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United States of America
Official White House Historical Association Sterling Medal
First Lady – Abigail Fillmore
1972 FM Proof Silver Medal 37mm (33.30 grams) 0.925 Silver (1.00 oz. ASW)
ABIGAIL FILLMORE 1850 1853 FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES, Abigail facing 1/4 left.
Abigail Fillmore 1798 – 1853 A well-read intellectual, she was keenly interested in politics and established the first White House Library., White House facade atop.
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 Abigail Fillmore (née Powers; March 13, 1798 – March 30, 1853), wife of President Millard Fillmore, was the first lady of the United States from 1850 to 1853. A teacher by profession, she was a notable scholar, who built a library at the White House and started a literary salon. Her husband respected her political judgment, and was willing to consult her on state matters.
After Zachary Taylor’s death at a height of sectional crisis, the Fillmores moved into the White House and she became First Lady.
Even after the period of official mourning, the social life of the Fillmore administration remained subdued. Suffering from an injured ankle that never properly healed Abigail couldn’t stand for long periods of time and, pleading her delicate health, she entrusted many routine social duties to her daughter (who was known as Abby). Every Friday night the White House hosted a reception, where she had to stand for hours greeting and socializing with guests.
When Abigail first moved into the White House she was reportedly appalled at the fact that there was no library in it. With a special appropriation of $2,000 from Congress, she spent contented hours selecting books for a White House library. In the library was Shakespeare, history and geography books, and her piano, which she had taught herself to play. She invited writers such as William Thackeray, Charles Dickens, and Washington Irving to meet with her and performance artists like Jenny Lind, essentially creating a White House literary salon. “She was reportedly a witty and even erudite conversationalist, the most intellectual of the early first ladies.”
When her husband was away he missed her and wrote her letters about politics, and she would write back offering him advice and counsel on political matters. In fact, he valued her opinion so much that he reportedly never made any important decision without first consulting her. Some history suggests that Abigail advised her husband not to sign the Fugitive Slave Act, which he did in the end sign, losing his nomination for a second term as Abigail predicted would happen if he signed the Act.
As First Lady, Abigail Fillmore left a legacy of women and work. As First Lady, the public was aware that she was educated and had worked as a teacher. They also knew about the library she created and that teaching is an honorable profession. Abigail paved the way for future women and future first ladies to receive an education and become teachers.
 The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km2), the United States is the world’s third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe’s 3.9 million square miles (10.1 million km2). With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital’s federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries.
.svg/85px-Great_Seal_of_the_United_States_(obverse).svg.png) Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies following the French and Indian War led to the American Revolution, which began in 1775, and the subsequent Declaration of Independence in 1776. The war ended in 1783 with the United States becoming the first country to gain independence from a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, with the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, being ratified in 1791 to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century, acquiring new territories, displacing Native American tribes, and gradually admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848.
 During the second half of the 19th century, the Civil War led to the abolition of slavery. By the end of the century, the United States had extended into the Pacific Ocean, and its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar. The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the country’s status as a global military power. The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The Rights Acts of 1964, 1965 and 1968 outlaws discrimination based on race or color. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in the Space Race, culminating with the 1969 U.S. Moon landing. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world’s sole superpower.
The United States is the world’s oldest surviving federation. It is a federal republic and a representative democracy. The United States is a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States (OAS), and other international organizations. The United States is a highly developed country, with the world’s largest economy by nominal GDP and second-largest economy by PPP, accounting for approximately a quarter of global GDP. The U.S. economy is largely post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge-based activities, although the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world. The United States is the world’s largest importer and the second largest exporter of goods, by value. Although its population is only 4.3% of the world total, the U.S. holds 31% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country.
Despite wide income and wealth disparities, the United States continues to rank very high in measures of socioeconomic performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP, and worker productivity. The United States is the foremost military power in the world, making up a third of global military spending, and is a leading political, cultural, and scientific force internationally.
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