Washington's Iron Butterfly: Bess Clements Abell, An Oral History (Kentucky Remembered: An Oral History Series) - Hardcover

Ritchie, Donald A.; Birdwhistell, Terry; Smith, Richard N.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813182263 ISBN 13: 9780813182261

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky, 2022

Synopsis

Had Elizabeth 'Bess' Clements Abell (1933-2020) been a boy, she would likely have become a politician like her father, Earle Clements. Effectively barred from that career because of her gender, she forged her own path by helping family friends Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson. As President Johnson's Social Secretary, Abell earned the nickname 'Iron Butterfly' for her graceful but firm leadership of social life in the White House. Afterward, she maintained her importance in Washington D.C., serving as chief of staff to Joan Mondale and co-founding a public relations company. Donald A. Ritchie and Terry L. Birdwhistell draw on Abell's own words and those of others close to her to tell her remarkable story. Focusing on her years working for the Johnson campaign and her time in the White House, this engaging oral history provides a window into Abell's life as well as an insider's view of social life in the nation's capital during the tumultuous 1960s.

About this title

About the Author

Terry L. Birdwhistell is senior oral historian and founding director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries. He is former president of the Oral History Association and previously served as Dean of Libraries at UK Libraries. He has contributed to numerous collections, including The Encyclopedia of Louisville and The Kentucky Encyclopedia. His articles have appeared in publications such as Kentucky Law Journal, the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and the Kentucky Review.

Edition details

• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813182263
• ISBN 13: 9780813182261
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 266