First Ladies - Hardcover

Caroli, Betty Boyd

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195099443 ISBN 13: 9780195099447

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1995

Synopsis

As we move toward the year 2000, Americans continue to debate the job of First Lady. How much power does the position actually hold? How publicly should that power be wielded? First Ladies tells the story of this curious institution and the evolution of these women's role from ceremonial backdrop to substantive world figure. This expanded edition brings us up to the present, examining the legacies of our three most recent First Ladies: Nancy Reagan, credited with raising the job to that of "Associate President"; Barbara Bush, who took a more traditional approach; and Hillary Rodham Clinton, widely billed as changing the job completely.
Covering all thirty-nine women from Martha Washington to Hillary Rodham Clinton and including the daughters, daughters-in-law, and sisters of presidents who sometimes served as First Ladies, Betty Boyd Caroli explores the background, marriage, and accomplishments and failures in office of each woman. This remarkably diverse lot included Abigail Adams, whose "remember the ladies" became a twentieth-century feminist refrain; Edith Wilson, who alone controlled access to the President when he suffered a stroke; Jane Pierce, who prayed her husband would lose the election; Helen Taft, who insisted on living in the White House, although her husband would have preferred a judgeship; and Pat Nixon, who perfected what some have called "the robot image." They ranged in age from early 20's to late 60's; some received superb educations for their time, while others had little or no schooling. Including the courageous and adventurous, the emotionally unstable, the ambitious, and the reserved, these women often did not fit the traditional expectations of a presidential helpmate.
Depicting how these women used the "magic wand" given to them, Caroli reveals not only how each First Lady altered the role, but also how the role changed in response to American culture. Because of their prominence, these women left remarkably complete records, and their stories offer us an insider's view not only of their lives as holders of what sociologists now call "derivative power," but also of the history of American women in general.

About this title

About the Author

About the Author:
Betty Boyd Caroli holds a Ph.D. in American Civilization from New York University. She is the author of Inside the White House and co-author of Today's Immigrants: Their Stories.

From Library Journal

Being First Lady is probably the hardest unpaid job in the United States. The thirty-six First Ladies (some of them daughters or other relatives) have been a highly varied group. Three have married an incumbent President; three have died in office. Caroli takes a look at each of them and their effect on the job, and also examines the ways the role of First Lady has changed over the years as American society and public expectations have changed. A ranking of the First Ladies by historians is included. Though not intended to be an in-depth study of either the First Ladies or the institution, this is an interesting and thoughtful overview that will appeal to a variety of readers. Nancy C. Cridland, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0195099443
• ISBN 13: 9780195099447
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 496