Launch of New Journal Is Dedicated to Boosting Scholarship of First Ladies
‘The Journal of First Ladies Studies,’ a flagship publication by the First Ladies Association for Research and Education, reexamines First Lady Mamie Eisenhower in its inaugural issue.
A new scholarly publication exclusively dedicated to assessing the impact of American first ladies debuted Saturday with two peer-reviewed articles about former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower.
The First Ladies Association for Research and Education released the inaugural, online issue of The Journal of First Ladies Studies designed to advance research on the lives, influence and historical impact of presidential spouses.
For decades, scholars studying first ladies have faced difficulty trying to publish research in history journals that focus broadly on time periods or geographic areas.
“There wasn’t really any dedicated scholarly space for people who work on first ladies,” Christopher J. Leahy, Ph.D., editor of the journal and Professor of History at Keuka College, tells East Wing Magazine in a recent Zoom interview. “That was one of the things that I thought we needed to do was essentially establish a flagship journal with the mission of building the field of First Ladies Studies.”
The American presidency has long been the focus of extensive research led by mostly men. The journal represents an important marker in the growing field of historical scholarship. In recent years, scholars have unearthed crucial archival information about the wives of presidents that provides crucial insight into the lives of these iconic women, their husbands and their own political and cultural contributions in addition to their specific contributions to the White House and role of first lady.
“The presidency has been a partnership since Martha Washington arrived in New York and the new president handed her a list of duties and events to oversee,” said Diana B. Carlin, Ph.D., president of FLARE in a press release. “The wives of presidents have contributed to shaping the new country and have impacted our history since 1789. FLARE’s journal is a new way to recognize those contributions and make first ladies’ legacies better known.”
The inaugural issue includes two original scholarly articles examining the evolving public roles of first ladies across American history and both focus on First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. The articles, according to FLARE, reflect the growing scholarly interest in mid-20th century women’s history and the development of the modern public role of presidential spouses.
The article “Housepower: Mamie Eisenhower’s Hidden Hand Partnerships,” authored by Sharon Williams Leahy, an independent scholar, explores Mrs. Eisenhower’s collaborations with entrepreneurs that shaped entire American industries. In particular, Leahy’s work reassesses the significance of “Mamie Pink.”
And, “Making Mamie: How a Presidential Library Reinvented the Collective Memory of a First Lady,” authored by Teri Finneman, a professor in the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas, examines the 2018-2019 renovations at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas, which made the first lady a central character in its story. Finneman maintains that a more modern version of Mrs. Eisenhower has begun to take shape in the collective memory.
The articles, together, prompt a reappraisal of Mrs. Eisenhower and, Christopher Leahy hopes, a reevaluation of her in the current historiography.
“We have this image of her, and traditionally the image of her has been that she was a housewife very much in keeping with the 1950s mentality of women being in the home,” he says. “Both of these articles really chart a new course for the interpretation of Mamie Eisenhower because both of them argue that viewing her as just a housewife is not an appropriate way to view her.”
The free-access, online journal resides on the FLARE website. The cover, a design refined by Ashly Dumbleton, includes the full-length White House portraits of U.S. first ladies against a rich lavender background. The individual images, Christopher Leahy says, allows readers to see how the women dressed and how their presentations evolved over time.
“The one thing I really appreciate [about the journal] is a different perspective on the first lady and that’s very powerful to me,” says Dumbleton. “I think that’s really important for the world to know.”
The second issue of The Journal of First Ladies Studies is slated for fall 2026. FLARE also is seeking submissions for the 2027 issues. Scholars, graduate students and independent researchers working in fields including women’s history, political history, cultural studies and public history are encouraged to submit articles based on original research.
The journal, launched on National First Ladies Day, is a bold step in launching a field of First Ladies Studies. For Christopher Leahy, the publication makes people aware that doing work on first ladies–whether it’s at the doctoral level or beyond–is “something worth doing.”
East Wing Magazine is a member of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education.