Transcripts For CSPAN3 First Ladies Influence And Image 2024

Transcripts For CSPAN3 First Ladies Influence And Image 20240622

White house. American history tv features cspans original series, first ladies. Cspan produced in the series in cooperation with the White House Historical association. Through conversations, video tools, and questions from cspans audience, we tell the story of americas 45 first ladies. Next, helen taft. This is about 1. 5 hours. Helen taft was more ambitious by getting to the white house than her husband. Willing to get personally involved in politics to get elected. She overcame a serious illness to directly manage the white house, invite a Classical Musicians to perform, and supported concerts that mattered to her. Helen taft also has a visible legacy. Famouston, d. C. s japanese cherry trees, the ones that frame the title basin in bring visitors to washington every year. Good evening and welcome to first ladies, influence and image, the life of helen taft. He served from 19091913. Here to tell us about her life is her biographer. Is our musical first lady. You open the book making the case that of the 20th century why did she deserve better . Because she did some things that were very constructive. The cherry trees, classical house, ande white generally trying to make ofhington a cold tro city the nation. That was her ambition. It did not work out. Agenda that would have made her rank with Eleanor Roosevelt in terms of transforming washington. Seemed to have an agenda to get her husband to the white house. The story is that she decided during the haze and ministration she said she wanted to do that as well. There are a lot of women sometimes, she is portrayed as lady macbeth, which is not the case. She was a much more constructive influence and a nicer lady. Helen taft has an interesting story. We bet many of you will be hearing it for the first time. He would like to involve even our conversation. You can send us comments on facebook. You can also send us a tweet using the first ladies. In all get to your calls few minutes. First, we will tell you about her early biography. How does she get to the white house at age 16 . Cincinnati where friends with president rutherford b. Hayes and lucy hayes and they went to the white she had not yet made her debut. She could not participate in social activities. President hayes and says it was wonderful to have her there. Lore, she wasly supposed to have said, i am going to come back. It is not clear that that is what she said, but like many people, she said she wanted to marry a man who blew who will become president. Friends withs Benjamin Harrison and had been involved in ohio politics. On her mothers side she was quite the intellectual. She was reading darwin and other things at school and she had the ability to play the piano which she studied quite seriously. I wish there were recordings but there dont seem to be. Cincinnatialon in which was a culturally rich city. Im not saying it is not now, but it was sort of they thought of themselves as the rome of the west. She was from a political family. How did she choose taft as her mate . It was a small community. It was after he had gone to jail that their lives began to intersect. They began to court. Mid20s, which was late for marrying in those days and he was almost 29. But they started going out to dinner halls and other things in cincinnati and gradually fell in love. He was much mores then with her than she was with him. And she rejected which was standard. Lengthy a rather courtship by our standards. They gets married in june 1880 six. He mention her education. Where did she go to college . She studied at the university selfncinnati but she was educated but did not receive a degree. Susan swain how well, how common was it for women to go to beer halls in those days . Lewis gould it was not the done thing, though in cincinnati, with its German Community and tradition of the, you know, turn verein and stuff like that, it was where young people went. And young people in the 80s had the same 1880s had the same impulses they have today. So thats where people went. They did not date quite the way they would later in the 20th century. Susan swain now, William Howard taft was not intending a career in politics when he proposed to nellie taft, nellie heron. Lewis gould he wanted he wanted to be a lawyer and he wanted to get to the Supreme Court. So he would later say, like, any good politician, he had his bull turned upward when offices were falling into his lap. But he definitely, i think, wanted to be chief justice of the United States almost from the time he learned about the law. Susan swain and for those of you who dont know the history, William Howard taft made good on his wish. Hes the only president who also served in the role of chief justice of the United States. And well learn more about his later part of the career his career after the white house, as our program progresses. Susan swain well, if he didnt really poses the soul of a politician, how instrumental was was helen in moving him in that direction . Lewis gould well, at the initial stages, she had relatively little influence, but i think that because he becomes a state judge, then he becomes solicitor general of the United States and is appointed to the court of appeals in ohio, so she watched him do that. Lewis gould but i think the big turning point came in early 1900 when president mckinley called him and said come to washington, and he offers him the chance to go to the philippines and establish a civilian government in the philippines. Lewis gould and she says, take it. He says, do you want to do this, and she said, by all means. She said this would give my husband the sphere of power and influence that he wouldnt have had any other way. And i think that was the decisive moment in their lives when hes in his mid40s, moving toward being in politics in a new way. Susan swain we have two quotes, one from each of the tafts, but give you some sense of how interested the two of them were in politics, and you can say tell how much this really reflects, really, their overall attitudes. Susan swain from helen taft, she writes of her husband, mr. Taft was all but impervious to any friendly advice, which being followed, would have tended to enhance his own political advantage. And we have a 1906 quote from William Howard taft, and he says, politics, when i am in it, makes me sick. Lewis gould some of that was for public consumption. Yes, i think he pursued a political career with more zest than we sometimes realize. And what nellie, as everyone knew her, was saying is that he had a way of getting people to push him in a direction that he wanted to go. And so i think she is acknowledging that he moved her as much as she moved him. Susan swain lew gould referenced his career and he mentioned the two that were in the law. In addition to that, lets take a look at the political positions that William Howard taft held over his lifetime. Susan swain in 1890 to in 1892, he served as solicitor general, as mr. Gould told us. He was, as we learned, governor general of the philippines and an important part in that countrys development and our relationship with it, in 1901 to 1904. In 1904 was the secretary of war, today called the secretary of defense. Then his term as president , 1909 to 1913. And then later on, in 1921 to 1930, his lifes wish, become chief justice of the United States. Susan swain of those early positions, secretary of war, governor general of the philippines, which was most helpful in setting his cap toward his experience in the white house . Lewis gould i think the governor general of the philippines made him a national figure. And then, when he goes into Theodore Roosevelts cabinet, he presents himself to roosevelt as the logical choice in 1908. Once roosevelt had said im not going to run in 1908, then as roosevelt looked over the cabinet to see who might be his successor, elihu root was probably too old. Lewis gould so there was will taft from ohio, a state that really mattered to republicans in those years, and he became sort of the logic of the situation. Susan swain very briefly, why did the United States have the ability to appoint a governor general of the philippines . Lewis gould as a result of the spanishamerican war and the treaty of paris in december of 1898, spain ceded the philippines to the United States and they became a possession and would remain so until 1946. Susan swain one of the hallmarks of this program is, weve been taking you to Historic Sites that are associated with the first ladies and their lives. Throughout this program, we will be taking you to the William Howard Taft National Historic Site in cincinnati. You see a picture of it there. It is available for you to visit as well. And we hope, those of you who are getting interested in this series will visit some of these places were showing you. Susan swain up next, youre going to meet the superintendent of the site, Ray Henderson. And hell tell us more about the time that the taft spent in the philippines. Ray henderson she loved to travel and William Howard taft got a chance to be the chairman of the philippine commission. She jumped at the chance, encouraged him to take the job. And they took the family and went to the philippines, where William Howard taft was later governor general of the philippines. So she had a chance to travel around the world. She also got the chance to introduce her children to this travel. She learned different languages. Ray henderson banquets were a big thing. In fact, before she and the children got their William Howard taft cabled, about some of the banquets he was really invited to, and mrs. Taft like to have dinners and incorporate the military people, the philippines people, and these are some programs from the different banquets that were there. Ray henderson the filipino people loved William Howard taft and his family. They treated them just like just like equals. Mrs. Taft invited them to dinners. They attended a lot of the celebrations there at the luneta, where she like to see the bands play. And so entertainment was a big part of the things that she did over there while she was in the philippines. Ray henderson about to go into the collections storage area where we keep some of our more valuable artifacts, as well as things that arent on display. And as wed come in, we see a philippines chest. Mrs. Taft collected a lot of philippines items, furniture, chairs, bed, these types of things. And this is a storage chest that ]they bought while they were over there and it was one of the kneader items that they were able to pick up while they were there. Ray henderson what i have here is some photographs from some ladies in the philippines. They took some formal photographs here and they wrote inscriptions and gave them to mrs. Taft. My dear mrs. Taft, best wishes from adela paterno, december 22, 1903, manila, philippines. And it just goes to illustrate the admiration that the philippine people had for the tafts family, especially mrs. Taft, as she worked to make them feel integrated in the greater society, make them feel equal to the other people, invited them to the parties, put on musicals and those types of things, helped with their education. Ray henderson and so, they really loved the tafts. And to this day, we still get people coming from the philippines that had that connection with the taft family and the things that they did while they were there. end video clip susan swain and joining us on the set is Jane Hampton Cook, a first lady scholar, whose books include american phoenix and the faith of americas first ladies. Susan swain jane cook, how important was that in time in the philippines to the development of helen taft and her role as first lady . Jane hampton cook well, it was very important to her development. And when she returned to the United States, she met a military wife in the army who had known her in the philippines, and she said, you know, in the philippines, you were a queen and here, you are a nobody. And i do not think helen ever thought of herself as a nobody. Jane hampton cook but when she was in the philippines, she she wasnt a queen in a royal sense, but in a in an american sense that she invited people to her table, the philippine women, american women and really brought this those two cultures together, and she served her husband very well by doing those things. Susan swain there were still colonial powers around the world, how unusual was it for i mean, in the piece we heard she treated the philippines equal, we were in there country. So, today, we say why wouldnt she treat them as equal . So how unusual was this outreach . Lewis gould well, the army in the philippines, what they called drew the color line, which meant that they didnt socialize with the filipinos. So for taft to and nellie to shake hands with the filipinos, to dance with them was seen as quite radical. And there were elements in the military that were not thrilled with what taft was doing. Lewis gould he wouldnt have been able to do this in the United States, ironically, at the same time. But in the philippines, that accounts in part for his enduring popularity. Though, the filipinos, i think, wanted us out as soon as possible in the way of most colonial people. Susan swain on twitter, president ial ponderings wants to know more about what helen taft thought about the philippine people and the culture when she lived there. And how did it shape her view about diverse populations as a whole . Jane hampton cook well, it extended i think the view that she had in her heart and i think it was something that she, by reaching out to them, and she could see the benefit of bringing their cultures together. And it was something that she was using her executive social skills, her executive management skills. But she would go out horseback riding. Jane hampton cook she would they taft ordered a band for the filipino people and they said theyd go to the luneta and then which is this big open space and have concerts. And so this was really something that meant a lot to her. And you can see when she wears the filipino formal gowns, shes really embracing this culture. Lewis gould she wanted the luneta to be an example for washington and she started in the spring of 99 before the stroke. Susan swain im not familiar with the term. Whats a luneta . Lewis gould its a it was a space in manila where on sundays, the aristocracy would gather, with carriages and they would go around and have band concerts. It was kind of the social setting for high society in the philippines. And she wanted that this to be a place where washington would do that. And the first couple of times, it was very popular. Lewis gould after the stroke, when she couldnt personally manage it, it faded away. But it was one of those false starts that characterized her career. Susan swain those of you who have been watching us along the way know that our goal this year is to teach you more, help you learn about each of americas first ladies. Were going to devote time in this series throughout this year to the 20thcentury ladies. Susan swain earlier in the year, we did the first ladies beginning with martha washington. And our goal is to present the biography of them to help you understand more about their president S Administration and also about our country and how it changed and how the role of women changed. Susan swain so theres lots to talk about. And well give you the telephone number so you can join in the conversation. If you live in the eastern and central time zones, its 2025853880. If you live in the mountain or pacific time zones, 2025853881, and we will love having your calls and your questions. They have been a real hallmark of this program as it proceeds. Susan swain also, weve developed a website for this series, firstladies cspan. Org. And each week, theres one special item attached to the first lady that we dont talk about during the program. Today, if you go to the to the site, youll learn more about a chair that she really cherished that she acquired while she was in the philippines. So we hope youll have time to check that out. Susan swain well, back from the philippines, talk to me about a very important relationship, maybe the most important other than William Howard tafts with nellie, and that is the relationship with Theodore Roosevelt. How did that flourish . Lewis gould taft and will taft and t. R. Get to know each other in the early 1890s. What is significant is, almost from the beginning, there is not the same rapport between edith and nellie. In fact, nellie would say later, i never liked Edith Roosevelt, and there was a competition between them that pulsed through the 1890s. Lewis gould and when they were in cincinnati, it was not so much, but when they got back to washington, i wish i knew more about what exactly happened, but they seem to have been two women who just struck odds when they started out. And so you had these two men who were very close, but their intimate families, not so much. Lewis gould and so there was not a strong underpinning of the t. R. , will taft relationship once the two women got in closer proximity. It had something to do with cincinnati versus new york, with Edith Roosevelt being from an aristocratic family or at one time aristocratic family and helen taft being from cincinnati and wanting to be upwardly mobile. Susan swain we learned during Edith Roosevelt program that mrs. Roosevelt had regular salon sessions with all the cabinet wives, which were required attendance. What was the effect of those on helen taft and her own thinking about how she might approach the job of first lady . Jane hampton cook well, edith did have these weekly meetings, they met in the White House Library from 11 to 12 once a week. Helen did attend. But i think she thought that they were a little too gossipy or the topics of co

© 2025 Vimarsana