Includes Index and Bibliography

Her Father's Daughter: 1880-1903 -- 1.
Upbringing in the Political Seraglio -- 2.
Chicago: 1903-1912 -- 3.
Municipal Housekeeping: "Back of the Yards" -- 4.
Carl Jung: "The Work Is in Good Hands" -- 5.
Bull Moose Campaign: "My Money's on the Mare" -- 6.
Woman Suffrage: 1913-1914 -- 7.
Illinois: The Big Four -- 8.
Congressional Committee: "Lincoln Used to Be My Patron Saint, But Now It's Job" -- 9.
Irreconcilables: 1915-1919 -- 10.
"Tantrums on the Hill" --
Women Voters: 1920-1924 --
Apprenticeship in the Republican Party: "Politics Never Is a Game of Solitaire" --
Republican National Committeewoman: "We've Carried Water for the Elephants Long Enough" --
On Her Own: 1925-1927 --
"You Are the Man for the Job" --
Congresswoman-at-Large: 1928-1929 --
"Nobody Asked Me to Run" --
"No Favors and No Bunk" --
Senate Campaign: 1930 --
"Bound to Come Sooner or Later" --
New Mexico: 1931-1939 --
"The Duchess of Albuquerque" --
Master of Politics: 1940-1944 --
Dewey Campaign: "Politics Is a Capacity for Infinite Detail" --
War Years: Politics -- "My Right and My Pleasure."

1. Her Father's Daughter: 1880-1903 --
Upbringing in the Political Seraglio --
2. Chicago: 1903-1912 --
Municipal Housekeeping: "Back of the Yards" --
Carl Jung: "The Work Is in Good Hands" --
Bull Moose Campaign: "My Money's on the Mare" --
3. Woman Suffrage: 1913-1914 --
Illinois: The Big Four --
Congressional Committee: "Lincoln Used to Be My Patron Saint, But Now It's Job" --
4. Irreconcilables: 1915-1919 --
"Tantrums on the Hill" --
5. Women Voters: 1920-1924 --
Apprenticeship in the Republican Party: "Politics Never Is a Game of Solitaire" --
Republican National Committeewoman: "We've Carried Water for the Elephants Long Enough" --
6. On Her Own: 1925-1927 --
"You Are the Man for the Job" --
7. Congresswoman-at-Large: 1928-1929 --
"Nobody Asked Me to Run" --
"No Favors and No Bunk" --
8. Senate Campaign: 1930 --
"Bound to Come Sooner or Later" --
9. New Mexico: 1931-1939 --
"The Duchess of Albuquerque" --
10. Master of Politics: 1940-1944 --
Dewey Campaign: "Politics Is a Capacity for Infinite Detail" --
War Years: Politics --
"My Right and My Pleasure."

"I choose to run," declared Ruth Hanna McCormick in 1929, illustrating both her sense of fun in the parody of Calvin Coolidge and her lifelong commitment to partisan politics. Her life illustrates the opportunities and limitations that faced women participating in American politics during the early twentieth century. Unlike many other veterans of the fight for suffrage, McCormick learned the techniques of politics early from her father, Senator Marcus A. Hanna, McKinley's legendary campaign manager. Her political apprenticeship continued under her husband, Medill McCormick, Chicago Tribune scion, and a leader in Progressive and Republican circles. Associated with the major figures and pivotal events of U.S. history for nearly fifty years, McCormick was the first woman elected to a national statewide office, the first nominated by a major party for the Senate, and the first to manage a presidential nomination campaign, that of Thomas Dewey. Unique though McCormick's accomplishments were, she shared with other modern women the problems of balancing personal ambition with the demands of husband, children, and social expectations. Hers is the story of a vital, engaging, and complex woman and sheds new light on women's political and social history.