First ladies during wartime. From Martha Washington visiting soldiers, to Eleanor Roosevelt shaking hands of an estimated of troops. The National Archive hosted this event. It is a little over an hour. [applause] good morning, and welcome to my house. [laughter] the National Archives was created by an act of congress in 1984. The mission to preserve the records of the United States government and make those records available so that every american citizen can hold its government accountable and learn from the past. Today that collection is over 13 billion documents. Miles of film a video and more electronicillion records. At valleyrds start forge and go all the way up to the techniques that are being created as im speaking the tweaks that are being created as i am speaking. We are a nationwide network of facilities, one of the busiest is the National PersonnelRecords Center in st. Louis which houses more than 56 billion veterans records. Central responds to a billion requests each year and allows veterans to obtain a wide variety of benefits including medical treatments and security benefits. These 13 president ial libraries are not libraries in the typical sense. They are archives and museums bringing together documents and artifacts of the president , the administration, the first later family withoutnd regard for political affiliations are affiliations. We will soon have another come of future Obama Library in chicagos historic jackson park. We are currently outfitting temporary Storage Space in chicago, and have hired our staff for the library and are hard at work collecting artifacts and prepared records for the move to illinois. January 20, 2017, we will have transferred hundreds of millions of textual electronic and audiovisual records january 20, 2017, we will have transferred records. The papers of the first ladys office are part of the collection of the president ial libraries. There are than 21. 4 million pages of records and personal papers in our collection. Issues such as just say no, the antidrug campaign of nancy reagan, rosalynn carters campaign for health. The initiatives of laura bush, and Michelle Obamas lets move program aimed at raising a kids. Tion of healthy in the 18th century, Martha Washington visited the troops at valley forge during the revolutionary war. Today, First Lady Michelle Obama is joining forces initiative, which ensures Service Members , veterans, and their families, have the tools to succeed drop throughout their lives. First ladies have had to meet personal and public demands to each has brought her own passions and personalities. We are fortunate to have their legacies documented in our president ial libraries. Now allow me to introduce my friend, Anita Mcbride. She is executive in residence at the center for president ial studies. She previously served as assistant to president george w. Bush and chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush from 2005 to 2009. Directing the stats work on a wide variety of domestic and Global Initiative in which mrs. Bush was involved. Anitas White House Service spans two decades and three president ial administrations. Including director of white house personnel under president S Ronald Reagan and george h. W. Bush and as director of the u. S. Speakers bureau at the United States information agency. She is an advisor to the george w. Bush institute, and a number member of several organizations, including the u. S. Afghan womens council, and the White House Historical association. Please join me in welcoming Anita Mcbride. [applause] good morning everyone. Thank you for much. Youre very very generous in your remarks. On behalf of American University and all of our conference partners, i want to welcome everyone, both here and the audience and on livestream, to todays conference, americas first ladies in service to our nation. I also want to thank you for hosting us in this beautiful National Archives building. I was really delighted when you offered up your house as a venue to convene the conference. It is the Perfect Place to talk about our first ladies, as they are some of our most important figures in american history. You have a great team of people here at the archives, and they have been terrific to work with, and i thank them. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all about terrific conference partners, the au library, the National Archives foundation, the White House Historical association, the george w. Bush institute, and the White House Joining forces initiative. Along with all of our distinguished panelists and moderators, who will be introduced to you shortly. Each of our Partner Organizations and their fantastic teams have played a vital role in helping to develop this very Robust Program that we want to present to you today. Our experience will be announced by firsthand accounts from two women who have walked in these footsteps of history, First Lady Michelle Obama and former First Lady Laura Bush. I am so grateful to both of them for joining us later this morning. American university has a long history in recognizing the vital role that a first lady plays as a voice for change and for action in our country. I am proud to be the First Ladies Initiative and Conference Series at American University school of Public Affairs, and what to thank the ascending team for their strong support of this project. Over the last six years, the school of Public Affairs has presented a series of conferences at president ial libraries around the country, to examine the unique and evolving role of the president spouse. We view it as a partner to the presidency, with the power to shape societal attitudes and effect change. As a former chief of staff to a first lady and a white house veteran, i have had a frontrow seat to their experience, and im delighted to be in a position to help shine a light on their work and sell their tell their stories. Pat nixon called it the hardest unpaid job in the world. There is a lot of truth to that. Each first lady writes her own job description, and each of our conferences has focused on a different theme, and how they have used their platform to address important issues facing our nation. Todays conference, the fifth in our series, will focus on a first lady as spouse of the commanderinchief, and the actions they have taken throughout times of war and peace to support Service Members, military families and our countrys veterans. We will hear from noted historians, authors, journalists, and our first panel, look at first histories through the sweep of history. Later, and a moderated conversation with the first ladies, we will pay particular attention to the joining forces initiative launched by Michelle Obama and dr. Jill biden five years ago. To military Service Initiative established by president and mrs. Bush at the george bush institute. These are great examples of using their platforms during and after their white house years. There are Many Organizations that are here that have been supporting joining forces and the military Service Initiative as well as Service Members and veterans and military spouses, so i thank you all for joining us today. With that, i would like to welcome to the stage dr. Neil kerwin, the president of American University, to introduce our first distinguished panel. He became the American Universitys 14th president in 2007. In 1975 is a member of the faculty, then began the dean of Public Affairs, later the provost, and then the president. He is a visionary and a great leader, and was instrumental in encouraging me to develop this initiative as he watched with great interest the growing influence of the first lady in public policy, and politics, and in global diplomacy. He came to have breakfast with me at the white house in 2009 to talk about the idea. At the time, i could barely put one foot in front of the other, and i was not thinking about what came next, but i knew he was serious when he accepted a 7 00 a. M. Meeting time, and then told me he does not even eat breakfast. I got a job, and he got a glass of water. I want to look into the stage dr. Neil kerwin. [applause] thank you, anita. I came out ahead on that deal. I am really pleased to be here, and to join with this distinguished group to discuss issues of great importance and ongoing interest to the United States. I do want to thank anita for her leadership on this. Your work for these many years has brought tremendous visibility to the role of the first lady and the scholarship associated with the first ladys work is increasing as a result of that. [applause] i want to think in advance first ladies Michelle Obama and laura bush for participating in todays panel discussions. We are especially proud to be participating in the conference that recognizes the service and sacrifices of americans in combat. Military families, and the countries veterans. American university is very proud to have been recognized as a veteran friendly campus. We offer opportunities to our returning servicemen and women that we think are special and we commend the other universities in the United States have stepped up as well. It is also our privilege to have for veterans in the audience from american universities student body and alumni core. We have a second year masters of administration and army veteran. A firstyear mpa student an air force veteran. Matthew, a secondyear student in justice law and criminology, and, lieutenant julia lopez, 2010 graduate. Please stand. [applause] i also want to thank the archivist for assisting and helping lead this terrific conference in this great facility. Thank you very much david. Now, i would like to introduce our panel. William steele is the author of white house historian. He is a nationally recognized expert in Historic Restoration and has published 15 books. He is serving currently as the editor of white house history, the journal of the White House Historical association. Catherine is professor of history and director of the American Studies Program at st. Josephs university of philadelphia. She is editor of a companion to first ladies. Anemic dried Anita Mcbride has contributed to one of professor sibleys most recent works. She has published extensively including books including the first lady, Lawrence Harding behind the tragedy and controversy and read spies in america, stolen secrets and the dawn of the cold war. Susan swain is president and cocoo of cspan. She is moderator of first ladies, influence and image series. She directs programming and at cspan for three Television Networks and over a number of years has moderated and conducted on air interviews on a wide range of issues, susan tells us that she is not now currently covering her eighth president ial campaign. Susan also heads up the publication of cspan books, the latest being first ladies. And our moderator, someone who needs no introduction but i will provide one just the same. Cokie roberts. She is abc news commentator and a commentator on nprs morning edition. She is a member of the broadcasting and cable hall of fame. The american women in radio and television selected her as one of the 50 greatest in the history of broadcasting. She is the author of four books, the most recent being capital gains, the civil war and women of washington. I now invite the panel to the stage and turn the panel over to Cokie Roberts. [applause]. Good morning. This is a great location occasion as we convene here in what i consider a second home, the National Archives where i have been on the Foundation Board since birth. Our chairwoman is here and a wonderful leader of this organization. Anita mcbride has done a fabulous job, and let us give her another hand. [applause] she started these conferences in 2011 and they have been very instructive as well as often amusing in teaching america about what first ladies are all about. There is this myth that first ladies sat around tending to the tatting until Eleanor Roosevelt. And nothing could be further from the truth. So american universities were bringing their on starting this bringing her up American Universitys wisdom in bringing her on and starting this initiative and having it grow abroad and its really spectacular. I want to take a romp through history through the centuries. I will start with Martha Washington, david, our wonderful leader here at the archives referenced Martha Washington and valley forge, which is almost all people know about her if they know anything. Martha washington spent every winter of the eight long years of the revolutionary war at camp with the soldiers. It was very hard for her. It was a dangerous, you would have to travel over horrible roads to get there. She was a prime target for hostagetaking. Patriot wives were taken hostage and some were killed and she was the chief patriot wife. She thought she was leaving behind duty at mount vernon always and would just be torn about it all of the time. She would go because the general summoned her. She was frightened at the beginning. She said i shudder every time i hear a bullet. But she went because that is where duty called and she went mainly because the general thought that she was absolutely essential to troop morale. And to keeping the army together, which was George Washingtons great genius but George Washington would say he cannot do it without martha. And she would arrive at camp with foodstuffs and cloth, and all kinds of things that had been prepared at mount vernon over the summer. One of the many contributions that enslaved americans to the revolution. Shell be cheered into camp, lady washington is here and they loved her. She would cook for the soldiers and so for the soldiers and pray with the soldiers. She would put on entertainment for them. And that was a good thing it was a good thing she was on hand because George Washington could be indiscreet and there is a time that he danced for three hours straight to with a very pretty and flirty katie green. And good thing martha was there. She also had a wonderful sense of humor which she would never you would never know seeing her in that little mop cap. She named her tom cap hamilton. And that was appropriate. That was the winter at morris town. It was the winter of 1779, this one was that particular winter and it was a terrible time in the war. Troops were threatening desertion by regiment. Her presence was incredibly important. The british were also nearby. As was the congress which was moving around a lot, because they were traitors to the king, and all subject to behind to at hangedsubject to being at any moment, so martha was sometimes in a precarious position and when british raves raids would occur, several troops would be assigned to guard her. One particular of these raids, George Washington was away and a soldier was sent in an mount vernon found this letter and they rode home and said i am happy with the importance of my charge. As well as the presence of the most amiable woman on earth. But then he was very upset about the members of congress who kept coming around and kept trying to guard the first lady but she wasnt first lady yet, but the commanders wife, lady washington. And he wrote and he said about the members of congress, the rations they have consumed considerably over balance all their service done as volunteers. For they for they have dined with us every day almost and drank as much wine as they would earn in six months. [laughter] but after she did become first lady, Martha Washington lobbied for veterans benefits, because she had been with the soldiers all of those years. So the notion that this was something new in the 20th century is so amusing but unfortunate that people dont know this history. She also would greet any soldiers who would come to visit, any vets who would come, and she would give them money, food, and reminisce with them. Her grandson wrote that every holiday she cordially welcomed veterans as old friends. So this is a long tradition that we have had among our first ladies. And really what we hear about v