A Brief History of First Ladies and Their Causes

Rosalynn Carter, 1977-1981
Carter made a campaign promise to get her husband Jimmy to establish a council on mental health. Once in the White House, she made good on that pact. Although she only had an honorary role with the council, she used her position to speak widely on mental illness. Carter also helped push through legislation that would have improved mental health facilities had funding for the project not been scuttled when Ronald Reagan took office only weeks later.

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