On Tuesday’s overcast morning, the message at the Nixon Presidential Library & Museum was clear: “Remember the first ladies.”
In honor of Women’s History Month and the upcoming 115th anniversary of Pat Nixon‘s birthday, the Nixon Library hosted a symposium on Tuesday, March 11, that focused on the influence of Nixon and other first ladies. The event, which gathered historians and experts, delved into the significant ways first ladies have shaped the White House — both in its inner workings and its global reach.
Barbara Franklin, whom President Richard Nixon appointed in 1971 to spearhead an effort to bring more women into high-level government roles, pointed to Pat Nixon’s quiet, but powerful influence in the White House.
“She preferred to let her work speak for itself,” Franklin said, “and her work does speak for itself.”
Pat Nixon’s legacy includes moments of diplomacy that extended beyond the traditional first lady duties of the time.
In 1970, Nixon made her first official foreign trip to Peru following a devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people and left many more homeless. As part of the relief effort, she brought nine tons of humanitarian aid, including food, clothing and medical supplies.
Her visit helped improve the strained relationship between the United States and Peru’s revolutionary government, said Diana Carlin, a founding member of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education.
“When Mrs. Nixon was seen by the people of Peru climbing over the rubble in her suit and heels, the president honored her,” Carlin said.
Back home, Nixon took steps to ensure the White House would be lit for visitors. Bob Bostock, a consultant to the Richard Nixon Foundation, said after Pat Nixon became first lady, she received letters from visitors who noted the White House looked dark at night, unlike the brightly lit monuments around the city. Using leftover funds from the inaugural celebrations, Pat Nixon had lighting installed on the exterior of the White House.
“First ladies have touched people in a very personal way and helped humanize their husbands,” said Nancy Kegan Smith, the retired director of the presidential materials division at the National Archives.
The current first lady, Melania Trump, is carving out her own role in advancing causes close to her. Since her husband’s return to the White House for a second term, she has focused on issues including digital privacy, advocating for the “Take It Down Act,” which aims to strengthen protections for victims of non-consensual sharing of sexual images.
Earlier this year, Trump also resumed White House tours, furthering public engagement with the nation’s executive residence.
During the symposium, speakers reflected on the legacies of several other first ladies, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Lady Bird Johnson.
Roosevelt, regarded as a champion for women’s rights and civil rights, was, Smith said, “much more liberal on civil rights than FDR was.” Similarly, Ford supported women’s right to choose an abortion and was ahead of her husband and some members of his administration on women’s rights, according to Carlin.
In 1964, Johnson hit the road on a train tour across the South, delivering 47 speeches in four days to rally support for her husband’s reelection campaign. The tour was key in swaying Southern voters, Smith said, especially those who were uneasy about Lyndon B. Johnson’s push for the Civil Rights Act. It was the first time a first lady had campaigned on her own.
“The president is paid $400,000 a year,” Franklin pointed out. “The first lady isn’t paid a cent.”
