October 25, 2004
Many first ladies have struggled with the confines of their role, from Abigail Adams who feared she would have "to look at every word before I utter it, and to impose a silence upon myself, when I long to talk," to Jackie Kennedy who said she did not want to be called first lady as it sounded like a saddle horse. Stockard Channing hosts a PBS special looking at the undefined position of first lady.

No matter what their political tendencies, first ladies have had the shared experience of trying to balance their families and interests with their very public role.

Go here to learn more about the hour-long PBS, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and Ever Green Communications broadcast, "The First Lady: Public Expectations, Private Lives," which aired Oct. 25, 2004.