This volume explores more than two centuries of literature on the First Ladies, from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama, providing the first historiographical overview of these important women in U.S. history.

• Underlines the growing scholarly appreciation of the First Ladies and the evolution of the position since the 18th century
• Explores the impact of these women not only on White House responsibilities, but on elections, presidential policies, social causes, and in shaping their husbands’ legacies
• Brings the First Ladies into crisp historiographical focus, assessing how these women and their contributions have been perceived both in popular literature and scholarly debate
• Provides concise biographical treatments for each First Lady

Katherine A.S. Sibley is Professor of History at Saint Joseph’s University, USA. She is the author of four books, most recently First Lady Florence Harding: Behind the Tragedy and Controversy (2009) and Red Spies in America: Stolen Secrets and the Dawn of the Cold War (2004). She was the editor of A Companion to Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover (Wiley Blackwell, 2014), and serves on the editorial board of American Communist History as well as on the Historical Advisory Committee for the US State Department.