First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women

by Susan Swain, C-SPAN, Richard Norton Smith (Foreword by)

Overview

A look inside the personal life of every first lady in American history, based on original interviews with major historians

C-SPAN's yearlong history series, First Ladies: Influence and Image, featured interviews with more than fifty preeminent historians and biographers. In this informative book, these experts paint intimate portraits of all forty-five first ladies -- their lives, ambitions, and unique partnerships with their presidential spouses. Susan Swain and the C-SPAN team elicit the details that made these women who they were: how Martha Washington intentionally set the standards followed by first ladies for the next century; how Edith Wilson was complicit in the cover-up when President Wilson became incapacitated after a stroke; and how Mamie Eisenhower used the new medium of television to reinforce her, and her husband's, positive public images.

This book provides an up-close historical look at these fascinating women who survived the scrutiny of the White House, sometimes at great personal cost, while supporting their families and famous husbands -- and sometimes changing history. Complete with illustrations and essential biographical details, it is an illuminating, entertaining, and ultimately inspiring read.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610395670
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	04/14/2015
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	496
Sales rank:	63,677
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Susan Swain is C-SPAN's co-CEO and, in addition to her senior management role at the network, has been an on-camera host for C-SPAN for more than thirty years, interviewing public officials, historians, and journalists for the public affairs network. The Presidents is her ninth book project with C-SPAN and PublicAffairs. She lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

A Note to Readers on Style xi

Introduction xiii

Foreword Richard Norton Smith xvii

Martha Dandridge Washington Patricia Brady Richard Norton Smith 1

Abigail Smith Adams Edith Gelles C. James Taylor 14

Martha Wayles Jefferson Catherine Allgor William Seale 25

Dolley Payne Madison Catherine Allgor Edith Mayo 30

Elizabeth Kortright Monroe Daniel Preston Richard Norton Smith 43

Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams Amanda Mathews Richard Norton Smith 51

Rachel Donelson Jackson Patricia Brady Michael Henderson 61

Hannah Hoes Van Buren Patricia Brady Michael Henderson 71

Anna Symmes Harrison Edith Mayo Edna Greene Medford 76

Letitia Christian Tyler Julia Gardiner Tyler Edna Greene Medford Taylor Stoermer 80

Sarah Childress Polk Paul Pinkehnan Conover Hunt 91

Margaret Smith Taylor Paul Finkelman Conover Hunt 99

Abigail Powers Fillmore Paul Finkelman Conover Hunt 103

Jane Appleton Pierce Ann Covell 108

Harriet Lane Ann Covell Feather Schwartz Foster 114

Mary Todd Lincoln Richard Norton Smith Rosalyn Terborg-Penn 120

Eliza McCardle Johnson Jacqueline Berger Kendra Hinkle 129

Julia Dent Grant Pamela Sanfilippo William Seale 140

Lucy Webb Hayes Allida Black Tom Culbertson 150

Lucretia Rudolph Garfield Carl Sferrazza Anthony 161

Ellen Herndon Arthur Carl Sferrazza Anthony 171

Frances Folsom Cleveland Annette Dunlap Taylor Stoermer 176

Caroline Scott Harrison Edith Mayo William Seale 188

Ida Saxton McKinley Carl Sferrazza Anthony Richard Norton Smith 199

Edith Carow Roosevelt Stacy Cordery Kathleen Dalton 212

Helen Herron Taft Jane Hampton Cook Lewis Gould 225

Ellen Axson Wilson Edith Boiling Wilson John Milton Cooper Kristie Miller 237

Florence Kling Harding David Pietrusza Katherine Sibley 251

Grace Goodhue Coolidge Cyndy Bittinger Amity Shlaes 263

Lou Henry Hoover Emily Charnock Annette Dunlap 276

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Allida Black Douglas Brinkley 288

Elizabeth (Bess) Wallace Truman Nicole Anslover William Seale 304

Mamie Doud Eisenhower Marilyn Irvin Holt Edith Mayo 316

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Michael Beschloss Barbara Perry 327

Claudia (Lady Bird) Taylor Johnson Betty Boyd Caroli Cokie Roberts 341

Patricia Ryan Nixon Mary Brennan Timothy Naftali 355

Elizabeth (Betty) Bloomer Ford Richard Norton Smith 368

Rosalynn Smith Carter Jay Hakes Grace Hale 379

Nancy Davis Reagan Carl Cannon Judy Woodruff 389

Barbara Pierce Bush Jeffrey Engel Myra Gutin 401

Hillary Rodham Clinton David Maraniss Gail Sheehy 414

Laura Welch Bush Ann Gerhart Mark Updegrove 427

Michelle Robinson Obama Liza Mundy Krissah Thompson 439

Appendix: Further Information 453

Acknowledgments 455

Index 457

Editorial Reviews

02/23/2015
Stories of Martha Washington knitting socks at the front, Elizabeth Monroe saving Lafayette’s wife from the guillotine, and Grace Coolidge’s soap-throwing raccoon offer an unusual perspective on the women who helped strengthen the country through social and diplomatic networking, personal projects, and other forms of support. Taken from a 2013–14 C-Span series, this chronological account engages pairs of historians—including the exceptional Carl Sferrazza Anthony—in discussing the personality, marriage, passions, and legacy of each first lady, resulting in a fluid, conversational style. These changing voices add depth and expertise, though they also have the occasional habit of refuting elements of previous chapters, especially in instances regarding symbolic “firsts,” a term often shown to be subjective. While the public only paid attention to cyclical White House restoration projects and glamorous social events, the first ladies’ sisterhood frequently included mourning deceased children and mentoring or otherwise supporting one another. This accessible account replaces stodgy depictions of stuffy, untouchable first ladies with the relatable, often tragic stories of the determined women who made it up as they went along, to the benefit of their husbands and country. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"A wonderful read for anyone who loves American history, and especially the genuinely 'inside story' of the various presidencies."–Hugh Hewitt

“This chronological account engages pairs of historians—including the exceptional Carl Sferrazza Anthony—in discussing the personality, marriage, passions, and legacy of each first lady, resulting in a fluid, conversational style...This accessible account replaces stodgy depictions of stuffy, untouchable first ladies with the relatable, often tragic stories of the determined women who made it up as they went along, to the benefit of their husbands and country.”–Publishers Weekly

"An appropriate and valuable examination of the lives and roles played by the 45 women most closely identified with the U.S. presidency…In this time when the role of all women in our society is undergoing a long-overdue sea change, the collection is especially valuable as an illustration of how these women adapted to, and contributed to, the presidents whose lives they shared."–The Washington Times

“The book is a budding history buff's dream (and will likely make its readers the star of good party conversation at Mother's Day brunch).”–The Hill

From the Publisher

2015-01-15
Selections from the popular yearlong C-SPAN series exploring the lives of the first ladies, each offering conversational, somewhat truncated viewpoints by various historians.C-SPAN history consultant and author Richard Norton Smith and moderator and senior manager Swain paired up to create the TV endeavor; this book is the severely edited version. Each first lady appears in an official picture circa her husband's presidential era, and two historians take turns delineating her biography, not necessarily chronologically. A final word from each briefly discusses the lady's "legacy." Due to the need to preserve verbatim the historians' remarks, the editing makes for clunky, disjointed reading, with the effect—more or less intentional—of a conversation rather than a history text. However, each historian offers a depth to his or her subject that helps flesh out these fairly mythical figures who inhabited the White House and give a sense of where she came from and what was truly important to her. These ladies were thrust into a national role, and how they used it to grow is fascinating: Abigail Adams was a prolific and significant writer of letters that provide enormous insight into the Revolution and early national period; savvy entertainer Dolley Madison had to "pinch-hit" as hostess in widower Thomas Jefferson's administration, laying the important connections she would need for her husband's subsequent presidency; Sarah Polk was unusually well-educated in her mid-1800s era and served as her husband's "genuine political partner" (the couple was also the first to be photographed); Lucretia Garfield was the first to keep a diary of her White House days and not to destroy her papers. Several were second wives, most had children, and many lost children, while all were "helpmates" in some fashion. Among the contributing historians are Edith Gelles, Gail Sheehy and David Maraniss. Though presented in a stilted fashion, all the portraits are rendered with sympathy and detail.

Kirkus Review