1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: I'm editor Candice Gibson, joined today by a special guest, 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:19,800 Speaker 1: Jane McGrath. I, Candice, thanks for having me, of course, 5 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: welcome to Factor Fiction. Thank you. If you are anything 6 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: like me, you've been completely bombarded with news of the election. 7 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, definitely the question on people's minds who will 8 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 1: be the next president of the United States. I think 9 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: the acronym for that is potus. But I'm curious to 10 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: know who is going to be the next first Lady 11 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 1: of the United States or the flutists. So and when 12 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: you talk about first lady, I'm sure there are several 13 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: names that come to mind for me, at least I 14 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: think of Jackie Oh oh, definitely, or Elinor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton. Yeah, 15 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 1: even going back to like Martha Washington and stuff like that, 16 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: the first first lady. And you know, when Martha was 17 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: first Lady, the title first Lady hadn't even been thought of. 18 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: She was called Lady Washington. And it wasn't until Zachary 19 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: Taylor delivered a eulogy for Dolly Madison that anyone used 20 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,119 Speaker 1: the term first Lady. I think he called her our 21 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: first Lady of the United States, and then the term 22 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: didn't stick until eighteen sixty one when it was applied 23 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: to Mary Todd Lincoln, and then websters picked it up 24 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 1: a little while later it was in the dictionary. It 25 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: became official. But until then people had tossed around words 26 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: like Mrs President or just lady, or don't have the 27 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: same ring. No, it doesn't have like the same cashet 28 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: as First Lady, and a couple of zingers were thrown 29 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: in there, like her majesty, and that was a real 30 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: insult if a first lety know, it doesn't seem right 31 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: for America. No, they were trying to break from the monarchy. 32 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: But First Lady was tricky for Washington because she had 33 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 1: no idea how the office was supposed to go. And 34 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: I think all the first ladies in that era, the 35 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: first era of first Ladies about seventeen eighty nine eighteen 36 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: seventeen UM. There's just Buck by Robert P. Watson, all 37 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: about the First Lady and he defines these eras and 38 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: he calls that one the era of queenly first ladies. 39 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 1: That makes sense because they're very matronly and reserved and 40 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:18,639 Speaker 1: they stay in the background, thank you. It's like they're 41 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:21,799 Speaker 1: trying to figure out what is the United States? How 42 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: do I fit in? But then after the queenly first ladies, 43 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: we have an era of about eighteen seventeen eighteen sixty 44 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 1: nine that Watson calls the era of common first ladies 45 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: or idle first ladies. Yeah, and that makes sense because 46 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: the I guess the presidents elected during that time became 47 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: more common men presidents, and so their ladies sort of 48 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: followed suit, and they were the same way exactly, not 49 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: as regal, more plain folk if you would. Eighteen sixty 50 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: nine nineteen o one, this matches up with the Gilded 51 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: Age in America and suffrage started becoming a bigger deal. 52 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: First ladies themselves were a little bit more active, and 53 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: they came into the office really well educated, usually with 54 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: some pretty nice talents to their names. And then right 55 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: around the turn of the century and after that we 56 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:10,119 Speaker 1: have the first modern first lady. And that makes sense 57 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: because the president by the time was able to openly 58 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: condone suffrage, and the president and first lady were were 59 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: able to together be behind the particular political movement that 60 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 1: struck close to home. Yeah, they were co campaign ors, 61 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: almost exactly partners, per say, but they were definitely in 62 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: that position together. And around nineteen was the era of 63 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: media buzz, and the First Family was the subject of 64 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: newspapers and the camera lens and they were everywhere. And 65 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: so we get later towards that era and television comes 66 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: into play. That especially had a big effect, and we 67 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: see first ladies starting to become a little bit more 68 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: conventional again, because I think on the whole, that's what 69 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 1: a lot of Americans wanted to see. And then nineteen 70 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: until the present day, we have the totally modern first Lady, 71 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: and she is the president's partner at this point. Yeah, 72 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: she becomes much more politically active and of herself, not 73 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 1: even as a coca and painter, just by herself, would 74 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: you say that's true? Yeah, And that raises an interesting question, 75 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: and that is what is the first Lady supposed to do? 76 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: That's a good question because a lot of it depends 77 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: a first lady sort of defines her own role, and 78 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: it depends on her personality a lot, whether she wants 79 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: to be active or whether she wants to be in 80 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,159 Speaker 1: the background. And especially because the first Lady the office 81 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: of First Lady isn't um listed in the Constitution by 82 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: any rights. So, uh, it's an odd role in that 83 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:42,039 Speaker 1: she can define it herself. And we call it extra 84 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:45,039 Speaker 1: constitutional because the only way she can come into the 85 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 1: office the first Lady is by marrying the man who 86 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 1: is elected president. And so that right there sort of 87 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: implies that she has to be a wife and a 88 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: mother or a grandmother. Um, I think that Pete would 89 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:04,799 Speaker 1: like to see her represent some aspect of the American family. 90 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: She has to be a campaigner, like we've already said, 91 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: she has to be a hostess at the White House. 92 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,839 Speaker 1: She has to serve the tease and the state dinners 93 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: and receive guests. She has to continue a line of traditions, um, 94 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 1: the Easter egg roll, the lighting of the Christmas tree, 95 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: things like this that people look to, you know, just 96 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: for a little bit of amusement. Washington can be very 97 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:28,720 Speaker 1: heavy sometime, so we like to see a lot of 98 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: children on the White House lawn. It just it makes 99 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 1: us happy, or at least me, And more recently now 100 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: than in the past, we see the First Lady coming 101 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: in with a platform, and it could be anything from 102 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:46,039 Speaker 1: Nancy Reagan's just say No anti drug campaign to Hillary 103 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:50,679 Speaker 1: Clinton advocating for child's welfare, or um Laura Bush, who 104 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:54,600 Speaker 1: is a big advocate of literacy, for instance. That's true, 105 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: And I was I was pondering something about this podcast. 106 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 1: Do you think the political parties matter is the role 107 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,160 Speaker 1: of the first lady? Gosh, when I asked you to 108 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:05,720 Speaker 1: be my special guest, I didn't know it's going to 109 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 1: be such a hard factory questions. Gosh, that's tough saying. 110 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 1: If we really want to look at it in terms 111 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: of Democratic first ladies US Republican first ladies, and speak 112 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: in very general terms, I would say the Democratic ones 113 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,719 Speaker 1: who for me at least that means eleanor Roosevelt, for instance, 114 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: Hillary Clinton. We see them much more politically active. They 115 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: attend congressional hearings, They help to propose new policies, They 116 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: advise their husbands. They really are partners, whereas Republican first ladies, 117 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:44,160 Speaker 1: again a generalization, are more partners in marriage. They tend 118 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: to fulfill more traditional roles, you know, being the wife, 119 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: supporting the husband and the decisions that he has to make. 120 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,360 Speaker 1: We look at someone like Barbara Bush, for instance, and 121 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: I think that it was pretty obvious that she didn't 122 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: relish all of the responsibilities that came along with being 123 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,039 Speaker 1: for lady, but she fulfilled them, and she was better 124 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: at the hostessing side, and I think she enjoyed that 125 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: aspect more than policy making. Yeah, I think that correlates 126 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: a bit too political philosophies in a way, Like you 127 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: look at Democrats who typically tend to be a little 128 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: bit more liberal and uh see a more active role 129 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: of the federal government, whereas Republicans um as a countrary, 130 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: they they're they tend to be more conservative and like 131 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: the federal government to take less of a role. So 132 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: it sort of correlates to the First Lady as well. 133 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: It's pretty interesting, definitely, And the First Lady, like the 134 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: Presidency itself, is an office that is not without its scandals. 135 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,239 Speaker 1: And if we were broke back, I mean, we could 136 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: look as far back as a couple hundred years ago 137 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 1: or even a few years ago and and see what 138 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:46,320 Speaker 1: has been brewing in the East Wing, which is where 139 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 1: Eleanor Roosevelt set up the first First Lady's office. Um, 140 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 1: interestingly enough, Hillary Clinton actually requested that the First Lady's 141 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: Office be moved to the West wing. Even more involved, 142 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: even more involved so that she would have closer proximity 143 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: to the Oval office. Again, we have a very tight 144 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: partnership that we see in that relationship between president and 145 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: first lady. But like I said, there's all sorts of 146 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 1: scandals that come with trying to define an extra constitutional office. 147 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: And I know that you had a few favorite examples 148 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: in history of some first ladies who will drop your 149 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: jaw really Yeah, Well, one big scandal um that I 150 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: found interesting was one concerning Rachel Jackson. Uh. It's pretty 151 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: interesting because Rachel, you know, she came started from the 152 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 1: backwoodwoods country, and um, when she was young, she married 153 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:36,959 Speaker 1: this one guy named Lewis Robarts, and from the beginning 154 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: it was a pretty rocky marriage, Like he was apparently 155 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: of the jealous type, and uh, they soon split up. 156 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 1: Things didn't work out for them, and a couple of 157 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: years later, Rachel heard that Robards got to follow a 158 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: divorce and she was a free woman, so she uh 159 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: in the meantime, had met this gallant lady named Andrew 160 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:56,440 Speaker 1: Jackson and she was ready to marry him. So she 161 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: did that, only to find out two years later that 162 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: the Robarts did not actually get a divorce and they 163 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,199 Speaker 1: did Um, you can imagine what his political opponents would say. 164 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 1: And he actually ended up getting into a few duels 165 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: um as a result of um of accusations about the 166 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 1: scandals with Rachel. And she was actually an unlikely center 167 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: of this drama because as a woman, she was she 168 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: was rather portly woman, let's say. Uh, and she smoked 169 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: a pipe and a cigar actually, which was coming in 170 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: where she came from, but not so much in the 171 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: Washington political elite. Uh So she was not really a 172 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: big fan of becoming a first lady. And uh, all 173 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: the while during the presidential campaign she was getting maligned. 174 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: Uh and so actually she died right before she got 175 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: a chance to enter the White House. Yeah, and Jackson 176 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: always blamed her death on the media attacks. And you know, 177 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,559 Speaker 1: there aren't enough duels today. You don't see a lot 178 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:52,719 Speaker 1: of people going after the challenging them to duels. I 179 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: think it was what Hugh Grant, I think through a 180 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:59,079 Speaker 1: soup can or something simpafarazzi a couple of months ago. 181 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 1: And yeah, that's great, challenge people to duels when they 182 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:02,839 Speaker 1: put you in a bad life. No, no, I'm not 183 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 1: advocating that at all. Um. I imagine it's really hard 184 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: to be constantly in the presses. I like that. Even 185 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:15,800 Speaker 1: this past year when um Jenna Bush was planning her wedding, 186 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: it was in newspapers, it was on entertainment shows, it 187 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 1: was on news shows. You know, the white House wedding 188 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 1: is a big to do, and she ended up not 189 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: even having a white House wedding because she wanted some 190 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: you know, smige in privacy to this special day. But 191 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:33,679 Speaker 1: you can't really have that privacy when you're in the 192 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: first family because your life becomes a public spectacle. And 193 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: in that regard, you have to tolerate all sorts of 194 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: jabs that are throwing your way. And one of my 195 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,680 Speaker 1: favorite things that someone has said in regards to this 196 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: bad press actually came from Hillary. She was actually quoted 197 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,200 Speaker 1: as saying, I read stories and hear things about me, 198 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: and I go, I wouldn't like her either. And I think, 199 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,560 Speaker 1: what a great attitude have, because you really would have 200 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,080 Speaker 1: to let things roll off your back, especially when people 201 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 1: are saying you're taking too much power or you're not 202 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 1: you're not taking enough, you're sitting by idol. And that 203 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: was a criticism that befell Mary Todd Lincoln back when 204 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:13,960 Speaker 1: she was in the White House. Of course, during you know, 205 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: the midst of the Civil War, she became really unpopular. 206 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: For one, because she was spending a lot of money. 207 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: She did this as a way to offset some depression 208 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:24,200 Speaker 1: that came from the death of one of her sons. 209 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: And she also had relations in the fighting for the 210 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: Cells I believe in the Civil War. Yeah, because her 211 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 1: husband obviously was advocating for the Union, and then she 212 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:38,000 Speaker 1: had family who was fighting for the Confederacy. So she 213 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: was a woman torn into and the press ripped her apart. 214 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: You know, she was a Kentucky Southern bell who happened 215 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:48,559 Speaker 1: to marry a man who became the President of the 216 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 1: United States, and she may not have been prepared for 217 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 1: that position. I think she thought that Washington was going 218 00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: to be all parties and balls, and during the Civil 219 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: War it was not, most definitely, and she would get 220 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: terrible migraines and fits of panic. And you know, I 221 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:07,000 Speaker 1: wish I could have been there to see this. But 222 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: apparently even if Lincoln were presenting a speech somewhere or 223 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: at a rally where he was speaking, if Ray not Rachel, 224 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: excuse me, if Mary Todd were taken over by illness, 225 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,840 Speaker 1: everything would stop and it was about her suddenly, you know, 226 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,080 Speaker 1: never mind the fact that people are dying on battle 227 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: and this is actually something that people in America said 228 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 1: to her. You know, she was grieving the loss of 229 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 1: her child, and they're saying, our sons are dying on battlefields. 230 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:33,600 Speaker 1: At least you have to be at your son's side 231 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 1: when he died. But the attention was about her, and 232 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:39,840 Speaker 1: people were not happy about it. So all sorts of 233 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:42,680 Speaker 1: crazy first lady scandals out there, but I think that 234 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,640 Speaker 1: a lot remains to be seen in the upcoming years 235 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 1: as the next UM president is chosen and by virtue 236 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 1: of that, the next first lady. So it's pretty exciting. 237 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:53,920 Speaker 1: It is depending on, you know, what her her platform 238 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 1: will be, how still approached the office. It's a wide 239 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:01,120 Speaker 1: open book. And we're actually going to revere Yell Jane's 240 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 1: presidential namesake. That's right. Uh, it's madisone. My middle name 241 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: is Madison Jane Madison McGrath, and my dad was a 242 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:12,319 Speaker 1: big constitution. Both for those of you keeping score minus, 243 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 1: Candice may give two great names and for to plus 244 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,560 Speaker 1: like a million more interesting topics. Visit how Stuff Work 245 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: dot com for more on this and thousands of other 246 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:29,680 Speaker 1: topics esit how stuff works dot com. Let us know 247 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: what you think. Send an email to podcast at how 248 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com.