Representative barney frank. Then later, president obama marks the fifth anniversary and talks about the economy. El entaft was more ambitious about getting to the white house than her husband, William Howard taft and was able to get him personalally involve in the politics to get him elected. She overcame an illness to get to the white house, invited top musicians to perform there, and supports causes that mattered to her. Helen taft offered the most visual treasures, the famous cherry trees. It brings tens of thousands of visitors to washington every year. Good evening, welcome to first ladies, influence and image, the life of helen taft. Her husband served in the white house from 1909 to 1913. Here to tell us about her life and legacy is biographer, louis gould. The biography is helen taft, our musical first lady. You open the book by making the case of the 20th first lady, shes the most obscure but she deserves better from history. Why is she better than being obscure . She did some things that were constructive. The cherry trees. Bringing musicians to the white house and making washington the Cultural Center of the nation. It didnt work out because of medical reasons. She had an agenda that would have made her rank well nowhere roosevelt or Lady Bird Johnson in terms of transforming washington had things go the other way. She seemed to have an agenda to get her husband to the white house. The story is she decided to visit the white house in the hayeS Administration, hey, i want to do that as well. A lot of women who thought they would like to have their husbands become president. Shes a trade between Mommy Dearest and ladimac beth. That wasnt the case. She was a much more constructive influence and a nicer lady than history has treated her. Helen taft has an interesting story. We bet many of you in the audience will be hearing it for the first time tonight. We like to involve you in our conversation. You can do that in a lot of ways. Send us a comment on facebook. We have a robust discussion with questions coming in about nellie, helen taft. And you can send us a tweet using the hash tag first ladies. And we have phone lines, of course, that you will put on to your screens and get to the calls in a few minutes as the program progresses. We have need to tell you a little bit more about her early biography. How did she get to the white house at age 16 as a guest of the president. Her father in cincinnati were friends with rutherford b. Hayes and lucy hayes. They went to the white house. She went only once, but she had not made that debut. She couldnt participate in the social activities. She was there and president hayes said it was wonderful to have the herons there. And in the taft family lor, she was supposed to have said, you know, im going to come back. Its not clear thats really what she said. But like many people, she said i want to marry a man who may become president. She came from a political family. Yes. Her phatever was the friend of Benjamin Harrison and had been involved in ohio politics on her mothers side. There had been a congressman in her background. She was quite the intellectual . She was reading darwin and goethe and other things in school. She had the ability to play the piano which she studied quite seriously. There were recordings, i wish, but doesnt seem to be. So she had a salon in cincinnati, which was very culturally rich city in those days as it is im not playing it is now, but its sort of they have seven hills so they thought of themselves a as sort of the rome of the middle west. She was from a political family and had this ambition no matter what the product of being 16 and enthralled with getting to the white house, how did she choose will taft as her mate . Well, they knew of each other. It was a small community. It was after he had gone to yale and came back to Cincinnati Law School that their lives began to intersect and they began to court. She was in the mid 20s, late for marrying in those days. And he was almost 29 by the time he gets married. So they started going out to some of the beer halls and other things in cincinnati and gradually fell in love. He was much more schmitten with her originally than she was with him. He proposed, she accepted. The woman never accepted the proposal right off. They had a lengthy courtship by our standards that sometimes lasts all weekend. But in those days, she made him wait a while. But they got married in june of 1886. You mentioned her education. We should give a little credit to her alma mater. Where did she go to college . She didnt she studied a little bit at cincinnati. But she really was almost selfeducated. Took some courses. But did not get a degree. She didnt have a degree like her husband did. How common was it for women to go to beer halls in those days. And turned around and stuff looic that. It was where young people went and young people in the 80s had the same the 1880s have the same impulses they have today. Sos where people went. They didnt date quite the way they would in the 20th century. William taft was not intending a career in politics when he proposed to nellie taft. Nellie harris. He wanted to be a lawyer and wanted to get to the Supreme Court. He would later say like any good politician he had his bowl turned upward when officers were falling into his lap. But he he definitely wanted to be chief justice of the United States from the time he learned about the law. And for those of you who dont know the history, William Howard taft made good on the wish, hes the only president that serve in the role of chief justice of the United States. Well learn more about the later part of his career at the white house as the program progresses. If you didnt possess the soul of a politician, how instrumental was helen in moving him in that direction. At the initial stages, she had relatively little influence. But i think because he becomes a a state judge, then he becomes solicitor general of the United States and was appointed to a court of appeals in ohio. So she watched him do that. But i think the big turning point came in early 1900 when president mckinley called in and said come to washington and he offers him a chance though go to the philippines and establish a civilian government in the philippines. And she says, take it. He said do you want to do this . She said, by all means. She said will you give my husband a fear of power and influence like he wouldnt have had any other way. Thats the decisive moment in their lives when hes in the mid 40s to moving toward being in politics and the new way. Two quote, one from each of the tafts to give you some sense of how interested the two of them were in politics. How much does this reflect their overall attitudes. From helen taft, she writes mr. Taft was all but impervious of any friendly advice which if followed would enhance the political advantage. A 1906 quote from dwrum howard taft. And he said politics when im in it makes me sick. Some of that was for public consumption. I think he pursued a political career with more zest than we sometimes realize. What nellie was saying was that she had a way to get people to push him in the direction that he wanted to go. So shes acknowledging that he moved her as much as she moved him. Google a reference to his career. And he mentioned the two that were in the law. In addition to that, take a look at the political positions that he held over his lifetime. In 1890 in 19 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, the secretary of war, today called the secretary of defense. Then his term as president in 1909 to 1913, and then later on, 1921 to 1930, the lifes wish to become chief justice of the United States. Also the early positions, the secretary of war, governor general of the philippines, which was most helpful to his experience in the white house . I think it made him a national figure. He said im not going to run in 1908. Ella was probably too old. There was will taft from ohio, a state that mattered to republicans in those years so he became the logic of the situation. Very briefly, why does the United States have the ability to appoint the governor general of the philippine s . The result of the spanishamerican war and the treaty of paris in the summer of 1898, spain creeded the philippines to the United States and they became a possession and would remain so until 1946. Weve been taking you to Historic Heights associated with the first ladies and their lives. This is a storage chest they bought over there. It was one of the items they were able to pick up while there. Some photographs from ladies in thanks andthe philippines. They took some formal photographs here. They wrote inscriptions and gave them to mrs. Taft. This is from december 22, 1983, philippines. Those illustrate the admiration the philippine people had for the taft 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 parties, put on musicals and those types of things, helped with their education. They really loved the tafts. We still get people coming from the philippines and still have the connection from the taft family and things they did while there. Joining the onset, a first lady scholar. Jane cook, how important was the time in the philippines to the development of helen taft in her role as first lady echoplex very important to her development. When she returned to the United States, she met a military wife in the army who had known her in the philippines. She says, you were a queen in philippines. Here, you are a nobody. I do not think helen ever thought of herself as a nobody. When in the philippines, she was not a queen. She served her husband very well by doing those things. How unusual was it in the piece, we heard she treated the philippines equal. We were in their country. Today, we would think, why would she not . The army drew the color line, which meant, they did not associate with philippines. For them to shake hands with the filipinos and dance with them was seen as quite radical. There were elements in the military that were not thrilled with what taft was doing. He would not have been able to do this in the United States at the same time. The philippines count in part for his enduring popularity. They wanted us out as soon as possible. On twitter, they want to know more about what they thought about the philippine people and their culture when they lived there and how did it shape their view of diverse populations as a whole. It was something she, by reaching out to them, she could see the benefit of bringing the cultures together. She was using her executive social skills and management skills, she would go out horseback riding and taft ordered a band for the filipino people. They would go to a big open space and have concerts. This was really something that meant a lot to her. When she wears the filipino formal gown, she is embracing the culture. She started in the spring of 1909 before the stroke what is a a space where, on sundays, aristocracy would gather with carriages and go around and have it was the social setting for high society in the philippines. She wanted this to be a place where washington to do that. It was very popular for the first couple of times. After the stroke, she could not personally manage it, but it was one of those false starts that characterizes her career. Those of you watching us along the way know our goal this year is to teach you more, help you learn about each of the each of americas first ladies. In the series throughout this year, 20thcentury ladies. Earlier in the year, we did the first ladies beginning with martha washington. Our goal goal is to present the biography of them to help you understand more about the president S Administration and also about our country and how it changed and how the role of women changed. There is a lot to talk about. We will give you the telephone number so you can join into the conversation. We will love having your calls and questions. They have been a hallmark of the program. Also, we developed a website for this series. Each week, there is one special item attached to the first lady we do not talk about during the program. Today, if you go to the site, you will learn more about a chair she really cherished that she acquired in the philippines. Back from the philippines, talk to me about a very important relationship, maybe the most important other than William Howard taft with nellie, and that is the relationship with how did youosevelt. Wish . Flourish . That will taft and t. R. Know each other in the early 1890s. Almost in the beginning, there was not still the same rapport between edith and nellie. Nellie would say later she did not like Edith Roosevelt. There was a competition between them that pulsed through the 1890s. She said, i wish i knew more about what exactly happened, but they seem to have been to women who were at odds when they started out. You had these two men who were very close, but their intimate families, not so much. There was not a strong underpinning of the male relationship once the two women were in close proximity. It had something to do with cincinnati versus new york, with Edith Roosevelt coming from an aristocratic family. Helen taft being from cincinnati wanted to be upwardly mobile. We learned that mrs. Roosevelt had regular sessions with all the cabinet wise, which required attendance. What was the effect of those on helen taft and her own thinking about how she might approach the job as first ladies . They had weekly meetings in the White House Library once a week. Helen did attend. I think she thought they were too gossipy or the topic of conversation just bored her and was not something she really enjoyed. She made it known to the press that she would not be continuing them because they had not been successful. That was quite a slam to edith to say that publicly. She could have been more genteel on how she transitioned. If you had a dalliance with somebody who is not your husband, you heard from the white house that you better stop your there was a certain amount of gossiping that helen taft was not as hoitytoity as Edith Roosevelt. That was another source of the roosevelts wanted their mores to be on social washington. Helen taft wanted to set a standard. Edith wanted a higher moral we are going to been with kip who was watching us in atlanta. A questionlo. I have for mr. Gould. In your research on mrs. Tafti wanted to know if you are ,familiar with the miniseries back stairs in the white house,that aired in 1979. I want to ask mr. Gold, if you are familiar that was really my first awareness of mrs. Taft. Was that an accurate depiction of her . I thank you. I think it was generally accurate. It had some fictional elements in it. I do not think most historians regard it as something you should take to the bank and be very reliable. Of course,it was dramatized for television purposes. It is a useful source, but use it with caution. Theodore roosevelt asked William Howard taft to be his secretary of war. How does that affect them . Taft and nellie both loved to travel. He was on the road constantly. He became a troubleshooter diplomatically for t. R. When he would go off hunting, he would say he left taft on the lid in washington, but he and mrs. Taft traveled a lot, a story that illustrates her ambiguity about this, when she was traveling and very nearly missed the train and said, you have got to help me out. I am mrs. William howard taft, no response. I am traveling with alex roosevelt, instantaneously, they got her baggage and got her on the train. It had to be painful given the friction between the two. Taft family teased her that she was at the mercy of alice roosevelt. How common would it have been for senior Public Officials to see that much of the world . Was there a lot of traveling going on in that time . At this point, with trains and steamships, yes, it was more secretary of war was his position,but he was also called secretary of peace in the newspapers. He was really more of a peacemaker than he was focusing so much on dissent. There is a really great story about his time as secretary of war when helen is given a tapestry by the empress of japan, and she really wants to keep it. Taft says, legally, we need to give it back to the smithsonian. She said, i am a private citizen. She takes it to roosevelt and wants it that badly. Roosevelt says, you are a you are as in. Private citizen. That shows the difference between taft and roosevelt. Taft very much wanted to honor the law and roosevelt would push the envelope a little bit. That is a good way to illustrate the difference between them. That became a fundamental difference between them and the way they view the presidency. Roosevelt said if it was not forbidden, we can do it. Taft said it had to be explicitly allowed before we can do it. The two views of the presidency re very different that they were very vivid that they had. Had. A real study in leadership. On to facebook, holly wants to know how mrs. Taft got the nickname, nellie. Good question. She hada number of brothers and sisters. It was just one of those family names. Her husband refers to her as his since theirlie. Daughter was also named helen did she call him will or mr. Taft . Will. Once people knew him well, he was called will. He was not bill or Something Like that. Almost nobody called Theodore Eddy who knew him well. Next is john in houston. What is your question . Caller i love this show so much. I know the president in order. Two questions. Of the more modern first ladies of the 20th century, who were the more noteworthy after, abigail and dolly, and were any of the first ladies in the 20th century noteworthy, too . My second question is, what was the inspiration for the cherry tree . Thank you. The first question is easy. Eleanor roosevelt by far became a delegate to the United Nations so in the post first lady career, she and Lady Bird Johnson, there