The role of international diplomat developed for first ladies post–World War II. Although Edith Wilson and Eleanor Roosevelt set precedents, Jacqueline Kennedy solidified protocols for diplomatic behavior during the Cold War. First ladies use soft diplomacy as a counterbalance to military policy to advance civil society and democracy. This chapter examines travel as state diplomacy, skill in interpersonal relationship building, fashion and cultural diplomacy, and issue-based negotiation. Analysis includes Pat Nixon’s humanitarian travel and support of détente with China, Rosalynn Carter as surrogate president in Latin America and encourager of Middle East peace, Nancy Reagan as promoter of US–Soviet relations to end the Cold War, Hillary Clinton as a champion of women’s rights as human rights, Laura Bush’s support for Afghan women and girls, and Michelle Obama’s international efforts to promote girls’ education. These exemplary women indicate the power of first ladies to advance progress in education, health, foreign policy, and human rights.

Electronic media use by first ladies dates to the 1930s when Lou Hoover delivered her first radio address. The development of radio and television—and later social media—placed a greater emphasis on image and personality, giving first ladies the opportunity to be heard as well as seen, and in some cases offering them more control over their messaging. This chapter looks at several notable examples of how first ladies strategically used—and in some cases misused—electronic media to shape their public image, support their husband’s programs, and advocate for their own causes.

“Trendsetter” first ladies show new ways of modeling femininity in a given era, often through attention to the visual. Because women in public long have been expected to be seen and not heard, fashion and image historically have provided a way of communicating nonverbally. Thus, first ladies who were considered trendsetters typically circulated new “looks” or images to a given public, drawing from the culture in which they operated to influence norms around femininity, beauty, and celebrity. This chapter assesses seven first ladies for their visual influence. Dolley Madison (1809-1817), Julia Tyler (1844-1845), and Frances Cleveland (1886-89, 1893-97) were the most notable of the nineteenth-century first ladies who found themselves positioned as style icons. Following in their footsteps were Mamie Eisenhower (1952-1960), Jacqueline Kennedy (1960-1963), Nancy Reagan (1980-1988), and Michelle Obama (2008-2016), who each leveraged the trendsetter role during their time in the White House.

In 235 years, only about two dozen women have experienced the role of “mourner in chief” as current or former first ladies grieving a presidential husband. This chapter examines the performances of six of these women in different historical contexts and under very different circumstances: Martha Washington, Mary Lincoln, Lucretia Garfield, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Nancy Reagan. This analysis considers first ladies’ performances of mourning during presidents’ illness or assassination; funerals and memorial services; and the expanse of time for which they survived their husbands. Through these case studies, the authors consider how a first lady’s mourning can shape her husband’s legacy, and what it can teach us about how Americans grieve.

In 1960, Mailer published his famous essay on JFK, “Superman Comes to the Supermarket,” a defining and significant contribution to New Journalism. The essay frames JFK as a kind of existential hero and a beacon of hope for America’s future, and is representative of the lasting influence Kennedy had on Mailer’s political views and conceptions of America, the American Dream, and American masculinity. Much of The Presidential Papers, a miscellany of writings published in 1964, is also devoted to the Kennedys, and the figure of JFK haunts more than one of Mailer’s later works as well.