Prominent First Ladies

This course will explore how prominent women met the challenges of what many consider one of the toughest jobs in the United States - that of the First Lady. We will explore the ways these wives supported their presidential husbands and helped shape American History. Subjects range from Abigail Adams, who was not only First Lady but also mother to President John Quincy Adams, to Michelle Obama, who faced a new challenge of being a 21st Century First Lady raising two daughters in the limelight of the modern-day White House. We will also look at the lives and contributions of Dolley Madison, Mary Todd Lincoln, Ellen and Edith Wilson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Barbara and Laura Bush, and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

George Gruner is a former educator with over 25 years of classroom experience and a life-long student of American history. He has served as a Vermont State Representative and worked in guest services at Monticello. He is employed as a docent at the Woodrow Wilson President Library and Museum.

There are no scheduled sessions at this time. Sign up to be notified when this course is available.