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13 - Mourners in Chief

Examining First Ladies’ Performance after Presidential Deaths

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2025

By
Teri Finneman  and
Jodi Kanter
Edited by
Lisa M. Burns  and
Teri Finneman
Lisa M. Burns
Affiliation:
Quinnipiac University
Teri Finneman
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
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Summary

In 235 years, only about two dozen women have experienced the role of “mourner in chief” as current or former first ladies grieving a presidential husband. This chapter examines the performances of six of these women in different historical contexts and under very different circumstances: Martha Washington, Mary Lincoln, Lucretia Garfield, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Nancy Reagan. This analysis considers first ladies’ performances of mourning during presidents’ illness or assassination; funerals and memorial services; and the expanse of time for which they survived their husbands. Through these case studies, the authors consider how a first lady’s mourning can shape her husband’s legacy, and what it can teach us about how Americans grieve.

Keywords

assassinationEleanor RooseveltJackie KennedyLucretia GarfieldMartha WashingtonMary LincolnmourningNancy Reaganpresidential funeralscultural performance
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to US First Ladies , pp. 327 - 354
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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