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including wow. >> the world has changed but vassar level internet connection is something no one can live without. while is there for our customers. now more than ever it art all starts with great internet. while support c-span as a public service won't these other television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> good morning. my name is karl anthony. i am an author and historian of some 12 or 13 books on the first lady both collective and biography an ones. my first two books were sort of a biography if you will on the role of first lady over a 200 year period from 1789 until

1989. today's panel we are going to be putting our emphasis because there's a lot of material to cover in talking about mrs. nixon. i will open with a very brief overview of the role of first lady. bringing us up to 1969 when pat nixon becomes first lady. and the way at that time theye role was perceived. it'd been less than 10 years jackie kennedy had done her famous white house tour of her restoration work and thehe refurbishing along historical lines of the white house created the white house historical association. she had many other projects and interests but that is what she became most identified with it.

followed by lady bird johnson who first undertook a similar effort in terms of the exterior. meaning the land and the environment. first of washington d.c. and of the nation. there is a big expectation pat nixon would take on a one quote unquote project. on looking at the overall role of first lady we see that from the beginning it was fraught with symbolism when everything they said and did within the traditional confines of 19th century the earlier 20th century with thero expectationsf women's rolls in american society. we see that with first ladies that could be a little bit different. dolley madison for example use

entertaining to essentially integrate not only men and women at social events but members of her husband's a party and the opposition trying to forge the spirit of bipartisanship. lucy hayes it was a famously nicknamed lemonade lucy for not permitting this survey at any alcohol in the white house. and there were cartoons and jokesct made. but in fact it was a political concession to the prohibition party that her husband had made in support of nomination and election. as one gets into the 20th century we see first ladies taken there so call interests a step further into legislation. nellie taft had an interesting

specific issue. she was a member of the national nationalcivic foundation at natl civil society she took a great interest in the improvement of washington d.c. but also the improvement of the health andde safety of federal workers. she was behind a presidential proclamation in 1912 that ensured the health and safety measures of federal workers. she was credited and publicly pr that. lawrence harding was very active in caring for and seeing to the needs and visiting theal hospits where of veterans from the first world war were being treated.

but it was really like an iceberg. because underneath the water she was involved in the appointment of the first director of the veterans bureau. he saw the role of first lady because the media's involvement with the first illustration and photography and then newsreels and thensi sound. increasingly the role of first lady public act becoming politicized. bess truman who many think of as the ultimate non- political first lady was actually behind the scene encouraging the appointment of women on the administration and particular women scientists. she was also advising the president's the arabian american oil company. mimi eisenhower thought of as a quintessential hostess of the

1950s used the hostess role to make a statement on civil rights. and against senator joseph mccarthy. even jackie kennedy was involved in terms of her interest to the art. drafter tv tour everything in the white house should be the best. but in fact was behind the creation of what eventually became the national endowment of the arts and humanities but she took a great interest and the troubling and growing conflict intn vietnam. today we have four individuals who bring with them with special expertise and love and appreciation for the real pat

nixon.ti on the contributions that she made. a i will add that at the end of this panel, will be showing a spectacular film about cap next it also did as first lady. so please stick around for that. i like to introduce immediately to my right sarah is an historian of the white house historical association. maureen and none is a member of the richard nixon foundation board of directors and a longtime friend of the nixon family. her mother was the best friend for many, many decades. it's extremely close. mary bratton is the dean of college of liberal arts at texas state university. the author of pat nixon embattled first lady.

on zoom we will be hearing who work with presidentix nixon for the last five years of his life. wrote the original panels the gallery panel for the first nixon library. they continue to curate multiple exhibits here. includingma the one in 2012 marking theof centennial of pat nixon's life. now, we talked ahead of time about dividing up some of the areas were mrs. nixon had her agreat impact. while each individual will give focus to that we are also going to open it up. we all know a lot about mrs. nixon. if anything is left at our needs mentioning, we will all fill in. i will ask sarah at first as a historian at the white house historical association as well

as a bob to talk about the most immediate public visual impact of pat nixon. that was her work with the white house historical association. >> yes absolutely. it's very difficult to encompass the many white house legacies od mrs. nixon and a short time. i will do my best bob will supplement this asrs well. of course were the most obvious impacts mrs. nixon has on the white house or acquisition effort. if you walk into the white house today it is largely a testament to hit her work. bob will talk a little bit more about those acquisition efforts. this is a problem we are really proud of at the white house's historic caring for an eight legacy not just of mrs. kennedy has made these efforts very public but first ladies throughout the 19th and early 20th century arose the importance of preservation.

people at carolyn harrison, lou hoover and others who really wanted to augment the history of the white house. but, one of my personal favorite things about mrs. nixon's work in terms of the white house collection as she inherently understood museum work doess not end with a collection. so many of us who work at theun museum and archival field understand this. you can have a wonderful fantastic well done collection of objects and furnishings but none of it matters if you don't get people to the door to experience them. while it certainly many white house tourists have come through the years mrs. nixon understood you there were many barriers to entry for different groups on white house tours. she works throughout that's our time there to remove many of these barriers. so, one great example is wheelchair accessibility at the white house. we are talking decades before the americans with disabilities act that mrs. nixon realizes something should be done here.

and previously in terms of white house accessibility, we only see franklin delano roosevelt make some changes to the white house because of his own wheelchair use. w he adds a ramp's calmest message of the west wing and elevators in areas he uses to get from the residence downstairs. these are not an area or a tourist wouldse come to see the white house. those are earlye things we see happen at the white house that are later carried forward to actually include those that are visiting the people's house. that is all thanks to mrs. nixon. another barrier she removes are for blind, deaf, hard of hearing visitors at the white house. realizing if you cannot understand or share what's happening on a tour you're not getting the full experience or thee magic of the white house collection read the in tears in the house. so it works with the white house and guides and increase interpretation that makes it more accessible for deaf, hard of hearing and blind visitors. she has actual tours of the

white house were buying a visitors can physically touch objects in the white house collectionar for that's really remarkable by modern standards and initiates a new era of accessibility at the white house. and a final one i want to touch on in terms of accessibility to actually see the people's house, his multilingual visitors. many visitors to the white house may not speak english as their first language. addingin a multilingual interpretation to come and learn more about the white house really brings in an entirely new demographic mansion. so we see these several different ways that she brings access to the people's house. and it's really remarkable. the white house belongs to the people, as jackie kennedy always. and so you need to bring as many people, as many abilities, languages through the door as you can. and on that same level >> on that same level of tours, another thing i want to add in terms ofha mrs. nexon's long

delawarey -- nixon -- that that we see today, and 'tis the season for white house garden tours, i think this is a really great legacy of mrs. if nixon, the white house garden tours as we mow them today begin with her in 1973. and this is a chance for members of the public to the actually come learn abouthe the history f the grounds. they had had been able to come before for something like an egg roll and see the white house gardens and grounds, but maybe not learn why it matters to preserve in this history. and atus the very first white house spring garden tour that mrs. nixon is hosts, she's got white house guarder ins on hand where you can ask them questions about what their daily work is like or what that flower or plant is as well as historical resources to learn more. and to the bring this to the present, i think it's actually a really interesting piece of her legacy because during the nixon era, if you wanted to go on a tour of the white house, you could line up early in the morning, wait all day, hope you could get in. of course, that's no longer the

case it's very difficult to just decide you want to go to the white house. you've dot to call your congress mark, put in your -- congressman, putut yo enough request very really. but people can decide day of they want to get up close and personal to the white house, and this is especially relevant to washingtonians to actually get a chance to go see the gardens and have reason aunt without putting in weeks and months of requests and work on the back end the go see the people's house. this is something that, of course, you can't have known onceen you first instituted the garden tours, that they would remain one of the most accessible ways for the public to see the white house, but now we see that as a one of her majoreg legacies. and one last thing i'll mention before i want to pop over to bob to talk about the collection itself is something we really takean for granted now, and it's theof illumination after do whie house at night. in 1970, mrs. nixon flips the switch to have the white house lit after ait dark which seemed very crazy now that that wasn't

happening. they even used funds left over for nixon inaugural activities to do so. but now this is l a great legacy that we see that often concern even if a tourist gets in on a redd eye flight and hay want the walk past and see the white house, y that's all thanks to pt if anybodies son. >>th and also you want to mentin the factct that as a person who had worked her whole life sensitive to the time constraint thes of people, particularly federal workers who work 9 to 5, that that can during the holiday season she opened at night the white house. >> yes. so during the holiday season we see the white house candlelight tours become another one of these nixon era institutions that she introduces. and it's a great example, again, of understanding the needs of actual people. and this is the a thread i know we're to going the talk about over and over and over on this panel, that mrs. nixon understood what people needed,

she listened, she cared about people actually coming through theso doors. if you're working a 9-5 job, you can't wake up in the morning, stand in line all day and hope you can get into the white house. but if there's a candlelight holiday tour, you might have the chance to to go in and enjoy the festivities with your family. it's justo one of those other examples of her really tuning into how do we get more people the tex appearance the white house -- peopleou to experience the white house as the -- >> the candlelight tours still held? >> they are not. tway thale ended -- they actually ended around the 9/11 era. >> yeah. bob, i'm hoping you might be able to fill us in a little bit more on the actual process of the collection and creating that large legacy she did. >> sure, i'm happy to. sarah's to excellent explanation of how important it was to mrs. nixon that people be able

to see the house reminded me of a story that she would tell that in 1947 when she and the future president had just arrived in washington, he as the newly-elected representative from the 12th district of california, they received an invitation to go to a reception to the truman white house. and the new representative, young dick nixon, was not too keep on going. he had a very busy workload, and mrs. nixon said to him, come on, dick, we may never get back to that house again. so i think she retained for her entire life the kind of the wonder and awe that people would have is in being able to see the white house. >> but the collections are just amazing,t the acquisitions that she did. ea acquired more than 600 piece of furniture and art and other finishings for the white house collection. that's more than any first lady before or since. and how it all got started is a

pretty interesting story. she andid the president had been over to the diplomatic reception rooms at the state department where with the curator, and these rooms -- rooms are filled with one of the finest collections of 18th century american furniture and art that exists anywhere in the country. and they talked, the nixons talked and said, you know, we ought to get him over here to help us with our collection because it's still, despite the efforts that mrs. kennedy made, it's still, there were still a lot of things that were not properly represented and a true american sense to the hook of the mansion. so she worked with clem konger and others to the acquire piece. she was very, very -- appear pieces. she was very, very -- acquire pieces. she was very, very proud of being ablee to acquire for the white house collection from the family of john and john quincy adams portraits of president

john quincy adams and husband wife louisa. they had a very nice event unveiling that where i think something like 75 of the adams' descendants were at the white house for that event. every corner of the white house, i think, reflects mrs. nixon's commitment to increasing the collection and to really make certain that the house reflected the earliest days of the republic, which is when it was build. in 2011, carl was good enough to mention that i had curated mrs. nexon's centennial visit. several of w us went to the whie house to the meet with some folks about how we might if involve them in the centennial celebrations of mrs. nixon's birth which would happen in 2012, and we met with the curator of the white house, bill allman. and i remember saying to him, we would really like to borrow a couple of pieces to exhibit out at the library in california. mrs. nixon acquired more than 400 piece, i'm sure there's

something in the white house rare house that you could send out there that would not be missed in the white house. -- house. and he quickly replied that the everything she collected was of such quality and such historic importance that none of it is in the white house, and they're going to have to figure out how they can take the couple of things in the mansion at that point and send them out to california. and if they did. they sent us a duncan fife chair that was in r the green room ana beautiful 19th century landscape by william ennis that was called rainbow in the berkshire hills x. we were able to display those two pieces back in 201212 the as part of mrs. nixon's centennial visit. so the reach and effect of what she was able to accomplish both in terms of how the rooms are decorated as a well continues on to this day. she said at the time when they opened the blue room that had recently been rei to -- redone, someone said are you happy,

can -- >> i'd be happy if it lasted 10 years. i just want to read a real quick quotee from william seale probably the best white house historian and certainly a major with,he major impact. he wrote the definitive two-volume history of the white house. fascinating read if you ever get a chance. but he wrote that the nixon era was the greatest single period of collecting in white house history. the great collection of white house americana if today is the long shadow of mrs. nixon. the inpulse, the idea and the emergency were hers. and i don't think anyone captured more succinctly and persuasively the impact that mrs. nixon made on the white house collection and just on how it looks overall. and the fact that all of the things she did to enable more and more people to come through the house and enjoy it particularly in the every rah when it was the -- era when it was much easier to get into the white house is something that,

you know, literally millions of people have seen. they may not know that it was mrs. if nixon who required all these things and made it possible for people with disabilities and others to the come through and enjoy the house, but she really has left, she really left an enduring mark on the executive mansion that people appreciate and really enjoy right up until the present time and, i'm sure, will for many years. >> you know, i know that along with the furniture she was, as you mentioned, the adams' portraits, she was also responsible for the, i think, or permanent loan is what they called it, of a portrait of dolley madison. to public display for the first time in the white house. and was also there to oversee this rather sensitive process of bringing the portraits of the late president kennedy and

jacqueline kennedy and by that time to nasties -- to maas sis, and -- to nasties and arranging for the former first lady and herr children could come back to the white house. mrs. if nixon had known as a senate a and then vice presidential wife theif elderly mrs. woodrow wilson, edith wilson. and i note she first was very excited beforeef she married president nixon at a conference on social services in new york at the waldorf astoria, met mrs. and then, of course, was very close to mamie eisenhower and filled in for mrs. eisenhower during those eight years of the eisenhower presidency. so she was very sensitive to the role of first lady. but i'm wondering, bob, if you could tell us just a little bit about the visit back and how she very sensitively helped the

arrange for the visit of mrs. oma a ssis and her kids. >> sure. mrs. kennedy, when she left the white house after president kennedy's assassination, had not returned to the house at all many invitations from president johnson to do so. but when the portraits of the president and mrs. kennedy were ready to be hung in the white house, normally there'd be a ceremony where the family could come and see the official reception and hanging. these portraits. but mrs. if kennedy did not want to comeck back. so mrs. nixon said, you know, why don't you bring your two children, just the three of you, we'll have a private eventful we'd love to have you here for dinner. the girls can show your children, the nixon daughters, the girls as everybody called them back then -- [laughter] can show the kids around a, and you get to see the portraits privately. so

mrs. onassis agreed do to that. the president sent a government plane up the new york to bring them town to the white house. they came in -- down to the white house. they camepl in completely withot anybody knowing. helen thomas managed to find out, and they promised to get -- she was the reporter for the upi, they made a deal with mrs. thomas that if she would just not print the story until after the visit was over, they'd give her the exclusive. so mrs. onassis andcare rhine and john kennedy came. -- caroline. they were both teenagers at that the point. they had dinner at the white house. the president took them down to the oval office so they could see where their father had worked. it was just a really special kind of family day. and at the end, after the visit was over and the kennedys, mrs. onassis and her children went back to new york, mrs. onassis wrote the most beautiful letter to the president and mrs. nixon that

concluded with a phrase that was just very, very touching. shee said, a day that i have log dreaded has become one of the most precious i have spent with my if children. and that was the only time jackie kennedy returned to the white house from the time she left in december of 1963 until she passed many years later. and i think that,s i think that that sort of, that event is not just important from the standpoint of the history of the white house, but here were two men who had run against each other in 196000, had known each other for a long time from their service in how they came to the house to together in the 1946 election, they were in the senate when vice president nixon was president of the senate. and and had had that very tough and bitter campaign in 19600. -- 1960. but when families are in the white house, i think that they find that that -- sharing that

experience transcends politics. and e remember we had asked caroline kennedy to do a little video explaining that visit, and she said pretty much that at the end. h she said having lived in the white house no matter what party you're in, that transcends anything to do with politics, and and it's more about patriotism and tradition and love of country. and i the that -- i think that reallyps encapsulates something that i think perhaps if isn't as prevalent today but wouldn't be a bad thing to go back to. >> thank you so much for that, bob. and, maureen, i'd like to, you know, turn to you and starting to address what was a very large and ground-breaking role that pat nexon undertook -- pat if nixon undertook as an ambassador to the foreign nations. not an ambassador in any kind of a formal sense, but a goodwill ambassador and a representative of the president at a time when

relation -- when president nixon was very involved in middle east policy. the united states was involved in many south american countries, in their government. of course, in what was then called the soviet bloc behind the iron curtain going to not just the soviet union and china, but to many of the satellites of the soviet union.li and to talk a little bit about why she undertook that role and the impact that she had. >> well, first of all, i'd like toe thank thank the nixon foundation and the a dives for putting -- arthel: archives for putting this together today. thank you very much is. i want to start by saying i am the oldest loving person who knew pat nixon for her entire life. i was born in 194 the 2, so do the math. pat was born in 19212.

i want to go back just a bit, how this happened. my mother, helene, was teaching at whittier high school, and thelma -- she had changed her name from thelma to pat in honor of her father because she was born on the evening of st. patrick's day. my mother and pat met when they were teaching at whittier high school, and they became longtime best friends. they even died in the same year. kind of gruesomesome -- grew in, but -- gruesome, but just to show -- [laughter] their friendship. i knew pat and president nixon from i the time that i was born. and if i'm a much better person for knowing both of them. they really were incredible people. i think the first memory i had, born in 19422, the first memory i had of them coming to our really very small house in long beach, i'm a very high active

person, very, very lots of energy and i didn't like to go to bed. and h i had this huge rabbit, it was a stuffed rabbit. can i call hymn dick? dick and pat would say maureen, go get your bunny. so i'd run down the hall, get the bunny, bring it back. oh the bunny looks like it's really tired, maybe he should go to bed. so here we are running back and forth in the hallway and then falling asleep. but, you know, incredible stories. so to fast forward to 1953 when he was vice president under president eisenhower, president eisenhower came to vice president nixon and pat and said, i want you to go to -- on a 00-week trip to 19 countries, 43,000 miles. well, pat had never left her children, risch shah was 8 at

the time -- trisha a was 8 at the time, julie was 6. and if you have ever traveled to the far east, you know how good it is. they were going to 19 different countries in different weather, different people, different leaders, different food, the whole nine yards. i remember that pat came out to go shopping with my mother, and maybe some of you remember there was a store called buffam's here in -- i see. [laughter] in southern california. and the buyer had selected some clothes for pat that needed little or no ironing. and so she actually got those clothes. she splurged on one dress that was chiffon. and when they got to india, she had the wonderful person at the hotel -- she only brought one person with her, by the way, on this entire 19-country trip. one person. uh-huh. consider what today is. anyway, this lovely lady was

easterning the chiffon, and you know that chiffon grows, it stretches.s. [laughter] so for the' state dinner that night if -- and if you want the details on this too, julie nixon eisenhower wrote a fantastic book called pat nixon: the untold story, that you can get. and it's really a lot of details that, you know, i don't have time to share with you, but you can read about it. anyway, the chiffon was on the floor and so when she put this dress on, and she was very trim, as you know, for her entire life. so they zipped up her dress, and on the bottom was w all of the v upon the that had swirl -- chiffon that had swirled down. she wrapped it around her body, she walked dun into the state dinner, and she stood there motionless. and she. wroteot to my mother, helene, that was when the statue was born. because she absolutely could not move at all. she was, they absolutely loved her. they loved her because, as she

said, even though i can't speak your language, you will know if i have love in my, excuse me, in my heart for you. the way she -- on this trip was she really wanted to meet the people. she did not want to go to teas anded luncheons. she wanted to actually go to the schools and go to the hospitals andpl visit the people, be with them.gu so she learned language phonetically to be able to greet the people. and she also, one story is, you know, people say how in the world did she deal with all the food that she'd never seen of one story when she was in burma and they were at a dinner, she could not be the ugly american and say, ooh, what is this, i don't think i like it, i'm a vegan or whatever. i mean, you didn't like -- do that. [laughter] so there was an unplucked bird with on the plate with beady eyes, so she touched it with her fork, and it fell off the a plate. but she discreetly lifted it

right back on the fork again and just ate around it. i know when she was -- back in the day, back in 1954 when they went, there were no phones and, you know, no technology like we have now. so she would write my mother letters and say, you know, what was happening on the trip. and those letters are in the archives. she also left her two two daughters, 8 8 and 6 years old,o she wanted to actually keep in touch with them. tell me about school, how are you doing, what's the weather like, where did your friends go, what's the birthday party like? if she was just loved so much, and people, you know, that trip, that goodwill trip actually was the goodwill body. so it -- ambassador. so it wasn't only that trip, she went on further trips. she went to visit a leper colony in panama. can you imagine? she was the first woman to enter a combat zone in vietnam and going intoo a helicopter. she visited the men in the

hospital who had a served in the war in the vietnam war. she went to them, she sat but their can -- by their bedsides. she wanted to know the names of their parents or loved ones here in the united states or wherever they were,e, and when she got back, she actually phoned their parents and said i sat with your son, and he's doing well. she or, you know, was the great ambassador for the, you know, we all know the story about going to china, and she didn't want to go, you know, to the teas and the luncheons, so she visited a placere where they had acupuncture. shedo visited the zoo. you know the story of the pandas, and, you know, she just was that kind of person. she was an enthusiastic person. she was a real person. the climates and those trips in the far east were absolutely sometimes were 100 degrees and then you go back to cold

weather. they went to -- maybe some of you have been there, burma, laso, cambodia, the fill license -- laos, afghanistan. she took two suit candidates, one assistant -- suit suitcases, one assistant, 19 ones -- countries, 43,000 miles in 10 weeks. did she get sick? no. did she get hungry? yes. [laughter] they were able to take k rations, they were able to take, you know whene you go on the airplane they give you snacks? so they actually took those things from the airplanes, and they put them in their suitcases because s sometimes when they'd come back from a state dinner -- 60 on that trip -- they were the really, really hungry. so they'd sit down and eat the saltines and the tomato soup. but i think one thing that is really just absolutely engraved in my mind is that when she said even though you can't speak their s language, they will know by the smiles and the hugs that

you truly have lo in your -- loveve in your heart for all of them. and asn mentioned on the panel too, she was voted the most admired woman in the world for 17 years even when she left the white house. she was right up there with mother teresa. and, you know, she was just a great lady. so this symposium today is just really, really great. >> i know one particular trip that she took that was really kind of, you know, wonderful was the trip to the russia. of course, the trip to china too, but, you know, people don't know that at that time these would -- despite television and stereotypes, ultimately life in a communist country was still a list -- mystery. life in the soviet union and in

these other soviet, you know, communist satellite countries. and then in, as it's called red china as what of a pejorative term, but meaning it was communist china, that the it's followed -- television followed her. and for the first time because of mrs. nixon, americans were seeing and experiencing through her eyes and experiences what life in the soviet union and china was like. >> right. and i think too the fact that when eisenhower actually selected them to be on the trip. you probably already know there were half a billion communist chinese that were vying for these countries. so and no westerners had been there to actually -- they didn't know what even a westerner was like. so the ec peen -- experience that and to really form a bond that was treasured forever.

it really was. >> i think also her trip to the three african nations as first lady were very important. not only in terms of, you know, international relations and what the nixon administration wanted to achieve, with but at a time when the united states was undergoing the first wave, the first generation of several rights legislation. seeing people of color and seeings mrs. nixon be so personable and so involved and so welcomed so warmly, that that had -- that had a second kind of impact that perhaps was not always immediately obvious. can yous recall my stories abot her trips to ghana or the ivory coast or -- >> yes. she went to the first inauguration of the president in the ivory coast. and i want to go back to

something, many people askk me, okay, how did she do this on these trips. how kid she pack her clothes. and her? secret for packing, maybe you mow this, was to put tissue paper between -- so if i were going to pack this jacket, i would fold it. but if i were going to pack the pants, i would put tissue taper between the jacket withs expect9 pants -- paper. and then i would take my shoe, i'm not going to do a total visual here. [laughter] she would take her shoes and actually put things that would fit into the shoes. you'll see those pictures of her in ghana, she was actually -- they draped her, maybe some of you have been to africa. people are so warm and welcoming. what they did was they actually wrapped her in the country's cloth, put a turban on her head, and they asked her to get up and dance, and she did. she just really loved the people so much, and there -- oh, my gosh, thank you. [laughter] thank you foru. the incredible,

yes, video. and you can see they had her get out and dance. the children absolutely loved her. they would crawl inr.r. her lap. there's a really quick story about when she was on one of the trips, a little girl came up to her -- sir, do you mind? she was 6 years old, and she did not drop mrs. nixon's hand all the a way into the gathering. she just held steadfast on to her hand. you can see how much she was loved. >> you know, and i think one point to make with that particularly with the foreign trips is that there's legislation and there's policy and there are treaties and there are wars that deal with all of realities of international relations. but when you see somebody from an entirely different culture treating others simply as human beings when they're men or women or children or older people,

and, you know, that this is something -- this was not some grand plan of mrs. nixon, it was simply relying on her human instincts. .. take your job seriously. just don't take yourself seriously. so enjoy life and really have a good time. and she live that perjury truly truly love that. she worked hard, very hard. she had a wicked sense of humor. her laughter would light up this room. her secret service name was starlight canan you imagine? that is who she was.

clark's mary, maybe you could talk to us a little bit and address what i think a lot of reporters at the time in the public would sometimes appear to be sometimes an ill-defined quote unquote project. that is what she called volunteerism. i know that at one point in vista was the national council incurring purging volunteerism. she was interested. thera formation of that only jul interest several of their meetings. she really functioned and again i should mention the role of the first lady is still developing.p at this point there is no chief ofow staff. pat nixon served as her own chief of staff. and as her biographer i was a warning if you could talk a little bit about that role? what she sought to accomplish?

>> i think i did with this is a good way. so itar meant if you have talked earlier today about how this time period was on the cusp of the way the women were in the past. volunteerism fits into that very well is very feminine. it's very community oriented. so in that way it was something that was a politically very good for the her husband and party. they picked this out for her. they kind of told her this was going to your topic. it fit in well with who she was. sheis wants someone who was this person, this woman of an earlier generation who saidys i had to work hard. i always went out and work i've never worked i always worked hard. did not think in terms of someone and telling her no, you

couldn't. so in that way it fits in with that part of it. on the other hand she's also somebody said no, no, no i'm going to meet with dignitaries if i am going to meet with volunteer on it and bring to see where they aret actually workin. and so when they sent her out, the press would be waiting for her with the airport where's the bouquets of flowers question what the mayor? that's not where she was she went to the facilities to see what people were doing. now, unless a topic it was something she did appreciate. she was someone who said i believe a person is what a person does. she said i believe it's what he does. that is part of what she wants to do. it's also this helped her to be able to escape what she called the big shot the septic.

and helped her to get out of that washington d.c. scene to go out to the public where she did have this amazing ability because back to a said earlier. at one of these volunteer groups this new group she was seeing. at the end of it this young man came up and said can i give you ae kiss on the cheek? and she said sure. she told a reporter after words i don't really like them. i did not expect this at all. but she was like my grandmother. that ability for her to just talk to people who did not agree with her or did not think about her as a person a something thag that comes through with all of these.

that's my favorite picture of her. the story i read about it was that she was sitting and theyt . they expected she stood up and was trying to put on. the women were amazed she was trying to do this. they camee up and started dressing her up. and that right there, that did more than any other piece of legislation. that was the authenticity of what she was trying ton do. she was eight woman very much caught in these forces that always tried to remain who she was. and in the process of doing that as we have seen today she actually was able to make tremendous strides. for women and a lot of different people. a little,ht also talk

mary, thank you and the time we have left a little bit about politics. we always know president nixon always credited his wife for having very wise and practical advice. but during the presidency she was not really one of his primary advisors. that was one reason why it when she was asked about watergate she was telling the truth when she said she learned she only knew what she had learned through the media. like most american said. certainly during the vietnam war. of course the trip to vietnam but then when she went out on the road for some of volunteer projects she was confronted by fortunately the student group. i cannot believe what college by believe it was in ohio was a panel on volunteerism. there people wearing peace

buttons and so forth. she followed the administration policy. there is no conflict there. and then on the women's movement you could talk a littlee bit about that. we did the exhibit about first ladies and how they use their clothing to sometimes make a political statement. one of the most interesting things is pat nixon was the first first lady to make public appearances wearing pants. that really is sent an immediate visual h message i have her as a moderate feminist of that era. in the article, that was in the ladies home journal she modeled the pants suit she said i'm not a feminist. because in my day i never had anyone to make it do anything.

and that's a perfect encapsulation of the difference. on the one hand she's back you're a woman of that's our time. she is also someone who says we got these opportunities we've you gotto go out and do this. the second term was coming into her own. being able to take advantage of going on these trips are different countries and being able to do these things. i think for her mother's oh so popular with so many women of herr age she kind of embodied their feelings but this is what we are supposed to do this is good that i do this. but on the other hand there are so many things everybody else is doing and i want to be able to do that. and her being able to navigate that i think was very important. >> i knowsu on two of the most

controversial issues facing women at the time which have been addressed here before she was after the 72 campaign the press conference which is on the campaign trail our feelings about the equal rights amendment which she supported. an impending at that point the pending decision roe versus wade what she very gently said she believed it was a woman's individual right to that kind of decision. she did not weigh in personally on that. you bring up a really important point that i don't like anyone is ever addressed. that is what do we all think mrs. nixon had she had the full second term. she had those remaining three years of the present had not resigned as a difficult question. the idea of a watergate overhanging it what happens with him it will affect her directly.

but in terms of her achievement i'm hoping all four of you could weigh in and talk a little bit about that. plus you can get on the line. a difficult question it's tougher stories good deal and counterfactual thinking about the things that may have been. certainly would see the continuity of mrs. nixon pursuing herth passion. make her happy. i think we certainly would've seen more these diplomatic trips being a really important centerpiece of the work she is doing. especially as american international affairs grow increasingly important in this period. t but on the other hand i think she successfully completed. going back to bob's discussion of v the white house collection. they had very little to do with anything related to white house preservation.

it had simply been done. we don't see people like nancy reagan mrs. carter have budgeted on that task. i think it's true she could have pursued are more this other task lucy in the future she certainly had some projects that have a nice bow on them at the end of that's our time at the white house. what is been mentioned here get involved. get involved and get your children involved. it's really sad in this day and age in other states fidoo here n california they don't teach geography in school. when you say i'm from venezuela to somebody, where is venezuela? get involved in what ever even get involved with to make this country better place. that would be something you could carry on for the volunteers how many in this room are volunteers?

if you are the backbone of this country. without you, at the nixon library there volunteers event 4000 hours per is just incredible. she will continue with volunteerism and continuous get involved do not just sit and let someone else do it. i've been mentioned here before to that indeed one person can make a difference i think that would be it. at the very tricky thing. part of the reason she got as much space to do what she did was because what was going on with watergate. she might not have had that space. i don't know, on the one hand the lesson is that she was able to take advantage find these areas and make her mark.

i don't know if she would've had those opportunities otherwise. dangers i'm sorry to be a bummer. sorry. >> bob? >> make sure we do not end on a bummer. one of things i think about president nixon had served his full second term he would've presided over the country celebrationbi in 1976. the weight she promoted volunteerism she would've had a ball during the bicentennial for those of us who can remember back to that the great spirit of unity and rowdiness, sense of pride in our country. volunteering was going on all over the place as part of the celebrations. that would've been there last full year of the white house.

shein would've had an absolute granite time having lead the celebration of the bicentennial of our country. it would have given her the opportunity within terms of volunteerism gettingng out, at meeting with people and celebrating the idea of this great country of ours. >> one last question following up on this. on the questions i had with on the directors are john taylor who knew mrs. nixon was about how much interest she had on what they're about to become the nixon presidential library and museum. how she just had a limited idea on feedback i should say on what she wanted to be said about her. i'm think the horror legacy was

truncated because of the sudden, just like the kennedy assassination, the resignation was a shock. suddenly her life in the white house was over. i often wonder why she never thought about writing a memoir by having her daughter write it she helped but wasn't in her own voice. could you all way in. you might also mused on what she why shedid not write her memoir. >> i will say in researching mrs. nixon is her sense of privacy. the thing she did and did not want short of the public. one of the key pieces was behind the scenes in moments with your family, with your husband you see make a good to see a memoir. it seems out of character for someone like mrs. nixon.

>> i completely concur with you, sarah. i really think that was it. as was mentioned to you to factor daughter julie nixon eisenhower wrote a fantastic book if you get a chance at pat nixon the untold story pat helped so much with julie and again calling to herself she was not that kind of person. her legacy lives to her family. three things about pat nixon faith, family, friends. that was it and love for her country. she did it right, she really did progress i agreeth complete. she was so private she would have not thought to do it pride and humble. having privacy and being humble she would not have thought she needed to do that. >> is interesting when you say that. i think about the fact americans of the time did not know she was a first-generation american her mother had been an immigrant

from germany. because so much of her irish ancestry herdp grandparents and great-grandparents had come from ireland on her father's side. we have as birthdate tomorrow. we have st. patrick's day that next day. she celebrated it. people did not know her mother had come from germany. bob would you like to address the issue of the memoir? >> sure. i will address it in a slightly different way. you mentioned that libraries being prepared 89 -- 90 she did not care whether shel. was a library very much at all. i was working in the president's office back in new jersey writing the story of his presidency. very little on mrs. nixon. our member asking john taylor at one time, she said her ideas this is the president's libraryy she did not care.

after the opening which my wife and i were at as well as 50000 other people. feedbacks are to cut back very quickly from the president's office back in new jersey. there's not enough pat nixon in here and indeed there is not. very quickly in short order pat nixon part of the library was expanded. still probably not big enough. even now it sows good stuff on mrs. nixon for there could be a little bit more because of what a huge role she played in president nixon's entire career going all the back to 1946. it was a very funny have been understaffed the white house in short order more pat nixon was put into the exhibit. >> thank you very much. before go to the film emotional

and strong summarization. i would also take my hat off to someone like mrs. nixon could not sock right if it had as a woman and very public role in her father's presidency. that's ar. julie nixon eisenhow. there was at one point while her husband david was active in the navy julie became very active in the administration. as did both daughters. there are recordings of tricia nixon reporting back to her father julie reporting back to her father on public events they went to and what the reaction was. julie also went out on her own on promoting the environmental l

policies we heard earlier aboutt today. she has never been credit for that much like her mother the importance was the message get out rather than a messenger being applauded for doing it. it is a point that has been overlooked. i just wanted to mention that. thanks very much and now we watch as beautiful wonderful film. class just a small part of this convention that's going tor nominate richard nixon for another four years in the white house. from the lovely first lady pat nixon by her side. >> on those intriguing figures in american history. accomplish an effective diplomat. ideal and inspiration. >> i give you the first leg of our land sprayed the first lady

of our world. patricia ryan nixon. [cheering] [applause] [applause] [cheering] kind of took care of the family. >> i did. [laughter] >> we all work together. >> shoot rose from the humblest and harshest of beginnings to be voted one of the most admired women in the world for 22 years. sheje said people are my projec. she moved easily and eagerly among people who censor strength and felt hered compassionate. she re- shaped expanded the role of both second and first lady.

>> partially active visiting hospitals and other institutions progress mrs. nixon enjoyed even to the point of rolling and a few pets. pat nixon truly experience, embodied exemplified the american dream. >> her story began in a cabin and the copperr hills. late on the night before st. patrick's day march 16 , 12. she lost both of her parents by 18 went to work to pay the bills and keep her two brothers in school. she never let the hardships limit or define her. independent and adventurous part 1932 she answered an ad to drive an elderly couple across the countryy. they were surprised that pat ryan was a girl. but she got the job. she stayed in new york and took

a radiology course at columbia university. returning to california she enrolled at the university of southern california. plus what you wanted to do and you went to college customers what you wanted to become? >> i had not decided exactly. i knew i were in education. i did not want to marry early or try to grope with out the education i felt necessary. exit papers on gmail work in the los angeles department store and as an extra in hollywood film. >> i would offered and i decided not towh progress 19371 in 10 women earned a four-year degree pat ryan graduated cum laude. with the equivalent of a masters degree. afterr graduation she taught at whittier high school.

she met a long young lawyer named richard nixon. after world war ii the young couple settled down and began a family. tricia was born in 1946 and julie in 1948. when dick ran for congress from california 12th district that was it equal partner and partner in the campaign. who'll be formidable nixon team was forged. on her many travels she excelled as an ambassador humvee behalf of the american people she traveled to 81 countries. in every state in the union sharing her general work in compassionate strength. she broke new ground a second lady. wherever she went she insisted her schedule included meetings with real people in real places.

schools, orphanages, hospitals, village markets such panama she visited a leper colony pick. >> mrs. nixon visited where she toured under the personal guidance of its director. >> she continued the custom as first lady. in 1970 she brought relief supplies to the devastated country of peru. it's t a signal honor for me too receive visit decoration from the government of peru. i accept it for the people of the united states are glad to lend a helping hand to their makers. >> pat nixon repeatedly broke the mold. she was the first first lady to travel to africa. they are and in south america she became the first first lady to serve as official representative of the united states as she met the people and conferred with their leaders. lecture the first first lady to address another nation. the first to enter active combat

zone. >> took a helicopter right 15 minutes out off saigon to a rurl orphanage jeep loads of soldiers she brushed aside official so she could have more time to seat the trooper. >> the president first lady visited china millions around the world sought that remote and isolated communist country for the first time' through pat nixon's eyes. her attention to detail and respect for cultural tradition was noted and appreciated. mastering basic chinese phrases to choosing her now iconic red coat signifying good luck and happiness. she was personally responsible for the chinese a gesture that captured the imagination of america. the gift of two giant pandas to the national zoo in washington. closer to home cap next and

actively encourage women to run for public office. she supported the equal rights amendment lobbied her husband to appoint a woman to the supreme court was the first first lady to work pants in public. pat nixon truly made the white house a people's house. she was responsible for ripping it lighted at night a tradition that continues until this day. she initiated rose garden tours candlelight christmas tours and, as part of the extensive white house renovations what she oversaw. >> good afternoon buck and the bloom of the white house. installed wheelchair ramps pioneered special tours for the blind and acquired more than 600 historic paintings, antiques and furnishings. more than any first lady before or since. she was the most public of

figures. but she was intensely private and only a lucky few knew her fun-loving spirit and her sly sense of humor. >> yes, i do. a good laugh over the fact i'm supposed to be shy provokes her later years afforded pat nixon what she truly desired most. time with her family including her four grandchildren jenny, alex, melanie and christopher. but she passed away surrounded by her family in june of 1993. pat nixon was as accomplished as strong as she was warm. although she spent nearly 50 years in the public eye, she attention.t the even a people did not know her they knew they admired her. >> mrs. nixon should not be underestimated.

>> would you think of pat, her husband of 53 years i hope you're over the sunshine of her smile. she would like that. [applause] >> c-span where history unfolds daily. in 1979 c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television company. today we continue to take to congress and other public policy events and washington d.c. and around the country. c-span, powered by cable. >> he spent as your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more including buckeye broadband. milko