the prime minister's questions on wednesday. >> pat >> pat nixon traveled abroad more than any first lady lady before her, accompanying her president and husband, richard nixon to china and the soviet union. up next on our first lady series, the life and influence of and. then, from the university of north carolina, a conversation of televisionre news. ♪ [applause] >> i stay in the wings and do not come out too often. this is quite unusual for me.

i do want to thank all of you for your friendship and your loyal support and for the planning of this wonderful evening for me. i shall remember it always. and thanks to the young people for this great welcome. >> pat nixon, the first republican first lady to address a national convention, miami, 1972. she went from a hardscrabble background to the white house. as first lady, she traveled more widely than anybody before her, volunteering was her issue, and was a chief supporter to the political debts and political a visor to her husband. good evening. tonight, we will tell you the story of pat nixon. although her time in the white house was really eclipsed by her husband's resignation from office in the wake of watergate. we will tell more of her record and learn more about her life before the white house, what she did while she was there, and her legacy. here are two guests to tell her

story. a presidential historian and the former head of the nixon library, and a biographer and history professor of texas state university. welcome to both of you. we will start with a perception of pat nixon. she is described in your book as an enigma. what should people know? what are a couple of things about pat nixon they would be surprised to learn? >> she was fun and funny. people who knew her talked about her sense of humor. she was adventurous. as a young woman, she worked for a hospital in new york city and would go out with the patients who had tuberculosis and slide down the hills. it is the kind of thing she loved to do. >> she was a working woman and a pioneer. her wic was strong and at times biting. she did not always take herself seriously. she probably did not want to be first lady. >> during her time, the media

sometimes referred to her as plastic at. one of our viewers on facebook referred to that in the conversation we have going. he said was because she always smiled to never conveyed any emotion. is that really where the name came from? if so, what was going on? >> the name came from early on during the first controversy she had to deal with during the checkers speech. the cameramen, there was only one camera so he told her, we never know when we will, on to you. just keep a smile on your face. she kept that smile the whole time. there were other reasons she was holding that smile as well. that got started, an idea she was a rigid personality. afterwards, it just kept coming back to that. >> what were the public opinion

of her life? >> she was much more popular than nixon. a lot of public felt sympathy for her, particularly as the demonstrations got maracas outside of the white house because of vietnam and watergate. i wanted to add something to what mary said. it is important when we think about her image to think about how much of it she did not control. this was a very -- the modern white house, the nixon white house in many ways was modeled with a modern white house in the television age. the white house decided how the presidential family would be use or not. i hope we get into this a little more. pat nixon did not have the opportunity to control as much as she would have liked. the way in which she was presented to the american people. >> was this precedence setting? the first white house to go to this extreme with the media?

>> no. the kennedy white house had thought a lot about jackie. the very fact that jaclyn kenny went to dallas, she was going to dallas because the president knew he needed her help in what was supposed to just the apolitical tour. this was not the first time. jaclyn kenny -- kennedy was the first. eleanor roosevelt thought about her public role, but she pushed that. she is unilaterally responsible for that. the roosevelt white house pushing her in front. i think jackie kennedy was the first lady that is part of a media strategy. pat nixon did not play the role, the public role, that the white house wanted her to play. >> i think it goes further back. i think the republican party used her during the eisenhower, when she was second lady, and wanted to use this image of and pat as a young couple that

mirrored america at the same time, two young children. the republican party actually helped to create the image of her as an ideal how to that house life. when she was there, they could not stop it. it took on a life of its own. >> do you think they were doing the same thing with mimi? >> mimi was so much older. i think pat had to fill in with many. many was more the grandmother. she was not making public appearances the way that pat was. they needed pat to be a perfect housewife who could do all of these things at the same time. >> it is the flip of what we learned with lady bird johnson and jacqueline kennedy. jacqueline kennedy did not campaign very much later. the older and less glamorous was out on the campaign trail making a lot of appearances in setting the image with the public. >> how did she feel about

sitting on the stage when her husband gave the speech? >> she hated it. it was one of the most painful experiences of her life, and experience she would -- that in some way to find the way the two of them related to politics. pat was a very private person who did not want anyone to know about her private life. you have her husband telling all of their finances, what money they owe, that she did not have a further code. for her, this was a horrible experience, whereas, for her husband, he celebrated that every year. >> let me get into some video. here is former president nixon talking about his life in an interview in 1983. >> she is probably one of the most intelligent women ever to be first lady. clinical discussions, she does not say much, but she can always go to the heart of a matter. she has got an enormously good intuition. the average person thinks of her as somebody who went along for the ride and so forth. i am sure some of them did not believe it. if she had been the life of a

liberal, my god, they would have canonized her. because she was my wife, they had to find ways to knock her. it is remarkable, despite the fact she has not had a particularly positive rest, people remember her as being dignified. they remember her as one devoted to her family. they remember her, too, as one she may not have worn designer gowns, that she was blessed with natural beauty. the ladies in the press, some of the men as well, criticize mrs. nixon cruelly. this hurt her ear it should not have, but it did. she should have considered the source. they said, why did she not make speeches? it shows she does not have a mind of her own.

she knows you do not have two voice is out of the white house. she had ideas she expressed privately. another thing that shows, the critics, what they would not understand or appreciate at all, she was self-assured and self- confident. she did not have such a big ego that she had to go out and prove she had a career in her own right. what was important to her was the career of her husband. >> we hear a lot of criticism by the former president that much of pat nixon's perception problems were non-friendly media. >> that is not surprising. that is how he viewed his own perception problems. julie has written a remarkable book about her mother. first of all, the fact a presidential child writes about a first lady is interesting. it is not just about pat, but the family. it is a very revealing book. there is a line in the book where julie talks about how her mother was really involved in discussions of the vice presidency.

the discussions all happened for as long as they lived. so, she said, my father decided he wanted to keep his personal and private lives as first -- his personal and public life, more separated. it was richard nixon's decision that she not be as involved in discussions about policy. he plays a role in deciding she is not as much a part of the white house as she might otherwise have wanted to be. >> we would like very much for you to be involved in our conversation this evening. you can tweet us. you can reach us there. conversations underway. we also have a facebook page. there is discussion where people are posting comments. we will work our way into as

many of the comments as we can in 90 minutes. and then our phone lines. -- we will get to your call throughout the program. speaking of the media, in 1968, pat nixon was interviewed by gloria, the feminist who was writing an article in the new york magazine, she asked pat nixon what woman in history she most admired. here is what pat nixon had to say. -- i will use that as a segue to talk about her upbringing. she began life -- she did not

begin life as patricia nixon. what was her birth name? >> her father called her -- when he came home, he wanted to call her patricia. he said she was his same track that his st. patrick's baby in the morning. her friends, in school, called her thelma. in high school, they all called her body. when she went to college, she enrolled herself as pat nixon -- pat ryan. that was the first time she consciously renamed herself. as a child, she had a hard time. her mother died when she was not quite 13. then her father died four years later. she kept house for her brothers. they lived on basically a hardscrabble farm. they were always working. she had jobs sweeping out banks. she worked to sweep floors. all kinds of things because they needed money to pay the bills. they had to pay their father's medical bills. >> she wanted to go to college and they could not afford it.

her brother sent her. >> right. another way she made money, she drove a couple across the country. they paid her to drive their car across the country. she will visit her father's relatives on the east coast, went and visited them, and then one of her aunts was a nun who worked at the hospital and gave her a job. it was the middle of the depression so she stayed on her own in new york city. she worked all different kinds of jobs in the hospital. in the lab, a radiologist, all kinds of things. she needed work. >> the deal was she would get a return ticket. she did not use it. she decided to stay. >> there is a real story, an american story, of someone who comes from nothing and decides an education is her ticket out. >> it is important because it belies the plastic pat. this is a woman with a great

deal of gumption and drive, who knows what she wants, and wants the world. she is really interested. she comes from southern california, and agricultural park outside of los angeles, and she wants new york. she gets an opportunity to go and she stays. she only comes back when her brothers tell her they have raised enough money so she can go to college. >> throughout the program, we will visit the richard nixon library to learn more about pat nixon. here is our first stop. here is a little bit more about pat nixon's early years. >> she grew up with very humble beginnings. he spent a lot of time working at the farm. here is an account from 1931. a farm account book. she was 19 years old when this was happening. she talks about how, at the end here, total deposits, made this

none made since a year ago, january. this shows you how difficult it was to make a living. you barely made ends meet. as a teenager in the depression, mrs. nixon took on a lot of jobs, from becoming a pharmacist, a personal shopper, she became a model, and she would also do call casting. she actually got on the list from paramount pictures, a corporation, to be annexed to and films. she also, as part of this whole jumping from job to job, she also had a steamboat in a film from 1935. you could see her dancing in the film. her speaking role was cut out. it was also interesting. her stage passes. this stage past shows her name and the restrictions on what had to go through.

eventually, she persevered enough that she had enough money to take her degree and became a teacher. >> how did she need richard nixon? >> she was teaching at the high school. she loved theater and had been throughout high school and college. there was a community theater production going on. one of the older teachers suggested she go try out. it was not just a suggestion. she got the idea she should. she liked it and went to do it. richard nixon, a young lawyer, was trying to make connections every way he could. he was also trying out for the show. they were both there at the same time. he says he fell in love with her at first sight. he offered to drive both she and a friend home. he says in the memoirs he asked her to marry him the first night.

the friend said it took him three times driving back and forth. he was very persistent and ran after pat. she held him at arms day. she did come home and tell her roommate this guy had really put the moves on her and she was not sure she would go out with them, but that she thought he could probably be president some day. >> you both spent a lot of time. there is so much speculation about the partnership between the two of them and the source of their couplehood. what was it about them that attracted them to each other? >> i would think and mary will know this better, because i do not think they are quite as close in the presidential years, it is their intelligence. they are both highly intelligent. they are both quite determined.

richard nixon could not walk over pat nixon. i think that both drew them together and, at times, i think it pushed them apart. but there are some similarities in their characters. they both have strong character. >> they both came from backgrounds in which there had been problems. nixon had a brother who died. past parents died. i think they both have a sense of tragedy in their lives. i would add ambition. they both wanted things. pat was not going to be happy staying. she wanted to see the world. i think she saw that, that this would not be something -- she was not going to have to stay where she was. >> this is something that, as you think about first ladies, particularly modern first ladies, they are very driven, ambitious, who, in some ways, have moved beyond -- they are pioneers for women in their era. they decide to submerge their

own ambition. >> i think that is true to a certain extent. i also think she also sees him as, because they share ambition, and they will go places, i do not think she sees it as, she is giving up her teaching career, as much as, this will allow her to do something else. she is not sure where she wants to go, but she wants to go. she wants to do things. i do not see it as, she is just giving up everything as much as, "i have to be married because if i do not, i will have problems. this guy will be a mover. >> i just want to ask. you pull up to talk about really interesting letters she writes after the war. isn't she sort of hinting? >> she writes the letter that she wrote when he is getting ready to come home. while he was overseas during world war ii, she was living in san francisco. she wrote him a wonderful letter in which he said she had missed him terribly.

a row to one another every day during the war. she said that if she had not been so worried about him, she would've had a wonderful time during all of this because she was on her own and had money. she was in a wonderful city. so that he should be careful when he came back and love her very dearly, because otherwise, she would regret she was giving up everything. she knew what was possible. she did know there was another life. she was also, i think, aware of the fact that there was a balance. i think she was always kind of aware of how much she would be able to do it she did not have him back. she wanted him to know he needed to pay attention to her. >> we have a video of her -- their courtship letters. we will show that to you next. >> the president and mrs. nixon began courting in 1938.

they met in a play called "the dark tower." each audition for a separate role and that is how they ended up going out on their first date. she initially put him off for a while. she was not very interested in his romantic advances. he said to her, "i will marry you sunday." she sort of laughed. they were married in 1940, two years later. what we have here is a rare treasure. these are some of the letters the president and mrs. nixon

wrote to each other between 1938 and when they were married in 1940 that show their courtship. these are incredibly rare, recently released in 2012. this is a letter written by president nixon to mrs. nixon. not dated. he writes to her, "dearest heart, let's go for a long ride. let's go to the mountains on weekends and read books in front of fires. most of all, let's really grow together and find the happiness we know is ours. my love to thee, dear heart." what this letter shows us a romantic side of a young president nixon which was not public before the letters were released. mrs. nixon writes, "gee, i guess i'm a lucky irishman. the surprise was such fun. best of all was knowing you would remember. thank you ever so much." she replies with a kind note and includes a shamrock. this one, she is being a little friendly and flirty. she writes, "a social note,

romantic? in case i do not see you before, come early wednesday at 6:00 and i will see if i can burn a hamburger for you. a new picture every few minutes." you see here, a letter also not dated. she writes, "i will be here for a short time, shall i see you?" she says at the end, "it must be the hour. yes, sir rick warrem says so." that was a clock present nixon gave to mrs. nixon when they were courting. here, she is cute and playful at the end. she says, "sir rick has the nicest face. i like him so much." it is a great story and a side of the nixons the public does not know too much and is not familiar. that is why the letters are such treasures. >> adrian asks on twitter what religion pat nixon was since president nixon was quaker.

>> she converted to quakerism but never really practiced any religion. neither did richard once he kind of out grew -- once he went to the military. he was a quaker but not really a practicing quaker. >> he proposed to her on the beach in california, is that correct? >> i do not know i've ever seen anything about that. >> that is only important because it later became the place of their home. >> right. i do not remember anything about where he proposed. >> we will say, a possible record. let's go to phone calls. next is nick in palm springs, california. you are first up on our callers tonight. what is on your mind? >> good evening. this is a wonderful program. thank you to c-span for it. i have a comment and then a

question. first, i have been an admirer at the nixon library. it was courageous and thank you. the question ties in previous episodes from previous programs. i have heard a lot about an intentional the kennedy -- de- kennedy-ization of the white house. you balanced that with the fact the only returned to the white house was on a private visit. what was the real story there and with other first ladies and presidents as well? >> thank you. i appreciate that. it is an interesting question. we do not know. julie says in her book it was not her mother's decision for the man to be removed. the decision was made by an advisory board. they'd -- the mantle was not

historic. they replaced it with a mantel designed at the time of thomas jefferson, so that as they tried to follow what jacqueline kennedy had started to make the white house more historical, this was the right thing to do. the particular decision was not made by pat nixon. what is also clear from julie's book, each i think is the closest we will ever get to pat nixon's memoir, is that pat nixon carried some resentment about the 1960 election. she felt it had been stolen. she did not hide her disappointment in 1960. if you look at photographs of her in 1960, she is not wearing a poker face. there is no doubt in my mind some of the anger, not as much, that richard nixon had for the kennedy -- nevertheless, she was a human being and she handled

jacqueline kennedy's first visit since 1963 to the white house, beautifully. she let jackie kennedy decide how the trip would go and how the visit would go. jackie did not want a public visit. she was concerned about the press swarming the white house. she wanted to bring the children. she wanted this to be a quiet moment. the reason for the visit was the unveiling of the official portraits of first lady jacqueline kennedy and president kennedy. pat asked, how would you like to go? jackie said she would like a private is it very pat nixon and president nixon organized a private visit for the kennedys, which turned out to be a remarkable event for all concerned. both caroline and john junior wrote letters afterwards

thanking the nixons. jackie herself wrote a very warm letter. despite whatever anger they might have had or she might have had about the 1960 campaign, she was a human first and realized the importance of letting president kennedy's widow and children come to the white house for the important unveiling. >> we have to get into politics in the life story. during the world war ii does, richard nixon was on active duty with the navy. his first run for congress was 1946. how did he make the foray into politics? >> when he came back, he was still on active duty. he was contacted by someone from california, and they were looking for somebody to run

against jerry in the 12 congressional district. talk to pat and they agreed they would -- he would go back out and talk to these people. he went back out and did a presentation and said, yes, this is a good thing, and they decided to run. by this time, pat was pregnant. they had to move and go all the way across to california because they have to start campaigning. so she packs everything up, eight months pregnant, gets everything back out to california, and a month or so after they get back out there, she delivers tricia and they are campaigning. this is a very important part of this and it tells something about her ambition, because she delivers the baby and six hours later, she is up typing and doing research for speeches. they did not have a lot of money for the campaign, but she had a perfect excuse to stop campaigning and stop dissipating. she had a brand-new baby and had to stop off at her mother-in- law's to work on the campaign. she does not it and makes the choice to participate. the first campaign, they did not know anything about what they were doing. richard calls it the sweetest victory.

of all of his election victories, this was the sweetest one in 1946 because they had worked so hard to get this. it was really the beginning of what became the patented team. class there was a senate campaign, but we always read pat nixon does not like politics. from this story, where she was very much involved, where did the evolution lie? >> something happens after 1960, i think. in 1960, she actually is a campaign worker. she does not give her name. >> i think something happened after 1960. in a 1960, she is actually a campaign worker. she does not give her name. she gives her name as selma. she is helping out, but the she is not presenting herself as the wife of the vice president of the united states. after that very bitter defeat and difficult defeat, she wanted out of politics.

when i said she may not have wanted to be first lady, she wanted to be first lady in 1960. i do not know about 1968. >> during her years, she traveled extensively. how important was that the type of first lady she would become? >> the travel was for her, i would disagree with tim a little bit. i think there were things that she hated. i do not think she realized in a 1946 what they would be. she did not realize how much of her life she would to give up our privacy. i would point to the speech. for the first time she realized how much she is going to give up in terms of her privacy at how much she is going to have to let other people in. when she becomes second lady and they get to go on visits, and she sees not just the world she

always hoped to see but she sees how she can touch people. she can do things and make a difference in peoples' lives. for her, that was what she hated. she loved exploring of the world. she got to do a tremendous amount of assets at the lady. >> that did help later on. >> what experience do you think it had on her? >> i think it was devastating. from the fund crisis and early on, i think you are right. you only have to look at the picture of her from the concession speech and it's written all over her face. it sucked it the life out of her. i do not think she saw herself as a volunteer. she was a part of the campaign. she talked about the campaign in 1968 as we are running for election. when people rejected him, i think she saw it as a rejection of them. she cannot recover from that. the same way that he could.

>> what was mrs. nixon's relationship with mrs. eisenhower like? >> they had a little bit more touch in the beginning and they became very good friends. they were from different generations, but they were both women who believed in family and were devoted to children. they believed in efficiency and running a household. mrs. eisenhower really took to pat. pat there three times before dick. -- she was there three times before dick. she wrote her a note that said, come up here and we do not have to talk about anything, just you and i. had a nice conversation. >> thank you for this program. it has really been interesting to see how our first ladies reacted to their place in history. my question is, throughout all of the turmoil of president nixon, did she ever grow to

resent him or marrying him? >> how could anybody know inside somebody else's marriage? i inc. -- think she did regret marrying count. if you are married, there are times you regret it. did she resent him for making some the decisions he made? i think that she did. i think she resented it and at the same time she cannot let herself completely resent it. she have to find somebody else to blame. she blamed the press. she blamed everybody who went after him. it was one of the things, she could say anything she wanted about him and be as angry, but nobody else should say anything. nobody should make comments about him. she was a human being. how could she not be angry at times? >> and david in maryland. your question? >> thank you for having this wonderful program. i wanted to share with you as a volunteer worker at the white house pat nixon being the first first lady i had the opportunity work for -- a tradition of taking personal friends and visitors on tour of the private quarters and would take them to

the lincoln bedroom to have them sit upon the lincoln bed. >> she wanted those who are blind or visiting the white house to be ableto touch things. if you went to a museum, curators do not let you touch things. she had the ability to think outside of herself and to try to make people feel welcome. she recognized the white house could be a formal and somewhat forbidding place. she thought how can i make a less formidable? >> after the defeating loss in 1960 in which richard nixon made a bid for california governor. the famous line when he gets his press conference after which was >> you will not have a richard nixon to kick around anymore. >> what happened after that? >> what happened is he goes back to being a lawyer.

he never stops thinking about return to politics. it is very hard, mary was mentioning this about inside the head of a marriage. it is especially difficult to understand the inner workings of a family of a presidential family. we really do not know there are bits of pieces and we get a sense of the debate in the family. the sense that i have is pat nixon was much less interested in a turn to the white house that her husband was. not for 1964 necessarily but the later. he was traveling abroad and meeting with foreign leaders in an effort to keep us in up and out. and most importantly in 1966, he takes advantage of the midterm elections to go out and collect. he is campaigning for people and they remembered the fact that richard nixon campaigned on their behalf. he is preparing for 1968 to the extent which pat nixon -- i have my doubts.

he certainly was. this is where i think the partnership may have changed. >> actually -- what did she do during the years? >> they moved to new york with her girls and she tries to get them involved in charity work. she's a mom.

i think it is also a time in which in some ways she's a little lost. she told one of her friends after you been in politics, it is hard to just do charity work and go back to something else. she he trying to find things to do. -- she keeps trying to find things to do. her friend writes to her and makes suggestions on how she and dick can reconnect. she says he is gone and i do not have time. i think she is not a stupid woman. she knows he is planning to go to the white house.

she knows what he is planning. she is lost in terms of trying to figure out what to do. her children are growing up. she is somebody who has always had work to do. she expects to record his office. -- answer phones in his office. she said it makes the time ago by because she does not have something else to do. i think there is a sense of her trying to figure out what she is going to do. >> the next the white house 1969 through 1974 when mr. nixon resigned.

years of full of a number of policy accomplishment and heartaches. the continuation of the vietnam war. also important to note, the state visit to china. the russia visit which resulted in the salt one treaty. the moon landing. the creation of the

environmental protection agency. administration continued the resignation of vice president agnew under controversy of water great -- watergate break-in and the resignation. we'll focus on the first lady during all of those years. she chose an issue. her issue was volunteerism. how much a choice did she have in that selection and did it have an effect? >> she did not want to have to choose an issue. she did not like that. in fact, it bothered her within

the first few months she kept being asked -- what is your focus? she said, people. she did not want it to be one. yes, volunteerism would be what she was best known for in the first year. she made trips around the country to show her support for volunteerism. but then think about it and she did not want to be programmed. what she felt and this was the criticism of lady bird johnson, she had beautification. pat nixon did not like the fact that was assumed she will be programmed to do one thing. they came to her, apparently the white house, the west wing, with all kind of ideas that she might wanted to do. she disliked the idea this is what she had to do as first lady.

>> in the sense that if she had to have something, she had volunteered her whole life so it worked with the nixon administration in terms of what they wanted to do. i agree with tim she did not want to pick one topic. she would rather go out and see people to see which they were doing. even we do volunteerism, she said i do not want to local officials and the ceos and head of corporations coming. i want to see the volunteers and the people they are helping you want to talk to them. she is very much involved with the people, not with the big shots. >> the selection the issue struck me that it supported the image of a conservative

president. the private sector rather than public sector. >> i think that was a big part of the west week choice of the top -- west wing choice of the topics. and to measure the volunteer places were correctly done. they were not something that was going to be too radical and get turned to some places she should not be. i do think -- that first term really trying to find herself as first lady. well, she does not have a colts to -- the tools to stand up to the west wing. >> as president nixon began to separate more of his personal life and his political life, pat nixon is actually seeing the affect because the team, chief of staff, the team does not particularly enjoy working with pat. they do not take advantage of her many skills. when she is in africa, she does such a wonderful job of

representing our country and gets rave reviews. there's a note the president gets about how well pat did and it is given to pat nixon. she writes to her friend and i figure out what i can do. >> let's take a call from california. >> hi, this is a wonderful program. i wanted to say to the question about where president next and proposed to pat it was in dana point. also, how mrs. nixon when she was in the white house added to the antiques and brought in so much of american culture on where jacqueline kennedy started at her personal diplomacy in africa and also which went through? thank you very much. >> those are questions we are going to tell her story. let us do that. we have a clip of pat nixon talking about her volunteerism. [video clip] >> it is a great joy for me to be here with you this evening and to receive this award. however, i would like to say i am receiving this in the name of all of the volunteers who are working throughout this land and throughout his world. as you know, i have been in most

of the countries of the world and all of the united states. i have these good people who give of their hearts and hands to assist others and there is no more noble way to spend part of a life. i do thank all of you who are here in a position and volunteers. i do thank all of the people in this united states who are so kind and generous. i am proud of them. and i am proud to thank them here today. [applause] >> in that clip, she is talk about her travels. our caller wanted to say she's the most traveled first lady up to that point. was that some day she chose to do? -- something she chose to do?

>> it is important that when she traveled as first lady, that was when she felt the most useful. it got her away from the control of the west wing. it reconnected her to the days when they were the second couple and she and dick were a team and they can go out and do things. when she went out, and when she was the second lady and did her travel, she insisted that she was not going to do formal receptions. she wanted to go out and see what the people were doing. she wanted to go to women's homes and orphanages and schools and hospitals. she did not want to do the bouquet of roses. she wanted to go out and shake people's hands. that is what she wanted to do. she was most interested in seeing what the people were doing. >> her first trip -- foreign trip was important to peru was important.

it was at the request of president nixon. he was not forcing her out of the white house. the demonstration following the massacre. ties to the nixon family. pat decided to bring the family back from camp david so richard nixon would not be alone in the white house. it is clear that in that period from early may through june of 1970 were very difficult for the nixon family and especially for pat nixon. the president thought, he had heard about the earthquake and 50,000 people died. people were left homeless. she was watching what was happening. i suspect the president realized to restart -- he needed to give for something where she felt she was doing something good. she cared what was happening in peru.

it was an interesting choice. the united states was not close to peru. they had a revolutionary government that had criticized the united states. to send pat to all places and involved political -- it proved to be wonderful for her and very good. she ended up getting an award from the government of peru. the peruvian government had not had much good to say about the united states but thanked the united states for pat. >> she's the first first lady to travel into a combat zone. she insisted to visiting soldiers in a hospital. she was not somebody who wanted a general to government update. she wanted to go and talk to the soldiers. it did not matter it was a combat zone. she had to talk to the boys and themselves and calm them down.

both of her son-in-laws had been in the military. she felt close to the young men. >> she went to south vietnam. she met with wounded soldiers. that was her choice. >> our next video is about her travels. [video clip] >> she was most the most widely traveled first lady's in our history. her diplomatic passport used. you can see here, the photos of vice president and mrs. nixon. it is full of stamps. related to the different nations they visited. she wanted to go out into the field and see the people. she wanted to work with them at

the wishing to do to help. she wanted to go to hospitals and orphanages. when she went to panama -- these tags were used on her second to last trip as first lady. she and the president visited austria, egypt, saudi arabia, israel, and jordan. the first time the president and first lady have been to israel. they were on her personal luggage. the museum and some of the items on display. >> we have a lot of samples of gifts given to mrs. nixon during her foreign travels. this is probably the oldest piece. mrs. nixon was a fine example -- a tablecloth given to her in 1969. [indiscernible] also a beautiful pen watch.

it is made out of gold and rubies and diamonds. it was given to mrs. nixon by the prime minister of italy back in 1970. during the trip to china, and mrs. nixon accompanied. she enjoyed learning about the pandas. they were meeting with their hosts. they noticed how mrs. nixon was looking at a package of cigarettes. the package, she was admiring it.

the pandas at the zoo, aren't they darling? [indiscernible] it was important for her to support her husband and just her being there would bring so much goodwill. it was evident at the end of the trip. that would talk about the president this way but they why was i was a wonderful job pat nixon did. >> two of the most important trips on the administration that they went as a couple for the trip to china described in the video. and also the trip to the soviet union which resulted in two important treaties between the two nations.

what was her role as a president was opening the doors with the chinese government? >> since the president allow the press to go with them and the president was in closed doors meeting, what the american public saw of china was what they saw through pat. she was the one taking them around. the chinese public that she met, she's a representative of america. she introduced america to china. she was supposed to do the sightseeing. this was an amazing trip. she was say i read that book and go to something else. that was not what she wanted to do. she will go talk to the people as much as she could. >> abigail in michigan. you are on the air. >> hi. >> hi, abigail. >> ok. i want to say how i've enjoyed

the show. i have watched almost every episode. my question is, did meeting mr. reagan make mrs. reagan -- mrs. nixon, i'm sorry, you know make her a republican and if she'd marry someone else would she be a democrat? >> before you go, how old are you? >> i am 12. >> do you have a favorite first lady? >> my favorite -- mmm, -- i do not know. maybe lou hoover. >> thank you very much. it is great to have you in the audience. we'll talk about lou hoover. >> the 12 year old. >> and the answer to the question would she have been a republican if she married somebody else?

>> and that was a very good question. she was an independent before in terms of where her political standings were before they got married. would she have been something else, i do not think so. in terms of harder conservative moral values and especially her economic point of view, she probably would've been a republican. >> the china trip was a popular addition to the national zoo

that is still the most popular today and the pandas. we have a clip about the pandas here and also a phone call from the president. [video clip] >> i notice that dr. ripley is wearing a panda tie and i have a panda pin. pandemonium is going to break out at the zoo. >> i checked to see how the panda think went. >> they were darling. they raved about them. >> how did you work? could you pet them or things like that? >> no, and they are in the glass. >> did they get a good picture? >> there were a lot of people. >> good, good. did people seem to enjoy it? even the press was pleased. >> and yeah, i think so. yeah. they are little things. >> and do they really? >> oh, yeah. they have the structure inside of the case. one of them climbed up and sat

up there. it was a scream. i am not sure how well. >> that would be great. >> that was when audio recordings of the white house conversations from the president's office. we get a glimpse of the relationship. what did we learn? >> they do not talking the phone very often. [laughter] how pat nixon -- pat nixon -- a panda bear. there's a little bit of controversy over whether in fact she asked for the pandas. i heard one of the president aides told me it was a misunderstanding. pat nixon smoked and she did not like to show people she smoked. she smoked a lot. indeed, the supervisory curator at the nixon library said there were pandas on the chinese cigarette pack.

it is not clear whether mrs. nixon was just motioning toward the panda because she wanted a cigarette or because she really liked pandas and wanted them in the united states. it is not clear if they knew what she was asking for. the outcome was wonderful for the united states and for the national zoo. as we see from this conversation, it added to the nixon household. >> you are on the air. >> thank you for accepting my call. i've been watching your show. this is my third time calling. the question i had -- you said mrs. nixon disliked politics after husband's defeat. do you think she could've been

more insistent on her husband not running for political office or just privately accepted that he wanted an executive job in the government? >> i do not know if she could have been more insistent. could she have threatened to in 1962, 1963? i do not think that would have been something that would have entered her mind. i think that she knew to stop him from going on that she would have to do something that drastic. he had written a list in 1954 of reasons to drop out of politics and the top reason was that it would make his wife happy. 1954 even though he promised in road this list and realized his wife did not like

politics am a he could not stop himself. i think it was something that was very much a part of him. i think that even though she disliked all of this, i do not she would have been able to do that. that would have been asking her to be something that she was not. called influence and image. i want to talk about influence. pat nixon became involved to issuesgree in dishes -- typically thought of as women's issues. she supported the equal rights amendment and spoke out about war woman getting elected to public office or list of what party they belong to. she earned -- urged the president to appoint a woman to the supreme court. she had opinions that she expressed somewhat publicly about abortion calling it a private decision for a woman. how much influence did she have on the president's thinking on any of these issues and was a

controversial the public knew her opinions? >> the nixon administration made a big effort with regard to hiring more women into the federal service. franklin was the point person for this and it was a real initiative on the part of the nixon administration. pat nixon?e from we do not know. we knew that julie played a role working with arbor franklin. there is no doubt that had nixon was supportive. perhaps you found evidence that she was the one who was pushing this. that she was very disappointed in october of 1971 with president -- when president nixon had to open seats on the supreme court. she hoped one of them would go to a woman. when that did not happen she left -- let president nixon now at a private family dinner. she let him know that she was not happy.

did not speak to him for a while which was kind of her way of letting him stew on things and getting back at him. she thought he -- she had a promise. she was very upset about that. >> those of you who have been watching the series watched a discussion about lady bird johnson. saw evidence of lady bird johnson giving -- watching a speech and critiquing it and telling him how he could do a better job. that is not what pat nixon did. she was not a political advisor. for richard nixon. she had views and richard nixon used them but he did not involve her in the policy process. the evidence of that is if you look at the tapes or listen to the tapes by law, the u.s. government cannot release tapes of the president and pat nixon

talking about family matters. it was a supreme court decision. whenever president nixon and pat nixon are talking about governmental matters such as the pandas, the government is it -- the material belongs to the american people and the u.s. government can open it. there is very little of the two of them talking about substantive policy issues. that is not the role that had nixon played. she is quite different from lady bird johnson. from jackient kennedy. jackie herself participated a little bit in policy discussions with the president. fashionat start any trends or white house tradition? there is video about her personal style well she was in the white house. >> mrs. nixon was not a real close horse per se. she loved looking trim and clean. she loved spare design. she loved wearing the clothes

designed for her. she or things off the rack by s offey been -- wore thing the rack by jeffrey beene. fur,oat is lined with completely lined inside so that would keep her warm. the tradition is to give her inaugural gown to the smithsonian institution where they display the first ladies' gowns. if they have a second term, the presidential library would keep the second gown. she wore this at the inaugural. an aquamarine or turquoise. she loved this color. quirky thing she asked for when her gowns would be designed, her after dinner dress

or gown, she asked to have pockets put in. people would slip notes to her. she could give them to her husband after the event. here what we have on display is her mother of the bride dress which was designed by priscilla of boston. a very famous wedding gown maker. 'se also designed mrs. nixon daughters down. behind her is the photograph of a gazebo that was made on the occasion of her wedding at the rose garden at the white house. that was on the display at the grounds of the nixon library. >> and wanted to show this video -- her clothing was often a political issue. about herxon talked republican cloth coat. would you comment on that? >> 1960, some and he asked it has they were making a big deal that jackie's wardrobe and how

much money she might have spent on her wardrobe. someone said they should debate. pat said i would be happy to debate mrs. kennedy but i do not want to talk about clothing because i do not think that is a very important issue in these days. i do think clothing makes a statement. one of the other first things that pat did was she appeared in a magazine, i think it was my calls or ladies home journal. summer. in the this was a very big deal. because she never wore pants. pants. not like she never appeared in public in slacks. and so that fact that she would appear in this magazine in a pantsuit is making a political statement. i think that by the time in 1972 you do have a pat nixon who was coming into her own. africa, she had

gone to china, she had gone to the soviet union. here she is in pants. i think that is clothing as politics. >> i would like to ask you about social events in the white house and their significance. reference the white house wedding of patricia. lyrically evenke her standing -- his standing in the polls? an intersection point. right after that you have the pentagon papers controversy and the plumbers and things start to get out of hand. that moment in the summer of 1971 is a very sweet moment for the family. because itr event has not been matched to this day . the largest event ever thrown at the white house was the nixon's

tribute to the vietnam prisoners of war. can you talk about the significance of that? the library just celebrated the anniversary of it this year. that part of the story of pat nixon in the white house is a story of the pressures on the family because of the country's reaction to the president. -- the president's vietnam policy. the country's reaction had a very strong effect on the nixon family. pat in particular was affected by it. one of the reasons why the president encouraged her to leave on the solo trips was to pick up herb morel. and after the successful conclusion of the negotiations which resulted in agreement in

january of 1973 to end the american participate -- or dissipation in the war in southeast asia. they wanted to celebrate this achievement. a positive final note to what had been such a difficult war for this country. that was this -- the president had made the argument that he had been thinking always about getting p.o.w.'s out and so they're coming to the white house was a symbol of his achievement. the story is more competent it. that is a different story and that is for different hour of c- span. nixon seeing the p.o.w.'s was a source of pride and happiness and accomplishment. i do not doubt that that evening was very special for all of them. >> on her stewardship of the white house.

to thed she do of note institution of the white house, the building itself? hard behinded very the scenes. conger.ed with clbm to pick up where jackie had left off and to continue to get period pieces, she could be convincing to various institutions to loan pieces to the white house. they went out and sought out people to donate to get the to fill the room. she decorated the number of areas. that was something that was important and not something that was widely known. they did not publicize this.

she was doing it for a while before anyone realized. to give the credit to other people rather than taking it herself. >> one third of the furnishings were antiques. when she left two thirds of them were antiques. madison, is famous for saving the canvas of george washington. she saved two canvases. the other was a portrait of herself. pat nixon brought it back to the white house. i was his butler at camp david. i was at the house with a nixons -- with the nixons all the time at camp david. >> what would you like people to know about the first lady?

an oral history with the library. --we sent stockings that that she missed placed had sent them to the library at the time. i was there during the panda years. >> what would you like the audience to know about mrs. nixon? >> i often talk to her at breakfast. so kind and so treated me with such respect. i loved the whole family. >> what was their final years as the pressure increased, were you working for them at that point

and what did you see? >> i worked until 73. i left a few months before he did. -- i was not there at the end. >> do you remember how they felt during the christmas bombings? >> i believe that was the year they say -- stayed at camp. they were going to go to california. instead they stay there at the camp. was a family time for them. they stayed together and i think they enjoyed that weekend together. >> thank you for your call. that added a little bit to our understanding of your personal experience with them. before leave this part -- i , as watergatet

continued to bear down and ultimately to his resignation. what was mrs. nixon's role vis- à-vis her family and the public and i want to add to that. several people have seen the image of her as a drinker during this time if you write about that. would you add that to the story? timeis was a very trying and it is important to remember that as tim had mentioned before, the president did not discuss policy. when mrs. nixon told people that she only knew what she read in the papers that was all she knew. she is also someone who trusts her husband. and who did not trust haldeman and ehrlichman and the men surrounding him so it was easy for her to believe that these men are setting him up. but she keeps getting all these questions and the questions become increasingly hostile and increasingly persistent. she cannot avoid them. ofe she is at the height

finally figuring out what she wants to do as first lady and now she cannot avoid these questions about watergate. thebecomes in many ways rock. she continues to do her schedule. she continues to go ahead and the visit and going out and entertaining and going to meetings because she has to. the people -- the drinking, i she drinking more? she will -- liked to have a drink after dinner. many people of that generation did. did she drink more? probably. who would not? was there heavy -- was there any evidence that she was alcoholic? no. , they wouldlcoholic have jumped all over that. this was not a time when they

are going to hide something like that. i think there is little evidence that she was an alcoholic, that she was a drunk or anything like that. >> it is clear that the president lied to her about a number of things. this is an important part of the story. she is absolutely loyal to richard nixon. she is suffering for him. and he tells her that he had nothing to do with the enemies list when it was his idea. her lyndon johnson had bugged his campaign plane. knew that was not true. he filled her mind with things that made what she was reading in the newspaper make no sense at all. end, he did not even have the courage to tell her he was going to resign. he had julie the first time he would resign on august 2, he had

julie tell his wife and the whole family persuaded him not to resign. when he finally made the decision to resign, he had woods telluld -- her. >> who was that? >> that was his secretary. the one regret she had from that period, this is evidence she was not tellbut -- he did hair -- tell her there was a taping system. he did not involve her in the decision about what to do about the tapes when it became clear that this was going to be come a major issue -- become a major issue when the taping system was about to be revealed to the public. she felt he had made a huge error and he should have destroyed them. by the way, he could have. at that time in the united states, those tapes were private property and belong to the president. once they were subpoenaed he would be a different issue but

they had not been subpoenaed yet. she wanted to get rid of them but he never asked her. she was not part of this at all. she just suffered from it. at hermitage, pennsylvania you're on the air as we talk about tax -- pat nixon. >> you have done in kabul hard work to get it on the air and i do appreciate it. -- incredible hard work to get it on the air and i do appreciate it. what was her biggest unfulfilled dream and biggest regret in or out of the white house? thanks so much. >> that is a good question. her biggest unfulfilled dream. >> a movie actress? ati think that if you look -- being the goodwill ambassador , that she was coming into in 1972 at that time, if she could have

continued to do that, i think she would have loved for her husband to have completed his term, for her to have been able to continue to go out into the world and to meet people and for him to have been able to and his presidency on a high note. i think that you are right. i think that for her, the two of them were so connected that she was not going to be able to be [inaudible] she thought he was doing good work and she knew she was doing good work. her regret would have been that they had to leave under such circumstances. >> we have 10 minutes left. i would like to understand their post-white house years. and new jersey. there years were filled with serious medical public to both of them. what was their life like? we could do a show

about best friends of the first family. was very important. term, first residential some of pat nixon's family and friends were worried about her. she seemed frail. she seemed not to find her way. during the last few months of the administration . that is how she has been described. she continued to be very strong when the president nearly died. he nearly died a few months after leaving office. he gets phlebitis, an inflammation of the veins. he actually goes into cardiac arrest because of their reaction to, i believe he has an infection. this happens in long beach, california. >> hospitalized for 23 weeks. -- 22 days. >> he nearly died. she is very strong for the family.

>> was he also suffering from depression during that period? it is thing about it, very hard to know about the medical condition of presidential families unless they let you know. in the end, the eisenhowers opened up medical records about president eisenhower, general eisenhower. we do not know if he was suffering from depression. there is no doubt that there were people around him who feared he was suicidal. accounts of the people around him who thought he was suicidal. what is important here though is that she found the resources within herself despite the sort of national tragedy to pull herself and the family together during this health crisis. and the real tragedy is she has her own health height -- crisis.

>> this is tied for her smoking. stress, high blood pressure. you can imagine the effect. her health records are not open. not move her left side. her speech was slurred. she worked hard to regain her strength and to be able to move her left arm. and saw her came up working very hard on one of the machines to build up your arm strength because she was determined to come back. thisas not going to let but it was very serious. >> during this time the president began to plot his return to acceptance in society and worked on his memoirs, and i am wondering about her role in

supporting all of that. >> she really retires and she has grandchildren now. -- a very happy and proud grandparent. she does not make many public appearances and all. one in particular was her last thearance. it was at opening of the reagan library. and she is very frail and some people comment on the fact that richard nixon leaves her, almost forgets she is there and she is having a hard time walking and breathing because of her health problems. >> one was the work on the nixon library done? >> the net -- the first private library which is different from the federal library, the federal government took it over in 2007. it is a it because federal library. it is not part of the -- the

only private presidential library at that point was opened in 1991. she was alive to see it open. she predeceases her husband, she dies the year before he does and she is buried in the library. there is no -- i never found any evidence that she participated in shaping the museum. i do believe that the rose garden that the -- that it reflects her interests and the area that is devoted now has a big glass window so you can see the garden. interested in opening the garden. it makes a lot of sense. >> how involved were the two daughters? julie nixon is 65 and the

preservation of their parents legacy? owns you heard, the family -- all of her private materials are owned by the family and they decide to leave the materials. mary did not get to see that she should have all the correspondence when she was book but in 2012, some of the correspondence that had been withheld by the family was opened as part of the celebration of pat's 100 earth day. >> how did she die? >> she had another stroke and she had at the sema and lung cancer. from years of smoking. >> people referenced, they still believe it to this day, video of the president as wept over the grave. we talked about taking away from

that watching as outsiders. >> what you have is a man who loved his wife and who perhaps at some -- in some ways did not realize how much -- how central she was to to holding him up, to propping him up. she was that way for her daughters and certainly for him. i think it goes back to the original relationship and the love that we saw there in the beginning. i think she was a woman of tremendous strength who could not have been plastic. she had to be steel. i would hope that some of that was guilt, too. i hope he understand what he had done and the strains he put on this woman. >> the final video is of her burial and legacy. [video clip] >> this is the amphitheater at the nixon library. it was here, june 26, 1993, that mrs. nixon's funeral was held. was placed right up here underneath the lovely tend with flowers. nixon sat over here. on the other side, presidents

reagan and ford and their first ladies. this is the pat nixon rose garden, a special place for both of the nixons because mrs. nixon was instrumental in designing it for the grand opening of the nixon library in 1990. she loved gardening. had a special affinity for roses. she was instrumental for opening up the white house for garden tours in the spring. a tradition that's continued until this day. this is the pat nixon rose which was developed in 1972 by a french designer. mrs. nixon was first lady. it is the only rose that will continually grow at the white house. this is the final resting place of both president and mrs. nixon, only steps away from the president's humble 1910 farmhouse. there's a great story behind the epitaph on her memorial site which she chose herself. it dates back to the trip to peru that she took in 1970 as

the ambassador of goodwill. she wanted to talk to the people of the devastated earthquake. she wanted to see the devastation, find out what she could do to help. one of the reporters said to her, mrs. nixon, what goodwill any of this do if the people you're speaking to can't understand what you're saying. she replied, even if they can't speak your language, they can tell if you have love in your heart. >> that's the close out here of our biography of pat nixon. what would pat nixon say is her greatest contribution to the role of first lady? >> dignity under strain. she was a dignified and proud throughout her period in office. >> made sure people understood that the white house was their house.

everyone should have a voice, everyone should be able to come, everyone was welcome. >> as a closeout, we want to say thank you to our partners at the white house historical association for their help in telling the stories of the first ladies. we've been making available on i our websites, biographies of the white house. it's available at cost if you're interested. we have many more first ladies to go as the series continues. hope they'll read along with us and learn more about the interesting aspect on american history. a special thanks to our guest tonight. and to tim naphali for helping to tell her story. >> thank you very much. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]