First Ladies For Dummies. Marcus A. Stadelmann, PhD

240

      235  241

      236  242

      237  243

      238  244

      239  245

      240  246

      241  247

      242  248

      243  249

      244 250

      245  251

      246  252

      247  253

      248  254

      249  255

      250  256

      251  257

      252  258

      253  259

      254  260

      255  261

      256  262

      257  263

      258  264

      259  265

      260  266

      261  267

      262  268

      263  269

      264  270

      265  271

      266  272

      267  273

      268  274

      269  275

      270  276

      271  277

      272  278

      273  279

      274  280

      275  281

      276  282

      277  283

      278  285

      279  286

      280  287

      281  288

      282  289

      283  290

      284  291

      285  292

      286  293

      287  294

      288  295

      289  296

      290  297

      291  298

      292  299

      293  300

      294  301

      295  302

      296  303

      297  305

      298  306

      299  307

      300  308

      301  309

      302  311

      303 312

      304 313

      305 314

      306 315

      307 316

      308 317

      309 318

      310 319

      311 320

      312 321

      313 322

      314  323

      315  324

Introduction

      Over the last 232 years, the United States has had 47 First Ladies. While presidents have dominated U.S. politics and history, most of our First Ladies are relatively unknown. The U.S. public might know about the most recent First Ladies, such as Michelle Obama, Melania Trump, or Dr. Jill Biden, and/or the most famous ones, such as Eleanor Roosevelt. However, most people are unfamiliar with many of the U.S. First Ladies.

      While almost every American can name the current president, significantly fewer can name the current First Lady. Public school curricula and college courses focus on the U.S. presidents and not First Ladies. Academic books and autobiographies on American presidents and their administrations are readily available and fill many shelves in bookstores. Not so for First Ladies. The first memoirs of a First Lady didn’t hit the bookshelves until the 20th century.

      However, things have been changing. First Ladies are usually more popular than presidents and receive more media attention. Now, First Lady memoirs sell better than presidential memoirs. The media, beginning in the 1960s, started to spend more time disseminating information on the virtues and shortcomings of First Ladies. Then, in the 1980s, academics even started to rank First Ladies, and for the first time, their importance in American politics became well known. Select universities even offer college courses on First Ladies, and TV specials on First Ladies have begun to appear.

      This book covers all 47 First Ladies — from the beginning of the republic in 1789 to the present time — in one place and makes it so you don’t have to read 47 separate books just to read about the U.S. First Ladies. It shows how, over time, First Ladies have changed and the institution of the First Lady has also undergone changes. This work shows the slow transformation of the office of the First Lady to a powerful institution within the White House. Some First Ladies, such as Rosalynn Carter, played such a large role in their husband’s administration that they were referred to as co-presidents.

      Clearly, the time has come to study First Ladies. I am excited to share with you the histories and stories of these unique women.

About This Book

      This book is neither a textbook nor an autobiography; it combines the best elements of both. It won’t bore you with little tedious facts or a lot of narrative. It doesn’t shower you with a mass of statistics that prove to you what you already know. The information on the First Ladies gets to the point, highlighting only the major events in a First Lady’s life.

      The book covers all 47 U.S. First Ladies in chronological order. Some First Ladies have an entire chapter to themselves; others are grouped together. I detail some basic personal information for each First Lady, and I also cover some major events that took place during her tenure.

      I designed this book to give a solid foundation on the First Ladies, whether you’re studying political science, writing a paper, or reading for pleasure. I tried to make the book entertaining by including little-known tidbits. So whether you’re a history buff, a student, or just someone interested in America’s First Ladies, this book is for you. My hope is that this book will prove one point: The history