Robert P. Watson¿s groundbreaking study on the presidents¿ wives proved that the first lady can be an influential force in presidential politics and is a subject worthy of scholarly attention. Now, this fully revised second edition incorporates the first ladyships of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama in each chapter. The new edition also includes a decade-and-a-half of new research on public opinion, the growth and political development of the East Wing, and the issue of first lady character.

Traces the development of the First Lady's role from obscurity into an influential force in politics, complete with office, staff and budgetary resources to rival those of key presidential advisors. The author also explores the paradoxes surrounding activism in the office.

At once funny and poignant, dramatic and illuminating, this anecdotal history covers every First Lady from Martha Washington to Hillary Rodham Clinton. "A marvelously entertaining work".--"Newsday".

Their personalities often set the tone for Washington society, from Julia Tyler’s open hospitality to Sarah Polk’s somber religious devotion. Some, like Abigail Adams, had little formal schooling. Others, such as Pat Nixon and Hillary Clinton, earned college degrees. There were those who outlived their spouses as well as women who died before seeing their husbands realize their presidential dreams. In spite of differing circumstances, these presidential wives influenced—sometimes overtly and often inadvertently—everything from domestic political agendas to foreign policy through their relationships with their husbands. From Martha Washington to Laura Bush, this book discusses the lives and circumstances of the 47 women who have been married to an American president. It emphasizes the relationship each wife had with her husband and the ways in which this contributed to the success or failure of his presidency. Details include birthplace, upbringing, political viewpoints and final resting place. Chapters are also included on women such as Hannah Van Buren and Jane Wyman, who although married to men who eventually became president, never became first lady.

Offers brief biographies of the wives of the Presidents from Martha Washington to Nancy Reagan.

From Martha Washington to Laura Bush, the wife of each U.S. president has found her place in history, often setting trends and doing important work for the nation. This reference work traces the lineage of all presidents' wives, arranged alphabetically from Abigail Adams to Jane Wyman. Genealogy reveals that some of the women are connected to one another through common ancestry, sometimes even through royal blood--for example, the bloodlines of Laura Bush and Abigail Adams join at King Henry II and can then be traced to King Pepin the Short, born in 714. Several others can be traced back to King John, William the Conqueror, Charlemagne, and Lady Godiva. Clearly organized and easy to use, the work includes not only ancestors but offspring, listing children and grandchildren for each woman. Dates of birth, death, and marriage of ancestors, children and grandchildren are included where known.

As the West Wing has grown in power and organizational complexity during the modern presidency, so has the East Wing, office home to the First Lady of the United States. This groundbreaking work by MaryAnne Borrelli offers both theoretical and substantive insight into behind-the-scenes developments from the time of Lou Henry Hoover to the unfolding tenure of Michelle Robinson Obama. Political scientists and historians have recognized the personal influence the First Lady can exercise with her husband, and they have noted the moral, ethical, and sometimes policy leadership certain presidents’ wives have offered. Nonetheless, scholars and commentators alike have treated the personal relationship and the professional relationship as overlapping. Borrelli offers a compelling counter-perspective: that the president’s wife exercises power intrinsic to her role within the administration. Like others within the presidency, she has sometimes presented the president’s views to constituents and sometimes presented constituents’ views to the president, thus taking on a representative function within the system. In mediating president-constituent relationships, she has given a historical and social frame to the presidency that has enhanced its symbolic representation; she has served as a gender role model, enriching descriptive representation in the executive branch; and she has participated in policy initiatives to strengthen an administration’s substantive representation. These contributions have been controversial, as might be predicted for a gender outsider, but they have unquestionably made the First Lady a representative of and to the president and, by extension, the president’s administration.