Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
John Kennedy was the first president elected in the television age, and as such he was well served by his wife, the glamorous and telegenic Jackie. Jackie was much more than just an effective photo opportunity. She expanded the staff of the Office of the First Lady and upon entering the White House was dumbfounded by the shabby condition of an Executive Mansion in disrepair. The White House had been gutted and rebuilt only a decade earlier, but the interiors far from reflected the wealth and prestige of the nation.
Jackie undertook a complete remodeling of the White House interior and décor. After first taking steps to remake the living quarters – the portion of the White House referred to as the residence – she then began to redecorate the public rooms in a manner which reflected the history of the house and its status in national and international affairs. Many former president’s had taken historic pieces with them upon leaving the White House; Jackie started searches to located these and other furnishings. Jackie used her influence to create a law making White House furnishings the property of the Smithsonian Institution, rather than the president.
She created the position of Curator of the White House and was the first to hire one. She also created the White House Historical Association and other organizations to preserve the history and heritage of the Executive Mansion. She scoured museums and private collections for the best of American art to be displayed in the White House. By February 1962 she was ready to conduct the nation on a televised tour of the White House, via a film which was awarded an Emmy, making Jackie the only first lady to win the Emmy award, appropriately for the first First Lady of the television age.
Jackie accompanied her husband on foreign and domestic trips, causing the president to often quip that people were more interested in seeing her, and what she wore, than they were in him. Her value as a political asset was unquestionable.
Possibly her greatest contribution as First Lady came when her husband was murdered at her side, and for the next few days she led the nation in its mourning, as a widow and young mother. She demonstrated courage and poise in the face of her grief which helped pull the shocked country together, surrounded by the leaders of the free world, once again, broadcast to the world by television.