"Comparing nationalist and non-nationalist polities in order to establish how these governments differ in their treatment of women and families, Albanese concludes that the efforts of most ethno-nationalist regimes to return women to their 'natural' place in the home as housewives and mothers have been largely unsuccessful. Policies to this effect have provoked considerable opposition by women's groups and individual women, have often been reversed by subsequent governments, and have had little long-term demographic impact. Mothers of the Nation makes an important contribution to the literature on feminism, nationalism, and social and economic policy within a comparative political context."--Jacket.

Annotation Explores the role of right-wing women in the Nazi rise to power.

Cokie Roberts's number one New York Times bestseller, We Are Our Mothers' Daughters, examined the nature of women's roles throughout history and led USA Today to praise her as a "custodian of time-honored values." Her second bestseller, From This Day Forward, written with her husband, Steve Roberts, described American marriages throughout history, including the romance of John and Abigail Adams. Now Roberts returns with Founding Mothers, an intimate and illuminating look at the fervently patriotic and passionate women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families -- and their country -- proved just as crucial to the forging of a new nation as the rebellion that established it. While much has been written about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, battled the British, and framed the Constitution, the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters they left behind have been little noticed by history. Roberts brings us the women who fought the Revolution as valiantly as the men, often defending their very doorsteps. While the men went off to war or to Congress, the women managed their businesses, raised their children, provided them with political advice, and made it possible for the men to do what they did. The behind-the-scenes influence of these women -- and their sometimes very public activities -- was intelligent and pervasive. Drawing upon personal correspondence, private journals, and even favored recipes, Roberts reveals the often surprising stories of these fascinating women, bringing to life the everyday trials and extraordinary triumphs of individuals like Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Read Franklin, Eliza Pinckney, Catherine Littlefield Green, Esther DeBerdt Reed, and Martha Washington -- proving that without our exemplary women, the new country might never have survived. Social history at its best, Founding Mothers unveils the drive, determination, creative insight, and passion of the other patriots, the women who raised our nation. Roberts proves beyond a doubt that like every generation of American women that has followed, the founding mothers used the unique gifts of their gender -- courage, pluck, sadness, joy, energy, grace, sensitivity, and humor -- to do what women do best, put one foot in front of the other in remarkable circumstances and carry on.

Mother of the Nation offers the definitive biography of Clara Evans Muhammad, a Black woman who became the center of an unprecedented racial and religious transformation in the US. Skillfully constructed to illustrate 20th-century racial conditions in America,this thought-provoking biography by Dr. Zakiyyah Muhammad recreates the life and times of an illustrious woman who, in promoting the cause of social justice, became, in the process, the "Mother of the Nation of Islam." It is a superbly researched and fast-moving narrative, based on primary sources and on interviews with those who knew her personally, exploring both Clara's public and private life, including her relationships with her husband, her family, and her friends. This Volume One of a three-part series chronicles the formative years (1899-1930) of Sister Clara's life. She was born within a close-knit Christian family during a period in which lynchings, social oppression and deadly racial riots were common occurrences throughout both the South and the North. For Clara, the Church was not only the center of social life but an emotional experience. She liked spirituals and had a beautiful singing voice. She was inspired by Black preachers such as Henry McNeal Turner and others who used Bible revelation in an attempt to rebuild family lives disintegrated by slavery and Jim Crow. It was in the spring of 1917 at a church social that Clara met him, and everything changed...the air, her breathing, her steps, and her heart. His name was Elijah Poole. He was handsome, sensitive and dirt poor. At 6:00 every Sunday evening, Elijah would come a courtin'. However, Quartus Evans was not going to have his daughter marry "down", and there was nothing Elijah could do to convince him of his suitability. By age 20, Clara was determined to marry Elijah, against objections of her parents. On a cold Georgia night, she climbed out of a window of her parent's home and eloped. They were married on March 17, 1919, a marriage based on faith, and with only love between them. In February 1921, a healthy baby boy was born, bringing reconciliation to her parents and additional comfort to her and Elijah. Looking for relief from lynchings, injustice and discrimination, Clara and Elijah became part of the Great Migration. In 1923, they arrived in Detroit, with 2 children and Clara pregnant. However, their poverty became so debilitating, with Elijah out of work and inebriated daily ("I was a drunk and my wife had to carry me home"), that Clara even contemplated suicide and infanticide. Then, a friend took her to a meeting to hear the "Teachings" of a mystic spiritual teacher named Wallace D. Fard. Clara, hoping "this will help my husband," took Elijah to hear the "Teachings", and thus laid the foundation of what would become The Nation of Islam. Eventually, Clara Muhammad, wife of a formidable spiritual leader, would develop an edifying program for Black women focusing on cultural changes in diet, dress, etiquette and racial pride. It would transform Black womanhood and family life and erase the staggering effects of racism on their psyche. Her lifelong struggle for the dignity and self-respect of African American women makes for memorable reading. Of particular interest is the description of Clara's "stand" against authorities who visited her when she refused to send her children to "the Devil's schools." A forerunner of Home Schooling, Clara initiated an independent Black educational institution. Later, she would administer the "Nation" during her husband's imprisonment, and introduce the Holy Qur'an into the US prison system. Pivoting from the biggest questions about American history to the most intimate concerns of a mother for her husband, children and people, Mother of the Nation offers an insightful perspective for understanding our nation's racial history and its current social crisis.

"Lihle Ngcobozi, herself the progeny of three generations of Manyano women, takes an original, fresh look at the meaning of the Manyano. Between male-dominated struggle narratives and Western feminist misreadings, this church-based women's organisation has become a mere footnote to history.Here, the Manyano women speak for themselves, in an African feminist meditation rendered by one of their own"--Provided by Publisher.

'A fascinating exploration into the lives of three women ignored by history ... Eye-opening, engrossing' Brit Bennett, bestselling author of The Vanishing Half In her groundbreaking debut, Anna Malaika Tubbs tells the incredible, moving story of three women who raised three world-changing men.