09/25/2023

FLARE founders--Diana Carlin, Anita McBride, and Nancy Kegan Smith--formally release their new textbook.

Making History and Leaving Legacies: First Textbook on U.S. First Ladies Now Available to Educators

Washington, D.C. (September 25, 2023) – The nation’s first textbook focusing on the transformational legacies of the wives of America’s Presidents is now available to college level students and educators across the United States. U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies is authored by three founding members of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE) and published by Cognella Academic Publishing. FLARE was launched in 2021 in affiliation with American University’s School of Public Affairs, First Ladies Initiative.

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden wrote the textbook's foreword noting the stories of First Ladies are critical to understanding America’s history. 

“At American University, we have a long history of promoting America’s first ladies in their roles in the presidency and history,” said AU President Sylvia Burwell. “U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies, the first textbook to offer a comprehensive review of their impact and explore the overall evolution of the role, is a welcomed addition to this important scholarship and learning. This textbook is authored by three of the nation’s preeminent experts, including American University’s Anita McBride, who launched AU’s Legacies of America’s First Ladies Initiative, the only university initiative dedicated to studying the influence and legacies of America’s first ladies.”

The 320-page volume fills a gap in academic literature and examines how First Ladies have influenced American society, public policy, politics, diplomacy, and life in the White House. The textbook’s authors are Diana B. Carlin, Professor Emerita of Communication at Saint Louis University; Anita B. McBride, Director of AU'S First Ladies Initiative and former chief of staff to Laura Bush; and Nancy Kegan Smith, former Director of the Presidential Materials Division of the National Archives and Records Administration. 

"This groundbreaking moment is the result of an innovative collaboration between my
distinguished co-authors and the students and faculty at several universities who played an instrumental role in piloting the book,” said Anita McBride, Executive in Residence at American University. “Our new textbook, a first in the field of first ladies studies, tells the story of the contributions of these women who helped shape our country's history and the U.S. presidency."

First Ladies are not elected officials, nor do they have constitutional or statutory authority. However, the causes they choose to promote have a profound impact on the lives of people in the U.S. and around the world. The Office of the First Lady supports the President’s agenda while establishing an independent voice that shapes public opinion and raises awareness about issues in society that can include civil rights and race, education and health, women’s rights, arts and culture, conservation and historic preservation, and international relations.

The textbook features profiles of the lives and legacies of U.S. presidential wives who were at their husband’s side –from Martha Washington to Jill Biden and how they influenced the development and evolution of the role of First Lady. It encourages students to learn about the unique journeys of the women behind the title, and offers thematic chapters that include First Ladies’ actions on topics such as civil rights, their significant speeches and communication strategies, and their political activism. The book also documents the important social changes that First Ladies have encouraged through their work while in the White House, as well as the establishment of organizations that carry on their work and sustain their contributions. 

Each chapter puts an emphasis on student research activities and features important additional readings that are comprised of primary resource materials and lists for further reading. In addition, each chapter offers specific classroom objectives, a glossary of key terms, a chronology of significant historical events, and opportunities for reflection.

About First Ladies Association for Research and Education

FLARE’s mission is to create and sustain a network to promote and publicize research and education about the contributions, lives. Impacts, and lasting legacies of U.S. First Ladies. FLARE serves as the primary association to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and outreach among scholars, institutions, first ladies’ staff, biographers, archivists, journalists, and public historians interested in research and education about the lasting legacies of U.S. First Ladies.

About American University School of Public Affairs

American University’s School of International Service (SIS) is a top-10 school of international affairs. Located in Washington, DC, SIS prepares 3,000 graduate and undergraduate students annually for global service in government, nonprofits, and business—and connects them to an active international network of more than 20,000 alumni. Our students graduate prepared to combine knowledge with practice and wage peace in our world.