it is. it's to make a better america, an america that that is more livable for all of us. so, yeah, it's all tied in. what your environment is like has to do with what your life is like, what your financial situation is like. quality of your life. i think for her it all ties together. she's the first lady that says you have to find something to do that makes your heart sing. find something that makes your heart sing and follow that. >> as the first lady. >> as the first lady. life in general but as first lady. >> did she lobby for these projects? >> she did lobby. that she -- the highway billboard act to take billboards off of national highways. mrs. johnson actually met with west wing staff and had her on call sheet of people members of congress to directly call in lobby. everybody knew that mrs. johnson had influence and mrs. johnson

quietly, you know, could work behind the scenes. this was a little too far in front. and there was some backlash over that. and she after that retreated to a more veiled behind the scenes kind of lobbying. but it's also mrs. johnson that takes the first campaign swing solo campaign whistle stop tour. the lady bird special is a trip she takes into the south during the 1964 election campaign. lyndon johnson signed the civil rights act. he is losing support in the south and mrs. johnson alone obviously with a staff and co companions but makes a trip through the south, stopping to speak to the public. strong arming a an, oh, so polite way governors and leaders in that state to meet with her. and speaks to the a public. saying here's my point of view.

and takes an abuse from the public and say you have had your turn. i listened to you. now i hope you will listen to me. knowing that southern gentlemen have to let you -- southern gentlemen is going to have to listen to and greet and be polite to a southern lady. >> the dress, tell us about how she picked the design for this. >> it's a wonderful dress. beautiful yellow. made by john moore, texas dress designer. and it's actually -- mrs. i don't know son, while, of course, the wife of the senator, the wife of a member of congress. constituent tours at smith sewn i don't know institution. the lady's exhibit when touring washington. she was very familiar with the exhibit. she says at one point that, you know, the beautiful embroidery and the light fabrics and the beads are beautiful but they won't last. so she purposely picks a dress that she thought in style and in construction would stand the test of time. so it's a beautifully simple dress. and we thank mrs. johnson because it has held up very

well. >> what happens when a woman would be -- if a woman would be elected, elected president. we came close in 2008. >> we would like to siay when a woman is elected president, not if. we take it as a given. but it is an interesting question, we're asked a lot, will we put her husband's suit in the exhibition. it takes us back, i said in the beginning the smithsonian definition of the first lady. we will have to see who plays the official hostess, the role the first lady has played. there's no telling that will be. will the husband be the host in the sure home? surely she will be the hostess but who will be carrying out the duty, one of them, the daughter, a professional job? we just don't know. we're waiting to see. and to figure out what we do next in the exhibition where we take it forward. and i think even more interestingly after when a man

is again president. what happens when first ladys will all after that, will it avert or move in a direction that is maybe more freeing so the woman who then becomes first lady. >> lisa kathleen, thank you very must have. >> thank you. all day today american history tv is featuring america's first ladies. who do you think was our most influential first lady? vote and join the conversation with us on facebook at

facebook.com/cspan. this is american history tv on c-span 3. and we are marking this weekend on presidents day looking at the nation's first ladies. up next, lady bird johnson takes us back to 1968 and shes us the

ago when i was the wife of brand new texas congressman, i snapped photographs outside these iron gates. i never imagined that one day i would live on the other side of that fence. like many tourists, i had a distinct feel that this house belonged in part to me. i think that's a feeling that everyone who visits here shares. just like the thousands who come

here each year, i was impressed the first floor and was proud of the stream of history that ran through each of them. what the passerby doesn't always realize is that there are two sides to the white house, the official side that remains in the public eye and the private side that the public rarely sees. the living quarters for the president and his family. this is our living room. actually, it's the west end of the long hall. it's the nerve center and cross roads of all family activities. an intimate place and yet busy. and it belongs to all the family. psychologically when you cross that threshold, you feel that

you are at home, that you're inside your own house. you can put on a robe and slippers and curl up with a good book. we gather here on all the climatic occasions, such as immediate moments following the state of the union message, address to the nation. we usually invite those who worked on the speech or who had contributed to the event. on those nights, this room has been filled. it has the same electric quality of a broadway opening. after the performance, you're anxious to hear the reviews. although we've had some thrilling successes and high moments of pride, there were some chilly moments, too. but happy a painful, this is where the initial public reaction is seen by the president. and this is where his family shares this experience.

this room is also a listening post for the tone of the day when we have no engagements in the evening, i come in here with some of my work that isn't so demanding and wait for lyndon to come home from his work. you can see his office from here. the lights may be on until 8:00 or maybe 9:00 or 10:00, sometimes he doesn't come home for dinner until after midnight. it's not very far for a man to commute, but in terms of his responsibilities, there is a great distance from here to there. i recall being up here as lyndon brought in his latest acquisition for her old book collection and lucy emerged from the kitchen with a pan of brownies she had made, and at the same time knowing that lyndon was down there only a few yards away.

but the tenses nights of all are the lights on in the cabinet room and the television vans on executive avenue, perhaps it was the crisis, middle east in june '67, but sooner or later the lights will go out and then in a few moments i will hear an eager voice down the hall call out, where's bird. and then i know he's home, really home. like the living room and any american home, this room has its personal touches. book shelves that reflect the individual interests of a family, old and treasured friends. one of the things that i am proud to leave as a reminder of our time here is the addition to paintings. fanny kimbell is share romance, and i love it.

this is our most recent acquisition for the permanent collection. robert henrise, "gypsy girl." the first painting acquired during our stay at the white house was wind lslow homer, i sd my favorite for last. you can almost feel the love between the mother and those children. look at that little girl. is she wondering what the small child is going to mean to her life? it's such a dear painting. it seems to set the tone of the room. it's where the family shared so many personal and intimate moments, where we felt we were in the heart of the house, really at home.

each of the rooms in the family quarters of the white house has a special personality, a distinctive mood. here the room has a dark green velvety look. its ornate decor reflects the opulence of the victorian period. right after the civil war this became the cabinet room for president andrew johnson. but it was president grant who introduced this table which so many succeeding presidents used to conduct the nation's business until 1902. that was when the country outgrew the second floor. president theodore roosevelt who had six children and was not tradition bound built the west wing presidential offices separating once and for all the family quarters from the day to

day work of the chief executive. many objects bring to mind earlier presidents. the torches of andrew jackson, this lamp presented to mrs. grover cleveland, and this waste basket of president grant, guaranteed to attract the yuck b -- young boys who visit us. the chandelier has an interesting story behind it. it was designed for the east room in president grant's time. but it soon passed room to room until it finally wound up gracing president theodore rooseve roosevelt's new office. every time the door opened it tinkled, distracting him greatly. he ordered it to be sent to the capitol. and he was supposed to have said, put it in the vice president's office and it will keep it awake. and there it remained until my husband became vice president in 1961. during mrs. kennedy's

renovation, this room has seen many tree signings. in our time i've witnessed two treaties here involving the geographic extremes of our country. the first was the capital treaty which made the summer home of franklin eleanor roosevelt an international park between canada and the united states. behind this table, prime minister pearson of canada and my husband was seated flampged by the delegations, i remember james roosevelt and ms. grace tully, the president's personal secretary, it was a thrilling look back into the past. and then from the northern most part of the country to the southern most, in october of '67 a treaty was signed here. returning to mexico a small

strip of land long in dispute between our countries. what a feeling of good will tlvs that day. the next congressman from the border districts were here and a delegation from mexico. everyone i felt was saying to himself it's done at last. i can recall some other writings performed that the table, all that will never go down in history. i was showing my guests the rooms on the second floor. we entered the treaty room and as i began my recital, i saw on the table some rather tattered notebooks and chewed pencils, a high school algebra, and a latin book. it was evident that linda and lucy had discovered what i, too, would soon learn, that this room is mighty conducive to getting work done. almost from the beginning, i've used this room to launch the projects closest to my heart. it's a good place to gather your

committee or your group, talk into being a program, and get it moving. most of our beautification planning was done right here. we took our notes on president grant's table and our liaison with the outside world with this old french telephone made back in the 1890s. and then i know that one day when i walk through the finished lyndon b. johnson library at the university of texas, vivid memories of this room will come to mind. for almost three years of various library committees have met here, bringing in the chancellor and regents, architects, historians and a archivists. here we've watched the library grow, from just a germ of an idea to a real living repository

of history. a room that started out as a working environment for a succession of presidents still provides that very important function for 20th century first ladies with a variety of projects. it is a room, but like any room in the white house, it is also a collection of memories. having the entire family together for lunch is a joy. but also a rarity. lyndon's hours vary with his unpredictable. in a while everyone's activities coincide and we gather in the family dining room. >> almost like an english baby. blond hair. >> looks like just about any

baby except mine. >> he is a good boy. >> he's an angel. >> looks so much like his daddy. >> food on his chinny. >> sir, do you know exactly what -- >> i thought it was a tractor with a bulldoze we're completes on it. >> that's what i thought. it's not like a tank in a sense that it's very durable, but they're very dangerous sense they've got that four gas tanks. so they're hit, the whole thing goes up. >> it's too hot. >> you know, i think one of our parting gifts at the white house might be an in-residence high chair, permanent. >> lyndon ought to give it, don't you think? wouldn't that be cute, mama? give me my pappy?

>> wouldn't you be glad if we get you a high chair so lit be your very own high chair forever? what kind would you like? pretty blight colored ones? >> yes, ma'am. and when i go i'll do find out exactly how much to a penny the other one was and how much the play pen was. >> all right. and i will then give you a check. >> yes, ma'am. >> and we'll have two grandmother high chairs and one grandmother play chair, which will take up residence at the ranch. we will have to get them filled up. >> assorted ones can play in the play pen and the high chair. but i bet we'll have two in high chairs at the same time without difficulty. i know when lennon will is in the high chair, will still be in the high chair. maybe take the tray off. >> will not be one of my chairs with nice needle point seats. >> mother. mother, are you trying to tell

me something? >> i'm going to have to go. >> bye, daddy. >> you're going to get your little word in. come here. >> bye. >> say bye granddaddy. >> to me, the yellow oval room is the loveliest room in all the white house. while our living room is homey and cozy, this room is formal and elegant, yet there is life

here. it is warm and inviting. it is the one room in the white house where formal ceremony enter minkles with family life. it symbolizes in a way the role a president's family plays while living here. for the personal life and the official duties are always closely related. president franklin roosevelt's bedroom was next door. and he would use this room as a sitting room for the office. for us, it has been the main drawing room. and on a winter evening the fire is a magnet for good conversation. traditionally, the yellow oval room has been used for entertaining and for receptions. in fact, this is where the first official reception ever held at the white house took place. here on a chilly january 1st in

1801, john and abigail adams received the ministers from the first countries that had recognized this brand new nation. and still today this room offers hospitality to visiting chiefs of state. this is where we invite the prime ministers or kings and or so before a state dinner. the earlier part of the day is filled with honors and formal ceremonies on the south lawn, colorful fanfare, sometimes a parade. this has always been an impressive experience, a responsibility. i go to the third floor before the occasion and look at the great map case and pull down liberia, india. then i read a fairly thick sheet of briefing of the visitor and his country. i also try to go over the guest

list a good many times before the state dinner because hopefully you can say something more than just, how do you do, to our guests who come from all over the united states to meet the visiting head of state. and then at high movement when the color guard enters. the president escorts the wife of the visiting chief and i, in turn, by our guests. for a year the handsome marine captain who led the group was chuck rob. he was terribly military and impressive. it was not until months had passed they realized i might be looking at our future son-in-law. we have had so many wonderful personal happy times in this room. here lyndon and i celebrated just last year our 33rd wedding anniversary. the cake that linda planned

hailed our time together one-third of a century. what a day. it was our grandson's first birthday. like all birthdays, the climax is the cake. this one provided us with a household of crises. those sticky little feet and that elegant louis 16th upholstery. in the end, the furniture didn't suffer one bit. but my nerves did. and then there was the christmas of '67. my husband was plunged into a trip around the world. prospects were bleak indeed for christmas with the whole family together. i followed his headlines from australia to thailand to rome. and then gloriously he came home on christmas eve. that christmas we were seven,

two son-in-law and a baby. unspoken was the thought that chuck would not be with us. it was a fragile happiness like some lovely bubble. and i think the room must have sensed it for it was never prettier. it was our first christmas in the white house, a moment to catch and hold. it seemed to unsderscore my feeling that this house is only on loan to its tenants, that we are temporary occupants linked to a continuity of presidents. who have come before us and who will succeed us, for only a brief time we serve as the extension of who have come befo will succeed us, for only a brief time we serve as the extension of 200 million people, holding their trust, working to fulfill it.

>> the man who sits in this chair sits in the chair that's been occupied by less than 40 men in a long history of this great republic. he is selected by the will and by the votes of a majority of the citizens of this republic. he must execute the philosophy and the policies of the people of this nation. regardless of his own personal feelings from time to time.fe r feelings from time to time. he is the communicator of the will of this people of this nation and he carries upon his shoulders day and night a burden

that always seems, at least to him, too much to carry, but only for him to carry. we'll be leaving here shortly, after having spent almost 40 years in the federal service. we came to washington with some very deep-set convictions. we felt that we could contribute to making this a better couplery for all of our people. in some fields we have made progress, education, health, housing. in some respects, we've had many disappointments. but in the last few years if

this house, in this office, we have had a chance tn to impress upon the people of this nation the simple convictions that brought us to this town and kept me here for almost four decades. it's important to reflect and look back and see what has been done because there's no better way to judge the future than by the past. but the important thing that faces our country now is for a new president to look at these new challenges and find new answers, fhe communicating with our young, and providing leadership and inspiration for them so that they will realize that we do care. find a way to help better understanding come to our races so that we can live together in peace and harmony and equality,

with justice to all. no president ever came to this office on a platform of doing what was wrong. most of us have made some decisions that were wrong, and as we leave, in a many good instances, most of the people seem to feel that most of the things we've done have been wrong. evidence of occupy this office or sat at this desk or reclined in this chair have been dedicated to doing what he believed was for the best interest of the people of this country. i am utterly convinced that when any man takes the oath of office as president, he