Here is a listing of U.S. First Ladies and their causes. Michelle Obama actually picked one of the less controversial ones.
http://www.biography.com/news/first-lad ... yKG0T5OmZM
Quote:
Eleanor Roosevelt (1933-1945) Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the most popular first ladies of the 20th century. She was a humanitarian who championed equal rights for all, and she transformed the role of the first lady during the challenging Great Depression era. A pioneer in her time, Roosevelt formed her own staff, held press conferences, and traveled throughout the nation and the world. She was a powerful opponent of segregation and lynching, and she fought actively for equality for African Americans. After her term as first lady, Roosevelt helped create the United Nations Charter on Human Rights, remaining an important figure on the world stage.
Eleanor Roosevelt's cause of equality for African Americans had to have been far more controversial than Michelle Obama's cause of healthy food. Obama could
make her cause more controversial by championing small farms as a better source of healthy food over agri-giants, but she hasn't. Roosevelt wins the controversy bravery prize.
Betty Ford is my choice for controversy bravery 2nd prize:
Quote:
Betty Ford (1974-1977) Betty Ford is probably best known for her role in helping reduce the stigma of alcoholism after admitting her struggle with the disease and opening the Betty Ford Clinic. But she was also one of the nation's most active and outspoken first ladies. In the wake of Watergate, she vowed the White House would try not to keep secrets and she would do her part in ensuring that openness. Shortly after her husband Gerald Ford was elected, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Ford spoke publicly about her mastectomy, inspiring other women to learn about the disease. She was a vocal believer in equal opportunity for women, and she was devoted to the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Despite criticism from conservatives, some of whom called her ?No Lady,? her approval ratings remained high throughout her term as first lady.
3rd prize goes to Lucy Hayes:
Quote:
Lucy Webb Hayes (1877-1881) As the first of the first ladies to graduate from college, Lucy Hayes was a national role model for women's education. Her husband, President Rutherford B. Hayes, made the controversial decision to ban alcoholic beverages from White House functions, a choice Lucy stood firmly behind. Later nicknamed "Lemonade Lucy," she was an advocate of temperance but did not want to be officially connected with the cause. Instead, she visited many schools including African-American Hampton College and the National Deaf Mute College in Washington, D.C., to show her commitment to education for all. Hayes also believed in caring for the nation's Civil War veterans. She helped several of them keep positions on the White House staff, and she frequently visited injured vets at the National Soldier's Home in Maryland.
It doesn't seem controversial now, but clearly championing college education for all regardless of gender, race or disability was not mainstream at the end of the 19th century.
10 Jun 2014, 6:09 pm
