American First Ladies is a response to the increasingly visible role that First Ladies have played in U.S. government as well as the increasing interest in women’s achievements from the birth of the United States to the present time. The book is designed to meet the needs of college and high school students and those seeking information about both U.S. history and women’s history. Designed as a companion to Salem’s
American Presidents, Second Revised Edition
(2 vols., 2006),
American First Ladies
presents a biographical essay on each of the First Ladies in U.S. history. The book is arranged chronologically, and an
Alphabetical List of First Ladies
also helps readers find their chosen profile. The volume opens with a Foreword on the role of First Ladies by former Maryland First Lady Frances Hughes Glendening and an Introduction to the book by the Editor, Robert P. Watson. Biographical essays on the First Ladies, including family members who acted in that role for bachelor or widowed Presidents, follow in chronological order by administration. The biographical chapters are formatted to help readers find specific information. Birth and death dates and locations appear at the beginning of each essay. The main text is further divided into sections:
Early Life
deals with family and educational background;
Marriage and Family
discusses the First Lady’s relationship with the president;
Presidency and First Ladyship
covers the First Lady’s years in the White House; and
Legacy
provides additional insights into those activities and accomplishments for which the First Lady became known, covering her time during and after the White House. A key feature of the volume is the 100 boxed sidebars, which are essays-within-essays. Each biographical chapter features two such sidebars: one discusses the President, assisting the reader in placing the First Lady’s biography into historical context, while the other focuses on a fascinating episode or anecdote about the First Lady herself, highlighting an event or quality for which she is known or with which she is associated. A section of nine overviews examining the historical and changing roles of First Ladies concludes the main text:
Presidential Partners,

White House Manager,

Nation’s Social Hostess,

First Ladies and Social Causes,

First Ladies and Presidential Campaigns,

First Ladies and Policy Issues,

First Ladies and Legislative Activism,

Family Life in the White House,
and
Other White House Hostesses.
These overviews also include sidebars, describing topics such as White House renovation attempts.