Setting precedents: the first presidents' wives (1789-1829) -- Young substitutes for first ladies (1829-1869) -- Three exceptions: Sarah, Childress Polk, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Julia Dentt -- The limited promise of the "new woman" (1877-1901) -- The office of first lady: a twentieth-century development -- The paradoxical 1920s -- Breaking precedents and reaffirming old ones (1933-1961) -- The turbulent sixties -- New dimensions to the job of first lady (1974-1993) -- A new generation in the White House (1993-2008) -- The ever-changing role of first lady.
Summary:
"Betty Boyd Caroli's First Ladies observes the role as it has shifted and evolved from ceremonial backdrop to substantive world figure ... This [is a] expanded and updated fifth edition ... covering all forty-three women from Martha Washington to Melania and Ivanka Trump and including the daughters, daughters-in-law, and sisters of presidents who sometimes served as First Ladies. Caroli explores each woman's background, marriage, and accomplishments and failures in office. First Ladies is a portrait of how each First Lady changed the role and how the role changed in response to American culture. These women left remarkably complete records, and their stories offer us a window through which to view not only this particular sorority of women, but also the role of American women in general."--Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.