This volume explores more than two centuries of literature on the First Ladies, from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama, providing the first historiographical overview of these important women in U.S. history.

Table of Contents

• Notes on Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter One: Martha Washington
• Young Martha
• Mrs. Custis
• Domestic Tranquility
• Heroine of the Revolution
• The First First Lady
• Serving the New Nation
• Worthy Partner
• Scholarship on Martha Washington
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Two: Abigail Adams
• “The Best of Women”: The Life of Abigail
• “My Pen Is My Only Pleasure”: Abigail's Letters
• “A Life I Know You Value”: Biographies
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Three: Martha Jefferson Randolph, First Daughter
• Introduction
• Why Martha?
• Becoming First Daughter
• “Brightest Part of Life”
• A Life of Public Service
• Letters to Fill a Heart
• The Revolution of 1800
• Culture in Formation
• “A Flying Visit”
• A “Most Disastrous Journey”
• Conclusion
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Four: James and Dolley Madison and the Quest for Unity
• A Glorious Retirement
• Personality as Policy
• The Problem of Unity
• Quaker to Queen
• Coming together in Washington City
• Access to the Unofficial Sphere
• Mrs. Madison's War
• A Model for the Future
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Five: Elizabeth Monroe
• Life before the White House
• Elizabeth as First Lady
• After the White House
• Conclusion
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Six: A Monarch in a Republic
• A Woman “Who Was”
• “Miss Proud”
• “A Fine Lady”
• A Republican in a Monarchy
• “Affairs of High Importance”
• “All are Gone to Mrs. Adams”
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Seven: Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson
• The Sprightly Pioneer Woman Who Sparked a Political Storm
• Emily Tennessee Donelson: The Besieged White House Hostess
• Sarah Yorke Jackson: From Mistress of the Hermitage to White House Hostess
• Conclusion
• References
• Chapter Eight: Angelica Singleton Van Buren, First Lady for a Widower
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Nine: The Ladies of Tippecanoe, and Tyler Too
• Anna Harrison
• Letitia Tyler
• Julia Gardiner Tyler
• References
• Chapter Ten: Sarah Polk
• The Education of Sarah Childress
• Courtship, Marriage, and Family
• Sarah Goes to Washington
• The Polks Head to the White House
• The Death of Two Political Careers
• Sarah Polk's Legacy
• References
• Chapter Eleven: Margaret Taylor, Abigail Fillmore, and Jane Pierce
• Margaret Taylor's Biography
• The Taylor Presidency
• Abigail Fillmore's Biography
• The Fillmore Presidency
• Jane Pierce's Biography
• The Pierce Presidency
• Studies on the Three First Ladies
• Conclusion
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Twelve: Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Thirteen: Mary Todd Lincoln
• Introduction
• Origins: A Southern Belle Who Went West on a Mission
• The Lincoln Marriage: Mutual Political Ambition
• Mary as First Lady: Changing the Role
• Conclusions
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Fourteen: Eliza McCardle Johnson and Julia Dent Grant
• Eliza McCardle Johnson
• Julia Dent Grant
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Fifteen: Lucy Webb Hayes, Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, and Mary Arthur McElroy
• Lucy Webb Hayes
• Lucretia Rudolph Garfield
• Mary Arthur McElroy
• References
• Chapter Sixteen: Rose Cleveland, Frances Cleveland, Caroline Harrison, Mary McKee
• Rose Elizabeth Cleveland
• Frances Folsom Cleveland
• Caroline Scott Harrison
• Mary Harrison McKee
• Review of the Literature
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Seventeen: Ida McKinley
• Early Life
• Illness and Ida's Time as a Politician's Wife
• Tenure as First Lady
• The Historiography of Ida McKinley
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Eighteen: Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt
• Edith Rising
• Mistress of the White House
• A Life Well Lived
• Archival Collections and Historiography
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Nineteen: Helen Herron Taft
• Introduction
• A Brief Biographical Sketch
• Historiographical Treatment
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Twenty: Ellen Axson Wilson
• Early Life and Marriage
• Helpmate and Advisor: A Political Partnership
• Social Advocate: Expanding the First Lady's Role
• Artist: A Working Woman in the White House
• Conclusion
• References
• Chapter Twenty One: Edith Wilson
• Introduction
• Life History
• Edith Bolling Galt Meets Woodrow Wilson
• Married Life
• Wartime First Lady
• The Wilsons and Women's Suffrage
• The President Incapacitated and the First Lady's New Role
• Edith Wilson after Wilson's Presidency
• Conclusion
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Twenty Two: Florence Kling Harding
• Early Years through the Presidential Campaign
• First Lady
• The Funeral Train and Its Aftermath
• Historiography
• Appendix A: Archival Newspaper and Magazine Articles
• Appendix B: Catalogue of the Relevant Unpublished Manuscripts and Collections
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Twenty Three: Grace Coolidge
• “America's Best-Known and Best-Loved Wife and Mother”
• Marriage, Politics, and Widowhood: The Varying History of Grace
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Twenty Four: The Historiography of Lou Henry Hoover
• Lou Henry Hoover's Life
• Memoirs
• Comparative Treatments, Biographical Essays, and Topical Considerations
• Lou Henry Hoover's Biographies
• Herbert Hoover's Biographies
• Feminism and Women's Activism
• Conclusion
• References
• Chapter Twenty Five: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
• Eleanor Roosevelt: Wife, Mother, and Career Woman
• Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady
• Eleanor Roosevelt: The Biographical Treatment of Her White House Years
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Twenty Six: Eleanor Roosevelt
• Bibliographical Concerns
• On Her Own
• First Lady of the World
• Active to the End
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Twenty Seven: Elizabeth Virginia “Bess” Wallace Truman
• Scholarly Treatment of Bess Truman
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Twenty Eight: Overrated Pleasures and Underrated Treasures
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Twenty Nine: Jacqueline Kennedy
• The Reluctant Celebrity
• The White House Years
• Creating Camelot
• Changing Assessments of Her Place in History
• Conclusion
• References
• Chapter Thirty: Lady Bird Johnson
• Political Partner
• Presidential Surrogate
• Environmental Advocate
• Lady Bird's Legacy
• Conclusion
• References
• Chapter Thirty one: An Unlikely First Lady
• Appendix: Primary Source Collections
• References
• Chapter Thirty Two: Betty Ford
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Thirty Three: Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter
• Historiography
• Memoirs
• Biography
• Thematic Views of Rosalynn Carter
• Further Research
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Thirty Four: Nancy Reagan
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Thirty Five: Barbara Pierce Bush
• Deconstructing Barbara Pierce Bush
• Blue Blood Roots with Some Humble Beginnings
• The First Boy She Ever Kissed
• The Birth and Growth of a Political Partnership
• Making the Most of the Second Ladyship
• References
• Chapter Thirty Six: Barbara Pierce Bush
• The 1988 Campaign
• The White House Years
• Continuing the Literacy Campaign
• Volunteerism in the DNA
• Wellesley, the Clash of Feminism, and First Ladies
• The 1992 Campaign and Convention Speech: All in the Family
• There Is Life after the White House
• The Legacy
• References
• Chapter Thirty seven: Hillary Rodham Clinton
• Growing-Up Hillary
• Becoming Clinton
• The White House Years
• Moving Forward
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Thirty Eight: Laura Welch Bush
• Author's Note
• Introduction
• A Winding Road to the White House
• First Lady Reexamined
• The Second Term
• International Advocacy
• The Katrina Challenge
• Diversifying Her Domestic Portfolio
• Conclusion
• References
• Further Reading
• Chapter Thirty Nine: First Lady Michelle Obama
• “There Is Still so Much History Yet to Be Made”: Keynote Address, June 2011 (M. Obama, 2011)
• An Improbable Journey
• Dreaming Big: The 2008 Campaign
• References
• Chapter Forty: First Lady Michelle Obama
• “I Try to Make It Me”: Michelle Obama's White House Years
• The First Year
• Travel
• “What I Owe the American People Is to Let Them See Who I Am”
• “Let's Act … Let's Move”
• Joining Forces: Supporting Veterans and Their Families
• Education: Transforming Lives
• Conclusion
• References
• Further Reading