It seems fitting that part two of this series begins with Jacqueline “Jackie” Kennedy and ends with Melania Trump, our current first lady. There are some striking parallels between these two women.

Jackie Kennedy did not campaign very much for the presidency of her husband and became weary of spending time at the White House. She preferred to spend her weekends at a Virginia estate with her horses and go on extensive vacations. Like Jackie, Melania Trump avoided the campaign trail. She opted to stay at Trump Tower in New York, not moving to Washington until June 2017, and is often not in the company of the president. Jackie had two young children to raise and that was her priority, much like Melania with her son Barron. Melania, like Jackie, is an attractive woman and a glamorous fashion icon, spending thousands on dresses and accessories. Both women knew of their husbands’ mistresses and both tried to deflect attention from their husbands’ affairs.

The one big difference: Jackie found causes and ways to shine and connect with the public. Melania has yet to find her footing in the public eye as of this writing.

She redefined state dinners, hosting about 16 during her term, by creating glamorous settings. Her clothes, designed by Oleg Cassini, an American with European ties, were showstopping. Who could forget her pillbox hat! She wanted to dress the part and considered this an expression of diplomacy.

Jackie’s relationship with her husband improved after the loss of their infant son Patrick in 1963. Three months later, the couple went to Texas as part of a kickoff for a 1964 campaign, where Kennedy was fatally shot. Jackie tried to hold onto JFK’s historical legacy. She referred to notes on Abraham Lincoln’s funeral for assistance on planning the mourning ceremonies in Washington and orchestrated a riveting state spectacle. But the fact remained: in one tragic moment, she had lost her husband, her home, and her job.

In assessing Jackie, she may be seen as a transitional figure from the traditional role of first lady to the more modern full partnerships of the next presidential couples. She had not spoken out on public policy, yet her public relations ability was stellar. To some historians, the Kennedys would forever epitomize the great hopes, great faith, and great power Americans felt at the start of the 1960s.

Claudia (Lady Bird) Taylor Johnson (1963–1969)

The transition to the Johnsons could not have been more stark or scary, but Lady Bird Johnson was considered by the press to be prepared. After all, she had been a vice presidential wife who had traveled widely, and she had been in Washington helping her husband since the 1930s. She approached her job as first lady in a business-like way.

The chief usher at the White House, J.B. West stated, “She seemed to have a cellophane shield around her, through which she appeared, highly visible, dignified, yet somehow protected. He did not run the White House, … she did—in a way no other First Lady had done. She was rather like the chairman of the board of a large corporation.” The White House was command central for the administration, with daily meetings in the Green and Red rooms, sometimes at the same time. Lines between personal and official time were blurred. She was accessible to the press and the public as Eleanor Roosevelt had been.

Lady Bird was excellent on women’s issues and the environment. She advocated for Head Start, the early childhood program, and encouraged women activists with “Women Doer Luncheons.” She was the first first lady to have legislative and lobbying strategy sessions with White House staff. She spearheaded the beautification of the capital cirt. She worked on the National Historic Preservation Act, the Clean Rivers Restoration Act, the Air Quality Act, the National Trail Systems Act, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Her actions helped create the environmental movement we see today.

Betty Boyd Caroli, a presidential wives expert, summed up Lady Bird’s impact: “she…wrote the book for modern first ladies, what they needed to do to be noncontroversial and yet contribute to a spouse’s legacy.”

She approved of premarital sex and urged people to support the Equal Rights Amendment. She lobbied the four states that could ratify this amendment to no avail. She advocated equal pay for equal work and championed the National Black Women’s Agenda. She was for gay rights!

The historian Richard Norton Smith called Betty “the most political first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt.” He continued, “When it comes to women’s health issues, literally, history is divided into two periods: there’s before Betty, and after Betty. … She connected with millions of women. She was candid about her personal struggles.”

Barbara Pierce Bush (1989–1993)

Since Barbara Bush’s death on April 17, many have noted what a decent and outspoken person she was. One of her last political statements was for women not to vote for Donald Trump for president.

In some ways, she reflected her time period. She married a navy pilot during World War II and chose to devote her life to him, raising their six children. The Bushes lived their political lives by “making friends and social connections and moving up through political circles by melding politics and friendship,” according to Jeffrey Engel, author of The China Diary of George H.W. Bush. I know this for a fact since my parents were friendly with the Bushes and were invited to one of the Bushes’ homes in Kennebunkport, Maine, one summer night. My mother campaigned with Barbara Bush in New Hampshire.

Barbara was willing to take moral stands, according to Engel, “but without interfering with her husband’s political career.” In March 1982, she stated: “I’m a giant cheerleader. I’m cheering for teachers who are underpaid, under praised and overworked.”

Hillary Rodham Clinton (1993–2001)

Being a first lady should have been easy for Hillary Clinton. After all, she had been part of her husband’s campaigns and had been a first lady of Arkansas. Still, the Clintons, with their refrain of “two for the price of one,” did not gain the approval of everyone. For those with traditional first ladies in mind, Hillary seemed to want too much power.

In 1993, President Clinton set up the Task Force on National Health Care Reform and appointed Hillary as the chair. Her leadership made her a target for those in the opposition, and her tendency toward privacy put fuel on the fire. The health care plan collapsed in 1994. In 1996, she was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury about the Whitewater dealings. That same year, her disapproval rating among the public was 54 percent. To make matters worse, she did not get along with the press. To counter this negative publicity, she wrote It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us and gave hundreds of speeches.

Michelle Robinson Obama (2009–2017)

Skipping over Laura Bush, a rather traditional first lady, one turns to Michelle Obama, with much expected of her as the first African American woman to be in that position. She had leaped far, from a very basic house in Chicago to the fanciest house in the land. Michelle did not see herself in the lives of the previous occupants of the White House. She was, like Hillary Clinton, an Ivy League trained lawyer, but unlike Hillary, she did not want to wield power in the West Wing or hold elective office. She wanted to be a good mother to her children and even asked her own mother to live at the White House as a stabilizing force.
Michelle did choose goals and causes as first lady, such as supporting military families and educating people about obesity, but with her husband being criticized so frequently, she comported herself carefully in the spotlight. Her international travels were praised, and her speeches for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign were extremely inspiring.
Much will be expected of her after the White House years, but with such a polarizing president currently in office, she will probably keep a low profile.

Cyndy Bittinger, writer and historian, teaches Vermont history and women’s history at the Community College of Vermont. Her books include Grace Coolidge: Sudden Star and Vermont Women, Native Americans and African Americans: Out of the Shadows of History.