Forum: Author Hangout

If I remember correctly, the first time I encountered a fictional female U.S. President - was in the novel "Alas Babylon," by Pat Frank, written, I think, in the very early 1960s. She succeeded to the presidency when the elected president was killed in a nuclear strike against Washington, I think. And I believe she was a fairly low-ranked officer in the federal government - maybe not even in the Cabinet, before becoming commander in chief.
Was there a fictional female US president before that?

The movie Project Moonbase came out in 1953 and it had a female President in one scene that was obviously intended to surprise the viewers. It was based on a Robert Heinlein novel and he may have helped write the movie, i forget.

Not Fictional but The First Woman President of the United States –

Mrs. Edith Wilson 1919-1920

October 2, 1919, while on a national speaking tour to drum up public support for his proposed League of Nations, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke that debilitated him. He was rushed back to Washington, D.C., whisked to the White House and put in bed under a doctor's care. Edith a control freak stepped in and made a decision. The President would remain in bed unseen by anybody and on his behalf she would run the United States. She set up a desk and phone for herself conducting meetings, saw Governors, Congressmen, Senators, as her husband's aides talked to the press.

_._._1924 film "the Last Man on Earth" played by Martha Mattox
_._._1932 cartoon "Betty Boop for president" voiced by Mae Questel
jul 1939 short story "Greater than Gods" by C L Moore pres. Alice Wiliston
_._._1948 cartoon "Olive Oil for President" voiced by Mae Questel
_._._ 1953 film "Project Moonbase" played by Ernestine Barrier
mar 1959 novel "Alas Babylon" by Pat Frank pres. Josephine
_._._._._._Vannbuuker-Brown sec. Health Education and Welfare
dec 1966 comic action comics #344+5 pres. Linda Danvers

I would be very surprised if there aren't 19th century stories with references to female presidents, but you'd probably need to study academic articles on the subject to find titles. A lot of older books and magazines haven't survived and what we do have is mostly not available electronically, making it difficult to search.

For that matter, I wouldn't be surprised if journalists made fun of early presidents' wives the same way they did about Nancy Reagan. Martha Washington was so involved in establishing the social scene as first lady that the political social circle was known as the "Republican Court". There could well be 18th century woodcut cartoons of Martha as president.

Strangely enough, Woodrow Wilson's Vice President, Thomas Riley Marshall, refused to take over after Wilson's stroke, believing it to be unconstitutional.

Source: Indiana Historical Bureau