"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.
About the Author :
Philip Nash is associate professor of history at Penn State Shenango. He is the author of The Other Missiles of October: Eisenhower, Kennedy, and the Jupiters, 1957-1963, as well as numerous articles and book chapters.
Review :
Breaking Protocol deepens historical understandings of women's contributions in the realm of foreign relations while highlighting the pernicious sexism faced at home, abroad, and even within the confines of the embassy. Engaging and accessible, this book will appeal to readers who are interested in the role of women in US foreign relations more broadly, but it will also be useful for scholars keen to know more about the history of the foreign service, the origins of public diplomacy, and the intersection of domestic politics and foreign affairs.
-- "H-Diplo/H-Net Reviews"
Breaking Protocol is a lively and entertaining read; the depth of the sexism it depicts in the encrusted male world of twentieth century diplomacy is astonishing and revelatory, even when we should be prepared for it. The first women to break the diplomatic glass ceiling are a tough and spirited bunch, well worth resurrecting and remembering!
--Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America
Breaking Protocol is a noteworthy contribution to increasing awareness and visibility of the place and role of women in US foreign policy and in international history.
--Hague Journal of Diplomacy
Breaking Protocol is another important, pioneering book by Philip Nash. This thoroughly researched and gracefully written history of America's first six female ambassadors provides new insights into diplomatic history, Women's Studies, and the conduct of American foreign policy over the course of three of the most critical decades (1933-1964) of the twentieth century. Pathbreaking!
--Martin J. Sherwin, Pulitzer Prize winning coauthor (with Kai Bird) of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Breaking Protocol provides an overdue analysis of the significance and long-term impact of the first six women appointed as U.S. ambassadors. It admirably balances the narrative history of each woman's service with a thorough assessment of the role that gender played in their successes and struggles.
--Peace & Change
Diplomacy is the one field of public political life that has been relatively open to women--we need only think of Hillary Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, and Madeleine Albright. In Breaking Protocol, Philip Nash reminds us of the history of their achievements with an enduring and enticing record of the much longer, surprising history of female diplomats and their individual efforts to shape American and international politics.
--Glenda Sluga, University of Sydney
Here at last is the long-neglected story of America's pioneering women diplomats. Breaking Protocol reveals the contributions of six trail-blazers who practiced innovative statecraft in order to surmount all kinds of obstacles--including many posed by their own employer, the US State Department. Philip Nash's illuminating study offers an invaluable foundation for our understanding of contemporary foreign policy decision-makers.
--Sylvia Bashevkin, author of Women as Foreign Policy Leaders: National Security and Gender Politics in Superpower America
In this highly readable, timely, and well-researched addition to the scholarly research on American diplomacy, Nash engages in a much needed act of 'historical recovery' featuring the first six female US Ambassadors, expertly weaving biography with contextual analysis of a slowly evolving US Foreign Service from the 1930s to the 1960s.
--Molly Wood, Wittenberg University
Nash's focus on the first US female ambassadors does put these women in the history books, and this is indeed an important contribution.
-- "Journal of Contemporary History"
Nash's well-crafted study...recounts the pathways to power and the major accomplishments of the first six female ambassadors who served the interests of their presidents and the United States abroad in the middle of the twentieth century.
-- "The Journal of American History"
Provides a fascinating bridge between twentieth century diplomatic and gender history.
--Diplomacy and Statecraft
Researching an extensive array of material, Breaking Protocol breaks new ground in the history of women in US diplomacy and offers a balanced evaluation of the 'Big Six.'
-- "Diplomatica: A Journal of Diplomacy and Society"
