Nellie Taft : The Unconventional First Lady

Mr. Anthony talked about his book Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era, published by William Morrow. This is the first biography of Helen Herron Taft, the unconventional wife of the twenty-seventh president of the United States who, in an era before Eleanor Roosevelt, was overt about her power and saw to it that her husband both aspired to, and won, the highest office in the land. The author told the story of the morning of William Howard Taft’s inauguration, when Nellie Taft publicly expressed that theirs would be a joint administration by shattering precedent and demanding that she ride alongside her husband down Pennsylvania Avenue, a seat previously held for the outgoing president. He described Nellie Taft as the earliest first lady to do more than stand at her husband’s side, saying that she gambled, smoked cigarettes, and served and drank hard liquor. She also fought for women’s rights, and privately helped African Americans and immigrants. After his pr close