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Review
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First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Laura Bush. Betty
Boyd Caroli. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press,
2003. 447 pages, $17.95 paper.
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In First Ladies, Caroli carefully situates the biographies
of the women who have served as First Lady of the United States
within their proper historical context. Establishing historical
perspective enables the author to trace how changes in the role
of the First Lady paralleled changes in the status of American women.
Over twelve chapters and two hundred years, the role of First Lady
evolves from glorified hostess to active public servant. This is
the second update of Caroli's monograph, first published in 1987.
A new chapter analyzes the legacy of Hillary Clinton and introduces
Laura Bush, while the chapter on relations with the press and conclusions
have been expanded to include contributions on the two most recent
First Ladies. Throughout this well-written and interesting work,
Caroli makes a convincing case that the lives and choices of the
women privy to the highest levels of American politics cannot be
understood apart from the lives and choices of their contemporaries.
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Caroli's introduction sets the stage
for what follows. Although she labels her thesis unsurprising, Caroli's
contention that "individual First Ladies have reflected the
status of American women of their time while helping shape expectations
of what women can properly do" is her most valuable contribution
(xxi). Too often modern scholars criticize historical actors
for not contesting social constraints. By placing the actions of
presidents' wives squarely within the expectations of their contemporaries,
Caroli emphasizes how circumscribed their choices often were, and
what consequences acting against conventions had for their lives
and for their husbands' political careers. Although these women
have been defined in terms of their husbands, Caroli works to establish
them as individuals who made choices. While many of them shared
two characteristics, a pattern of early exposure to politics and
social backgrounds superior to those of their husbands, all First
Ladies faced enormous public attention when their husbands became
president. Some wives decided to minimize this attention by not
acting as First Lady, choosing substitutes to act in their stead.
In the first few chapters, readers learn that "First Ladies"
were not always the wives of presidents; sisters, daughters, daughters-in-law,
and nieces also filled the role, either in lieu of a president's
wife or as a substitute for her.
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Caroli is at her best when relating
details such as these, highlighting the achievements and legacies
of lesser-known First Ladies. Lucretia Garfield, for example, who
chose to surrender her independence in favor of her husband's career,
showed a remarkable sense of her place in history when she deliberately
preserved correspondence that documented a troubled phase of her
marriage. However, Caroli too often assumes prior knowledge when
discussing women whom she deems better known. Assuming her readers
are well aware of the incident, she mentions Eartha Kitt's attack
on Lady Bird Johnson without including the First Lady's response
(241); readers who want to know more must follow up with the endnote
directing them to a 1968 New York Times article (Note 85,
413). In spite of a few other disappointments, such as endnotes
instead of a more convenient bibliography, teachers should find
this volume a useful and convenient source of biographical information
on First Ladies. As assigned reading in college-level courses, Caroli's
work can provide a counterweight to a male-dominated political narrative.
College or high school instructors who are bound to stricter content
can, when lecturing about presidents, use the lives of their wives
to discuss the roles and expectations of women. Guided by the new
edition, high school teachers can make "First Lady" watching
a part of their current-events curriculum, and discuss how recent
events will influence the legacies of Hillary Clinton and Laura
Bush. Caroli's work also poses very interesting questions for class
debate. How will the role of the First Lady change in the twenty-first
century? Should Congress vote to compensate the First Lady for her
traditionally unpaid labor? And most intriguing, what will the role
of the spouse of the president be when we elect a woman to the presidency?
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University of Washington
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Rachel Hays Williams
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