abigail murmured something terrible has happened. i can see it in your face. adams nodded slowly blinked hard. the soldiers have fired on the citizens. at least four are dead, maybe more. i heard it was a riot but i don't know. abigail moved to a soft chair and sat slowly, the roundness of her stomach obvious. adams moved forward to provide a helping hand. though she said, no, it's all right. i just need to sit. i'm sorry. i should not have gone out. i knew you would worry. he paused. he glance the at his daughter holding fast to his mother's leg and lowered his voice. i saw the blood. it was everywhere. he moved close to her, closed his eyes, i should not have gone. she held out her hand, took his. you had to go. it could have been a fire. you know you would have helped. you would have to know what happened. i still don't know. we will hear the rumors tomorrow. both sides will lay blame. there will be mobs, maybe more violence. he knelt down, rubbed one hand gently on his daughter's back and said, perhaps you should return to brain tree. it is safer. we could be in

abigail adams and mercy were very good friends. i think they influenced each other. but i love -- one thing i sort of pick up from your question as you ruffled the feathers on this story. i really like that. congratulations. because somebody -- you know, you'll get absolute statements such as, and this is an example that is not fair maybe to say this in simplistic forms. well, the feminist movement in the united states started in he's getting -- because he's the most visible columnist. he is a celebrity in his time. because he's the most visible columnist in london, he's getting the grief. he's the one being pinpointed by king george as the target of a lot of the frustration. consider 3,000 miles distance between england and the colonies. it takes a month for a ship going east. the ship going east can ride the gulf stream. coming back, it takes often as long as two months or more. so if you send a letter or in the case of general thomas gauge, another of the main characters, if you send orders or requests for information, it takes a month to get there. somebody has t

here on a chilly january 1st in 1801, john and abigail adams received the ministers from the first six 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 their wives for that half hour or so before a state dinner. the earlier part of the day is filled with 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 real a big sheaf of briefings on 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, it is a high moment when the color guard enters. es of the visiting chief and i in turn bring our guest. for a year, perhaps the marine captain who led t

debt of evil and we're talking about how much criticism first ladies have taken going back to abigail adamspecting them to be quiet. that said, it was ash wednesday. that means for that us in new orleans, it was the remains of m mardi gras. >> that's so kind you think i should put these on? >> i do. >> i have been to mardi gras but i've never worn them. they look okay. >> they look lovely. >> just a final question for a moment, jeb bush's name often arises. made some news of his views. i used to be a conservative, and i watch these debates and i'm wondering, i don't think i've changed, but it's a little troubling when people are appealing to people's fears and emotion rather than trying to get them to look over the horizon for a broader perspective and that's kind of where we are. that sounds like a reasonable republican. >> there are reasonable republicans left and the whole point is all the republicans looked at this election and said i'm going to wait until 2016 because they don't want to run against president obama. running against an incumbent president is really tough job. the jeb bus

going back to abigail adams, who really were in favor of the liberation of black people, we need to know black people like frederick douglass, etc. >> again, my facts may not be right on the money, but a couple of weeks ago, president inton std in front of the anderson cottage out here at the old soldier's home, $750,000 to repair it. i think he mentioned it was in this cottage that abraham lincoln wrote a lot of the emancipation proclamation, implying that's very positive, very good. kind of connect that to, i want to ask you whether is bill clinton, as i said several years ago, the first black american president? >> give me two seconds. i hoped that we would come to this. the firspoint -- the dedication of this cottage in the summer -- and i read newspapers all across this country. almost all of them wrong, almost all of them totally wrong. the big american newspaper, the paper of record said that it was in the soldiers' home that abraham lincoln drafd the emancipation proclamation. he did no such thing. did no such thing. another major american newspaper -- and just let me read this.

. >> but before we talk about fathers, like abigail adams said let us not forget the women and mothersin f.d.r.'s case, his mother was the primary figure in his life. his father was ill, much older than the mother. but she was the one whose approval he wanted, she was the one who gave him that incredible serene confidence he was able to carry through by making him feel he was the center of her life. so mothers are in there as well. >> and barack obama's mother and grandparents, too. >> rose: the grandfather really was an influence. >> it's also true that one of the things that always happened in the roosevelt white house was f.d.r. would have tea with his mother, invite his wife and then suddenly is a matter of state business that he had to attend to. >> rose: when i hear these stories, i think of douglas macarthur. his mother moved to west point. (laughter) >> one thing you do see through a lot of these presidents is the tough harsh punishing father and the mother who made up for that by making the father the center of her life. >> bill clinton. >> rose: so as you look through and wro

her name was abigail smith adams. and she was the first woman to have been married to a president and was the father of a president. i mean the mother of a president. thank you anita. it was actually the secret service that whispered first. on february 12th, interestingly, 11/11 and 2/12 are important days in history, but there was another woman born but she was born in london. and she was the daughter in law to a president. and the wife of a president. the two women that we will hear from tonight are even more unique than those two individuals. because one is not only the mother of a president, and the wife of a president, she also got to witness both of them taking an oath of office to be president. the other woman is the daughter in law of a president and the wife of a president. and she got to witness both of them taking the oath of office to be president. these two women are pretty remarkable. barbara pierce bush has had a long legacy of caring about people and inviting people to make a difference. she cares deep

even abigail adams was amazed and impressed. martha washington, our first first lady.t: what is it like to portray her? caller: it is a wonderful honor. our visitors are fascinated with their story. their 40-year marriage. they raised their two- young grandchildren. there was not the white house then. they're living in new york and philadelphia. she had to make borrowed homes into president's houses. it's a great honor. i hope there will be some programming on mrs. washington. host: i will take a look at the lineup and share with withyou what we have coming up. we are profiling a lot of the first lady's. one last question. what is the most surprising thing visitors hear from you? what's the biggest reaction? caller: i think it is the fact that she traveled at every single one of the windsor captains during the war. she was known as their best friend. she was not a young woman when this happened. she was in her 40's. i also see their mouths drop open. the portraits make her look rather serious. people do not seem to be as interested. when they hear about their life toge