Читать книгу First Ladies For Dummies - Marcus A. Stadelmann, Marcus A. Stadelmann PhD - Страница 13

Most of the 47 First Ladies in this book are famous because of the men they married. However, most First Ladies also impacted their husband’s lives and directly and indirectly made significant contributions to U.S. history. From Martha Washington (Chapter 3) traveling with the Continental Army and improving soldiers’ morale to Mary Todd Lincoln (Chapter 9) encouraging her husband to run for political office, in turn saving the Union, to Helen Taft (Chapter 12) pushing her husband to become president, American history wouldn’t have been the same without the country’s First Ladies.

Until recently, it was believed that First Ladies mattered and held their jobs only because their husbands had become president. That is true by definition but doesn’t explain the whole story. Many claim that First Ladies owe their space in history to the men they married and that they didn’t contribute much to the history and evolution of the United States. For them, First Ladies were basically footnotes in history. This is clearly wrong.