Anthony J. Eksterowicz will publish his book
on the Office of the First Lady in spring 2002.

Political science professor researches first ladies in Presidential Companions

Over the years, presidential wives have shaped the Office of First Lady as they presided at social events, advised presi-dents on Cabinet appointments, testified before Congress on policy matters and traveled abroad as presidential envoys.

"Because it is not a defined office, it is ripe for being de-fined by the personalities who inhabit it," says political science professor Anthony J. Ekstero-wicz, who believes study of the Office of the First Lady is long overdue.

Eksterowicz and fellow scholar, Robert Watson of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, have compiled a collection of articles on first ladies that will be published in 2002 by the University of South Carolina Press. Eksterowicz views the book, The Presidential Companion: Readings on the First Ladies, as a supplement to college textbooks until improved government and political science texts give the subject more attention. The professors found most American government textbooks offer very little or only anecdotal information on first ladies.

JMU political scientists contributing to the reader include professors Kay Knick-rehm and Robin Teske, who wrote First Ladies and Policy Making: Crossing the Public/ Private Divide, and professor Glenn Hastedt, who wrote First Ladies and U.S. Foreign Policy.

Working on the book also heightened Eksterowicz's respect for the office and the women who have contributed to its development. Dolley Madison, the first president's wife to be referred to as "first lady," is one of the women that the professor admires more the more he studies her.

"Dolley Madison was the first dynamic first lady," says Eksterowicz. Her propensity for conversation and social events balanced her husband's introverted personality. "Dolley understood that the presidency was a rather weak office when her husband was inaugurated in 1809," Eksterowicz adds. "She realized she had to find a way to further her husband's agenda, and the way to do that was to communicate. One way to do that was to have Federalists and Republicans come together at her famous 'Wednesday drawing rooms,' which were similar to modern cocktail parties. Dolley is also credited with being the first person to make the White House 'our house.' She set the stage for others who would follow."

Seemingly small developments, such as establishing the first official letterhead for the Office of the First Lady, have advanced the professionalism of the office. "But it is still hard to compare the early first ladies with modern first ladies because you are comparing apples and oranges," the professor explains.

He points to now-Senator Hillary Clinton, who headed presidential task forces; Rosalyn Carter, who presided over mental-health reform; Eleanor Roosevelt, who briefly served as head of the Office of Civil Defense; and Lady Bird Johnson, whom he describes as "the first great environmentalist first lady," as strong examples of modern, activist first ladies.

"There is even a monumental difference between the Office of First Lady today and what it was in the 1950s," says Eksterowicz. He believes that "all the other first ladies set the stage for the integration that has developed between the Office of the First Lady and the White House."

While currently on academic leave, Eksterowicz is finishing his book and planning to teach a new course on the first lady this fall.

"I think it's the ultimate patriotic story," he says. "I'm so enthralled with the study because many positive things have developed for the role of the first lady."

  By Janet Smith ('81) with Marisa Domenech ('01)