Here are just five reasons why she can easily be considered the most underrated First Lady.
“She should have received combat pay.” This is how General Vernon Walters, the interpreter who traveled with First Lady Pat Nixon to Peru in 1970 to deliver humanitarian aid after a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake, described her actions.
In her book, Pat Nixon: The Untold Story, Julie Nixon Eisenhower describes how for her mother “the trip had been a natural response to an acute human need” but this move had a lasting impact by changing the role of First Lady into a more active position. It also established an international model for humanitarian response to natural disasters.
Serving as the personal ambassador of the president, Mrs. Nixon delivered ten tons of food, clothing and supplies, toured the destruction with Peru’s First Lady Consuelo Velasco and interacted with the victims. The Peruvian government recognized her earthquake relief efforts by awarding her the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun, the oldest decoration in the Americas.
Immediately after Richard Nixon won the 1968 presidential election, John Davies, head of the Office of White House Visitors, met with Mrs. Nixon. Davies recalled, “She knew exactly what she wanted for the mansion: a warm house which was more accessible to the public.” With that viewpoint, she made strides to make the People’s House more available to all Americans.
Mrs. Nixon worked with her daughters Tricia and Julie to implement White House tours for the disabled and the blind, make tours wheel-chair accessible and provide pamphlets translated in multiple languages. Those who visit Washington, DC, today and view the White House illuminated at night, can thank Mrs. Nixon for this enduring project.
In a 1969 visit to Vietnam, Mrs. Nixon made history by becoming the first First Lady to visit a combat zone. This action built on the model of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who traveled to visit troops, but never in an area with active combat.
The one-day visit to Vietnam was an unannounced stop during a presidential world tour. Traveling in an open-door military helicopter, the First Lady visited children in an orphanage and met with wounded American servicemen in an evacuation hospital.
First Lady Pat Nixon’s efforts to emphasize that the White House is the People’s House are highlighted in the holiday traditions she established. Wanting to make White House tours more accessible for those who work during the day, she created evening candlelight tours.
“Because she wanted as many as possible to see the White House in all its Christmas glory and realized few working people could take advantage of the daytime tours, Mother arranged for the house to be open several nights during Christmas week. Fires burned in the Red, Green, and Blue rooms, and the chandeliers and wall sconces were turned so low they appeared to be candles. Rotating ensembles from the Army, Navy and Air Force played Christmas carols in the Grand Foyer. The atmosphere was magical.” – Julie Nixon Eisenhower
Restoring the White House
Another lasting impact of First Lady Pat Nixon is her White House restoration project. As stated by Pat Nixon biographer Heath Hardage Lee, “Pat would help create the decor of the White House as we know it today: a residence with a unique flavor reflecting the early days of the American Republic, inspired by Colonial Williamsburg.”
Working with State Department Curator Clement Conger, Mrs. Nixon added more than 600 paintings and furnishings to the White House collection, the single largest acquisition by any presidential administration. They also renovated and redecorated nine rooms including the state reception rooms known as the Green, Blue and Red Rooms.
Learn more about the life and legacy of the trailblazing First Lady Pat Nixon in these biographies: