Social Secretaries working for American First Ladies help set the tone of presidential administrations.  Bess Abell, Catherine Fenton and Laurie Firestone served First Ladies from Lady Bird Johnson to Laura Bush. In this conversation at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas, they recall their duties and life inside the White House.

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This is a look at First Ladies Lou Hoover, Bess Truman and Betty Ford through the eyes of their descendants - including a great-granddaughter, a grandson and a daughter.  They recall life as members of a presidential family and the impact on their own lives.  The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library hosted this event.

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American History TV visited the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History for a look at the newly opened First Ladies exhibit. See inaugural and evening gowns, including those worn by Dolley Madison, Mary Lincoln, Jacqueline Kennedy, Pat Nixon and Michelle Obama. Curator Lisa Kathleen Graddy explains what these gowns have to tell us about the unofficial yet influential role first ladies play in presidential administrations – and about the politics and culture of their times.

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Three photographers who were on the other side of the lens from Betty Ford, Barbara Bush, and Laura Bush recall their days in the White House—and the images that chronicle the lives and work of these first ladies.

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Barbara Bush and Laura Bush recently sat down for a conversation with historian Richard Norton Smith and talked about their unique family and historical relationships, the stereotypes perpetuated about the president’s spouse, how they handled political criticism, their experiences as wartime first ladies, and their advice to their successors. Held at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.

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First Lady Michelle Obama's onetime chief of staff joined other former senior advisors to Barbara Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush for a wide-ranging conversation on their White House experiences -- and the working bonds between first ladies regardless of political party.

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The first of three Texas conferences on America’s first ladies was held recently at the George Bush Presidential Library. The George W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson presidential libraries will host the next two conferences in 2012.

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This June marks the 50th Anniversary of two of President John F. Kennedy’s most memorable speeches. On June 10th 1963, JFK delivered the commencement address at American University known as his “Peace Speech.” He called for high-level negotiations with the Soviet Union, a nuclear test ban treaty and an end to the Cold War.  On June 26th 1963, President Kennedy took a harder line in West Berlin, famously stating that as a free man he took pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner.” This is a discussion from the Kennedy Presidential Library about the significance and lasting influence of these two addresses.

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Discussion on foreign policy during the Eisenhower years, with a special look at the Middle East including: The Eisenhower Doctrine that Ike articulated in a 1957 special message to Congress. To hold off any communist threats, he declared the sovereignty of Middle Eastern nations and declared, as he put it, America’s “deep respect for the rights and independence of every nation . . . “  This was part of a conference titled, “Ike Reconsidered: Lessons from the Eisenhower Legacy for the 21st Century,” co-hosted by Hunter College, CUNY, the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute & the Eisenhower Foundation.

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President Kennedy’s commencement address at American University when he called for high-level negotiations with the Soviet Union, a nuclear test ban treaty and an end to the Cold War.  June 10th marks the 50th anniversary of his “Peace Speech” in 1963.

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