Research Catalog

Title

Breaking protocol : America's first female ambassadors, 1933-1964 / Philip Nash.

Author

Nash, Philip

Publication

• Lexington, Kentucky : University Press of Kentucky, [2020]
• ©2020

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

288 pages; 24 cm.

Summary

""It used to be," soon-to-be secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright said in 1996, "that the only way a woman could truly make her foreign policy views felt was by marrying a diplomat and then pouring tea on an offending ambassador's lap." This world of US diplomacy excluded women for a variety of misguided reasons: they would let their emotions interfere with the task of diplomacy, they were not up to the deadly risks that could arise overseas, and they would be unable to cultivate the social contacts vital to success in the field. The men of the State Department objected but had to admit women, including the first female ambassadors: Ruth Bryan Owen, Florence "Daisy" Harriman, Perle Mesta, Eugenie Anderson, Clare Boothe Luce, and Frances Willis. These were among the most influential women in US foreign relations in their era. Using newly available archival sources, Philip Nash examines the history of the "Big Six" and how they carved out their rightful place in history. After a chapter capturing the male world of American diplomacy in the early twentieth century, the book devotes one chapter to each of the female ambassadors and delves into a number of topics, including their backgrounds and appointments, the issues they faced while on the job, how they were received by host countries, the complications of protocol, and the press coverage they received, which was paradoxically favorable yet deeply sexist. In an epilogue that also provides an overview of the role of women in modern US diplomacy, Nash reveals how these trailblazers helped pave the way for more gender parity in US foreign relations."--

Series Statement

Studies in conflict, diplomacy, and peace

Uniform Title

Studies in conflict, diplomacy, and peace.

Alternative Title

America's first female ambassadors, 1933-1964

Subject

• United States. Foreign Service > Biography
• United States. Foreign Service
• 1900-1999
• Women diplomats > United States > History > 20th century
• Ambassadors > United States > Biography
• Diplomatic and consular service, American
• Women ambassadors > United States > Biography
• Ambassadors
• Women ambassadors
• Women diplomats
• United States

Genre/Form

• Biographies.
• History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Prologue -- The Patriarchs: American Diplomats in the Early Twentieth Century -- Ruth Bryan Owen: Denmark, 1933-1936 -- Florence Jaffray Harriman: Norway, 1937-1941 -- Perle S. Mesta: Luxembourg, 1949-1953 -- Eugenie M. Anderson: Denmark, 1949-1953, and Bulgaria, 1962-1964 -- Clare Boothe Luce: Italy, 1953-1956 -- Frances E. Willis: Switzerland, 1953-1957, Norway, 1957-1961, and Ceylon, 1961-1964 -- Epilogue: 1964-2018.

Call Number

JFE 20-6069

ISBN

• 9780813178394
• 0813178398
• 9780813178400 (canceled/invalid)
• 0813178401 (canceled/invalid)
• 9780813178417 (canceled/invalid)
• 081317841X (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

2019037381

OCLC

1117317646

Author

Nash, Philip, author.

Title

Breaking protocol : America's first female ambassadors, 1933-1964 / Philip Nash.

Publisher

Lexington, Kentucky : University Press of Kentucky, [2020]

Copyright Date

©2020

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Studies in conflict, diplomacy, and peace

Studies in conflict, diplomacy, and peace.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Chronological Term

1900-1999

Research Call Number

JFE 20-6069