The Presidential Companion: Readings on the First Ladies

Abstract

Bringing together the work of notable historians, political scientists, and sociologists, this text offers a collection of essays that demonstrate the political relevance of first ladies throughout U.S. history and the dramatic expansion of their power during the 20th century. With a preface by Hillary Clinton's former chief of staff, Melanne Verveer, this anthology attempts to fill a gap in scholarship about the position of first lady and reveals the political acumen and activism of a number of the unofficial office holders. The contributors reveal how the office has grown in political influence, from Martha Washington's selection of furnishings for the presidential mansion to Hillary Rodham Clinton's leadership of the President's Task Force on National Health Care Reform. They offer chapters on presidential wives who have changed the nature of the office of first lady and which explore issues that have affected the first ladies' use of the bully pulpit. The book underscores the notion that an understanding of presidential spouses is central to the study of the American presidency. At the same time the volume dispels the myth that Eleanor Roosevelt and her successors have been the only presidential spouses to make significant public and political contributions to the nation.