Lucy Hayes

Lucy Hayes graduated from the Wesleyan Female College in 1850, becoming the first First Lady to obtain a degree in higher education. As a young woman, she signed a temperance pledge to abstain from alcohol, which she honored for the rest of her life. Advocates for temperance and women’s rights hoped Lucy would use her influence as First Lady to support their causes. However, she felt her duty as a politician’s wife was to support her husband, raise their children, and aid others through charitable acts. When Congress passed a law forbidding an Easter egg roll on the Capitol grounds, Lucy invited the children to hold the festivities on the White House lawn. The White House Easter Egg Roll has been a tradition ever since.