lucy webb hayes had some very definite political ideas herself. she was from a very strong abolitionist family and as a younger woman had been very involved in the campaign to abolish slavery. she was also a member of the temperance movement and was well known as a temperance advocate in fact the portrait you see here of her her official white house portrait was commissioned by the woman's christian temperance union the largest temperance organization of the period so they commissioned and paid for this portrait of lucy webb hayes. she was very much celebrated by others in the temperance movement, but that then made her not very popular with the nation's liquor manufacturers and we have to remember that the woman's christian temperance union here when lucy hayes was first lady. in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. it was not only the nation's largest temperance organization. it was the nation's largest women's suffrage organization. members of the wctu wanted women to gain the ballot because they felt if women were voters they would vote for pro

and to lucy hayes, of course i had to have an ohio first lady since i'm speaking to you from ohio university. i had to have one of our examples of a first lady from ohio. luci webb was born very near to where i'm sitting right now here in southeastern, ohio. and on the left we see her wedding photograph with her husband rutherford b hayes and here on the right. we see her official white house portrait. she's someone else that to the extent people think much about lucy hayes. they probably think of her as another celebrity hostess. she was very successful as a washington hostess and she is known as the first lady who began the easter old the easter egg roll annual event at the white house. but again, she was more than a celebrity hostess. lucy webb hayes had some very definite political ideas herself. she was from a very strong abolitionist family and as a younger woman had been very involved in the campaign to abolish slavery. she was also a member of the temperance movement and was well known as a temperance advocate in fact the portrait you see here of her her official white house portrait

lucy hayes in the 19 seventies was the first presidents wife to -- train station to see her and so forth. but in 1981 theodore roosevelt moved in, the assassination of president mckinley, they really turned the presidents into what historians call the modern presidency with a lot of attention from the media, taking a very strong position on matters of the world. putting the attention on washington instead of the state capitals. it was really a big change, and theodore roosevelt's wife, can be pointed to as instrumental in that. she heard a secretary. they all had secretaries but they were social, and they would hire a relative, a friend who helped them write letters. she did what we would call press secretary were because edith was smart enough to say that if she did not want the public to know that she wore the same dress twice she would tell the secretary to say it was green one night and who the next night, you see. so she begins managing the press. previous first ladies had more or less wanted to keep their kids out of sight. sometimes even moved out of the white house. the cleveland

been leading up to it the development of mass media had put more attention on president's wives lucy hayes in the 1870s was the first first lady to travel across country and she got a lot of attention for you know, people turned out at the train station to see her and support but in 191 when theodore roosevelt moved in on the death of mckinley the assassination of president mckinley, they really turned the presidency to what i think most historians call the modern presidency with lots of attention from the media taking a very strong position and matters of the world making the attention on washington said of the state capitals. it was really a big change and theodore roosevelt's wife edith can be pointed to as as instrumental in that she hired a secretary. well they had often had secretaries, but they were just sort of social. up on a niece or a daughter or a relative or a friend who helped them write letters edith hired a secretary what she did what we would call press secretary work because edith was smart enough to say if she didn't want the exact if she didn't want the public to know s