50 Years, 9 Presidents: America & Its Complex Relation With The First Ladies

The US First Lady Melania Trump has recently moved to Washington from New York, to embrace the Presidential residence as her new home for the next few years. After a delay of over four months, she has finally relocated to the White House, with her younger son Barron.

On her ‘moving day’, Melania Trump took to micro –blogging site Twitter to share the news with all, along with a picture captioned ‘Looking forward to the memories we'll make in our new home! #Movingday’

(Image Courtesy: Twitter)

As the US First Lady settles in, let’s quickly browse through all the US First ladies who’ve lived in the White House as their husbands served the nation:

Melania Trump

(Image Courtesy: TVOvermind)

After President John Quincy Adams' wife Louisa Adams, Melania Trump, the wife of the US President Donald Trump, is the second first lady in the history of the US who was born outside the country. Not just that, her decision to take over 4 months to relocate to the White House has added another credit to her personality, of becoming the first lady to not move in immediately as her husband took control of the office. Apart from that, she is an accomplished model, jewelry designer with a fine taste in interior decoration. However, did you know the secret service code for Melania Trump is ‘Muse’ while the President is addressed as ‘Mogul’?

Michelle Obama

(Image Courtesy: mid-day)

Tied with Eleanor Roosevelt, Michelle Obama was the tallest First Lady to grace the White House. The wife of former President Barack Obama who served the United States of America for two consecutive terms shares her name with former first lady Hillary Clinton and Lara Bush for being the only three to gain Master’s Degree. During her term, Mrs. Obama abandoned her career as a lawyer to endorse public services as her stream. She worked extensively towards planning and development of Chicago and was successful in establishing the first community service program for the University of Chicago. Here’s a fun fact for you! The secret service code for Michelle Obama was ‘Renaissance’ while the former President was addressed as ‘Renegade’.

Laura Bush

(Image Courtesy: History)

Laura Bush, the wife of former President George W Bush who served the US from 2001- 09, was one of the most gracious First Lady, fromTexas. After attaining a degree in higher education, the lady worked tremendously to ensure the masses received accessible yet quality education. For this, she promoted campaigns like Teach for America and Troops to Teachers. As a matter of fact, her love for reading even compelled her to organize annual National Book Festival across the country. As of now, there are four schools named after the former First Lady who took a keen interest in promoting quality education and safeguarding the rights of the women. Were you aware of the fact that Laura Bush was christened with ‘Tempo’ as her secret service name while George Bush was addressed as ‘Tumbler’?

Hillary Clinton

(Image Courtesy: Huffington Post)

The lady, who contested Presidential Elections against Donald Trump in 2016, was a former US First Lady. Married to former President Bill Clinton who served America from 1993-2001, Hillary Clinton was the only First Lady in the history of America to be subpoenaed for her alleged involvement in the Whitewater controversy. During that time, Mrs. Clinton was also surrounded by rumors about her marriage, her sexuality, and her friendship. Yet, that did not hinder the former first lady from following her aspirations. Here’s a fun fact for you! Did you know Hillary Clinton was called ‘Evergreen’ while Bill Clinton was given ‘Eagle’ as his secret service code?

Barbara Bush

(Image Courtesy: ThoughtCo)

The former Second Lady, Barbara Bush became the First Lady when her husband George Bush became the 41st President of the United States of America in 1989. Mother of former President George W Bush, who became the 43rd President of US, the lady worked significantly to enhance universal literacy and founded Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. During her tenure as the First Lady, Mrs. Bush took active participation in White House Historical Association and contributed extensively to revitalize the White House Preservation Fund. Later, she went on to become the first US First Lady to receive prize money from Henry G Freeman Jr Pin Money Fund and donated most of it to charity. Here’s a fact for you! Barbara Bush was often called ‘Tranquility’ while ‘Timberwolf’ was the President’s secret service code.

Nancy Reagan

(Image courtesy: Variety)

The American film actress became the First Lady of the US following her husband Ronald Reagan’s victory in the 1981 Presidential Elections. As the First Lady of the US, she proposed to revamp the White House and was critiqued by the people for using private donations to renovate the dilapidated walls of the White House. Some years into her service, Mrs. Reagan initiated a drug awareness campaign ‘Just Say No’ to fight substance abuse. But what is interesting to note is her secret service code. She was called ‘Rainbow’ while the President was addressed as ‘Rawhide’.

Rosalynn Carter

(Image Courtesy: Carter Centre)

Wife to the 39th President of the United States of America Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter actively participated in the President’s political affairs, unlike the traditional First Ladies. She extended her assistance in arranging the President's appointments, attending his cabinet meetings and giving counsel on domestic and foreign affairs in order to become a crucial part of the office. However, she was later criticized for the same and deemed as less qualified for the task. Throughout her tenure, she advocated for mental health and worked extensively in the field to generate awareness about the same. But were you aware of this, the US first lady was christened ‘Dancer’ as her secret service code while the President was called a ‘Deacon’?

Betty Ford

(Image Courtesy: C-Span First Ladies)

Betty Ford, the wife of former US President Gerald R. Ford, was considered the most candid First Lady in the history of the US as she had an opinion to share on every hot issue governing the country. During her stint as the First Lady, Mrs. Ford has contributed significantly in lobbying the passage of Equal Rights Amendments and generating awareness about Breast Cancer. Many are unaware of this, but Betty Ford was given 'Pinafore' as her secret service code while the President was termed as ‘Passkey’.

Pat Nixon

(Image Courtesy: Carl Anthony Online)

The wife of the 37th President of the United States of America Richard Nixon, Pat Nixon was a formidable lady who went on to become the most traveled First Lady in the history of the US, until 25 years later. However, she continues to remain the only First Lady to have entered the combat zone. Not Just that, Mrs. Nixon has also worked tremendously towards charitable causes including volunteerism in which she compelled Americans to address social problems at a local level by volunteering in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. Other than that, did you know that the secret service code given to Pat Nixon was ‘Starlight’ while the President was called ‘Searchlight’?

(Featured Image: NY Mag)