On the morning of William Howard Taft's inauguration, Nellie Taft publicly expressed that theirs would be a joint presidency by shattering precedent and demanding that she ride alongside her husband down Pennsylvania Avenue, a tradition previously held for the outgoing president. In an era before Eleanor Roosevelt, this progressive First Lady was an advocate for higher education and partial suffrage for women, and initiated legislation to improve working conditions for federal employees. She smoked, drank, and gambled without regard to societal judgment, and she freely broke racial and...
On the morning of William Howard Taft's inauguration, Nellie Taft publicly expressed that theirs would be a joint presidency by shattering preceden...
Published in cooperation with The National First Ladies Library
This is the first full-length biography of Ida Saxton McKinley (1847- 1907), the wife of William McKinley, president of the United States from 1897 to his assassination in 1901. Long demeaned by history because she suffered from epilepsy--which the society of her era mistakenly believed to border on mental illness--Ida McKinley was an exceptional woman who exerted a strong influence on her husband's political decisions.
Born in Canton, Ohio, Ida Saxton was the eldest of three children....
Published in cooperation with The National First Ladies Library
This is the first full-length biography of Ida Saxton McK...
