First Ladies in the States -- Summary

Reserve Reading
Laura van Assendelft and Bernadette Nye

First Ladies of States, if not as nationally influential as the First Lady, have just as much of an impact in their state. The research in the article was particularly interesting because it was so recent whereas the First Lady article only had two or three really recent women. One of the women wrote that the time of the cookie-cutter governor's spouse was over. Now that women are getting more involved in the workforce that is happening more over the entire country.

It wasn't surprising to read that most of the FL's of state's favorite activity was to meet people. If I were in that position, I would do the same thing. They were also used as a more personal extension of the governor, they had more time to travel and communicate with the local people. FL's tended to like smaller, more intimate gatherings than the ceremonial, large affairs. They also almost all championed typical women's issues so as not to endanger their husbands career.

The media was reported as being quite friendly to the governor's wives, especially because they only championed typical women's issues. If they had taken on more political or controversial issues, they probably wouldn't have had such a general good relationship with the press. Some did report that they felt personally attacked when their husband was attacked by the press. They all believed that they had influence over their husbands and over their issues. Some lobbied, some didn't, so worked within the state and some within the public, but they all made a contribution in one way or another to their husbands candidacy.