problems afflicting the youth of many nations. She
was also active in the National Federation of Parents
for Drug-Free Youth (later the National Family Part-
nership) and the National Child Watch Campaign.
She served as honorary president of the Girl Scouts
of America.Good Housekeepingmagazine named Rea-
gan one of the ten most admired American women.
In three successive years—1984, 1985, and 1986—
she ranked first in national polls as the most admired
woman in the United States. During this period, she
was deeply involved in encouraging the arts, serving
on the President’s Commission on the Arts and Hu-
manities and as a board member of the Wolf Trap
Foundation for the Performing Arts. As a former ac-
tress, her interest in the performing arts was long-
standing.
Behind-the-Scenes Political Role There has been
considerable speculation about how active a role
the First Lady played in the dismissal of some of the
president’s staff. She certainly had strong
objections to White House chief of staff
Donald Regan. It is generally conceded
that his resigning under pressure in Feb-
ruary, 1987, was the result of his squabbles
with the First Lady, who constantly inter-
fered in Regan’s attempts to organize the
president’s official schedule.
As early in the Reagan presidency as
July, 1982, Secretary of State Alexander
Haig was forced out of his position. His res-
ignation is also thought to have been insti-
gated by the First Lady. Certainly scholars
of the Reagan presidency have recognized
the influence, albeit indirect, the First
Lady had on her husband, especially in
matters dealing with people whose actions
affected his public image and her own.
The Reagans’ first year in the White
House was difficult. Their inaugural cele-
brations cost $16 million, making the in-
auguration the most expensive in history
and evoking harsh comments from many
critics. Nancy then attracted considerable
negative press by spending $800,000 to
renovate the family’s living quarters in
the executive mansion and by spending
$200,000 to buy china for use at official
functions. Private funds were used to fi-
nance her expenditures, but with unem-
ployment high and a recession crippling the
economy, such extravagance rankled many people.
The First Lady regularly consulted an astrologer,
William Henkel, for guidance, particularly seeking
to determine imminent dangers that might face her
husband. Overruling some of Donald Regan’s sched-
uling, she helped shape the president’s agenda, mak-
ing sure that he stayed close to the White House on
days that Henkel identified as dangerous. Henkel’s
“threat days” were spelled out and given to the Se-
cret Service, Regan, and the president’s secretary so
that, in concert, they could work out the president’s
schedule in ways that eliminated commitments at
times Henkel considered dangerous. Regan rankled
at this interference and sometimes refused to take
the First Lady’s telephone calls.Impact Nancy Reagan unquestionably bolstered
the president’s self-confidence, ever urging him to
follow his natural instincts in his decision making.800 Reagan, Nancy The Eighties in America
First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1981.(Library of Congress)