Professor of history Ellen Fitzpatrick has written a new book that gives context to Hillary Clinton's current race for the White House, showing how her quest is part of a longer journey for women in America.
"The Highest Glass Ceiling: Women’s Quest for the American Presidency," published by Harvard University Press, tells the story of three women who set their sights on the American presidency, Victoria Woodhull (1872), Margaret Chase Smith (1964), and Shirley Chisholm (1972). Each challenged persistent barriers confronted by women presidential candidates. The tale begins during Reconstruction when the radical Woodhull became the first woman to seek the presidency. Although women could not yet vote, Woodhull boldly staked her claim to the White House, believing she might thereby advance women’s equality. Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith came into political office through the “widow’s mandate.” Among the most admired women in public life when she launched her 1964 campaign, she soon confronted prejudice that she was too old (at 66) and too female to be a creditable presidential candidate. She nonetheless became the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for President by a major party. Democratic Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm ignored what some openly described as the twin disqualifications of race and gender in her spirited 1972 presidential campaign. She ran all the way to the Democratic convention, inspiring diverse followers and angering opponents, including members of the Nixon administration who sought to derail her candidacy. As "The Highest Glass Ceiling" reveals, women’s pursuit of the Oval Office, then and now, has involved myriad forms of influence, opposition and intrigue.
"The Highest Glass Ceiling" will be available from the publisher on February 29, 2016.
Fitzpatrick, who specializes in modern American political and intellectual history, is the author and editor of seven books, including "Letters to Jackie: Condolences from a Grieving Nation" (Ecco, 2010) and "History's Memory: Writing America's Past 1880-1980" (Harvard University Press, 2002). Fitzpatrick has appeared regularly on PBS’s "The NewsHour." She has been interviewed as an expert on modern American political history by the "New York Times," the "Wall Street Journal," the "Los Angeles Times," "USA Today," the "Boston Globe," the "Washington Post," CBS’s "Face the Nation" and National Public Radio. The Carpenter Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire, Fitzpatrick has been recognized by the University for Excellence in Public Service.
Reviews
“Why has it taken so long for a woman to be taken seriously when she runs for President of the United States? There are stories to be told about that and Presidential historian Ellen Fitzpatrick does so superbly in The Highest Glass Ceiling. Her account of the women who did, in fact, go for the top job makes for great reading as well as a much-needed filling of important gaps in American political history. This is a terrific book that is chock full of small tidbits that add up to important surprises for anyone who thinks they already know everything about presidential politics.—Jim Lehrer, former Executive Editor, PBS NewsHour
Ellen Fitzpatrick’s wise and winning The Highest Glass Ceiling is destined to become the Profiles in Courage of the 2016 Presidential election, situating this year’s presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton in a historic field of bold female contenders, with special focus on the three who previously came closest—Victoria Woodhull, Margaret Chase Smith, and Shirley Chisolm. What enabled these women to ‘step out of context and into history,’ as a Los Angeles Times reporter wrote of Smith, to ‘shake it up, make it change,’ as Chisolm aimed to do? Fitzpatrick’s compelling portraits supply not just the how and when, but also the why, teaching valuable lessons that everyone who cares about American Presidential politics will be grateful to learn.”—Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life
Women’s quest for the U.S. presidency has been long and arduous—and Ellen Fitzpatrick, a superb scholar and writer, is the perfect author for this fascinating and overdue history. This book is a triumph, and an inspiration.”—Theda Skocpol, Harvard University
