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The Resource Lady first : the world of first lady Sarah Polk, Amy S. Greenberg

Lady first : the world of first lady Sarah Polk, Amy S. Greenberg

Creator
Author
Summary
"While the Woman's Rights convention was taking place at Seneca Falls in 1848, First Lady Sarah Childress Polk was wielding influence unprecedented for a woman in Washington, D.C. Yet while history remembers the women of the convention, it has all but forgotten Sarah Polk. Now, Amy S. Greenberg's riveting biography brings Sarah's story into vivid focus. We meet Sarah as the daughter of a frontiersman who raised her to discuss politics and business with men. We see the savvy and charm she brandished to help her brilliant but unlikeable husband, James K. Polk, ascend to the White House. We watch as she exercises truly extraordinary power as First Lady: quietly manipulating elected officials, shaping foreign policy, and directing a campaign in support of America's expansionist war against Mexico. And we meet many of the enslaved men and women whose difficult labor made Sarah's political success possible. Lady First also shines a light on Sarah's many contradictions. While her marriage to James was one of equals, she firmly opposed the feminist movement's demands for what she perceived to be far-reaching equality. She banned dancing and hard liquor from the White House, but did more entertaining than any of her predecessors. During the Civil War, she worked on behalf of the Confederacy even though she claimed to be neutral. And in the late nineteenth century, she became a celebrity among female Christian temperance reformers, while she struggled to redeem her husband's tarnished political legacy. Sarah Polk's life spanned nearly the entirety of the nineteenth century, and her legacy, which profoundly transformed the South, continues to endure. Comprehensive, nuanced, and brimming with invaluable insight, Lady First is a revelation of our eleventh First Lady's complex but essential part in American feminism."--Jacket
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xxiii, 369 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates
Note
"This is a Borzoi Book."
Contents
  • Preface: Mrs. Polk's 1848
  • Blackboard, maps, and globes
  • A salon in Washington
  • Communications director
  • Female politicians
  • Mrs. Presidentess
  • The power of American women to save their country
  • That fine manly lady
  • Profit and loss
  • Neutral ground
  • Influence
  • Epilogue: Love makes memory eternal
  • The Childress family
  • The Polk family
Isbn
9780385354134
Instance
Label
Lady first : the world of first lady Sarah Polk
Title
Lady first
Title remainder
the world of first lady Sarah Polk
Statement of responsibility
Amy S. Greenberg
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"While the Woman's Rights convention was taking place at Seneca Falls in 1848, First Lady Sarah Childress Polk was wielding influence unprecedented for a woman in Washington, D.C. Yet while history remembers the women of the convention, it has all but forgotten Sarah Polk. Now, Amy S. Greenberg's riveting biography brings Sarah's story into vivid focus. We meet Sarah as the daughter of a frontiersman who raised her to discuss politics and business with men. We see the savvy and charm she brandished to help her brilliant but unlikeable husband, James K. Polk, ascend to the White House. We watch as she exercises truly extraordinary power as First Lady: quietly manipulating elected officials, shaping foreign policy, and directing a campaign in support of America's expansionist war against Mexico. And we meet many of the enslaved men and women whose difficult labor made Sarah's political success possible. Lady First also shines a light on Sarah's many contradictions. While her marriage to James was one of equals, she firmly opposed the feminist movement's demands for what she perceived to be far-reaching equality. She banned dancing and hard liquor from the White House, but did more entertaining than any of her predecessors. During the Civil War, she worked on behalf of the Confederacy even though she claimed to be neutral. And in the late nineteenth century, she became a celebrity among female Christian temperance reformers, while she struggled to redeem her husband's tarnished political legacy. Sarah Polk's life spanned nearly the entirety of the nineteenth century, and her legacy, which profoundly transformed the South, continues to endure. Comprehensive, nuanced, and brimming with invaluable insight, Lady First is a revelation of our eleventh First Lady's complex but essential part in American feminism."--Jacket
Biography type
contains biographical information
Cataloging source
PUL
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1968-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Greenberg, Amy S.
Dewey number
  • 973.6/1092
  • B
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • maps
  • plates
Index
index present
LC call number
E417.1
LC item number
.G74 2019
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Polk, Sarah Childress
  • Presidents' spouses
  • Governors' spouses
  • United States
  • Polk, Sarah Childress
  • Governors' spouses
  • Politics and government
  • Presidents' spouses
  • Tennessee
  • United States
Label
Lady first : the world of first lady Sarah Polk, Amy S. Greenberg
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Note
"This is a Borzoi Book."
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-355) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Preface: Mrs. Polk's 1848 -- Blackboard, maps, and globes -- A salon in Washington -- Communications director -- Female politicians -- Mrs. Presidentess -- The power of American women to save their country -- That fine manly lady -- Profit and loss -- Neutral ground -- Influence -- Epilogue: Love makes memory eternal -- The Childress family -- The Polk family
Control code
on1028606805
Dimensions
25 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xxiii, 369 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780385354134
Lccn
2018010748
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
40028891512
Other physical details
illustrations, map
Label
Lady first : the world of first lady Sarah Polk, Amy S. Greenberg
Publication
Copyright
Note
"This is a Borzoi Book."
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-355) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Preface: Mrs. Polk's 1848 -- Blackboard, maps, and globes -- A salon in Washington -- Communications director -- Female politicians -- Mrs. Presidentess -- The power of American women to save their country -- That fine manly lady -- Profit and loss -- Neutral ground -- Influence -- Epilogue: Love makes memory eternal -- The Childress family -- The Polk family
Control code
on1028606805
Dimensions
25 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xxiii, 369 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780385354134
Lccn
2018010748
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
40028891512
Other physical details
illustrations, map

Subject

Genre

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