From "America's Queen" to "Lady Macbeth": The First Lady, Feminism, and the Construction of Public Womanhood

This thesis uses an analysis of the first ladyships of Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, and Hillary Rodham Clinton to explore the impact of the women?s movement on the historical and political development of the office of the first lady. It argues that each of these women approached the office with a particular strain of feminist thought that allowed them to mold the first ladyship into a public platform in which they could thrive.