ms. swain: lucy hayes wrote, "women's minds are as strong as man's, equal in all things and superior in some." born in 1831 in chillicothe, ohio, she was the first first lady to earn a college degree and her life tells us much about the times in which she lived experiencing the civil war reconstruction, and the gilded age, and into a period where technological innovations and significant social forces usher in an era of enormous change in the united states. good evening and welcome to c-span's continuing series on the biographies of america's first ladies. tonight you'll learn about lucy webb hayes, the wife of the 19th president, rutherford b. hayes. and here to start us off is allida black, who is a first ladies historian and she is the author of "the first ladies of the united states of america: a collection of biographies published by the white house historical association." allida black, welcome. and 1876, this country is joyously celebrating its 100th centennial of the declaration of inde