The Old West's First Power Couples: The Frémonts, the Custers, and Their Epic Quest for Manifest Destiny

A century and a half before the Kennedys and the Clintons, the Frémonts and the Custers were American power couples. John and Jessie Frémont and George and Libbie Custer pioneered the phenomenon. Although little known today, Jessie and Libbie were nearly as famous as their husbands. Each served as her husband's political muse, offering candid advice and spurring him to higher ambitions. They were vivacious women who loved entertaining and being the center of attention. They were also courageous and followed their husbands into the dangers of war, the frontier, and the wilderness. The Old West's First Power Couples neither celebrates nor demonizes the Frémonts and the Custers. Instead each is explored as an extraordinary, gifted, flawed, unique individual who was half of a unique couple that made history and advanced America's Manifest Destiny, for better or worse.