Below you will find C-SPAN Classroom content for each of the First Ladies and White House Hostesses that served during the tenures of the 46 U.S. Presidents. Resources include biographies from the newly developed C-SPAN's American Presidents Website as well as C-SPAN Classroom content that explore the lives and legacies of these individuals. For additional resources on the executive branch and the role of the president visit our Executive Branch Resources page.

1. Martha Washington (1789-1797)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Martha Washington and the New Republic (2:43)
Bell Ringer: First Lady Martha Washington (1:38)
Bell Ringer: First Lady Martha Washington and the Role of First Lady (1:30)
Bell Ringer: First Lady Martha Washington and Slavery (1:03)

2. Abigail Adams (1797-1801)

Bell Ringer: Abigail Adams and the Revolutionary War (3:35)

3. Martha Jefferson Randolph (1802-1803 & 1805-1806)

NOTE: Thomas Jefferson's wife, Martha Jefferson, died in 1782, 19 years before his inauguration as President. During his time in the White House, his daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph served as White House Hostess during two winter social seasons.

Bell Ringer: Martha Jefferson Randolph (6:45)

4. Dolley Madison (1809-1817)

Video Clip: Dolley Madison Collection (5:39)
Bell Ringer: Dolley Madison and the War of 1812 (6:23)
Lesson Plan: Life and Legacy of Dolley Madison (11 Clips)
On This Day: British Troops Set Fire to the White House (4 Clips)

5. Elizabeth Monroe (1817-1825)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Elizabeth Monroe and the Era of Good Feelings (2:45)
Bell Ringer: Elizabeth Monroe and Marie-Adrienne Lafayette (1:45)

6. Louisa Adams (1825-1829)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Louisa Catherine Adams (5:25)
Bell Ringer: First Lady Louisa Catherine Adams and the Role of Women in the 1800s (2:24)

7. Emily Donelson & Sarah Yorke Jackson (1829-1837)

NOTE: Andrew Jackson's wife, Rachel Jackson, died and was buried on Christmas Eve 1828, months before his inauguration as president in March 1829. He then asked his niece, Emily Donelson to serve as White House Hostess, a role she reprised until 1836.

NOTE: Sarah Yorke Jackson was the wife of Andrew Jackson's adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jr. After a fire damaged The Hermitage, Sarah moved to the White House where she assisted Emily Donelson with hostess duties in 1834, 1835, and 1836. After Emily Donelson's departure from the White House, Sarah began to serve as White House Hostess through the end of the presidency.

Bell Ringer: Rachel Jackson (1:53)
Bell Ringer: Emily Donelson (1:15)
Website: C-SPAN's First Ladies

8. Angelica Van Buren (1838-1841)

NOTE: Martin Van Buren's wife, Hannah Van Buren, died in 1819, nearly two decades before his inauguration as President. In 1838, Angelica Singleton married the president's son, Abraham Van Buren II, and thereafter assumed the duties of White House Hostess for the duration of the presidency.

Bell Ringer: Angelica Singleton Van Buren (2 Clips)

9. Anna & Jane Harrison (1841)

NOTE: William Henry Harrison's wife, Anna Harrison, was too ill to travel to Washington, D.C. when her husband assumed the presidency. Instead, the president asked his daughter-in-law, Jane Harrison, to accompany him and serve as White House Hostess until Anna's planned arrival a few months later. However, William Henry Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration as president in 1841, making his presidency the shortest in U.S. history.

Bell Ringer: Who was First Lady Anna Harrison? (2 Clips)
Video Clip: White House Hostess Jane Harrison (1:31)

10. Letitia, Priscilla Cooper, & Julia Tyler (1841-1845)

NOTE: John Tyler's wife, Letitia Tyler, was the first person to die while serving as First Lady, succumbing to a stroke in 1842. Upon her death, the president's daughter-in-law, Priscilla Cooper Tyler, began serve as White House Hostess, a role she reprised until 1844. In 1844, the president married Julia Tyler, returning a first lady to the White House for the remainder of the presidency.

Bell Ringer: Life in Virginia for John and Letitia Tyler (1:51)
Bell Ringer: Priscilla Cooper Tyler (2:37)
Bell Ringer: John and Julia Tyler's Relationship (3:59)
Bell Ringer: First Lady Julia Tyler, President John Tyler, and the Civil War (5:31)

11. Sarah Polk (1845-1849)

Bell Ringer: Sarah Polk (2:39)

12. Margaret Taylor (1849-1850)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Margaret Taylor (2:39)

13. Abigail Powers Fillmore (1850-1853)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Abigail Fillmore (2:39)

14. Jane Pierce (1853-1857)

Bell Ringer: Biography of Jane Appleton Pierce (2 Clips)
Bell Ringer: First Lady Jane Pierce and a Tragedy (2 Clips)

15. Harriet Lane (1857-1861)

NOTE: James Buchanan has been the only president never to have been married. During his presidency, Harriet Lane, his niece and guardian after she was orphaned at the age of 11, served as White House Hostess.

Video Clip: Introduction to Harriet Lane (1:54)

16. Mary Lincoln (1861-1865)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Mary Lincoln's Early Days in Washington Society and the Election of 1860 (3:10)
Bell Ringer: The Lincoln Home in Illinois (3:53)
Bell Ringer: Mary Todd Lincoln in Springfield, IL (7:26)

17. Eliza Johnson & Martha Johnson Patterson (1865-1869)

NOTE: While Andrew Johnson's wife, Eliza Johnson, served as first lady for the entirety of his presidency, she remained ill. Their eldest child, Martha Johnson Patterson filled in as first lady for much of the time.

Bell Ringer: First Lady Eliza and President Andrew Johnson during the Civil War (3:54)
Bell Ringer: First Lady Eliza Johnson and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (4:37)
Bell Ringer: Martha Johnson Patterson (3:24)

18. Julia Grant (1869-1877)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Julia Grant and Her Role in the White House (4:46)

19. Lucy Hayes (1877-1881)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Lucy Hayes and the 1876 Election (4:40)
Bell Ringer: First Lady Lucy Hayes, the Temperance Movement, and Women's Suffrage Movement (2:48)
Bell Ringer: Lucy Hayes, Soldiers, and Orphans (1:39)

20. Lucretia Garfield (1881)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Lucretia Garfield, President James Garfield, and the Front Porch Campaign (2:41)
Bell Ringer: First Lady Lucretia Garfield and President James Garfield (4:26)

21. Mary Arthur McElroy (1881-1885)

NOTE: Chester Arthur's wife, Ellen Arthur, died in 1880, before his election to become vice president. Upon assuming the presidency after James A. Garfield's assassination, President Arthur's sister, Mary Arthur McElroy, agreed to serve as White House Hostess.

Bell Ringer: Chester, Ellen, and Mary Arthur (5:59)
Bell Ringer: Mary Arthur McElroy on Suffrage (1:12)

22/24. Rose & Frances Cleveland (1885-1889, 1893-1897)

NOTE: Upon assuming the presidency, Grover Cleveland was unmarried. For the first 15 months of his presidency, his younger sister, Rose Cleveland served as White House Hostess. Then, in 1886, the president's new wife, Frances Cleveland, assumed the duties of first lady.

Video Clip: Rose Elizabeth Cleveland (1:06)
Bell Ringer: First Lady Frances Cleveland and the Kindergarten Movement (2:11)
Video Clip: Frances Cleveland Style and Influence (7:00)

23. Caroline Harrison (1889-1893)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Caroline Harrison and the Daughters of the American Revolution (3:35)
Bell Ringer: Caroline Harrison and China Painting (3:40)

25. Ida McKinley (1897-1901)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Ida McKinley and Women's Suffrage (2:24)
Bell Ringer: Ida McKinley Slippers (1:45)

26. Edith Roosevelt (1901-1909)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Edith Roosevelt (2:47)

27. Helen Taft (1909-1913)

Bell Ringer: First Lady Helen Taft (2:56)

28. Ellen & Edith Wilson (1913-1914 & 1915-1921)

NOTE: Upon assuming the presidency, Woodrow Wilson was married to Ellen Wilson. However, her health continued to slowly fail due to Bright’s Disease, and she died on August 6, 1914. After a brief courtship, the president then married Edith Wilson on December 18, 1915.