Hattie Caraway

Hattie Caraway 1940

Hattie Caraway 1914

Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway (born February 1, 1878 in Bakerville , Humphreys County , Tennessee , † December 21, 1950 in Falls Church , Virginia ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party . From 1931 to 1945 she sat for the US state Arkansas in the US Senate . She was the first woman in the Senate to serve a full term.

biography

Hattie Wyatt was born to William Carroll Wyatt, a farm owner, and Lucy Mildred Burch. At the age of four, she and parents moved to Hustburg , Tennessee. There she attended the Ebenizer College . At Dickson Normale College she received her Bachelor of Arts in 1896 . She taught as a teacher until she married Thaddeus H. Caraway in 1902 . After the wedding, the Caraways moved to Jonesboro , Arkansas. Hattie looked after the couple's three children, while her husband worked as a lawyer and started a political career. In 1912, her husband was first elected to the US House of Representatives. He sat there until 1921 when he won the Senate election. After his death in November 1931, Governor Harvey Parnell named Hattie his successor. She was inducted into office on December 9, 1931. On January 12, 1932, she also won the scheduled by-election.

Senator

In May 1932, she surprised Arkansas politicians when she announced that she would run for a full term in the regular Senate elections in November 1932. During the election campaign she found support from prominent politicians, including Vice President Charles Curtis and Huey Pierce Long . She was confirmed in office in November 1932 by an overwhelming majority.

During her tenure, she served on the following committees: Agriculture and Forestry , Commerce, and Enrolled Bills and Library . She presided over the latter as chairman. She represented the interests of farmers in the Senate, campaigned for flood control and veterans' affairs. She was considered loyal to President Franklin D. Roosevelt , although she also represented clear southern positions that were not on Roosevelt's line.

In 1938 she ran for re-election, which she won with an overwhelming majority. In her second term in office she supported the Lending and Lease Act . In the primaries for the 1944 Senate election, she was defeated by J. William Fulbright , who was able to hold the seat for the Democrats.

Last years

After leaving the Senate, she was appointed to several commissions by Roosevelt and his successor Harry S. Truman . Then in January 1950 she suffered a stroke . She then withdrew completely from the public. On December 21, 1950, Caraway died in Falls Church, Virginia, of complications from the stroke. She was buried in Oaklawn Cemetery in Jonesboro.

Web links

• Hattie Caraway in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Hattie Caraway in the database of Find a Grave (English)