"Mrs. President": Sarah Childress Polk and Women's Political Power before the Vote

FAIN: FZ-250372-16

Amy Sophia Greenberg
Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA 16802-1503)

The first full-length biography of Sarah Childress Polk (1803-1891), wife of United States President James K. Polk. Mrs. President explains how Polk wielded a degree of political authority unprecedented at the time for a woman, and more broadly considers the workings of female political power in nineteenth-century America.

In a period when women were both disenfranchised and supposedly “unfit” for both politics and business, Sarah Childress Polk (1803-1891) exercised an unprecedented degree of political authority as “Mrs. President,” the wife, political partner, and personal secretary of the eleventh president of the United States. My narrative biography of the first political First Lady, under contract with Alfred A. Knopf Press, is the first full-length biography about a public figure whose experience harnessing the power of submission holds the potential to transform reigning historical narratives about female power before the franchise, and the role of women in American presidential politics.

Associated Products

Reconsidering Women’s Political Power (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Reconsidering Women’s Political Power
Author: Amy S. Greenberg
Abstract: Paper delivered at the annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians, in Providence, RI, describing the manner in which women exercised political power prior to winning the right to vote, focused on my biographical subject, Sarah Childress Polk.
Date: 03/20/2016
Conference Name: Organization of American Historians

Peggy Eaton Reconsidered (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Peggy Eaton Reconsidered
Author: Amy S. Greenberg
Abstract: Paper presented at the University of Pennsylvania McNeil Center Workshop presenting some of the findings in my forthcoming book, "Lady First: The World of Mrs. James K. Polk."
Date: 04/20/2018
Conference Name: McNeil Center Workshop, University of Pennsylvania

Lady First: The World of First Lady Sarah Polk (Book)
Title: Lady First: The World of First Lady Sarah Polk
Author: Amy Sophia Greenberg
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=385354134
Primary URL Description: WorldCat entry (385354134)
Publisher: Knopf
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 385354134

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