Southern First Ladies

Author : Katherine A. S. Sibley
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
Page : 436 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2021-01-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780700630431

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Southern First Ladies by Katherine A. S. Sibley Pdf

Southern First Ladies explores the ways in which geographical and cultural backgrounds molded a group of influential first ladies. The contributors to this volume use the lens of “Southernness” to define and better understand the cultural attributes, characteristics, actions, and activism of seventeen first ladies from Martha Washington to Laura Bush. The first ladies defined in this volume as Southern were either all born in the South—specifically, the former states of the Confederacy or their slaveholding neighbors like Missouri—or else lived in those states for a significant portion of their adult lives (women like Julia Tyler, Hillary Clinton, and Barbara Bush). Southern climes indelibly shaped these women and, in turn, a number of enduring White House traditions. Along with the standards of proper behavior and ceremonial customs and hospitality demanded by notions of Southern white womanhood, some of which they successfully resisted or subverted, early first ladies including Martha Washington, Dolley Madison, Julia Tyler, and Sarah Polk were also shaped by racially based societal and cultural constraints typical of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, some of which have persisted to the present day. The first nine women in this volume, from Martha Washington to Julia Grant, all enslaved others during their lives, inside or outside the White House. Among the seven first ladies in the book’s last section, Ellen Wilson, for example, was profoundly influenced by the reformist ethos of the Progressive Era and set an example for activism that five of her Southern successors—Lady Bird Johnson, Rosalynn Carter, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush—all emulated. By contrast, Ellen’s immediate successor in the White House, Edith Wilson, enthusiastically celebrated the “Lost Cause.” Southern First Ladies is the first volume to comprehensively emphasize the significance of Southernness and a Southern background in the history and work of first ladies, and Southernness’ long-standing influence for the development of this position in the White House as well as outside of it.

Author : Margaret Truman
Publisher : Ballantine Books
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2009-09-30
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780307420541

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First Ladies by Margaret Truman Pdf

“Fascinating . . . First Ladies is a wonderfully generous look at the women who, often against their wishes, took on what Truman calls ‘the world's second toughest job.’”—The Christian Science Monitor Whether they envision their role as protector, partner, advisor, or scold, First Ladies find themselves in a job that is impossible to define, and just as difficult to perform. Now Margaret Truman, daughter of President Harry Truman and an acclaimed novelist and biographer in her own right, explores the fascinating position of First Lady throughout history and up to the present day. With her unique perspective as the daughter of a First Lady, Ms. Truman reveals the truth behind some of the most misunderstood and forgotten First Ladies of our history, as well as the most famous and beloved. In recounting the charm and courage of Dolley Madison, the brazen ambition of Florence Harding, the calm, good sense of Grace Coolidge, the genius of Eleanor Roosevelt, the mysterious femininity of Jackie Kennedy, and the fierce protectiveness of Nancy Reagan, among others, Margaret Truman has assembled an honest yet affectionate portrait of our nation’s First Ladies—one that freely acknowledges their virtues and their flaws.

Author : Kate Andersen Brower
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 284 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2017-01-17
Category : History
ISBN : 9780062679345

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First Women by Kate Andersen Brower Pdf

“[A] gossipy, but surprisingly deep, look at the women who help and sometimes overshadow their powerful husbands.” — USA Today From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the groundbreaking backstairs look at the White House, The Residence, comes an intimate, news-making look at the true modern power brokers at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: the First Ladies, from Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama. One of the most underestimated—and challenging—positions in the world, the First Lady of the United States must be many things: an inspiring leader with a forward-thinking agenda of her own; a savvy politician, skilled at navigating the treacherous rapids of Washington; a wife and mother operating under constant scrutiny; and an able CEO responsible for the smooth operation of countless services and special events at the White House. Now, as she did in her smash #1 bestseller The Residence, former White House correspondent Kate Andersen Brower draws on a wide array of untapped, candid sources—from residence staff and social secretaries to friends and political advisers—to tell the stories of the ten remarkable women who have defined that role since 1960. Brower offers new insights into this privileged group of remarkable women, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Patricia Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama. The stories she shares range from the heartwarming to the shocking and tragic, exploring everything from the first ladies’ political crusades to their rivalries with Washington figures; from their friendships with other first ladies to their public and private relationships with their husbands. She also offers insight as to what Melania Trump might hope to accomplish as First Lady. Candid and illuminating, this first group biography of the modern first ladies provides a revealing look at life upstairs and downstairs at the world’s most powerful address.

Author : Coleen Christian Burke
Publisher : Insight Editions
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2011-10-25
Category : House & Home
ISBN : 1608870464

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Christmas with the First Ladies by Coleen Christian Burke Pdf

No home in America celebrates Christmas quite like the White House. Whether adorned with hand-made ornaments or thoughtful crafts, the White House has warmly welcomed celebrities, dignitaries, and hardworking Americans and epitomized the Christmas spirit. And behind each holiday celebration is a First Lady who lends her own style and grace to the festivities. Christmas With the First Ladies is a look at the holiday magic that happens at the White House, capturing the Christmas decorating history and techniques from Jackie Kennedy through Michelle Obama. Each first lady’s design aesthetic is profiled, such as Lady Bird Johnson’s themes of home and family to help heal the nation after John F. Kennedy’s death; Nancy Reagan’s interest in renewing a child-like sense of wonder; and Laura Bush’s “Red, White, and Blue “ Christmas for a nation banding together. With anecdotes and intimate photos of the presidential families during the holiday season, as well as personal craft and recipes used by the first ladies, Christmas With the First Ladies is the perfect centerpiece for holiday gatherings!

Author : Marie Jenkins Schwartz
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 429 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2017-04-06
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780226460727

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Ties That Bound by Marie Jenkins Schwartz Pdf

Behind every great man stands a great woman. And behind that great woman stands a slave. Or so it was in the households of the Founding Fathers from Virginia, where slaves worked and suffered throughout the domestic environments of the era, from Mount Vernon, Monticello, and Montpelier to the nation’s capital. American icons like Martha Washington, Martha Jefferson, and Dolley Madison were all slaveholders. And as Marie Jenkins Schwartz uncovers in Ties That Bound, these women, as the day-to-day managers of their households, dealt with the realities of a slaveholding culture directly and continually, even in the most intimate of spaces. Unlike other histories that treat the stories of the First Ladies’ slaves as separate from the lives of their mistresses, Ties That Bound closely examines the relationships that developed between the First Ladies and their slaves. For elite women and their families, slaves were more than an agricultural workforce; slavery was an entire domestic way of life that reflected and reinforced their status. In many cases slaves were more constant companions to the white women of the household than were their husbands and sons, who often traveled or were at war. By looking closely at the complicated intimacy these women shared, Schwartz is able to reveal how they negotiated their roles, illuminating much about the lives of slaves themselves, as well as class, race, and gender in early America. By detailing the prevalence and prominence of slaves in the daily lives of women who helped shape the country, Schwartz makes it clear that it is impossible to honestly tell the stories of these women while ignoring their slaves. She asks us to consider anew the embedded power of slavery in the very earliest conception of American politics, society, and everyday domestic routines.

Author : Rosalynn Carter
Publisher : University of Arkansas Press
Page : 421 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 1994-11-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781557283559

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First Lady from Plains by Rosalynn Carter Pdf

First Lady from Plains, first published in 1984, is Rosalynn’s Carter’s autobiography, covering her life from her childhood in Plains, Georgia, through her time as First Lady. It is “a readable, lively and revealing account of the Carters and their remarkable journey from rural Georgia to the White House in a span of ten years” (The New York Times).

Author : Ann Bausum
Publisher : National Geographic Books
Page : 136 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 1426300069

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Our Country's First Ladies by Ann Bausum Pdf

Short biographies of our nation's fascinating first ladies.

Author : Amy S. Greenberg
Publisher : Vintage
Page : 434 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2020-01-21
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780804173445

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Lady First by Amy S. Greenberg Pdf

The little-known story of remarkable First Lady Sarah Polk—a brilliant master of the art of high politics and a crucial but unrecognized figure in the history of American feminism. While the Women’s Rights convention was taking place at Seneca Falls in 1848, First Lady Sarah Childress Polk was wielding influence unprecedented for a woman in Washington, D.C. Yet, while history remembers the women of the convention, it has all but forgotten Sarah Polk. Now, in her riveting biography, Amy S. Greenberg brings Sarah’s story into vivid focus. We see Sarah as the daughter of a frontiersman who raised her to discuss politics and business with men; we see the savvy and charm she brandished in order to help her brilliant but unlikeable husband, James K. Polk, ascend to the White House. We watch as she exercises truly extraordinary power as First Lady: quietly manipulating elected officials, shaping foreign policy, and directing a campaign in support of America’s expansionist war against Mexico. And we meet many of the enslaved men and women whose difficult labor made Sarah’s political success possible. Sarah Polk’s life spanned nearly the entirety of the nineteenth-century. But her own legacy, which profoundly transformed the South, continues to endure. Comprehensive, nuanced, and brimming with invaluable insight, Lady First is a revelation of our twelfth First Lady’s complex but essential part in American feminism.

Author : Joan E. Cashin
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 416 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2009-07-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780674029262

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First Lady of the Confederacy by Joan E. Cashin Pdf

When Jefferson Davis became president of the Confederacy, his wife, Varina Howell Davis, reluctantly became the First Lady. For this highly intelligent, acutely observant woman, loyalty did not come easily: she spent long years struggling to reconcile her societal duties to her personal beliefs. Raised in Mississippi but educated in Philadelphia, and a long-time resident of Washington, D.C., Mrs. Davis never felt at ease in Richmond. During the war she nursed Union prisoners and secretly corresponded with friends in the North. Though she publicly supported the South, her term as First Lady was plagued by rumors of her disaffection. After the war, Varina Davis endured financial woes and the loss of several children, but following her husband's death in 1889, she moved to New York and began a career in journalism. Here she advocated reconciliation between the North and South and became friends with Julia Grant, the widow of Ulysses S. Grant. She shocked many by declaring in a newspaper that it was God's will that the North won the war. A century after Varina Davis's death in 1906, Joan E. Cashin has written a masterly work, the first definitive biography of this truly modern, but deeply conflicted, woman. Pro-slavery but also pro-Union, Varina Davis was inhibited by her role as Confederate First Lady and unable to reveal her true convictions. In this pathbreaking book, Cashin offers a splendid portrait of a fascinating woman who struggled with the constraints of her time and place.

Author : Feather Schwartz Foster
Publisher : Sourcebooks, Inc.
Page : 177 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2011-02-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781402254802

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The First Ladies by Feather Schwartz Foster Pdf

The bold women that built the White House As a young nation grew into its own, it was not just the presidents who led the way. The remarkable women of the White House, often neglected by history, had a heavy hand in the shaping of America. The earliest First Ladies of the United States left countless untold legacies behind after their role at the White House was over. Decidedly different from their modern day counterparts, the nation's first presidential wives made their impact not only in terms of political policy or broad social and civic service, but with unique, personal, and often long-lasting accomplishments. Read the unforgettable stories of how these women forged our country and the decisions that shaped all of us as a nation. These are the women whose legacies have long been buried amongst our American history.

Author : Katherine A.S. Sibley
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 760 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2016-03-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9781118732243

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A Companion to First Ladies by Katherine A.S. Sibley Pdf

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. Underlines the growing scholarly appreciation of the First Ladies and the evolution of the position since the 18th century Explores the impact of these women not only on White House responsibilities, but on elections, presidential policies, social causes, and in shaping their husbands’ legacies Brings the First Ladies into crisp historiographical focus, assessing how these women and their contributions have been perceived both in popular literature and scholarly debate Provides concise biographical treatments for each First Lady

Author : Annette Moore,Elizabeth Sample,Kathryn Brunkow Sample
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 154 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : College presidents' spouses
ISBN : 1932800050

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USC's First Ladies by Annette Moore,Elizabeth Sample,Kathryn Brunkow Sample Pdf

Author : Cormac O'Brien
Publisher : Quirk Books
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2010-07-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781594744785

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Secret Lives of the First Ladies by Cormac O'Brien Pdf

This newly updated collection of biographies showcases all the secrets, scandals, and trivia from America’s first ladies. Whether she’s a leading lady, loyal spouse, or lightning rod for scandal, the First Lady of the United States has always been in the spotlight—and in 2017 that was truer than ever. This revised and expanded edition from Quirk’s best-selling Secret Lives series features outrageous and uncensored profiles of the women of the White House, from Martha Washington to Melania Trump, it comes complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts. Did you know that . . . • Dolley Madison loved to chew tobacco • Mary Todd Lincoln conducted séances on a regular basis • Eleanor Roosevelt and Ellen Wilson both carried guns • Jacqueline Kennedy spent $121,000 on her wardrobe in a single year • Betty Ford liked to chat on CB radios—her handle was “First Mama” And much, much more.

Author : Ludwig M. Deppisch, M.D.
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 243 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2015-01-28
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780786474363

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The Health of the First Ladies by Ludwig M. Deppisch, M.D. Pdf

This first comprehensive study of the medical histories of America's first ladies--from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama--discusses their illnesses, their treatments and their physicians in the context of their times. As the categories of illness afflicting Americans have changed through history so have the kinds of maladies affecting the first ladies. Infectious diseases and the consequences of poorly supervised pregnancies have been replaced by cerebrovascular accidents and malignancies. The secrecy with which the White House has traditionally handled inquiries about the health of the president's wife is explored in detail; however, several first ladies, notably Betty Ford, have been transparent about their illnesses in order to educate the public. The effects of a first lady's responsibilities on her health is examined. This book also seeks to discern how the well-being of the first lady influences presidential performance.

Author : Helen Milliken
Publisher : Palmetto Conservation Foundation
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Governors' spouses
ISBN : 0967901642

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Behind the Scenes by Helen Milliken Pdf

This book gives sketches into the lives of the first 50 women who held the position of First Lady of South Carolina. Featuring personal memoirs, archival photos and genealogical details, this book is an important addition to South Carolina history.