELL AND JUST AMAZING.
[00:19:37] AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES ABOUT HER IS THERE WAS KIND OF A
[00:19:41] LONG, YOUNG LUMBERJACK MAN,
[00:19:44] YOUNG MAN WHO CAME IN AND IN
[00:19:46] WEARING GREASY BOOTS, I DON'T KNOW HOW HIS BOOTS GOT GREASY,
[00:19:49] BUT THAT'S HOW THEY WERE DESCRIBED. BUT HE WAS OFF IN THE CORNER AND
[00:19:53] SHE NOTICED THAT HE WAS ALONE AND LOOKED A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE.
[00:19:57] AND HER SERVANT WAS GOING AROUND HANDING OUT COFFEE.
[00:20:01] SO HE HAD JUST GOTTEN A CUP OF COFFEE. SO SHE WANDERED OVER AND TO SAY
[00:20:04] HELLO TO HIM.
[00:20:05] AND HE WAS SO JUST LIKE FREAKED
[00:20:09] OUT THAT DOLLEY MADISON WAS COMING UP TO HIM, THAT HE
[00:20:12] DROPPED THE COFFEE ONTO THE
[00:20:14] FLOOR AND HE HE SLID THE SOFT
[00:20:20] SAW INTO HIS POCKET AND. AND SHE SAID, OH, I'M SO SORRY.
[00:20:23] I JOSTLED YOU. YOU KNOW, IT'S IT'S, YOU KNOW,
[00:20:26] IT'S. IT'S SO CROWDED IN HERE. I'M SO SORRY. AND SHE DIDN'T JOSTLE AT ALL.
[00:20:30] AND THEN SHE SAID, I BELIEVE I MET YOUR MOTHER. YOU KNOW, I SPENT, YOU KNOW,
[00:20:34] SEVERAL YEARS AGO. AND HE SAID, OH, YES, MY MOTHER, YOU KNOW, STILL TALKS ABOUT THAT
[00:20:38] AND HOW SHE MET YOU.
[00:20:41] AND IT JUST, YOU KNOW, AND HE JUST LIT UP AND FELT SO
[00:20:45] COMFORTABLE. BUT SHE DID THAT REALLY WITH EVERYONE. AND EVERY YOU KNOW, EVERY PERSON
[00:20:50] WAS VALUABLE TO HER. AND EVERYONE LOVED HER.
[00:20:52] EVERYONE LOVED DOLLY MADISON. LIBBY, I'M GOING TO JUMP IN JUST
[00:20:56] SO WE HAVE ABOUT TEN MINUTES FOR EACH PERSON. SO WE'RE GOING TO GO MIND IF WE
[00:21:00] GO DOWN TO YOUR QUESTION. OKAY. JADA, YOU ARE AN EXPERT ON
[00:21:03] LOUISA KATHERINE ADAMS, WHO YOU
[00:21:06] CALL EXTRAORDINARY, A WELL-TRAVELED FIRST LADY.
[00:21:09] SO WHAT'S YOUR STORY FOR THE AUDIENCE? YES. SO WE CAN GO TO MY FIRST SLIDE HERE.
[00:21:13] YES. I CALL HER A WELL-TRAVELED FIRST LADY. AND SHE HAS SUCH AN
[00:21:18] EXTRAORDINAIRE IN LIFE. BUT REALLY, UNLESS YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW ABOUT HER, BECAUSE
[00:21:21] SHE I CALL HER THE OTHER MRS. ADAMS, BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS HEAR
[00:21:25] ABOUT ABIGAIL, HER MOTHER IN LAW. BUT YOU NEVER REALLY HEAR ABOUT BEAUTIFUL LOUISA HERE.
[00:21:28] AND SHE WAS OUR FIRST FOREIGN BORN FIRST LADY, SO SHE WAS ACTUALLY BORN IN ENGLAND TO AN
[00:21:33] AMERICAN FATHER AND A BRITISH MOTHER IN 1775, JUST A FEW
[00:21:37] MONTHS BEFORE THE SHOT, HER ROUND THE WORLD TOOK PLACE.
[00:21:39] SO SHE'S BORN INTO THIS LONDON
[00:21:43] SOCIETY, BUT SHE'S HALF AMERICAN, AND SO SHE ALWAYS
[00:21:46] CONSIDERS IS CONSIDERED AMERICAN.
[00:21:49] AND SHE'S THE FIRST TO WRITE HER MEMOIRS. AND SO WE HAVE A LOT OF HER WRITINGS IN HER OWN WORDS, WHICH
[00:21:52] I THINK IS SO INSPIRING WHEN YOU'RE TELLING SOMEONE STORY TO HAVE THEIR OWN WORDS, JUST TO
[00:21:58] TALK ABOUT. AND TODAY I'M JUST GOING TO TALK ABOUT HER FIRST 40 YEARS WHERE
[00:22:01] SHE WAS, AND SHE HAD EXTRAORDINARY TRAVEL.
[00:22:04] SHE WAS OUR FIRST TRUE REAL DIPLOMATIC WIFE OR JOHN QUINCY.
[00:22:07] AND TO BE CONSIDERED ONE OF THE
[00:22:09] MOST WELL-TRAVELED FIRST LADIES OUTSIDE OF THE MODERN ERA OF
[00:22:13] PLANES AND TRAINS. AND SO HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAVE NEVER REALLY BEEN TRULY
[00:22:18] CELEBRATED. AND SO I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THOSE TODAY.
[00:22:20] I'M HER FATHER, JOSHUA JOHNSON WAS FROM MARYLAND. HE'S OVER IN LONDON.
[00:22:24] HE HAS A FAMILY. AND THE REVOLUTION BREAKS OUT.
[00:22:28] SO HE TAKES HIS FAMILY TO FRANCE AND LITTLE LOUISA IS TAKEN TO
[00:22:30] FRANCE WITH THEIR OLDER SISTER AND HER MOTHER AND FATHER.
[00:22:34] THEY LIVE IN FRANCE AND SHE GOES TO A CATHOLIC SCHOOL THAT'S HELD
[00:22:38] UPSTAIRS IN IN HER HOME.
[00:22:40] AND HER FATHER IS A TRUE PATRIOT. AND SO HE HOSTED A LOT OF
[00:22:43] AMERICAN DIGNITARIES WHILE THEY'RE IN FRANCE.
[00:22:45] AND SO SHE AND JOHN ADAMS COMES
[00:22:49] TO HIS THEIR HOME ALONG WITH HIS LITTLE 12 YEAR OLD SON, JOHN QUINCY.
[00:22:52] SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROOF THAT THEY MET, BUT WE ARE HOPEFUL
[00:22:55] THEY AT LEAST CAUGHT A GLIMPSE OF EACH OTHER. SHE'S ONLY FOUR, SO SHE PROBABLY
[00:22:59] DOESN'T REMEMBER HIM. AND THEY COME BACK TO ENGLAND
[00:23:03] AFTER THE END OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. AND SHE REALLY STANDS OUT FROM
[00:23:05] HER CLASSMATES IN HER IN HER SCHOOLING BECAUSE SHE'S VERY A
[00:23:09] RUSTIC CRADDICK. SHE HAS THIS BEAUTIFUL, REGAL BEARING, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE.
[00:23:12] SHE'S JUST VERY CHARMING. BUT THEY NICKNAME HER MRS. MISS
[00:23:16] HARTY OR THE DUCHESS IS WHAT SHE'S CALLED BY HER FAMILY.
[00:23:20] AND THEY LIVE IN TOWER HILL,
[00:23:22] NEAR THE TOWER OF LONDON IN THIS BEAUTIFUL TOWN HOME.
[00:23:24] AND IT REALLY BECOMES THE CENTER
[00:23:26] OF AMERICAN SOCIETY IN LONDON. HER FATHER IS THE AMERICAN ENVOY.
[00:23:30] THEY ARE AMERICAN CONSUL THERE. AND SO SHE AND HER TWO OLDER,
[00:23:34] HER SISTER ON EITHER SIDE OF HER, SHE'S THE SECOND.
[00:23:37] THEY KIND OF I LIKE TO CALL THEM THE SCHUYLER SISTERS OF LONDON,
[00:23:40] BECAUSE THEY'RE THESE AMERICAN
[00:23:43] BEAUTIFUL GIRLS IN LONDON AND
[00:23:45] ALL OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING TO LONDON AFTER THE WAR.
[00:23:49] THEY COME THERE. AND SO HER FATHER, THOUGH, HOWEVER, HAS ONE REQUEST FOR HER CEDARS.
[00:23:53] YOU CAN ONLY MARRY AN AMERICAN. SO WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
[00:23:57] YOU'LL SEE ONE OF THOSE AMERICAN
[00:23:59] SUITORS WAS ABOUT THE CURRENT VICE PRESIDENT'S SON, JOHN
[00:24:02] QUINCY ADAMS, AND HE MEETS HER AT HER HOME IN ON TOWER HILL IN
[00:24:07] LONDON. AT A PARTY HE COMES TO A PARTY
[00:24:10] WITH HIS FRIEND JOHN TRUMBULL.
[00:24:12] AND THEY THEY MEET AND HE'S INSTANTLY CAPTIVATED BY THESE
[00:24:16] THREE SISTERS. BUT REALLY, LOUISA, WHO STANDS OUT TO HIM WITH THIS BEAUTIFUL
[00:24:20] VOICE, SHE PLAYS THE HARP. SHE'S VERY MUSICAL AND SHE'S
[00:24:23] VERY CHARMING. SHE LOVES TO READ.
[00:24:25] SO I THINK THAT REALLY ATTRACTED JOHN QUINCY TO AND THEY ATTEND
[00:24:29] PLAYS IN BARS AROUND LONDON, AND THEY HAVE A VERY TUMULTUOUS
[00:24:33] COURTSHIP. HOWEVER, JOHN QUINCY IS A LITTLE SEVERE AND LOUISA IS A LITTLE
[00:24:37] SENSITIVE. SO THAT'S A LITTLE CAN BE A LITTLE TROUBLE. BUT ALSO, THEY THINK HE'S IN
[00:24:40] LOVE WITH HER SISTER. AND SO WE HAVE THIS THIS WEIRD
[00:24:46] SITUATION WHERE THEY THINK THAT EVERYONE IN HER FAMILY THINKS HE'S COURTING THE OLDEST SISTER.
[00:24:50] NOPE. HE WANTS LOUISE. SO ONCE HE FINALLY MAKES HIS HIS
[00:24:53] HIS LOVE FOR HER, NOW,
[00:24:55] EVENTUALLY THEY MARRY IN 1797,
[00:24:57] IN LONDON AND ALL HALLOWS BY THE
[00:25:01] TOWER IS WHAT IT'S CALLED NOW. IT'S THIS BEAUTIFUL CHURCH. IT'S THE OLDEST CHURCH IN THE
[00:25:04] CITY OF LONDON, AND IT'S RIGHT NEAR THE TOWER OF LONDON.
[00:25:08] AND I WALKED DOWN THE AISLE. YOU CAN GO SEE THEIR WEDDING
[00:25:10] REGISTRY THERE, WHICH IS SO NEAT TO SEE HER SAY HER ACTUAL
[00:25:14] SIGNATURE IN JOHN QUINCY SIGNATURE. SO I'M HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT.
[00:25:18] AND THEN THEY'RE IMMEDIATELY SENT TO BERLIN. SO HE BECOMES MINISTER TO
[00:25:22] PRESSURE FOR HIS FATHER'S ADMINISTRATION. AND SO THEY MOVE INTO AN APARTMENT AT THE BRANDENBURG
[00:25:26] GATE AND THEY ATTEND LAVISH
[00:25:29] BALLS IN THE PRUSSIAN COURT.
[00:25:31] AND THIS IS HER ARISTOCRAT
[00:25:33] CREDIT UPBRINGING AND HER
[00:25:35] BEAUTIFUL CLOTHES WAITED TO ENTERTAIN.
[00:25:38] IS IT REALLY ADVANTAGEOUS TO JOHN QUINCY BECAUSE HE HAS A
[00:25:41] VERY SEVERE DEMEANOR, AS WE ALL
[00:25:43] KNOW, VERY PURITAN AND A GIRL GROWING UP IN NEW ENGLAND.
[00:25:46] AND SO SHE REALLY BRINGS THIS EUROPEAN CULTURE TO HIM.
[00:25:50] AND AND REALLY HELPS HIM IN HIS
[00:25:52] DIPLOMATIC POST. SO SHE DAZZLES THE PRUSSIAN
[00:25:56] COURT AND USES THEIR MEAGER BUDGET THAT THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT GIVES THEM.
[00:25:59] SHE TRIES TO REPURPOSE GOWNS AS MUCH AS SHE CAN, SO IT DOESN'T
[00:26:03] LOOK LIKE SHE'S WEARING THE SAME THING. AND HER SHE BECOMES EXTREMELY
[00:26:07] GOOD FRIENDS WITH QUEEN LOUISE, WHO'S THE QUEEN OF PRUSSIA, AND
[00:26:10] QUEEN LOUISE IS THIS BEAUTIFUL
[00:26:12] FIGURE EVERYONE LOVES HER IN THAT COUNTRY IS A SHE LOVES
[00:26:16] LOUISA AND SHE EVEN NOTICES WHEN LOUISA, UNFORTUNATELY, IS
[00:26:19] UNDERGOING SEVERAL MISCARRIAGES. AT THIS TIME.
[00:26:21] WE THINK SHE WAS PREGNANT, MAYBE
[00:26:24] AN ESTIMATED 14 TIMES WITH ONLY FOUR LIVE BIRTHS. SO SHE'S UNDERGOING THIS
[00:26:28] EXTREMELY STRESSFUL TIME WHILE SHE'S IN PRUSSIA.
[00:26:31] AND QUEEN LOUISE IS LIKE, YOU LOOK A LITTLE PALE. AND SHE SENT HER A LITTLE RUDE.
[00:26:34] WELL, JOHN QUINCY WAS NOT VERY HAPPY ABOUT THIS, TOOK HER AND
[00:26:38] TOOK IT OFF FOR HIMSELF FROM HER FACE.
[00:26:41] SO BUT SHE, LIKE SHE IS SUCH A HAS SUCH A BALL IN RUSSIA.
[00:26:45] SHE FINALLY HAS A SON. RIGHT. I'M PRESS. I'M SORRY.
[00:26:48] RIGHT BEFORE THEY LEAVE PRUSSIA, SHE HAS LITTLE GEORGE WASHINGTON
[00:26:52] ADAMS. AND SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT NAME
[00:26:54] DOESN'T FLY OVER VERY WELL WITH ABIGAIL WHEN THEY GET HOME.
[00:26:58] BUT THIS IS IN 1801. AND SO SHE LEAVES BERLIN JUST
[00:27:01] TWO MONTHS LATER WITH A NEW BABY. SHE'S PARTIALLY PARALYZED IN THE
[00:27:05] BIRTH AND THEY PUT HER ON A SHIP TO AMERICA.
[00:27:08] SO SHE STEPS ONTO AMERICAN SOIL FOR THE FIRST TIME AS A 26 YEAR OLD.
[00:27:13] NEW MOTHER. SO HER FIRST 26 YEARS HAVE BEEN SPENT OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY AND
[00:27:16] SHE COMES TO AMERICA, THIS NEW COUNTRY, AND IS FORCED TO BECOME
[00:27:20] A NEW ENGLAND HOUSEWIFE. WELL, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING SHE HAS BEEN PREPARED TO DO.
[00:27:24] SHE'S GROWN UP IN THIS
[00:27:26] BEAUTIFUL, REGAL SETTING AND IT DOESN'T COME NATURALLY TO HER TO
[00:27:30] MILK COWS LIKE ABIGAIL INSISTS THAT SHE DOES.
[00:27:32] HER MOTHER HAD TAUGHT HER HOW TO ENTERTAIN IN GRAND DRAWING
[00:27:36] ROOMS, NOT THIS FRUGAL NORTH. NEW ENGLAND LIFESTYLE.
[00:27:39] BUT SHE DOES HAVE TWO MORE SENSE WHILE THEY'RE HERE.
[00:27:43] JOHN ADAMS, SECOND AND LITTLE SON, CHARLES FRANCIS.
[00:27:45] AND THEY'RE TRAVELING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND THE
[00:27:49] END BOSTON AT THIS TIME FOR JOHN QUINCY SENATE SERVICE.
[00:27:52] BUT THEN IF WE CAN GET TO THE
[00:27:54] NET, THE LAST SLIDE IN 1901, SHE
[00:27:57] GETS TO TO VISIT HER AND EUROPEAN ROOTS AGAIN WHEN THEY
[00:28:01] JOHN QUINCY ACCEPTS AN APPOINTMENT AS MINISTER TO
[00:28:04] RUSSIA AND IN THE JAMES MADISON
[00:28:06] ADMINISTRATION IN THIS IS IN 1809.
[00:28:09] AND HE DOES NOT CONSULT LOUISA BEFORE ACCEPTING THIS APPOINTMENT.
[00:28:12] SO SHE IS TOLD YOUR TAKE IT
[00:28:14] YOU'RE GOING TO PACK OUR BAGS. WE'RE GOING TO WRITE TO RUSSIA
[00:28:18] AND HE ALLOWS HER TO TAKE THE TWO YEAR OLD CHARLES FRANCIS.
[00:28:21] BUT UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN HE AND ABIGAIL KIND OF CONSPIRE AGAINST
[00:28:25] LOUISE. AND SO I HAVE A LITTLE GRUDGE AGAINST THEM FOR THIS, THEY KEEP THE TWO OLDER BOYS IN
[00:28:30] MASSACHUSETTS, KIDS. THEY'RE EIGHT AND SIX YEARS OLD, AND LOUISA DOESN'T SEE THEM FOR
[00:28:34] SIX YEARS. AND THIS IS TRULY THE HEARTBREAK OF HER LIFE.
[00:28:38] SHE POINTS TO THIS MULTIPLE TIMES IN HER PAST, IN HER LATER
[00:28:42] YEARS. THIS IS THE TRUE BREAK.
[00:28:44] SHE REALLY FELT RESPONSIBLE FOR HOW THEY TURNED OUT.
[00:28:47] AND SHE ALWAYS POINTS BACK TO THIS AND SHE BLAMES JOHN QUINCY A LOT FOR THIS.
[00:28:51] SO SHE GOES TO RUSSIA ON THIS AMAZING TRIP WITH THIS TWO YEAR OLD SON.
[00:28:54] AND I KEEP THINKING, AS A MOTHER, HOW DO YOU TAKE A TWO
[00:28:57] YEAR OLD ON A SHIP TO RUSSIA AS YOU'RE TRYING TO BE?
[00:28:59] WINTER IN ICE SETTING IN? BUT THEY THEY TRAVEL THROUGH THE
[00:29:03] NORTH SEA IN THE BALTIC SEA, AROUND THE WARRING SHIPS OF
[00:29:07] ENGLAND AND DENMARK, AND THEY FINALLY MAKE IT TO RUSSIA, TO
[00:29:10] THE GRAND RUSSIAN COURT. SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE CZAR
[00:29:14] AND ALL OF THE OPULENCE OF RUSSIA, THAT IS WHAT SHE'S
[00:29:16] WALKING INTO. BUT SHE IS THE PERFECT PERSON TO
[00:29:20] BE JOHN QUINCY'S SPOUSE HERE BECAUSE SHE IS PROBABLY THE ONLY
[00:29:24] WOMAN IN AMERICA WHO COULD HANDLE THIS.
[00:29:25] SHE GREW UP AND USED TO THIS TYPE OF LIFESTYLE.
[00:29:29] SO SHE SO SHE BECOMES A BIG PART
[00:29:33] OF THE CZAR'S COURT THERE. AND YOU CAN SEE A BEAUTIFUL DRESS.
[00:29:37] SHE SHE DRESS BEAUTIFULLY. THIS IS FROM A FEW YEARS AFTER
[00:29:39] THEIR RUSSIA ADVENTURE. BUT I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS SO
[00:29:43] INDICATIVE OF HOW BEAUTIFUL AND
[00:29:44] REGAL AND JUST CHARMING SHE WAS.
[00:29:47] AND SHE'S AT IT. PARTIES ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT.
[00:29:50] THEY THEY DON'T BELIEVE IN YOU KNOW, THEY START THE PARTY SUPER LATE.
[00:29:53] SO SHE'S OUT ALL HOURS IN THE VERY DECADENT COURT LIFE.
[00:29:56] AND EVEN LITTLE CHARLES FRANCIS GETS INVOLVED IN THE BALLS. THEY TAKE HIM TO BALLS, THEY
[00:30:00] DRESS HIM UP. AT ONE POINT, HE REPRESENTS AMERICA AS A NATIVE AMERICAN AT
[00:30:03] THE BALL. AND SO SHE'S VERY SUCCESSFUL FOR
[00:30:07] JOHN QUINCY IN THE BALLROOM BECAUSE HE WAS CALLED THE MUTE
[00:30:10] OF SUBURBIA HERE BY THE OTHER
[00:30:14] RUSSIAN AMBASSADORS THERE. AND SHE SMOOTHED OVER ANY
[00:30:18] RUFFLED FEATHERS AND SHE REALLY JUST WAS HIS AND HELPED ME IN
[00:30:22] EVERY WAY POSSIBLE. BUT HE NEVER REALLY, TRULY RECOGNIZED THIS.
[00:30:25] I DON'T BELIEVE HE NEVER REALLY SAW HER.
[00:30:29] WHAT SHE WAS DOING AS HELPFUL
[00:30:31] AND DIDN'T REALIZE HOW VALUABLE HER DIPLOMATIC SKILLS WERE
[00:30:34] HELPING HIM. AND THEY HAVE ANOTHER BABY WHILE THEY'RE THERE IN 1811.
[00:30:38] SO SHE HAS A DARLING LITTLE DAUGHTER, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, SHE
[00:30:40] ACTUALLY PASSES AWAY JUST A YEAR LATER.
[00:30:42] SO LOUISE IS IN RUSSIA AND WITH
[00:30:46] GRIEVING, THIS IS TRULY THE THE WORST TIME FOR LIFE.
[00:30:50] BUT THEN, CHARLES, JOHN QUINCY IS SENT TO BELGIUM FOR THE
[00:30:54] TREATY FOR THE WAR OF 1812 AND
[00:30:56] LEAVES LOUISA IN. THE LITTLE SIX YEAR OLD CHARLES
[00:31:00] FANCIES ALONE IN RUSSIA WHILE HE GOES TO BELGIUM.
[00:31:03] SO SHE HAS A GREAT TIME.
[00:31:05] SHE LOVES TO REACH. SHE DOESN'T FEEL ANY OBLIGATION
[00:31:08] TO DO ANYTHING SHE DOESN'T WANT TO DO.
[00:31:10] SHE TAKES CHARLES WHEN CHARLES FRANCIS TO ALL THE BARS AND THAT
[00:31:14] SHE WANTS TO AND SHE THEY HAVE A GOOD TIME.
[00:31:16] BUT ALL THE THINGS HAVE TO COME TO AN END.
[00:31:19] SO IN 1815, ON HER 40TH BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN'T MAKE THAT UP ON
[00:31:22] HER 40TH BIRTHDAY, SHE AND CHARLES FRANCIS LEAVE ST
[00:31:27] PETERSBURG, RUSSIA IN A CARRIAGE SIMILAR TO WHAT WE SEE HERE WITH
[00:31:30] A NURSEMAID AND TWO PROTECTORS. AND THEY TRAVEL TO THOUSAND
[00:31:34] MILES OVER THE FROZEN TUNDRA,
[00:31:37] THE WHEELS OVER THE FROZEN TUNDRA WERE MADE INTO LIKE
[00:31:40] SLEIGH WHEELS, SLEIGH RUNNERS. BUT THEN THEY PUT THE WHEELS
[00:31:43] BACK ON THEM, TAKES THEM 40 DAYS TO REACH TO REACH PARIS.
[00:31:46] AND THIS TAKES YOU THROUGH
[00:31:49] MODERN DAY COUNTRIES LIKE LATVIA, LITHUANIA, POLAND,
[00:31:51] GERMANY AND FRANCE. AND I DON'T THINK I WOULD DO
[00:31:55] THAT TODAY IN MY HOME, IN A CAR OR TRAIN, BUT I CAN'T IMAGINE
[00:31:58] DOING IT WITH THOSE SEVEN YEAR OLD SON IN IN A CARRIAGE LIKE
[00:32:03] THAT. SO THEY ENCOUNTER POTENTIAL
[00:32:05] ROBBERS IN DANGEROUS TERRAIN, DIRTY ENDS AND EDIBLE FOOD, ALL
[00:32:09] WHILE KEEPING HER SEVEN YEAR OLD SON OCCUPIED. AND SHE GETS TO VISIT BERLIN
[00:32:13] AGAIN, WHICH IS A REALLY HIGH POINT OF THEIR TRIP. ALTHOUGH QUEEN LOUISE HAS
[00:32:17] ALREADY DIED. WHEN THEY GET WHEN THEY GET THERE.
[00:32:20] AND GUESS WHAT ELSE HAPPENS?
[00:32:22] IF THIS ISN'T AS FANTASTIC AN F AS YOU THINK.
[00:32:25] AND NICOLE AND DECIDES THIS IS THE TIME TO COME BACK FROM ELBA.
[00:32:29] SO WHILE LOUISA IS TRAVELING ACROSS EUROPE, SHE'S TRYING TO
[00:32:33] RAISE NAPOLEON BACK TO PARIS.
[00:32:36] SO SHE IS SUCCESSFUL, BUT SHE IS
[00:32:38] SO SMART AND SO AND KNOWS WHAT TO DO. I MEAN, I'M SURE SHE WAS
[00:32:42] TERRIFIED. IF YOU READ HER ACCOUNTS, I MEAN, IT WAS A VERY TRYING TRIP.
[00:32:45] BUT SHE YELLS, VIVA NAPOLEON. AND AT THE THE CARRIAGE.
[00:32:49] SO THEY PROTECT HER. SHE'S PROTECTED ALONG THE WAY.
[00:32:52] AND THEN SHE'S REUNITED WITH HER FAMILY. AND THE NEXT TWO YEARS ARE
[00:32:55] ACTUALLY THE HAPPIEST OF HER LIFE. THEY LIVE IN ENGLAND.
[00:32:58] JOHN QUINCY IS MADE MINISTER TO ENGLAND, BUT THERE'S NOT A LOT
[00:33:02] FOR HIM TO DO THERE. THEY DON'T REALLY STILL LIKE AMERICANS VERY MUCH.
[00:33:06] THERE. AND SO THEY'RE NOT REALLY THEY GO TO BUT NOT VERY OFTEN.
[00:33:09] AND SHE HAS HER ALL HER BOYS WITH HER. THEY BRING THE TWO OLDER BOYS BACK.
[00:33:12] AND SO IT'S REALLY, TRULY THE HAPPIEST TIME OF HER LIFE.
[00:33:16] AND SO AFTER THAT, SHE'S 42.
[00:33:19] THEY COME BACK TO AMERICA AND THAT ENDS HER BIG EUROPEAN
[00:33:23] ADVENTURES. SO FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE, THEY REALLY JUST TRAVEL BETWEEN
[00:33:26] BOSTON AND WASHINGTON IN HER ENTERTAINING SKILLS. HELPED JOHN QUINCY ACHIEVE THE
[00:33:29] WHITE HOUSE. BUT HER TIME IN THE WHITE HOUSE IS NOT VERY HAPPY.
[00:33:33] AGAIN, SHE POINTS TO THESE SEPARATIONS FROM HER CHILDREN AS
[00:33:37] REALLY THE REASON THAT THEY ONLY TWO OF HER THREE CHILDREN, TWO OF HER THREE CHILDREN, DID NOT
[00:33:41] OUTLIVE HER. SHE ONLY OUTLIVED ONE CHILD. CHARLES, ARE HE CHARLES FRANCIS
[00:33:45] ONLY IT WAS ONLY CHILD THAT LIVED HER. AND SHE REALLY BLAMED JOHN QUINCY'S DUTY TO AMERICA.
[00:33:49] HE PUT THAT ABOVE THEM.
[00:33:51] HER FAMILY HURT HERSELF.
[00:33:53] AND SHE ALWAYS SAID THAT ONE OF THE I LOVE THIS QUOTE, ONE OF
[00:33:57] THE GREATEST TAXES I HAVE TO PAY IS THAT OF CONCERNING THAT I'M A
[00:34:00] TRAVEL LADY. AND SO I THINK SHE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT SHE WAS LOOKED DOWN
[00:34:04] UPON BY, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, AS
[00:34:08] ONE POINT DURING HIS REELECTION CAMPAIGN THERE, YOU KNOW, IS SHE
[00:34:10] REALLY AMERICAN? SO SHE'S ALWAYS LOOKED DOWN UPON.
[00:34:13] BUT IT WAS SUCH AN ASSET FOR OUR YOUNG COUNTRY WHEN SHE WAS OVER
[00:34:16] THERE IN EUROPE TO HAVE THIS BEAUTIFUL, CULTURED WOMAN
[00:34:20] REPRESENTING AMERICA, EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD NEVER BEEN TO AMERICA, SHE WAS REPRESENTING
[00:34:25] AMERICA.
[00:34:25] AND SO SHE ENTITLED HER, HER AND
[00:34:29] HER MEMOIRS, ADVENTURES OF A NOBODY. AND I ALWAYS LIKE TO SAY AT THE
[00:34:32] TIME WE MAKE HER AS SOMEBODY BECAUSE SHE TRULY WAS.
[00:34:36] AND ACTUALLY TODAY IS THE 174TH
[00:34:38] ANNIVERSARY OF HER PASSING. SHE DIED IN 1852 AND TODAY, MAY 15TH.
[00:34:43] SO I HOPE TODAY WE CAN MAKE HER THAT SOMEBODY.
[00:34:46] THANKS VERY MUCH, JADA. AND YOU COULD HAVE CHOSEN ANY
[00:34:50] ONE OF THOSE FIRST LADIES THAT YOU TALK ABOUT WHEN YOU'RE OUT ON THE ROAD WITH AUDIENCES.
[00:34:53] WHY DID YOU PICK LUCY HAYES?
[00:34:57] THAT THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. AND IT'S ACTUALLY ONE THAT WAS
[00:34:59] ASKED TO ME BY A FRIEND OF MINE, AND I THOUGHT I KNEW WHAT I WAS
[00:35:03] GOING TO TALK ABOUT AND HOW I WOULD START THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
[00:35:05] BUT I GOT THE QUESTION FROM A FRIEND THAT KNEW THAT I WAS
[00:35:09] SPEAKING HERE TODAY, AND SHE SAID, OF ALL THEM, WHY LUCY
[00:35:12] HAYES, I'VE BEEN SPEAKING ON THE
[00:35:14] ROAD SINCE WELL, SINCE THE
[00:35:17] SERIES ENDED, YOU KNOW, 2014.
[00:35:19] AND IT'S BEEN FANTASTIC.
[00:35:22] BUT MOST RECENTLY SINCE OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR, I'VE BEEN
[00:35:26] CELEBRATING AMERICA 250 THROUGH THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND THE
[00:35:30] LIVES OF OUR U.S. FIRST LADIES. AND IT DAWNED ON ME, THESE FIRST
[00:35:33] LADIES HAVE TAKEN THEIR HUSBANDS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD TO THE
[00:35:37] WHITE HOUSE, AND THERE'S A LOT OF FIRST LADIES THAT FALL UNDERNEATH THAT CATEGORY.
[00:35:41] WE TALKED ABOUT SOME TODAY. JULIE GRANT HECK, YOU KNOW,
[00:35:45] REVOLUTIONARY WAR. MARTHA WASHINGTON WAS ON THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, WINTER
[00:35:49] ENCAMPMENTS, NEARLY ALL, IF NOT ALL 13.
[00:35:51] THEY'VE BEEN DOING THIS. WE KNOW THEIR NAMES.
[00:35:55] I CHOSE LUCY HAYES BECAUSE OUTSIDE OF THIS ROOM AND OUTSIDE
[00:35:59] OF MANY PEOPLE WATCHING, PEOPLE
[00:36:01] DON'T KNOW LUCY HAYES.
[00:36:04] AND WHEN DURING THE SERIES,
[00:36:06] AFTER AFTER EVERYONE, IF I HAPPEN TO BE IN TOWN OR IF I WAS
[00:36:10] WATCHING FROM OUTSIDE OF WASHING IN D.C. OR WHEREVER I MIGHT HAVE
[00:36:14] BEEN, I GAUGE THE SUCCESS OF EACH SHOW.
[00:36:17] IF I HAD LEARNED SOMETHING. ALL THE BOOKS THAT I HAD READ,
[00:36:20] ALL THE PLACES THAT I DID, ALL
[00:36:22] THESE INCREDIBLE EXPERTS THAT WE HAD THAT SUSAN INTERVIEWED RIGHT
[00:36:25] THERE ON SET IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THE CALLS AS C-SPAN IS SO
[00:36:29] FANTASTIC AND TAKING VIEWER CALLS.
[00:36:31] IF AFTER ALL OF THESE RESOURCES AND ALL OF THIS INPUT, I WALKED
[00:36:35] AWAY FROM ONE OF THOSE SHOWS, I'M LIKE, WELL, I DIDN'T KNOW
[00:36:38] THAT IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL SHOW.
[00:36:41] I HAPPENED TO BE IN TOWN FOR THE
[00:36:43] MARY LINCOLN SHOW.
[00:36:45] AND YOU THINK, GOSH, WHAT DO WE
[00:36:47] NOT KNOW ABOUT MARY LINCOLN? AND I WAS IN THE GREEN ROOM
[00:36:51] AFTERWARDS WITH C-SPAN CONTRIBUTOR AND HISTORIAN
[00:36:54] RICHARD NORTON SMITH, AND I SAID, RICHARD, I LEARNED
[00:36:58] SOMETHING TONIGHT. SO IT'S A SUCCESSFUL SHOW.
[00:37:01] HE SAID, WELL, GUESS WHAT? WE GET TO TEACH HIM NEXT WEEK. I SAID, WHAT?
[00:37:06] RICHARD? WHAT IN THE WORLD? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? HE SAID, WE GET TO TEACH HIM.
[00:37:08] WHO THE HECK IS ELIZA JOHNSON? AND I THOUGHT, YES, WE DO.
[00:37:15] UNFORTUNATE. ONLY YOU STEP OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON AND OUTSIDE OF HISTORICAL CIRCLES.
[00:37:18] MOST PEOPLE CAN'T NAME ALL OF THE PRESIDENTS. WHY WOULD THEY BE ABLE TO NAME
[00:37:21] ALL THE PRESIDENTS WIVES? BUT COLLECTIVELY HERE WE'RE DOING THAT.
[00:37:25] WE'RE TEACHING PEOPLE AND PEOPLE
[00:37:27] ARE HUNGRY FOR THIS INFORMATION.
[00:37:30] FOR ANOTHER REASON I CHOSE LUCY HAYES WAS BECAUSE SHE GOT ME OUT
[00:37:32] OF A SPEEDING TICKET ONCE I WAS
[00:37:36] ON MY WAY TO A TELEVISION APPEARANCE FROM SHADYSIDE,
[00:37:39] MARYLAND, WHERE I LIVE OUT THE BACK SIDE OF DEAL, MARYLAND, IF
[00:37:43] YOU KNOW WHERE THAT IS. AND I WAS GOING TOO FAST.
[00:37:45] WELL, I DECIDED THAT I'D TRY MY LUCK.
[00:37:48] I ENJOY A CHALLENGE AND I WOULD GO TO COURT TO TRY AND FIGHT THE
[00:37:52] TICKET WHILE THE JUDGE WAS ASKING EVERYONE WHAT THEY DID.
[00:37:55] DID THEY LIKE SCHOOL? WHERE DID THEY WORK THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER, I THOUGHT, WELL,
[00:37:59] I GOT I GOT THIS GUY, YOUR HONOR, I'M THE FIRST LADY'S MAN.
[00:38:04] I'M A FIRST LADIES HISTORIAN, AUTHOR AND DOCUMENTARIAN.
[00:38:08] AND THE JUDGE SAYS, WELL, WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE FIRST LADY?
[00:38:11] I SAID, WELL, SIR, THAT'S A VERY DIFFICULT QUESTION TO ASK.
[00:38:15] SO I'LL GO THROUGH THE YEARS IN THE 1700S.
[00:38:17] ABIGAIL ADAMS OH, VERY AMERICAN IN THE 1800S.
[00:38:21] LUCY HAYES AND THE JUDGE SAYS LEMONADE.
[00:38:25] LUCY I SAID, SIR, DO YOU KNOW YOUR STUFF?
[00:38:29] AND HE AND HE DID. AND AT THE END HE SAID, WELL, MR. ROACH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE YOU
[00:38:33] MIGHT BE THE MOST INTERESTING DEFENDANT. WE HAVE TODAY. AND PROBATION BEFORE JUDGMENT.
[00:38:37] NO POINTS. AND EVERYTHING WORKED OUT REALLY WELL. I HAVE LUCY TO THANK FOR THAT.
[00:38:40] BUT BUT PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY FOR THIS.
[00:38:43] PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW. SO WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT FROM THE
[00:38:47] BATTLEFIELD TO THE WHITE HOUSE AND WHEN I'M ASKED ABOUT CIVIL
[00:38:51] WAR ERA FIRST LADIES, NO OFFENSE TO ANYONE IN THE ROOM, BUT LUCY
[00:38:54] HAYES ALWAYS POPS UP IS MY FAVORITE BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T
[00:38:58] KNOW WHO SHE IS. AND LUCY HAYES IS A TRIPLE
[00:39:01] THREAT IN THIS DEPARTMENT.
[00:39:03] SHE'S THE WIFE OF A GENERAL. SHE'S THE WIFE OF A GOVERNOR.
[00:39:07] SO SHE'S FIRST LADY OF A STATE AND SHE'S FIRST LADY OF THE
[00:39:10] UNITED STATES TO TWO TERMS, TO
[00:39:13] NONCONSECUTIVE TERMS AS GOVERNOR AND FIRST LADY OF OHIO.
[00:39:17] AND SHE DID THINGS THAT OTHER
[00:39:18] WOMEN DIDN'T DO.
[00:39:21] YOU KNOW, THE TITLE OF MY BOOK
[00:39:24] IS AH IS UNUSUAL FOR THEIR TIME. AND I DIDN'T JUST PLUCKED OUT OF
[00:39:27] THE AIR AT EACH OF THESE LOCATIONS. I WENT TO EVERY HOME, EVERY
[00:39:30] LIBRARY, EVERY CHURCH, EVERY MUSEUM, EVERY BASEMENT, EVERY OUT.
[00:39:34] YOU WOULD GET SOMEONE. INEVITABLY, THEY SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, LOUISA, KATHERINE ADAMS
[00:39:37] WAS UNUSUAL FOR HER TIME BECAUSE OF THIS. MARY LINCOLN WAS UNUSUAL FOR
[00:39:41] TIME. AND I REMEMBER JOKING WITH SOME OF THE PRODUCERS WHEN I GET BACK AND WELL, YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE
[00:39:45] IT. MARTHA WASHINGTON WAS UNUSUAL
[00:39:48] FOR HER TIME, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A LINE THAT WAS LIKE IN THE
[00:39:52] CURATORS HANDBOOK OR THE PARK SERVICE HANDBOOK. HE GOT TO SEE THEIR UNUSUAL FOR
[00:39:55] THE TIME, BUT THEY ARE UNUSUAL FOR THEIR TIME. THEY'RE NOT.
[00:39:58] THEY'RE UNIQUE FROM EACH OTHER IN CERTAIN ASPECTS, IN MANY
[00:40:02] ASPECTS, BECAUSE THEY'RE INDIVIDUALS, THEY'RE HUMANS,
[00:40:04] THEY'RE PEOPLE, BUT THEY'RE NOT
[00:40:06] UNUSUAL FOR THEIR TIME BETWEEN
[00:40:09] EACH OTHER NECESSARILY.
[00:40:11] THEY'RE UNUSUAL FOR THEIR TIME,
[00:40:13] TIME FOR EVERY HUMAN BEING ON
[00:40:17] EARTH OR AT THE END OF THE DAY. SO I GUESS I CAN THROW ANTS ON
[00:40:20] YOUR PICNIC AND RUIN YOUR DAYS. STATISTICALLY SPEAKING, NO ONE
[00:40:23] IN THIS ROOM WILL BE FIRST LADY TAKING IN.
[00:40:27] REFLECT ON THAT.
[00:40:31] THEY SAY THEY MARRIED SOME GUY
[00:40:33] THAT HAD THE ALL THE THE IDEA
[00:40:37] THAT HE COULD BE ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL MEN IN THE WORLD AND
[00:40:40] BEAT EVERY ODD NOT ONLY JUST TO RUN BUT TO WIN.
[00:40:44] WE HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING EATEN BY A SHARK STRUCK BY LIGHTNING OR WINNING THE
[00:40:48] LOTTERY THAN BECOMING PRESIDENT OR FIRST LADY. YET THERE THEY ARE IN A ROLE
[00:40:53] WITH NO PAY, NOT ELECTED, NO JOB
[00:40:57] DESCRIPTION. WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT ALL DAY.
[00:40:59] NO LEGAL OBLIGATION TO FULFILL.
[00:41:03] WE TREAT THEM LIKE ALL OF THESE
[00:41:05] ARE THE EXACT OPPOSITE.
[00:41:07] LUCY HAYES WAS QUIET.
[00:41:10] LUCY HAYES WAS CONFIDENT AND
[00:41:12] LUCY HAYES WAS CONSIDERED STINT.
[00:41:15] SHE WENT TO WINTER ENCAMPMENTS OF THE CIVIL WAR.
[00:41:19] OTHER WIVES DIDN'T GET TO DO THAT.
[00:41:22] THAT AUTOMATICALLY PUTS HER IN A DIFFERENT CATEGORY.
[00:41:26] THEN NEARLY EVERYONE IN THE
[00:41:28] UNITED STATES OTHER THAN JULIA GRANT AND SOME OF THE OTHER
[00:41:31] FIRST LADIES THAT WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME FOR THEIR GENERAL
[00:41:36] HUSBANDS. THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THESE MEN.
[00:41:38] LUCY HAYES DID DO SOMETHING UNUSUAL DURING THE CIVIL WAR, THOUGH.
[00:41:42] SHE BROUGHT HER SEWING MACHINE.
[00:41:44] THERE WAS NO JOB TOO SMALL OR
[00:41:47] TOO BIG FOR LUCY HAYES.
[00:41:49] THERE'S DOCUMENTATION OF HER
[00:41:51] HELPING MEN UNIFORMS, ALSO
[00:41:55] SUPPORTING HER HUSBAND. AND WHEN EVERYONE WENT HOME IN THE TENT, FLAPS CLOSED.
[00:41:59] IT'S LUCY AND RUTHERFORD
[00:42:02] ADVISING, DISCUSSING,
[00:42:06] STRATEGIZING, JUST LIKE IT GOES ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR WITH MARTHA
[00:42:11] WASHINGTON AND GEORGE WASHINGTON. AS GOVERNOR.
[00:42:15] THE WIFE OF THE GOVERNOR, FIRST LADY OF OHIO, SHE WENT WHERE
[00:42:18] OTHER WOMEN DID NOT GO, WHERE
[00:42:20] OTHER WOMEN OF SOCIAL STANDING
[00:42:24] DID NOT GO.
[00:42:24] SHE WENT TO MENTAL HOSPITALS.
[00:42:28] SHE WENT TO VETERANS HOMES.
[00:42:32] SHE REPORTED BACK. SHE DIDN'T HAVE A SLOGAN AND SHE
[00:42:35] DIDN'T HAVE JUST SAY NO, BE BEST.
[00:42:37] LET'S MOVE.
[00:42:39] SHE WENT BEFORE IT WAS COOL.
[00:42:42] SHE WENT BEFORE IT WAS A BUMPER STICKER. SHE WENT BEFORE IT WAS EXPECTED.
[00:42:45] SHE WENT BECAUSE IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
[00:42:49] SHE WENT BEFORE IT WAS PUBLICIZED, BEFORE IT WAS CARED
[00:42:52] ABOUT TO BE PUBLICIZED. SHE CAME BACK TO HER HUSBAND AND
[00:42:55] SAID, THIS PLACE IS GOOD.
[00:42:57] LET'S HAVE MORE OF THIS. THIS PLACE IS BAD.
[00:43:01] SHUT IT DOWN. PULL THOSE PEOPLE OUT. THEY'RE HUMAN BEINGS AND TREAT THEM RIGHT AND GET THEM INTO A
[00:43:05] GOOD FACILITY. SHE DID THIS IN ORPHANAGES. SHE DID THIS IN VETERANS
[00:43:08] HOSPITALS AND SHE DID IT IN MENTAL HOSPITALS.
[00:43:11] WHEN SHE GOT TO THE WHITE HOUSE,
[00:43:15] SHE CAUGHT A LITTLE GRIEF A LITTLE BIT. I THINK LIKE ROSALYNN CARTER
[00:43:19] DID, SHE WAS HER WAY OUT IN OHIO.
[00:43:23] SHE WAS A HILLBILLY. SHE WAS A RUBE. SHE DIDN'T DRESS COSMOPOLITAN.
[00:43:26] WE TALKED ABOUT THE PITFALLS OF WASHINGTON, THESE SOCIAL STATUS
[00:43:29] AND STANDINGS. WE DIDN'T INVENT THAT IN THE 20TH.
[00:43:33] IN THE 21ST CENTURY, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN JUDGING PEOPLE SINCE WE
[00:43:36] STOOD UPRIGHT AND STARTED WALKING YOUR CAVES BETTER THAN MINE.
[00:43:39] YOUR ROCKS ARE BIGGER THAN MINE. YOU CAN LOOK AT PICTURES.
[00:43:43] I'VE GOT SOME HERE OF LUCY HAYES.
[00:43:47] SHE DOESN'T CHANGE. SAME HAIRSTYLE, SAME CLOTHES.
[00:43:51] CONFIDENT TAKES ON THINGS LIKE TEMPERANCE. THAT'S WHY THEY WERE CALLED. SHE CALLED LEMONADE. LUCY.
[00:43:55] SHE DID NOT SERVE ALCOHOL IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
[00:43:58] I READ THAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS GOING TO TRY AND TACKLE THAT.
[00:44:00] IT WASN'T A POPULAR THING. YOU ALL KNOW WASHINGTON, D.C. IF YOU CAN THROW A PARTY AND NOT
[00:44:04] SERVE ALCOHOL AND PEOPLE ARE STILL SAYING THAT WAS A GOOD TIME.
[00:44:07] YOU'RE A GOOD HOSTESS. AND THAT WAS LUCY. AND SO IT'S ALL THESE REASONS
[00:44:12] WHY I BRING HER TO LIGHT AND WHY SHE CHOOSES TO BE A FAVORITE. THERE'S A PICTURE OF HER WHITE
[00:44:16] HOUSE PHOTOGRAPH OR DURING HER WHITE HOUSE YEARS. THERE'S ANOTHER PICTURE OF HER,
[00:44:20] THE YOUNGEST ONE THAT WE HAVE WHERE SHE LOOKS JUST ABOUT THE SAME IN THE CLOTHES.
[00:44:23] AND THEN THERE'S ONE. IF WE JUST KEEP ADVANCING THROUGH THE SLIDES, YOU'LL SEE
[00:44:27] HER AT THE END OF HER LIFE SITTING ON HER FRONT PORCH
[00:44:29] WEARING RUTHERFORD BEHAVES HIS HAT. SHE LOOKS THE SAME.
[00:44:33] SHE'S CONSISTENT. SHE'S CONFIDENT, AND SHE'S QUIET
[00:44:37] ABOUT IT. SHE ALSO WAS HUMBLE. SHE WROTE LETTERS ABOUT HOW ALL
[00:44:42] THOSE WHO HAD COME BEFORE HER HAD DONE JUST AN AMAZING JOB,
[00:44:45] AND SHE COULD ONLY HOPE TO DO AS GOOD A JOB AS HER.
[00:44:47] BUT SHE WAS TRANS FORMATIVE.
[00:44:50] SHE BLAZE TRAILS TO LEAD THE WAY
[00:44:54] FOR OTHER FIRST LADIES TO HAVE THESE CAUSES BEFORE IT WAS COOL.
[00:44:56] AND I'LL END MY REMARKS THERE. SUSAN, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. AND WE'RE GOING TO JUMP ALL THE
[00:45:00] WAY TO CONTEMPORARY TIMES WITH
[00:45:02] TAMMY TELLING US ABOUT THE FIRST LADIES THAT SHE'S BEEN LOOKING
[00:45:06] AT USING MEDIA TO ADVANCE THEIR CAUSES. ALL RIGHT.
[00:45:09] THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO, YES, WE ARE MOVING
[00:45:13] CONSIDERABLY QUICKLY THROUGH
[00:45:15] HISTORY TO GET TO MY AREA. THIS IS A PROJECT THAT I'M JUST
[00:45:18] SORT OF STARTING TO DABBLE IN.
[00:45:20] SO IT'LL BE EXPANDING QUITE A
[00:45:24] BIT, I'M SURE, FOR A FOR NOW, LET'S JUST START WITH THE IDEA
[00:45:27] OF USING MEDIA, RIGHT? USING MEDIA EFFECTIVELY TO MAKE
[00:45:32] HISTORY. AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT MEDIA USE IN THE WHITE HOUSE, USUALLY WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING IS PEOPLE
[00:45:36] START JUMPING STRAIGHT TO PARTICULAR PEOPLE IN TIME.
[00:45:39] AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE USUALLY THE PRESIDENTS, RIGHT?
[00:45:43] THE MEN IN THE WHITE HOUSE. SO YOU THINK INNOVATIVE OR
[00:45:47] INTERESTING USE OF MEDIA? I KNOW ABOUT YOU FIRST COMES TO
[00:45:50] MIND FOR ME, FDR AND THE RADIO NEXT COMES TO MIND.
[00:45:54] LBJ AND TELEVISION, ESPECIALLY TELEVISION ADVERTISING.
[00:45:58] THEN YOU JUMP FORWARD TO 2008 AND YOU'VE GOT BARACK OBAMA AND
[00:46:02] THE INTERNET RIGHT.
[00:46:04] AND THEN, OF COURSE, CAN'T
[00:46:08] FORGET 2016 AND TWITTER HER AND DONALD TRUMP. SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT
[00:46:11] USUALLY HAPPEN WHEN WE START
[00:46:13] THINKING ABOUT INNOVATION AND
[00:46:15] INTERESTING USES OF MEDIA AS IT RELATES TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
[00:46:19] BUT WHAT I WANT TO DO TODAY IS TAKE A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOOK AT
[00:46:23] THINGS AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WOMEN OF THE WHITE
[00:46:25] HOUSE AND HOW THEY USED MEDIA. AND I KNOW WE'VE HAD A LOT OF
[00:46:28] DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS TODAY
[00:46:30] ABOUT THINGS LIKE HOW THE PRESS, WHEN WE HEARD ALL ABOUT, YOU
[00:46:34] KNOW, MARY LINCOLN AND THE IDEA
[00:46:36] OF HOW THE PRESS HOUNDED HER. AND WE HAD SOME OTHER
[00:46:40] CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW THE PRESS TREATED PAT NIXON POORLY
[00:46:42] AND THEY TREATED THIS. BUT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE PRESS IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE.
[00:46:46] WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS HOW
[00:46:50] THE INDIVIDUALS USE THE MEDIA,
[00:46:52] HOW THEY MAKE PARTICULAR KINDS OF MEDIA CHOICES.
[00:46:56] NOW WE CAN TALK ABOUT SO MANY
[00:46:59] FIRST LADIES HERE. WE CAN TALK ABOUT LADY BIRD JOHNSON.
[00:47:03] SHE HAD THE YOU KNOW, SHE HAD A DEGREE IN JOURNALISM.
[00:47:06] SHE OWNED RADIO STATIONS. SHE HAD A LOT OF MEDIA SAVVY.
[00:47:10] WE COULD TALK ABOUT FLORENCE
[00:47:16] HARDING. RIGHT. AND HER EXPERIENCES AS A
[00:47:18] NEWSPAPER WOMAN. AND WE CAN KIND OF GO THROUGH
[00:47:21] ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE. SO IT WAS REALLY HARD TO KIND OF NARROW THIS DOWN.
[00:47:25] SO I THOUGHT, ALL RIGHT, I'M GOING TO PICK FOR EXEMPLARS AND
[00:47:29] JUST SORT OF GIVE YOU A BIT OF AN OVERVIEW JUST TO GIVE US SOME GROUNDING.
[00:47:32] AND THEN IN THE CONVERSATION, IN THE Q&A, WE CAN DIG DEEPER, IF YOU LIKE.
[00:47:35] SO TODAY WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS FOCUS IN ON FOUR FIRST LADIES,
[00:47:39] THE FIRST ONE IS ELEANOR ROOSEVELT. SO IF WE CAN PROGRESS THE SLIDES
[00:47:42] SO WE'LL HEAR ABOUT ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, LAURA BUSH, MICHELLE
[00:47:46] OBAMA AND OF COURSE, MELANIA TRUMP.
[00:47:49] SO FIRST OF ALL, ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT
[00:47:52] ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, I THINK EVERYBODY KIND OF JUMPS TO THE TWO THINGS THAT WE REALLY KNOW
[00:47:57] AND RELATE TO HER ABOUT, ABOUT MEDIA USE.
[00:48:00] FIRST IS HER OWN ARTICLE, RIGHT?
[00:48:02] SHE WAS WRITING THE MY MY DAY COLUMN.
[00:48:06] SHE STARTED IN 1935. IT RAN UNTIL 1962.
[00:48:10] AND THAT'S PROBABLY THE THING THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD THINK
[00:48:13] ABOUT WHEN IT RELATED TO ELEANOR
[00:48:17] ROOSEVELT. SO I PROBABLY DON'T NEED TO JUMP INTO THAT IN TOO MUCH DETAIL. THE SECOND THING THAT MOST PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AND THINK
[00:48:21] ABOUT IS HER DECISION TO INVITE
[00:48:24] ONLY WOMEN TO HER PRESS CONFERENCES.
[00:48:27] SO THAT NEWSPAPER WOULD HAVE TO
[00:48:29] HIRE FEMALE JOURNALISTS. AND SO SHE WAS PROGRESSING THE
[00:48:32] WOMEN'S MOVEMENT, AND SHE WAS ALSO MAKING HER PRESS
[00:48:36] CONFERENCES UNIQUE.
[00:48:37] AGAIN, ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, VERY WELL RESEARCHED.
[00:48:41] SO A LOT OF PEOPLE REALLY KNOW THIS STUFF. I DON'T WANT TO KIND OF SPEND WAY TOO MUCH TIME ON THAT PART,
[00:48:45] BUT I DO WANT TO JUMP TO HER AFTER HER FIRST LADY DAYS
[00:48:49] BECAUSE I THINK THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT SOME PEOPLE MAY OR MAY NOT ACTUALLY
[00:48:52] KNOW MUCH ABOUT THEIR ONE IS THE
[00:48:56] 1956 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE. YES, 1956 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE.
[00:49:01] TELL REVISED PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE. NOW, HERE'S THE THING.
[00:49:05] SOME PEOPLE WILL CALL IT THE FIRST EVER PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE. I TAKE A LITTLE UMBRAGE WITH
[00:49:08] THAT BECAUSE IT WASN'T THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES, BUT
[00:49:12] INSTEAD IT WAS ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
[00:49:15] AND MARGARET CHASE SMITH, WHO WERE STANDING AS PROXIES FOR
[00:49:19] ADLAI STEVENSON AND EISENHOWER.
[00:49:22] DWIGHT EISENHOWER. AND SO THEY RAN IT JUST LIKE ANY OTHER DEBATE THAT YOU'D BE
[00:49:27] FAMILIAR WITH. THESE WOMEN WENT BACK AND FORTH AND BACK AND FORTH. AND IN FACT, THERE'S ONE STORY
[00:49:30] ABOUT IT WHERE APPARENTLY
[00:49:34] ELEANOR ROOSEVELT GOT SO ANNOYED BY MARGARET SMITH.
[00:49:38] MARGARET CHASE SMITH'S KIND OF
[00:49:42] STACCATO ANSWERS AND HER AGGRESSIVENESS THAT AT THE END
[00:49:45] OF THE DEBATE, ELEANOR REFUSED
[00:49:47] TO SHAKE HANDS BECAUSE SHE WAS JUST THAT UPSET OVER IT.
[00:49:50] SO I THINK THAT'S KIND OF A FUN LITTLE YOU KNOW, SHE'S PROGRESSING.
[00:49:53] SHE'S STILL CONTINUING TO BE ACTIVE. AND SHE WAS ASKED TO ACTUALLY
[00:49:57] PARTICIPATE IN THE DEBATE BECAUSE SHE WAS SO WELL-SPOKEN,
[00:50:00] SO WELL KNOWN, AND THEY THOUGHT THAT SHE COULD REALLY CARRY THE
[00:50:04] DAY. AND IT WAS ALSO INTERESTING BECAUSE THE FIRST AND REALLY
[00:50:06] ONLY TIME TWO WOMEN GOT TO
[00:50:08] DEBATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY, EVEN THOUGH THEY WEREN'T REALLY RUNNING.
[00:50:12] THE OTHER THING THAT ELEANOR ROOSEVELT DID, ESPECIALLY AFTER
[00:50:15] HER TIME AS FIRST LADY, WAS SHE EXPERIMENTED WITH TELEVISION.
[00:50:19] SHE WENT ON TELEVISION SHOWS
[00:50:21] LIKE WHAT'S THE NAME OF THAT?
[00:50:23] I'M SORRY, WHAT'S WHAT'S MY LINE? RIGHT. SHE'S ON.
[00:50:26] WHAT'S MY LINE? SHE WAS ON FACE THE NATION. SHE WAS ON MEET THE PRESS.
[00:50:30] AND SO SHE REALLY SHOWED UP AND
[00:50:33] GAVE THE POST WHITE HOUSE FIRST LADIES A VOICE.
[00:50:38] AND SET SOME STANDARDS THAT LATER, FIRST LADIES WOULD CERTAINLY FOLLOW IN HER FOOTSTEPS.
[00:50:41] WITH THAT. ALSO, THERE WAS A NICE LITTLE
[00:50:45] CLIP IF YOU WANT TO LOOK FOR IT ON YOUTUBE OF HER ON MEET THE
[00:50:49] PRESS, WHERE SHE'S ASKED ABOUT
[00:50:51] BEING NOMINATED FOR THE
[00:50:53] PRESIDENCY BECAUSE APPARENTLY
[00:50:55] EARLY IN 1957, PEOPLE STARTED
[00:50:58] TALKING ABOUT HER AS A POTENTIAL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.
[00:51:01] SHE LAUGHS AND SAYS, I AM SO OLD
[00:51:05] TO WAKE UP RIGHT?
[00:51:07] AND THEY HAD THE INTERVIEWER
[00:51:09] SAYS, WELL, I'M NOT THE ONE SAYING IT. I'M JUST SAYING PEOPLE ARE
[00:51:14] SAYING THEY WANT TO NOMINATE YOU. DO YOU THINK THERE WILL EVER BE
[00:51:16] A FEMALE PRESIDENT? AND THEN SHE EXPOUNDED ON THAT FOR A WHILE.
[00:51:19] SO IT'S REALLY INTERESTING. A LITTLE CLIP, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU LOOK IT UP SOME POINT.
[00:51:22] SO SHE CONTINUES TO USE MEDIA IN
[00:51:25] INNOVATIVE WAYS. WAS SHE THE FIRST TO GO ON TELEVISION?
[00:51:30] NO. DISNEY INNOVATE TELEVISION, NO. BUT WHAT DID SHE DO?
[00:51:32] SHE STARTED USING THE TECHNOLOGY THAT PEOPLE HAD STARTED TO
[00:51:36] BECOME COMFORTABLE WITH. IT. AND WE SEE THIS WITH OTHER FIRST LADIES AS WELL.
[00:51:40] WE MOVED TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
[00:51:41] WE CAN MOVE FORWARD SEVERAL
[00:51:45] DECADES AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LAURA BUSH.
[00:51:48] LAURA BUSH WAS VERY MEDIA SAVVY INDIVIDUAL. I THINK.
[00:51:51] I THINK SOME OF HER STAFF MIGHT HAVE BEEN REALLY INSTRUMENTAL IN
[00:51:56] THAT.
[00:51:56] AND SO THE IDEA WITH LAURA BUSH
[00:52:00] WAS THAT SHE WAS AN EFFECTIVE SURROGATE CAMPAIGNER. WE HEARD ABOUT THAT EARLIER.
[00:52:04] WE HEARD A WHOLE LOT FROM JILL ABOUT LAURA BUSH EARLIER TODAY.
[00:52:09] BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WITH LAURA BUSH WAS INTERESTING IS THAT WE TEND TO
[00:52:13] REMEMBER HER FOR, YOU KNOW, TAKING OVER THE WEEK PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY ADDRESS.
[00:52:17] SHE'S THE FIRST FIRST LADY TO DO THE ENTIRE ADDRESS BY HERSELF.
[00:52:21] SHE DID IT A COUPLE OF TIMES.
[00:52:23] SHE DID IT TO ADVOCATE FOR HER
[00:52:26] PROGRAMS, HER INTERESTS, BUT
[00:52:28] ALSO TO HELP JUSTIFY HER
[00:52:32] HUSBAND'S ACTIONS IN AFGHANISTAN. AND SO SHE WAS KIND OF SERVING A
[00:52:35] DUAL PURPOSE THERE WHERE SHE WAS HELPING PROMOTE HERSELF, BUT
[00:52:39] ALSO HELPING PROMOTE THE WEST WING IN A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAY.
[00:52:43] BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, WHAT SHE DID ON HER OWN TO ADVANCE
[00:52:45] HER OWN PUBLIC PERSONA AND TO
[00:52:47] ESTABLISH INTEREST IN HER
[00:52:53] GOING ON SESAME STREET, RIGHT? SHE WAS DOING CHILDREN LITERATE CHILDREN'S LITERACY.
[00:52:56] WHY NOT SESAME STREET? THAT MAKES A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE.
[00:52:59] SHE ALSO WENT ON JAY LENO'S TONIGHT SHOW FOUR DIFFERENT
[00:53:02] TIMES, TWICE DURING HER
[00:53:04] CAMPAIGNS TO HELP ADVOCATE FOR
[00:53:06] OTHERS AND TO GET PEOPLE TO
[00:53:08] VOTE, BUT ALSO TO JUST SHARE HER
[00:53:11] PERSONALITY, SHARE HER INSIGHTS AND ADVOCATE FOR HER OWN
[00:53:13] INTERESTS AND INITIATIVES. AND SO SHE DID A REALLY NICE JOB
[00:53:17] OF ACTUALLY INCORPORATING DIFFERENT KINDS OF MEDIA INTO
[00:53:19] THE MEDIA STRATEGY FOR THE FIRST LADYSHIP.
[00:53:23] SHE ALSO, NEAR THE END OF HER
[00:53:25] TIME IN THE WHITE HOUSE, WAS THE
[00:53:27] CO-HOST OF THE TODAY SHOW, AND SHE APPARENTLY DID.
[00:53:31] I PERSONALLY DIDN'T SEE IT. I APOLOGIZE. BUT APPARENTLY SHE DID SUCH A
[00:53:34] GOOD JOB THAT SOME OF THE ORIGINAL HOSTS OR THE ACTUAL
[00:53:38] HOSTS WERE SAYING WHY WE SHOULD HAVE HER BACK AFTER SHE FINISHED THIS WHITE HOUSE. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?
[00:53:41] COME HAVE A JOB HERE?
[00:53:44] SO LAURA BUSH WAS DEFINITELY AN EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE WHO CONTINUED
[00:53:47] ON IN THE INNOVATIVE USE. BUT IF YOU NOTICE AGAIN, SHE
[00:53:50] WASN'T BREAKING NEW GROUND WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES.
[00:53:53] SHE WAS TAKING THE THINGS THAT WE WERE FAMILIAR WITH, THINKING ABOUT WHERE THE AUDIENCE WAS,
[00:53:57] YOU KNOW, LIKE THE TODAY SHOW IS A PRIME AUDIENCE FOR HER.
[00:54:01] TOPICS IN HER INTEREST THAT SHE
[00:54:03] WAS ADVOCATING FOR AT THE TIME. SAME THING WITH SESAME STREET.
[00:54:06] SO THERE WAS A REAL STRATEGIC USE OF MEDIA IN THIS PARTICULAR
[00:54:11] SITUATION. WE ADVANCE THE SLIDES AGAIN. I WILL GET TO TALKING A LITTLE
[00:54:14] BIT ABOUT MICHELLE OBAMA WITH MICHELLE OBAMA.
[00:54:18] WHAT WE HAVE IS AN INTERESTING PERSON WHO'S DOING INTERESTING
[00:54:22] THINGS IN WAYS THAT PEOPLE MISREMEMBER MOST OF THE TIME.
[00:54:26] PEOPLE THINK ABOUT MICHELLE OBAMA AND THEY'LL ADD YOU ASKED THEM ABOUT THEIR MEET HER MEDIA
[00:54:31] USE AND THEY'LL SAY, OH, SOCIAL MEDIA. SHE WAS LIKE SO CUTTING EDGE ON
[00:54:34] SOCIAL MEDIA. AND TO SOME DEGREE SHE WAS. BUT WHEN I LOOKED UP THE ACTUAL
[00:54:39] FACTS, SHE WAS A LITTLE SLOW TO
[00:54:42] ACTUALLY INCORPORATE IT. WE TENDED TO THINK ABOUT HER AND
[00:54:45] THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA A LOT
[00:54:47] MORE ACTIVELY BECAUSE OF BARACK OBAMA AND HIS USE LIKE SHE DID
[00:54:51] HELP COAUTHOR SOME OF THE
[00:54:54] INITIAL EMAILS THAT WENT OUT IN
[00:54:57] 2008, AND SHE DID SOMETIMES APPEAR.
[00:55:00] YEAH, THERE WERE MESSAGES ABOUT HER IN HIS SOCIAL MEDIA, BUT SHE
[00:55:03] DIDN'T ACTUALLY JOIN SOCIAL
[00:55:08] MEDIA UNTIL 2012. RIGHT? THAT'S WHEN SHE GOT HER FIRST TWITTER ACCOUNT.
[00:55:12] AND THAT'S USUALLY SURPRISING TO PEOPLE BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE THINK 2008.
[00:55:15] BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL 2012 SHE DID
[00:55:19] HAVE ONE POST ON THE JOINING FORCES.
[00:55:22] TWITTER ACCOUNT PRIOR TO GETTING HER OWN ACCOUNT.
[00:55:25] BUT THEN SHE HAD THE APP MICHELLE OBAMA ACCOUNT AND
[00:55:29] STARTED POSTING THERE. HER STAFF WOULD ALSO POST AND SO
[00:55:31] SHE WOULD SIGN HER ORIGINAL POST
[00:55:34] WITH A LITTLE MEMO AT THE END. SO SHE WAS ACTIVE ON SOCIAL
[00:55:39] MEDIA. SHE JUST WASN'T AS QUICK TO
[00:55:43] UNDERTAKE IT AS OTHERS, AS PEOPLE WOULD REMEMBER HER AS
[00:55:45] HAVING DONE SO. I THINK THAT'S KIND OF FASCINATING. WE TEND TO ATTRIBUTE TO THIS
[00:55:50] CHARACTERISTIC TO HER THAT MAYBE NOT SO, YOU KNOW, SHE SHE WAITED
[00:55:54] SIX YEARS FROM THE FOUNDING TILL
[00:55:56] THE TIME SHE ACTUALLY JOINED AND SO NOT EXACTLY CUTTING EDGE.
[00:55:59] BUT THEN ONCE SHE GOT ON THERE, SHE JUST TOOK OFF. RIGHT.
[00:56:03] SHE HAD TONS OF FOLLOWERS. SHE GOT A MILLION FOLLOWERS, PRETTY QUICKLY.
[00:56:07] SO SHE'S VERY EFFECTIVE. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT KIND OF
[00:56:11] REALLY LIVES IN OUR MEMORY. THE OTHER THING ABOUT MICHELLE OBAMA, THOUGH, THAT I THINK IS
[00:56:14] INTERESTING IS THAT SHE ALSO
[00:56:17] BUILT UP SHE SHE KIND OF BUILT UP ON WHAT OTHER FIRST LADIES
[00:56:20] WERE DOING, ESPECIALLY LAURA BUSH, BY GOING ON THINGS LIKE
[00:56:24] TALK SHOWS.
[00:56:26] AND, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE MOST OF YOU WILL PROBABLY REMEMBER HER
[00:56:30] AND THE ELLEN SHOW WHEN THEY
[00:56:32] ENGAGED IN THE PUSH UP CHALLENGE
[00:56:36] RIGHT. SO YOU HAVE THE FIRST LADY, UNLIKE LAURA BUSH, WHO WENT ON
[00:56:39] JAY LENO AND WAS VERY DIGNIFIED.
[00:56:44] I LOVED THAT WORD. SHE WAS THEY SAID SHE WAS CLASSY, SHE WAS ENGAGED. SHE WAS HUMOROUS, BUT SHE WAS
[00:56:48] VERY LADYLIKE WITH MICHELLE
[00:56:51] OBAMA WHEN SHE WENT ON THESE SHOWS. SHE WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE
[00:56:55] CASUAL, A LITTLE BIT MORE PERSONAL. SOME PEOPLE LOVED THAT AND OTHER
[00:57:00] PEOPLE REALLY CRITICIZED HER FOR IT. SO WHEN SHE WAS DOING PUSH UPS,
[00:57:05] ESPECIALLY FOR THE FOLKS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AISLE, KEPT SAYING A FIRST LADY DOWN ON THE
[00:57:09] FLOOR DOING PUSHUPS, OH, NO. HOW DARE SHE? RIGHT.
[00:57:13] THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END.
[00:57:14] AND SO THE IDEA WAS THAT SHE'D
[00:57:17] GOT A LOT OF CRITIQUE FOR THAT. BUT THEN THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO
[00:57:20] SAID, SHE'S JUST AN ORDINARY WOMAN, THAT WE CAN RELATE TO. RIGHT.
[00:57:25] THERE'S THE MOM IN CHIEF SHOWING
[00:57:27] US HOW TO BE ACTIVE, HELPING OUR
[00:57:29] KIDS TO THINK ABOUT THESE KINDS OF THINGS.
[00:57:31] AND SO MICHELLE OBAMA'S MORE CASUAL SORT OF NATURE WITH THE
[00:57:35] PRESS OR WITH MEDIA, HER MEDIA APPEARANCES WERE VERY STRATEGIC
[00:57:39] AND WAS SUPER HELPFUL TO HER IMAGE.
[00:57:43] SHE ALSO DID A THING ON THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON
[00:57:46] BECAUSE SOME OF THE FIRST LADIES LOVE THE TONIGHT SHOW.
[00:57:48] AND IT WAS A SKIT THAT WAS
[00:57:51] CALLED EVOLUTION OF MOM DANCING
[00:57:55] RIGHT? AND SO IN 2013, SHE DID
[00:57:57] EVOLUTION OF MOM DANCING PART ONE.
[00:58:00] SO SHE AND JIMMY FALLON, YOU CAN KIND OF SEE THE IMAGE THERE
[00:58:04] DOING THE SHIMMY TWIST. THEY DID A WHOLE EVOLUTION OF
[00:58:07] KNOW MOCKING HOW MOMS DANCE. APPARENTLY.
[00:58:10] AND THEN IT WAS SO POPULAR AND
[00:58:12] SO FUN THAT THEY DID IT AGAIN IN 2015.
[00:58:15] THEY DID EVOLUTION OF MOM DANCING PART TWO.
[00:58:17] SO VERY ENGAGING, VERY
[00:58:21] RELATABLE. AND THEN SHE ALSO DID A LOT OF
[00:58:23] OTHER KINDS OF TALK SHOWS, BUT
[00:58:26] SHE DID SCRIPTED PROGRAMS AS WELL. MICHELLE OBAMA WAS I A GUEST ON
[00:58:30] PARKS AND REC, ICARLY, SESAME
[00:58:33] STREET, NCIS, NASHVILLE, AND THE SHOW BLACKISH.
[00:58:37] AND SO SHE STARTED TO REALLY MAKE USE OF, AGAIN, THOSE
[00:58:41] COMFORTER PEOPLE, FAMILIAR SPACES WHERE WE MIGHT NOT THINK
[00:58:44] THAT WE'D SEE A FIRST LADY. NOW SHE'S SUDDENLY POPPING UP
[00:58:48] AND SHE'S MAKING HERSELF SEEN,
[00:58:50] MAKING HER ISSUES KNOWN.
[00:58:52] NOW, GRANTED, YOU STILL HAVE
[00:58:54] NANCY REAGAN, WHO BACK IN 83, I
[00:58:58] WANT TO SAY, WAS ON DIFF'RENT STROKES.
[00:59:00] SO THIS WASN'T THE FIRST TIME A
[00:59:02] FIRST LADY SHOWED UP ON SCRIPTED TELEVISION, BUT SHE SORT OF MADE
[00:59:06] AN ARC OUT OF IT. RIGHT. SO MICHELLE OBAMA IS REALLY
[00:59:11] FASCINATING AND INTERESTING THINGS. AND THEN, OF COURSE, IN HER POST
[00:59:13] FIRST LADYSHIP, SHE'S DONE EVEN MORE. SHE HAS A PRODUCTION COMPANY.
[00:59:17] SHE DOES PODCASTS. SHE'S SHE'S LIKE SHE'S ALL OVER THE PLACE.
[00:59:22] SO LET'S CONTINUE ON THE NEXT SLIDE AND TALK A LITTLE BIT
[00:59:26] ABOUT MELANIA TRUMP. SO MELANIA TRUMP, YOU KNOW, WHEN
[00:59:30] I WAS DOING THIS AND PUTTING THE PROGRAM TOGETHER, IT'S LIKE, WHAT ARE THEY BEST KNOWN FOR
[00:59:34] MEDIA WISE?
[00:59:34] AND MELANIA TRUMP, IN ALL
[00:59:38] HONESTY, HAD NOT BEEN TERRIBLY WELL KNOWN FOR ANY PARTICULAR
[00:59:43] MEDIA STRATEGY OR EVENT.
[00:59:45] THERE WERE MOMENTS THAT SHE WAS
[00:59:48] KNOWN FOR THE GREEN JACKET AND OTHER TYPES, RIGHT WHEN SHE
[00:59:51] MIGHT HAVE MADE MISSTEPS. BUT THERE'S NOT THERE HADN'T
[00:59:55] REALLY BEEN ONE MOMENT WHERE YOU SAY, OH, THAT'S HER AND MEDIA
[01:00:00] UNTIL YOU GET TO THE MELANIA. RIGHT. AND THE RELEASE OF THE MOVIE.
[01:00:04] SO WITH MELANIA TRUMP, THE INTERESTING THING WITH HER AND
[01:00:07] HER STRATEGIC USE OF MEDIA IS THIS MOVIE THAT SHE MADE.
[01:00:09] NOW, I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IT AS THE DOCUMENT ENTRY.
[01:00:14] RIGHT? AND IT'S BREAKING RECORDS AS THE
[01:00:17] MOST WATCHED DOCUMENTARY AND THE HIGHEST GROSSING.
[01:00:20] AND, YOU KNOW, LOTS OF DIFFERENT ARGUMENTS. BUT SHE HERSELF HAS ARGUED THAT
[01:00:23] IT'S NOT A DOCUMENTARY. INSTEAD, SHE CALLS IT A CREATED
[01:00:29] EXPERIENCE AND A PURPOSE AND AN EXAMPLE OF PURPOSEFUL
[01:00:34] STORYTELLING. SO WHATEVER THAT MEANS TO YOU IN
[01:00:36] TERMS OF HOW YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY AND
[01:00:40] WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS REALLY RECORD BREAKING OR WHETHER IT'S NOT A DOCUMENTARY AT ALL, I
[01:00:43] THINK IT'S REALLY INTERESTING FOR US TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS
[01:00:46] WAS AN INTERESTING, HISTORIC MOMENT.
[01:00:48] IT'S CONTROVERSIAL.
[01:00:50] THE IDEA OF A FIRST LADY BEING
[01:00:54] PAID $28 MILLION PLUS ADDITIONAL, YOU KNOW, ONES IN
[01:00:57] DIFFERENT KINDS OF WAYS FOR THIS
[01:00:59] INSIGHT INTO THE TRANSITION
[01:01:02] PERIOD TO BECOMING FIRST LADY THE SECOND TIME.
[01:01:05] HOW WERE YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT AND HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THE MOVIE ITSELF?
[01:01:08] THIS IS A HISTORIC MOMENT, RIGHT? AND IT IS A HISTORIC EVENT.
[01:01:11] AND SO FOR MELANIA TRUMP TO HAVE MADE THESE CHOICES, SHE WAS
[01:01:15] THINKING STRATEGICALLY, PROBABLY
[01:01:17] A LITTLE BIT FINANCIALLY, BUT ALSO STRATEGICALLY ABOUT THE
[01:01:21] IMAGE THAT SHE WAS PORTRAYING. SHE WAS ALSO GIVEN FULL EDITORIAL CONTROL.
[01:01:25] SO WHAT YOU SEE, SHE APPROVED. AND SO IT GIVES YOU REAL INSIGHT
[01:01:29] INTO WHAT SHE THINKS ABOUT THE IMAGE THAT SHE'S PORTRAYING.
[01:01:31] AND THEN WITH THAT, I'LL JUST WRAP UP REAL QUICK. I SEE.
[01:01:35] I SEE SUSAN WAS LIKE STAR, SHE'S GOING TO PULL THE MIC FROM MY
[01:01:39] HAND SHORTLY. YEAH. SO WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE
[01:01:43] REAL QUICK. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THOUGHT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING WAS THAT
[01:01:47] THERE'S A I DID A LITTLE EMBED
[01:01:49] SEARCH JUST TO SEE ABOUT WHERE THE FIRST LADIES HAVE POPPED UP
[01:01:53] AND IT'S THERE'S AN INTERESTING COMPARISON THAT HAPPENS. YOU'VE GOT FIRST ELEANOR
[01:01:59] ROOSEVELT, WHO HAS A LOT OF APPEARANCE SIS, BUT MOST OF HER
[01:02:02] APPEARANCES TENDS TO BE ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE.
[01:02:05] SAME THING WITH MELANIA TRUMP. SHE HAS 146 CREDITS AS HERSELF,
[01:02:12] BUT. 345 IN ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE. THAT MEANS THAT SHE'S SHOWING UP
[01:02:14] SORT OF AS BACKGROUND IMAGERY IN
[01:02:17] A LOT OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF PROGRAMS.
[01:02:19] AND SO WHENEVER YOU GET SOMETHING WITH DONALD TRUMP,
[01:02:23] SHE'S SHOWING UP AS SORT OF THE SIDELINE IMAGE AS OPPOSED TO
[01:02:27] ACTUALLY PERFORMING AS HERSELF
[01:02:29] OR HAVING LINES AS HERSELF.
[01:02:32] AND SO I JUST HAD A NICE, NICE LITTLE COMPARISON OF THOSE.
[01:02:35] BUT TO WRAP EVERYTHING UP, WE'LL GO TO THE LAST SLIDE. AND I WILL SAY THIS, ONE OF THE
[01:02:39] OTHER THINGS ABOUT THE FIRST LADY IS WHEN WE START THINKING ABOUT MEDIA AND TALKING ABOUT
[01:02:44] MEDIA IS THAT THEY TRY TO CONTROL THEIR OWN IMAGE.
[01:02:46] VERY IMPORTANT, VERY STRATEGIC,
[01:02:49] AS IT SHOULD BE. BUT ONE OF THE WAYS THAT THEY DO
[01:02:53] THAT THAT WE HEARD ABOUT EARLIER, WE HEARD ABOUT THE MAGAZINE STUFF, BUT WE ALSO
[01:02:57] HEARD ABOUT THE AUTOBIOGRAPHIES. AND SO I'M GETTING A LITTLE PLUG
[01:02:59] TO THE BOOK THAT'S COMING OUT ABOUT THE AUTOBIOGRAPHIES
[01:03:03] BECAUSE ALL THE WOMEN HAVE TRIED
[01:03:05] TO TELL THEIR STORIES AS WE'VE HEARD TODAY, WITH DIFFERENT
[01:03:09] LEVELS OF TRUTHFUL THIS RIGHT AND INSIGHT.
[01:03:12] BUT THEY DO TRY TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THEM.
[01:03:15] AND SO WITH THAT, WE'LL WRAP UP
[01:03:19] THIS PART OF IT AND WE'LL CONTINUE ON. THANKS TO ME. YOU KNOW, I WAS THINKING,
[01:03:22] THOUGH, WITH MELANIA TRUMP, HOW COMPLIMENTARY.
[01:03:24] WHAT YOU'VE DONE IS WITH THE MAGAZINES, BECAUSE THE QUESTION
[01:03:28] IS THAT SHE HASN'T GONE TO THE BIG POPULAR THINGS, BUT REALLY
[01:03:30] HAS APPEARED A LOT IN MANY OF THE MORE CONSERVATIVE
[01:03:34] PUBLICATIONS. SO HER COMMUNICATION SEEMS LESS GENERAL AND MORE TARGETED.
[01:03:37] AND WOULD THAT BE FAIR TO SAY? I THINK THAT'S EXTREMELY FAIR TO SAY.
[01:03:41] SHE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE THE
[01:03:43] IBD, IBD LISTINGS OF HER STUFF,
[01:03:46] IT'S ALL VERY CONSERVATIVE
[01:03:47] PROGRAMS THAT SHE'S BEEN ON. SO SHE'S BEEN ON A LOT OF TALK
[01:03:51] SHOWS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT SHE BUT NOT ON THE ONES THAT
[01:03:55] THE OTHER FIRST LADIES HAD BEEN ON PREVIOUSLY, THE MORE MAINSTREAM ONES. THANK YOU. OKAY.
[01:03:59] IT'S YOUR TIME. DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS IN THE AUDIENCE? IF YOU CAN, AS YOU WOULD.
[01:04:02] RAISE YOUR HAND AND WE'LL BRING THE MIC IN. WHILE DIANA'S DOING THAT.
[01:04:06] ONE QUICK QUESTION FOR ANDY FROM DENISE LAYMAN, WHO'S WATCHING US
[01:04:10] ONLINE. ANDY, WERE THERE ANY SITES YOU LEARNED ABOUT TOO LATE THAT YOU
[01:04:13] JUST WEREN'T ABLE TO GET TO AND WISHED YOU HAD?
[01:04:15] OH, MY GOSH. YEAH, A LOT. NO, NO, NOT WELL.
[01:04:19] SO AGAIN, I MENTIONED THE
[01:04:22] BREAKNECK SPEED AND THE SCHEDULE. WE WE DID A LIVE SHOW.
[01:04:26] YOU KNOW, YOU WERE THERE LIKE WE DID A LIVE 90 MINUTE SHOW EVERY
[01:04:29] WEEK WITH EXCEPTION HERE AND THERE.
[01:04:33] AND I WAS THE ONLY GUY OUT IN THE FIELD DOING THIS.
[01:04:36] I WAS THE ONLY GUY PINBALL ACROSS.
[01:04:38] SO THERE WASN'T TIME TO GET TO LUCY WEB HAYES HOUSE IN
[01:04:42] CHILLICOTHE. BUT I'VE GONE THERE, SO STAY TUNED FOR THE SECOND EDITION.
[01:04:46] AND I JUST SPOKE AT THE TRUMAN LITTLE WHITE HOUSE IN KEY WEST,
[01:04:50] WHICH IS FANTASTIC. I WENT THERE ON VACATION, AND
[01:04:52] BECAUSE KEY WEST ISN'T REALLY AROUND THE CORNER.
[01:04:55] AND SO WHEN WHEN YOU'RE WHEN YOU'RE IN IN YOU KNOW,
[01:04:59] INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI, TALKING ABOUT BESS TRUMAN, YOU DON'T
[01:05:01] JUST HOP DOWN TO KEY WEST AND
[01:05:04] THESE THERE'S A LOT OF SITES THAT ARE IN THERE AND A LOT OF
[01:05:09] MARKERS AND THINGS. I'VE GONE BACK TO THE DOLLY MADISON BIRTHPLACE MARKER, WHICH
[01:05:13] IS ON A SIDEWALK OUTSIDE OF A REAL ESTATE OFFICE IN
[01:05:16] GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, BECAUSE I SPOKE WITH THE
[01:05:19] HISTORICAL SOCIETY THERE, WHO HAS AN INCREDIBLE COLLECTION ABOUT A TREASURE CHEST THAT THEY
[01:05:23] FOUND IN AN ATTIC THAT IS JUST UNBELIEVABLE.
[01:05:27] SO THERE'S THERE'S STILL SO MUCH TO DO. AND THAT'S WHY CONFERENCES LIKE
[01:05:31] THIS AND THE TRAVEL AND THE RESEARCH NEEDS TO CONTINUE. DIANA, THIS QUESTION OVER HERE,
[01:05:35] I THINK.
[01:05:40] THINK.
[01:05:46] TAMMY, I JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU, BECAUSE I WAS INTERESTED IN MICHELLE OBAMA'S
[01:05:50] TWITTER ACCOUNT.
[01:05:52] AND I NOTICED ON YOUR SLIDE IT
[01:05:54] WAS HER HER PERSONAL, YOU KNOW, CORRECT.
[01:05:57] BECAUSE NOW YOU SEE THAT FIRST LADY HAS OFFICE OF THE FIRST
[01:06:01] LADY OR FLOTUS, YOU KNOW, 47.
[01:06:06] AND SO I WAS JUST KIND OF CURIOUS, LIKE, DO YOU RECALL IF
[01:06:10] MICHELLE OBAMA ONLY HAD THE PERSONAL ACCOUNT OR DID SHE HAVE
[01:06:12] IT LIKE FIRST LADY'S OFFICE ACCOUNT? NO, SHE STARTED THE FLOTUS
[01:06:16] ACCOUNT TO. SO THE ORDER THAT IT WENT THERE
[01:06:18] WAS THAT THE JOINING FORCES
[01:06:22] ACCOUNT WAS FIRST. AND THEN MICHELLE OBAMA OPENED HER PERSONAL ACCOUNT.
[01:06:25] AND THEN SHORTLY AFTER THAT, THE FLOTUS ACCOUNT.
[01:06:27] SO SO THEN THERE WERE AN OFFICIAL FIRST LADY KINDS OF
[01:06:31] THINGS FROM THAT ACCOUNT TO DO IT. BUT A LOT OF TIMES THEY WERE LINKED TO THE MESSAGING AND THAT
[01:06:35] FLOTUS ACCOUNT TRANSFERS TO EACH
[01:06:39] ADMINISTRATION. YOU KNOW, THEY TAKE IT OVER AND THEN THEY GET A MICHELLE OBAMA
[01:06:42] ARCHIVED ACCOUNT THAT THEY PUT IN. SO YOU CAN STILL GET THAT CONTENT. NANCY.
[01:06:47] IT'S JUST TIPS AND THAT SONG,
[01:06:50] YOU KNOW, NOT IT'S ON THE WHITE
[01:06:56] HOUSE. TRUMP WEBSITE.
[01:06:59] THEN BIDEN WEBSITE QUOTE THIS SIGN THERE. IT'S OKAY.
[01:07:03] AND THEN AVAILABLE TO SEE.
[01:07:06] BUT I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU,
[01:07:08] TAMMY, BECAUSE I FOUND IT IN
[01:07:12] INTERESTING CHOICE THAT YOU
[01:07:14] SKIPPED OVER LADY BIRD JOHNSON,
[01:07:17] WHO HAD THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL
[01:07:18] PRESS SECRETARY WHO WAS
[01:07:21] JOURNALIST HERSELF, WHO WAS AND
[01:07:25] MARKETING THE TV STATION AND
[01:07:27] REALLY TRANSFORMED THE PRESS
[01:07:31] MANSION AND OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY.
[01:07:34] SO YOU ARE INTERESTED WHY DID
[01:07:37] NOT THINK THAT THAT WAS SORT OF
[01:07:41] IN THE PACE OF EVOLUTION? NO, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
[01:07:45] AND IF WE HAD A LIMITED TIME, I WOULD LOVE TO PUT A LOT MORE
[01:07:48] ABOUT HER IN IT, PARTICULARLY. BUT I SORT OF FELT LIKE LOOKING
[01:07:51] AT THE OVERALL PROGRAM FOR THE
[01:07:54] FOR THE CONFERENCE TODAY, LIKE GETTING TO THE MORE CONTEMPORARY, THE THE MOST
[01:07:58] RECENT ONE THAT WAS PROBABLY GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE
[01:08:02] MORE OF AN ADDITION TO WHAT'S GOING ON.
[01:08:05] BUT I TOTALLY THAT'S WHY I GIVE HER THE LITTLE NOD AT THE BEGINNING BECAUSE I KNOW THAT,
[01:08:08] YOU KNOW, SHE DESERVES A LOT OF ATTENTION.
[01:08:10] IT'S JUST THAT SHE'S SOMEBODY WE COULD SPEND ALL DAY TALKING
[01:08:14] ABOUT HER MEDIA USE AND EXPERIENCE. AND SO, YOU KNOW, EDITORIAL CHOICES.
[01:08:19] SO SORRY. OH, YEAH.
[01:08:21] I MEAN, THERE ARE SO, SO MUCH THAT YOU CAN TALK ABOUT WITH ALL
[01:08:25] OF THESE FIRST LADIES. I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT TODAY HAS SHOWN US ALL A LOT.
[01:08:29] WE'RE GOING TO KEEP YOU AND EVERYBODY IS JUST KEEP DIVING IN AND KEEP DIVING IN.
[01:08:33] THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO. SO POINT TAKEN.
[01:08:37] AND ACKNOWLEDGE IT. YOU KNOW, ANOTHER AUDIENCE
[01:08:41] QUESTION OVER HERE, JODI.
[01:08:50] I HAVE SORT OF A COMMENT AND A
[01:08:53] QUESTION COMMENT. IT HAS BEEN GREAT TO SEE THIS
[01:08:58] MARRIAGE, PUBLIC HISTORY AND
[01:09:00] ACADEMIC RESEARCH AND THE WHOLE
[01:09:03] CONFERENCE TODAY HAS BEEN A
[01:09:05] REALLY NICE, ECLECTIC APPROACH.
[01:09:09] IF FOR ALISON FLETCHER
[01:09:13] RESEARCHING EDUCATION, OUR MISSION.
[01:09:15] SO LET ME HEAR FROM THE PANEL
[01:09:18] ABOUT YOUR IDEA IS OF HOW WE CAN
[01:09:20] DO A LOT MORE WORKING TOGETHER
[01:09:24] TO BROADEN OUR OUR AUDIENCES
[01:09:26] EVEN MORE WITH THE KIND OF WORK
[01:09:28] THAT YOU DO.
[01:09:33] AND I AM ALL FOR THAT.
[01:09:38] I THINK IT ALL STARTS WITH CROSS-PROMOTION, IT JUST EVEN
[01:09:40] GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER. I MET SO MANY WONDERFUL PEOPLE
[01:09:44] IN LESS AND LESS THAN 24 HOURS.
[01:09:47] BUT BUT JUST FOLLOWING UP WITH EACH OTHER AND AND COORDINATING
[01:09:51] LIKE WITH THE NATIONAL FIRST LADIES MUSEUM AND LIBRARY, ALL
[01:09:55] THESE INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE
[01:09:57] ALREADY IN EFFECT AND AND TRYING TO KIND OF RALLY THE FORCES
[01:10:01] TOGETHER. SO THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW,
[01:10:05] PROMOTING THINGS TOGETHER AND.
[01:10:08] FOR ME, I AM TRYING TO KIND OF
[01:10:13] GET KIDS AT THE MIDDLE GRADE
[01:10:15] STAGE, MY BOOKS OR UPPER MIDDLE
[01:10:17] GRADE SLASH I CALL IT SUITE WAY, BUT TRYING TO GET KIDS WHEN
[01:10:23] THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, UPPER LEVEL, FOURTH GRADE THROUGH SEVENTH,
[01:10:25] EIGHTH GRADE OF INTRODUCING THEM TO LIKE SOMEONE LIKE DOLLY
[01:10:29] MADISON THAT THEY DON'T EVEN REALLY STUDY THE WORD 1812 IN SCHOOL.
[01:10:32] I DIDN'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT DOLLEY MADISON. LIKE I SAID, UNTIL I STARTED
[01:10:35] RESEARCHING HER.
[01:10:37] SO I, I THINK PART OF IT IS WE'VE GOT TO LOOK AT THE NEXT
[01:10:41] GENERATION AND WE'RE INTERESTED, BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE HERE FOREVER.
[01:10:44] AND THERE'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER GENERATION AND TRYING TO FIGURE
[01:10:48] OUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO ENGAGE
[01:10:50] THESE YOUNG PEOPLE SO THAT THESE
[01:10:54] ORGANIZATIONS CONTINUE SO YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY.
[01:10:57] BEING THE HISTORY MOM, I HAVE A PASSION FOR BRINGING HISTORY
[01:11:01] LIKE THIS AND MAKING IT FUN FOR KIDS THERE.
[01:11:03] I MEAN, THESE WOMEN ARE AMAZING AND THEY WERE MOTHERS. THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO
[01:11:07] PARENT WHILE DRIVING, DRIVING A
[01:11:11] CARRIAGE ACROSS EUROPE OR IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
[01:11:13] AND SO KIDS HEARING THAT AND AND
[01:11:15] LEARNING ABOUT THESE AMAZING
[01:11:18] WOMEN, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S NEEDED BECAUSE THEY'RE
[01:11:21] GOING TO CONTINUE ON THE LEGACY. AND SO WE'VE GOT TO TEACH THEM
[01:11:23] AND FIND A WAY TO REACH THEM THROUGH BOOKS, THROUGH
[01:11:27] HISTORICAL SITES, LIKE REALLY MAKING AN EFFORT TO GET AT THE
[01:11:29] YOUNGER GENERATION INVOLVED.
[01:11:33] I'M GOING TO I'M GOING TO AGREE WITH BOTH OF THEM. WHEN I STARTED THIS, THE
[01:11:37] TRAVELING FOR THE C-SPAN SERIES,
[01:11:39] WHAT I NOTICED IS THAT A LOT OF PLACES DIDN'T TALK.
[01:11:43] A LOT OF PLACES DIDN'T TALK
[01:11:45] WITHIN THEIR OWN ORGANIZATIONS. A LOT OF PLACES WERE VERY, VERY
[01:11:49] DEFINED. AND I GET IT. THERE'S NOT A LOT OF MONEY IN
[01:11:53] HISTORY. THERE'S NOT A LOT OF GLAMOR IN HISTORY.
[01:11:56] AND YOU'VE GOT TO HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU'VE GOT. AND SOME OF THESE PLACES,
[01:12:00] ESPECIALLY THE LITTLE PLACES, ARE IN SUCH DANGER OF BEING SHUT DOWN BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE
[01:12:04] MONEY. BUT LOOK AT THE ROOM. LOOK AT THE DIVERSITY THAT WE'VE
[01:12:08] ACCOMPLISHED ALREADY. AND I'M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT
[01:12:10] PHYSICAL HUMAN DIVERSITY, DIVERSITY IN MEDIA, MULTIMEDIA,
[01:12:16] UTILIZE THING THAT I WENT KICKING AND SCREAMING TO UP IN
[01:12:19] THAT I DID NOT WANT TO GO THERE AND NOW I DO ONE EVERY DAY AND
[01:12:22] AND SOMETIMES I DON'T MEAN TO BE
[01:12:26] BRAGGING. IT'S THE INTEREST.
[01:12:29] IT'S THE AND TICK TOCK IS IT'S GETTING OLDER. BUT IT STARTED OUT AS A YOUNG
[01:12:33] PERSON'S GAME AND I'LL HIT 1502
[01:12:36] THOUSAND VIEWS IN UNDER AN HOUR. AND THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT I
[01:12:40] DON'T KNOW. THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT LINKED TO MY FACEBOOK.
[01:12:44] THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT NOT YOUTUBE AND EVERYTHING.
[01:12:46] SO I THINK AS WE DIVERSIFY HOW WE DELIVER THE CONTENT AND THE
[01:12:50] SHARING OF THE CONTENT AND IT'S NOT JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, I'M
[01:12:54] OVER HERE AT THIS HISTORICAL SITE, GET OUT OF MY ARTIFACTS.
[01:12:57] NO, NO, NO. SHARE THE ARTIFACTS.
[01:12:59] LET EVERYBODY KNOW A VERY, VERY
[01:13:03] SURPRISING AND WONDERFUL SIDE EFFECT OF THIS BOOK, BECAUSE I
[01:13:06] JUST I'D NEVER WRITTEN A BOOK BEFORE OR TWO. AND I WROTE IT THE WAY I TALK
[01:13:10] AND I WROTE IT JUST WHAT CAME OUT AND WHAT FELT IN EACH OF
[01:13:13] THESE PLACES. THERE'S A LOCATION, THERE'S MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.
[01:13:16] IN THE END, I LISTED THOSE LOCATIONS. PEOPLE CAME UP TO ME AT SPEECHES
[01:13:20] THAT I DIDN'T KNOW THAT PLACE EXISTED. I WENT TO THAT PLACE AND I
[01:13:24] ALWAYS SAY TO TELL THEM THE FIRST LADY'S MAN SENT YOU. NOW THIS THIS FIRST LADY'S DAY
[01:13:28] COMMISSION THAT I'M ON WITH PEOPLE IN THE ROOM.
[01:13:32] DIANA AND ANITA AND DAVID.
[01:13:34] YOU KNOW, WE'RE MOVING THIS NEEDLE FORWARD AND WE'VE
[01:13:37] CREATED, BASED ON THIS INITIAL LIST THAT I CREATED BECAUSE OF
[01:13:41] C-SPAN AND JUST WHERE THEY SENT ME OR WHERE THE BOOK TOLD ME TO
[01:13:44] GO. WE HAVE ON OUR WEBSITE FIRST
[01:13:47] LADIES DAY.ORG, A NATIONAL HISTORIC FIRST LADIES TRAIL.
[01:13:51] WE'VE GOT A SIGN I PHYSICALLY
[01:13:53] HAVE THE SIGNS MADE AND MAIL THEM FROM SHADY SIDE TO
[01:13:57] LOCATIONS. THERE'S A QR CODE ON THAT SIGN.
[01:13:59] THAT SIGN TAKES YOU TO THE TRAIL PAGE. EACH ONE OF THOSE LOCATIONS AND
[01:14:03] ANY LOCATION THAT QUALIFIES CAN
[01:14:05] HAVE AN ENTIRE WEBSITE, SITE PAGE ON OUR PAGE TO PUT ANY
[01:14:09] RESOURCES THEY WANT. WE CAN SHARE ANYTHING AND
[01:14:13] EVERYTHING ON THAT PAGE AND IT CAN BE A MASSIVE UMBRELLA FOR
[01:14:17] PEOPLE TO PHYSICALLY GO AND PUT MONEY IN THE POCKETS OF THESE
[01:14:20] PLACES TO SUPPORT THEIR
[01:14:22] LOCATIONS AND THEIR ARTIFACTS AND THEIR COLLECTIONS THAT THEY
[01:14:25] CAN THEN SHARE WITH OTHER PEOPLE. AND I WOULD ALSO AGREE WITH
[01:14:29] EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN SAID SO FAR. TOTALLY AGREE.
[01:14:31] NO, NO COMPLAINTS, NO NOTES, EXCEPT FOR ONE. MY ONE.
[01:14:34] NO, IT WOULD BE THE ONE THING THAT I THINK WE COULD DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER ON IN A LOT OF
[01:14:37] DIFFERENT KINDS OF WAYS IS BLENDING THE STORYTELLING OF THE
[01:14:41] PUBLIC. FOLKS WITH THE ANALYTICS AND
[01:14:45] ANALYTICS, ANALYTICAL INSIGHTS OF THE ACADEMICS BY ACTUALLY NOT
[01:14:48] JUST SAYING, HERE'S WHERE THEY
[01:14:50] STOOD AND HERE'S WHAT THEY DID, BUT HERE'S WHAT IT MEANS AND
[01:14:54] HERE'S HOW IT'S IMPACTING TO BRING IT ALL TOGETHER, TO MAKE
[01:14:57] IT A FULLER LESSON. SO I WOULD JUST SUGGEST THAT,
[01:14:59] YOU KNOW, MARRYING THE TWO AREAS
[01:15:01] TOGETHER A LOT MORE EFFECTIVELY WOULD REALLY BRING OUT THE
[01:15:05] EDUCATIONAL VALUE AND THE INSIGHTS IN A WAY THAT CAN REACH
[01:15:08] A LOT OF PEOPLE AND REALLY BE MEANINGFUL.
[01:15:10] SO WE'RE STATING THE OBVIOUS, THE FOUR OF US ON THIS SUNDAY
[01:15:14] COULD NOT DO OUR WORK WITHOUT ALL OF THE RESEARCHERS,
[01:15:18] BIOGRAPHERS, CURATORS, HISTORIANS AND THOSE WHO RUN THE
[01:15:20] SITES THAT GIVE US THE MATERIAL TO WORK WITH.
[01:15:23] SO IT IS A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP FOR SURE.
[01:15:27] BUT TELL ME THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT IS WE ALL HOPE TO INSPIRE.
[01:15:29] SO WHAT KINDS OF STUDENTS ARE TAKING YOUR FIRST LADIES
[01:15:33] CLASSES? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T ACTUALLY TEACH FIRST LADIES
[01:15:37] CLASS, SO I TEACH A CAMPAIGNS CLASS THAT HAS FIRST LADY TIME TO DO THAT. YEAH, I KNOW.
[01:15:41] I KEEP TRYING AND I KEEP TRYING
[01:15:43] TO PUSH THAT ELEMENT. BUT I THINK THE THING IS THAT
[01:15:46] YOU'RE TRYING TO INSPIRE YOUR STUDENTS TO IN, IN DIFFERENT
[01:15:50] KINDS OF WAYS, LIKE THE STUDENTS THAT I DO GET THAT WANT TO LEARN
[01:15:52] MORE AND DO INDIVIDUAL PROJECT X
[01:15:55] ON FIRST LADIES TENDS TO BE STUDENTS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN
[01:15:58] GENDER STUDIES IN HISTORY AND IN
[01:16:01] FUTURE STUDIES, LIKE TRYING TO THINK ABOUT MOVING FORWARD AND
[01:16:04] SOLVING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS LIKE, YOU KNOW, ARE WE
[01:16:09] EVER GOING TO HAVE A FEMALE PRESIDENT? YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE THINGS,
[01:16:11] THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT WOMEN HAVE MADE AND WHAT WHY DO WE
[01:16:15] KEEP SEEMING TO HIT THIS CEILING AT PARTICULAR KINDS OF POINTS?
[01:16:18] AND WHAT DON'T WE UNDERSTAND? AND YET AND SO I THINK THAT'S
[01:16:22] ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY KIND OF DRIVES THE STUDENTS THAT
[01:16:24] I GET AT THIS POINT IN TIME, SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MEDIA,
[01:16:28] WHAT DO YOU ALL OR ANY OF YOU THINK ABOUT THE PROMISE AND
[01:16:32] PERILS OF A IN FIRST LADY'S
[01:16:34] STUDIES IN RESEARCH.
[01:16:40] I ACTUALLY I'M RIGHT NOW I'M I'M RESEARCHING FOR I'M WRITING A
[01:16:42] BOOK ON ABIGAIL ADAMS AND I IT'S
[01:16:44] ACTUALLY BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE KIND OF YOU CAN ASK A VERY
[01:16:49] SPECIFIC QUESTION AND YOU GET THE ANSWER AND THEN ONCE YOU TO
[01:16:52] THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORIC SIGHTING AND YOU CAN GO TO THE
[01:16:55] PRIMARY SOURCE. SO I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, ALL IN
[01:17:00] MODERATION, BUT I THINK IT'S FOR ME AT LEAST RIGHT NOW, I FEEL
[01:17:02] LIKE IT'S A IT'S A NEAT TOOL
[01:17:05] THAT I FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN ABLE
[01:17:07] TO DO MUCH MORE DETAILED
[01:17:09] RESEARCH, MUCH MORE QUICKLY THAN
[01:17:13] JUST LOOKING THROUGH THIS BOOK, LOOKING THROUGH THAT BOOK.
[01:17:17] SO, UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S IT'S
[01:17:19] ALL, ALL IN MODERATION.
[01:17:21] I'M A WRITER. I'M A TELEVISION PRODUCER.
[01:17:24] I'VE BEEN DRUMMING SINCE I WAS SEVEN.
[01:17:27] I'M IN TWO BANDS CURRENTLY, AND
[01:17:29] I FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT I AS I
[01:17:31] DID ABOUT TICK TOCK AND I'M GOING KICKING AND SCREAMING LIKE
[01:17:34] AN OLD MAN ALL THE WAY ALONG. AND I WERE TALKING DURING ONE OF
[01:17:38] THE BREAKS. I FOR ANOTHER COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PURPOSE.
[01:17:41] I WAS AT A CONFERENCE RECENTLY
[01:17:44] ON NUCLEAR ENERGY AND POWER
[01:17:46] RESOURCES AND A VERY CLEVER MAN
[01:17:52] SAID THAT EVERYTHING HE READS
[01:17:54] ABOUT THE CAUTIONARY ELEMENTS OF
[01:17:57] A I USE RESPONSIBLY LOO USE IN
[01:18:01] MODERATION IS THE SAME WARNING WE HAVE ON CIGARETS AND ALCOHOL
[01:18:05] PACKAGING. THIS GUY'S BRILLIANT. I MEAN, YOU CAN LOOK HIM UP.
[01:18:08] THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION. HE WAS IN ROCKVILLE A COUPLE OF
[01:18:11] MONTHS AGO. EVEN AT THE BEGINNING, YOU KNOW,
[01:18:16] IN TALKING TO A LOT OF MY EDUCATIONAL FRIENDS AND COLLEGE PROFESSORS AND THINGS, YOU KNOW,
[01:18:20] THIS GENERATION, THE KIDS THAT ARE IN SCHOOL NOW IS USING IT.
[01:18:23] AND WE'RE GETTING BETTER AT KNOWING HOW YOU USE A.I.
[01:18:26] BUT WE HAVE TO BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL, LIKE WHEN WE, YOU KNOW,
[01:18:29] DON'T USE HIGH AND DRIVE, YOU KNOW, NOT TO THINK MAYBE THEY'LL
[01:18:33] BE IN WHATEVER MAD WOULD BE A I
[01:18:36] D D, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THAT WOULD END UP TO BE.
[01:18:39] BUT BUT YOU YOU HAVE TO BE AN
[01:18:42] EDITOR OF A.I. YOU HAVE TO REALLY, REALLY REMEMBER THAT.
[01:18:45] AND PEOPLE THAT DON'T EDIT FOR A LIVING OR PEOPLE THAT DON'T
[01:18:49] WRITE FOR A LIVING DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE EDITORIAL ASPECTS OR
[01:18:53] EDITING. AND IT'S NOT THAT THAT'S NOT YOUR ANSWER. THAT'S YOUR GUIDE OR YOUR
[01:18:58] OUTLINE TO THE ANSWER. HISTORY CHANNEL A LOT OF THE
[01:19:01] SHOWS THAT I WATCH NOW ARE DOING A VERY, VERY GOOD JOB OF SAYING
[01:19:04] WHEN SOMETHING IS ON THE
[01:19:06] UNSOLVED MYSTERIES WITH LAURENCE FISHBURNE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THEY'LL EVEN COME.
[01:19:10] THERE'S A WARNING JUST LIKE ALCOHOL. JUST AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SHOW. I SAW IT LAST NIGHT.
[01:19:14] I WATCHED THE INCREDIBLE SHOW ON VIKING GOLD AND IT SAID, YOU
[01:19:18] KNOW, CAUTION THIS PROGRAM
[01:19:20] CONTAINS A I ELEMENTS.
[01:19:23] AND WHEN WHEN A THING POPS UP,
[01:19:25] YOU KNOW THE FOOTAGE OR THE IMAGE IT SAYS, I GENERATED, AS
[01:19:29] LONG AS WE KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM AND YOU SOURCE IT RESPONSIBLY AND USE IT
[01:19:33] RESPONSIBLY, OF COURSE IT'S TECHNOLOGY. IT'S A GREAT TOOL. BUT LIKE THE INTERNET, IT CAN BE
[01:19:36] USED FOR EVIL. IT CAN BE IT CAN BE HORRIBLE.
[01:19:40] SO STOP WRITING SONGS WITH AI AND START RESEARCHING AS YOU
[01:19:44] WERE SAYING. YEAH, I THINK I FEEL VERY
[01:19:46] CONFLICTED OVER THE AI QUESTION.
[01:19:48] ON THE ONE HAND, I CAN SEE SOME REALLY FASCINATING AND
[01:19:52] INTERESTING USE. WE'VE GOT THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS THAT ARE GROWING UP
[01:19:55] WITH MUCH MORE VISUAL, YOU KNOW, MEETING AND WE'RE ACQUIRING MORE
[01:19:59] VISUAL STIMULATION. AND SO WE COULD REALLY USE AI
[01:20:01] AND INTERESTING WAYS TO BRING HISTORY ALIVE.
[01:20:04] I'VE SEEN SOME FASCINATING VIDEOS. THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON IN IN
[01:20:08] OUR FILM TELEVISION DEPARTMENT
[01:20:10] WHERE YOU CAN CREATE ART MOVING
[01:20:14] IMAGES OF PEOPLE FROM THE PAST. AND SO THAT COULD MAKE THE FIRST
[01:20:18] LADIES OF THE PAST BE MORE REAL
[01:20:20] TO CONTEMPORARY AND YOUNGER AUDIENCES.
[01:20:23] ON THE OTHER HAND, I HOLD THIS
[01:20:26] AND ASIANS ARE REAL AND WE DON'T
[01:20:28] WANT TO END UP BEING IRRESPONSIBLE WITH THE ACTUAL
[01:20:32] INFORMATION THAT GETS SPREAD OUT. SO ON THE ONE HAND, IT COULD BE
[01:20:35] SUPER USEFUL. ON THE OTHER HAND, I'M EXTREMELY
[01:20:39] SCARED. WE HAVE TIME FOR, OH, I NEED TO HAVE A QUESTION.
[01:20:42] I'VE JUST WAS GOING TO COMMENT ON THE I ASKED IF THERE'S ANY
[01:20:45] FIRST LADY WHO HAS CATAPULTED
[01:20:47] THE USE OF A.I.
[01:20:49] IT'S MELANIA TRUMP USING
[01:20:51] COMMENTS LIKE, THE ROBOTS ARE
[01:20:54] HERE AND WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT
[01:20:56] HOW TO USE THEM AND NOT MAKE
[01:21:00] CHILDREN ESPECIALLY AFRAID OF THEM AND INCORPORATE THEM.
[01:21:03] NOW IT HAS GARNERED A LITTLE BIT
[01:21:05] OF CRITICISM FROM TEACHERS, BUT
[01:21:09] BUT I THINK IT ILLUSTRATES THE
[01:21:12] FACT HOW A FIRST LADY CAN, IN HER MOMENT OF TIME, CAN HELP
[01:21:17] ELEVATE AN ISSUE THAT IS AFFECTING EVERYBODY.
[01:21:20] AND CERTAINLY THEY MAKE USE OF AI IS ONE. BUT I THINK WE SHOULD GIVE
[01:21:24] CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE THERE. ABSOLUTELY.
[01:21:27] AND THE WHOLE TAKE IT DOWN FOR THE EVIL ELEMENTS OF TO TO
[01:21:31] COMBAT THAT AND TO WORK CHILDREN INTO IT. AND SHE'S NOT GOING TO BECAUSE
[01:21:35] OF THE DIVISIVE LANDSCAPE THAT WE ALL ARE AWARE OF. SHE'S NOT.
[01:21:39] YOU BRING UP A GOOD POINT IS THAT WHEN WHEN THE FIRST LADY
[01:21:42] DOES SOMETHING GOOD, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU VOTED FOR HER
[01:21:45] HUSBAND OR LIKE HER HUSBAND OR NOT, IF SHE'S DOING SOMETHING
[01:21:47] GOOD, WHICH SHE IS NOT LEGALLY REQUIRED TO DO.
[01:21:49] JOB DESCRIPTION YOU PAID OR ELECTED TO DO TO MAKE THE WORLD
[01:21:53] A BETTER PLACE. LIKE TAKE IT DOWN, THEN SAY, HEY, THAT'S A GOOD THING, LET'S
[01:21:57] MOVE ON FROM THE POLITICS.
[01:21:57] BUT YES, SHE VERY MUCH HAS DONE
[01:22:01] BOTH SIDES OF IT. THE GOOD AND THE BAD. AND I THINK SHE'S DONE A VERY
[01:22:04] GOOD JOB AT HITTING BOTH OF THOSE. I FEEL LIKE I WANT TO WRAP THEM
[01:22:09] AROUND THIS FULL DAY AS WE CLOSE HERE.
[01:22:12] AND THIS COULD BE A LONG ANSWER, BUT WE DON'T REALLY HAVE ENOUGH TIME.
[01:22:15] BUT I'D LIKE EACH OF YOU TO COMMENT AS WE CLOSE THIS REALLY INTERESTING, VERY INFORMATIVE
[01:22:20] DAY. FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, WHAT DOES STUDYING FIRST LADIES TEACH YOU
[01:22:24] ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY OR
[01:22:26] AMERICAN CULTURE OF THE PERIODS THAT YOU SPECIALIZE IN OR ACROSS
[01:22:29] OUR OUR HER AMERICAN HISTORY
[01:22:33] THAT YOU WOULDN'T LEARN FROM PRESIDENTIAL STUDIES OR OTHERWISE?
[01:22:37] WHAT PERSPECTIVE AND WE'RE
[01:22:43] TALKING FROM TALKING ABOUT THIS EARLIER I THINK THE FIRST LADIES
[01:22:47] ARE FASCINATING BECAUSE THEY'RE SUCH A WINDOW INTO SOCIETY.
[01:22:51] WHAT WAS SOCIETY LIKE AT THAT
[01:22:53] POINT IN TIME AND WHAT WAS THE
[01:22:57] FASHION? WHAT WERE THE SOCIAL NORMS? WHAT WERE WHAT WAS EXPECTED OF WOMEN?
[01:23:01] AND I JUST I JUST THINK IT'S SO
[01:23:03] NEAT TO JUST IT'S JUST SUCH A QUICK WAY TO JUST HONE IN ON A
[01:23:07] SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD AND THEN WHEN YOU'RE SORT OF LEARNING
[01:23:10] THROUGH THAT PERSON, THEN YOU CAN SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON DURING
[01:23:14] THAT TIME PERIOD. LIKE JILL WAS SAYING EARLIER,
[01:23:18] YOU KNOW, ALL THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED WHEN LAURA BUSH WAS FIRST LADY.
[01:23:21] SO I THINK IT'S JUST A REALLY
[01:23:24] NEAT WINDOW INTO SOCIETY BECAUSE IT ENCOMPASSES SO MANY, SO MANY
[01:23:28] DIFFERENT THINGS. THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT LAYERS
[01:23:30] TO THE FIRST LADY AND HOW SHE'S PERCEIVED.
[01:23:33] AND EVEN AS A REFLECTION OF HER HUSBAND.
[01:23:36] SO AND, YOU KNOW, SO YEAH, I'VE
[01:23:41] DONE YES AS WELL. I THINK IT'S ALSO YOU'RE SEEING
[01:23:45] IT INSIDE INTO A FAMILY WITH THAT FAMILY.
[01:23:49] AND THE DYNAMICS OF THAT FAMILY ARE AFFECTING WORLD, THE WORLD,
[01:23:51] HIS WORLD HISTORY. AND SO I REALLY THINK YOU CAN
[01:23:55] LOOK AT LIKE THE WHEN THESE ALL OF THE WE'VE HEARD ABOUT SO MANY
[01:23:58] SAD STORIES ABOUT LOSING CHILDREN AND AND HOW THAT
[01:24:01] AFFECTS NOT ONLY THE FIRST LADY BUT THE PRESIDENT BUT THE FIRST LADIES.
[01:24:05] YOU SEE THAT THROUGH HER LENS. A LOT MORE OF THE TIME.
[01:24:09] AND SO I JUST LOVE SETTING THE FAMILY DYNAMICS OF ALL OF THESE
[01:24:12] WOMEN AND KNOWING THAT THEY'RE THE MOTHER IN CHIEF IN THE WHITE
[01:24:15] HOUSE AND THEY'RE TRYING TO PARENT. THEY'RE TRYING TO STILL BE A
[01:24:19] FAMILY. YOU KNOW, KEEP THEIR FAMILY UNIT TOGETHER.
[01:24:22] BUT THEY'RE ALSO DEALING WITH ALL THESE EXTERNAL PRESSURES. AND I DON'T THINK YOU SEE THAT
[01:24:26] AS MUCH IN THE PRESIDENT. WE TEND TO SEE THE POLITICS.
[01:24:30] WE DON'T TEND TO SEE THE PERSON, BUT THE FIRST LADY, WE'RE SETTING THE PERSON.
[01:24:34] AND SO I THINK THAT'S SUCH AN
[01:24:35] AMAZING INSIGHT INTO HOW THE
[01:24:38] WHITE HOUSE RUNS. LEAN IN IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOK
[01:24:44] TITLES AND BEST CATCH PHRASES THAT APPLIES HERE.
[01:24:46] YOU'RE ALREADY IN THE ROOM. WOMEN HAVE BEEN IN THE ROOM.
[01:24:50] WOMEN HAVE BEEN IN THE ROOM SINCE BEFORE THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. WOMEN HAVE BEEN IN THE ROOM
[01:24:54] SINCE LONG BEFORE THAT. IT'S NOT THE FACT THAT WE NEED
[01:24:58] TO INVITE WOMEN INTO THE ROOM. IT'S THE FACT THAT WE NEED TO
[01:25:01] RECOGNIZE THEY'VE BEEN THERE, THEY'VE BEEN LISTENING, THEY'VE
[01:25:05] BEEN CONTRIBUTING. WHY WOULD YOU WHY WOULD YOU CUT OUT HALF OF YOUR INTELLECTUAL
[01:25:10] RESOURCES? AND WE HAVEN'T BEEN WE JUST
[01:25:13] HAVEN'T BEEN GIVING THEM CREDIT. AND WHEN YOU GO BACK AND YOU
[01:25:17] LEARN ABOUT THESE WOMEN AND YOU STUDY THEM AS A GROUP AS A
[01:25:20] WHOLE, ALL BEGINNING TO END, MARTHA THROUGH MELANIA AND YOU
[01:25:23] REALIZE HOW THEY'VE BEEN THERE
[01:25:25] THE WHOLE TIME AND ADVISING THE WHOLE TIME.
[01:25:28] AND WE MEN HAVE BEEN LISTENING. WE'VE JUST BEEN TAKING CREDIT.
[01:25:33] SO LEAN IN AND SPEAK UP AND STAND UP.
[01:25:36] BUT LOOK BACK AT HOW LONG WE'VE
[01:25:38] BEEN TAKING YOUR ADVICE.
[01:25:43] WOW. GOOD ANSWERS. SO FOR ME, I WOULD SAY THAT ONE
[01:25:47] OF THE THINGS IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE ALREADY
[01:25:50] BEEN SAID, UNDERSTANDING WHAT I
[01:25:54] WOULD CONSIDER, I KNOW WE OFTEN USE THE TERM SOFT POWER.
[01:25:57] AND WHILE IT'S AN APPROPRIATE TERM AND A WELL-KNOWN TERM, I
[01:26:01] DON'T LIKE THE TERM. IT'S JUST THEY SOUND SO SQUISHY.
[01:26:04] AND WITH ME. SO I THINK ABOUT IT MORE LIKE
[01:26:08] ADJACENT OR INDIRECT POWER AND
[01:26:10] UNDERSTANDING HOW THAT WORKS AND UNDERSTANDING FOR ME AS A
[01:26:13] COMMUNICATION SCHOLAR, THE, THE
[01:26:17] RHETORICAL AVENUES FOR ACCESS AND FOR POWER AND FOR POWER
[01:26:22] DISTRIBUTION AND HOW SOMETIMES THAT IS OVERLOOKED IF IT'S NOT
[01:26:24] IN THE NORM OR PERCEIVED AS
[01:26:28] BEING IN THE NORM. AND THEN ALSO SOMETIMES HOW IT'S
[01:26:32] HOW IT IS AND ISN'T OVERLOOKED, I GUESS SOMETIMES IT IS OVERLOOKED, SOMETIMES IT ISN'T.
[01:26:36] AND WE'RE DOING THE HARD WORK OF TRYING TO MAKE SURE IT ISN'T OVERLOOKED.
[01:26:40] HOW ABOUT A BIG FRIDAY AFTERNOON BURST OF ENERGY FOR A ROUND OF
[01:26:44] APPLAUSE FOR OUR FINAL PANEL? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
[01:26:47] THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL. GOOD ENDING.
[01:26:53] AMERICAN HISTORY TV IS ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
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