Second Lady of the United States


Second Lady of the United States is the informal title held by the wife of the vice president of the United States, concurrent with the vice president's term of office. This title is less commonly used than the title first lady of the United States.
The term "Second Lady", coined in contrast to "First Lady", may have been first used by Jennie Tuttle Hobart to refer to herself.
The title later fell out of favor, but was revived in the 1980s. During the 1990s the title was again abandoned, in favor of "wife of the vice president", but was later resurrected during the presidency of Barack Obama. Its use was continued by the administration of Donald Trump, although Trump said, about six months into his presidency, that he had never heard the term.
Fourteen second ladies have gone on to become First Lady of the United States during their husband's terms as president. The first to do this was Abigail Adams, who was married to John Adams, who was the first vice president from 1789 to 1797 and then the second president from 1797 to 1801. The last to do this was Barbara Bush, who was married to George H. W. Bush, who was the 43rd vice president from 1981 to 1989 and then 41st president from 1989 to 1993.
The current second lady is Karen Pence, since January 20, 2017. She is married to Mike Pence, the 48th and current vice president of the United States.
There are four living former second ladies: Marilyn Quayle, wife of Dan Quayle; Tipper Gore, now separated wife of Al Gore; Lynne Cheney, wife of Dick Cheney; and Jill Biden, wife of Joe Biden.

History

The second lady's visibility in the public sphere has been a somewhat recent development. Although the role of the first lady as White House hostess dates from the beginning of the republic, with a few exceptions, it was generally not until the late 20th century and early 21st century that vice-presidential wives took on public roles that attracted significant media attention.
In one notable exception, Floride Calhoun, wife of Vice President John C. Calhoun, was a central figure in the Petticoat Affair, a social-political scandal which involved the social ostracism of Secretary of War John H. Eaton and his wife Margaret O'Neill Eaton further damaging already-strained relations between Vice President Calhoun and President Andrew Jackson.
, led a delegation to Ghana in 1957. One historian wrote that Pat Nixon "helped to define this nebulous role for an entire generation of women who would succeed her."
Pat Nixon, wife of Vice President Richard Nixon, was the first second lady to add a great deal of substance to the role of the vice president's wife. When Nixon assumed the position in 1953, the role's only official function was to preside over the once-annual Senate Ladies Luncheon. Instead, Nixon launched her own initiatives, sensing great opportunities that her role provided. She established a schedule separate from that of her husband, which often consisted of solo activities. As second lady, Nixon traveled more than 125,000 miles around the world to six continents, including a two-month, 42,000-mile journey through Asia in 1953. As she undertook missions of goodwill across the world, she insisted on visiting schools, orphanages, hospitals and village markets rather than attend tea or coffee functions. In this sense, Nixon essentially created the modern role of the second lady; historian Kate Andersen Brower wrote, "she helped to define this nebulous role for an entire generation of women who would succeed her."
In 1978, Muriel Humphrey, wife of Vice President Hubert Humphrey, became the only former second lady to hold public office; after her husband, who had returned to the U.S. Senate after his term as vice president, died in office, she was appointed by Minnesota governor Rudy Perpich to continue her husband's term. Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore, was active in several campaigns to remove material she found objectionable from popular American entertainment like movies, television shows and music, starting when her husband was a senator. She challenged performers over their use of profane lyrics and often debated with her critics, such as Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra. Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, championed education reform, citing specific failures of the American public education system during her tenure as second lady. She is a particularly outspoken supporter of American history education, having written five bestselling books on this topic for children and their families. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, works as an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College, and is thought to be the first second lady to hold a paying job while her husband was vice president. She has been involved in various causes, including breast cancer awareness and literacy.
The term remains an unfamiliar and uncertain one even when it is used.
There have been 17 periods of vacancy in the role, the longest of which continued for 16 years between the service of vice presidential spouses Abigail Adams and Ann Gerry. The most recent second lady vacancy was for 132 days in 1974, between the service of Betty Ford and Happy Rockefeller.

List of second ladies of the United States

Other spouses of U.S. vice presidents

Various other spouses of vice presidents of the United States are not considered as second ladies of the United States because their marriages were not during the vice presidential terms of their husbands.
Nine U.S. vice presidents were widowed prior to their vice presidencies:
One U.S. vice president was divorced and remarried prior to his vice presidency:
Three U.S. vice presidents remarried after their vice presidencies:
Five U.S. vice presidents were widowed and remarried prior to their vice presidencies:
One U.S. vice president was widowed before his vice presidency and remarried during his vice presidency:
As of, there are four living former second ladies, as identified below.
The most recent second lady to die, and most recent serving who died, was Barbara Bush on April 17, 2018.