Patricia Brady and Michael Henderson talked about the life and influence of first ladies Rachel Jackson, Emily Donelson, and Angelica Singleton Van Buren. They responded to telephone calls and electronic communications. Topics included the importance of a White House hostess and the role of women in society and politics.
Rachel Jackson died before her husband was sworn in as president but her memory influenced his presidency. Later in the Jackson administration her niece, Emily Donelson, became White House hostess, but was dismissed due to political and social scandals in Washington society. President Van Buren was a widower. Dolley Madison’s cousin Angelica Singleton became the White House hostess when she married his oldest son.
Video clips were shown of tours of The Hermitage in Nashville, Tennessee, and of Lindenwald in Kinderhook, New York, and of an interview with William Seale.
This was the fifth presentation in the C-SPAN series “First Ladies: Influence and Image.”