In 2006, White Rock Valley resident Martha Bible Smith penned the following review of "First Mothers: The Women Who Shaped the Presidents", chronicling the stories of a dozen presidential mothers, from Franklin Roosevelt to George W. Bush. Bible Smith added an addendum this spring in honor of Barack Obama’s mother.
Read her thoughts on the mothers of our country’s leaders, after the jump:
This captivating book shares the homes of the last dozen presidents and the mothers who shaped them. Angelo calls the group a “little club”. The members are: Sara Roosevelt, Martha Truman, Ida Eisenhower, Rose Kennedy, Rebecca Johnson, Hannah Nixon, Dorothy Ford, Lillian Carter, Nelle Reagan, Dorothy Bush, Viginia Clinton and Barbara Bush. These women have influenced important men from the mid-1800s to 2006 — 150 years.
Looking at these mothers, you’ll find unconditional love, humor and humanity at its best and seamiest. Not all was glory. Not all was despair. But these 150 years reveal a constancy of “it is love, not blood, that matters”.
Each mother conveyed a characteristic overshadowing all others:
Sara Roosevelt, jealous
Martha Truman, guiding
Ida Eisenhower, gritty
Rose Kennedy, nurturing
Rebecca Johnson, tenacious
Hannah Nixon, enduring
Dorothy Ford, courageous
Lillian Carter, vivacious
Nelle Reagan, talented
Dorothy Bush, competitive
Viginia Clinton, rash
Barbara Bush, loveable
“A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary,” said Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Each mother gave a confidence to her son in a different way. Only Nelle Reagan has her sons call her by her modified “Nelle”, and not “Mama” or “Mother”. Only Lillian Carter exposed the family four-seat outhouse — two high for adults and two low for children.
Sara hovered; Martha made music; Ida overcame stress; Rose challenged mind and spirit; Rebecca adapted to Texas; Hannah baked; Dorothy escaped abuse; Lillian fostered diversity; Nelle substituted talent for education; Dorothy ruled by the book; Virginia gave TLC, yet gambled; Barbara loves fun and family.
All 12 mothers were Daddy-girls and had a special relationship with fathers. All of them related the Bible to daily living. All of the presidents enjoyed mother support and returned the love.
Addendum: First, her parents wanted a son, so she became Stanley Ann Dunham, which changed to Obama, and then Soetoro. The Kansas native moved to Hawaii, the newest state, and a teen. Kenya’s Barack Obama fathered but deserted his firstborn. Next she departed for Indonesia — another divorce and a PhD. Nurturing and giving security was his grandmother, Madelyn. Following Barbara Bush as First Mother, Ann gave a questing, restless intelligence for problem-solving skills — lest we forget, what the U.S.A. needs today.
Source: Time special commemorative edition, pgs. 42-47
