Lucy Webb Hayes, the first wife to be referred to as First Lady

Future President Rutherford Hayes married Lucy Webb on this day in 1852.     

Hayes won the extremely controversial election of 1876 against Governor Samuel Tilden of New York.  

Hayes lost the popular vote by 300,000 out of the 8 million cast.   

After weeks of negotiations, Hayes won the electoral college 185-184.   

Historians believe that Mr Hayes’ election was part of a deal to get federal troops out of the South.

Hayes had problems governing, in large measure because of his disputed election.   

Nevertheless, First Lady Lucy was quite a charm:

“The very popular Lucy Hayes was the first wife of a president to be referred to as “first lady”–a title that grew out of her husband’s reference to her as the “first lady of the land.” Lucy was an abolitionist and supported, in theory at least, the early women’s suffrage movement. She was often criticized for not taking a more active role in promoting women’s suffrage and while she and Rutherford were both believers in the temperance movement, it was her husband’s idea–not hers as legend has it–to forbid serving alcohol in the White House. Lucy allowed White House servants to take time off to pursue their education and commissioned paintings of the presidents who had not yet had portraits hung in the White House. She also had a portrait of Martha Washington created to hang next to George Washington‘s.”

The wife of the president has properly been referred to as “The First Lady” ever since!