ARKANSAS, USA — According to the Central Arkansas Library System, Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate 90 years ago today (Jan. 12, 2023), and her incredible story has reverberated through history ever since.
Born in 1878 near Bakersville, Tenn., Hattie Caraway (then Hattie Wyatt) spent her youth working odd jobs on the family farm and helping out at her father's general store.
She attended Dickson College, and promptly graduated by her 19th birthday.
After graduating, she spent several years as a schoolteacher in Tennessee before marrying Thaddeus Horatius Caraway, a fellow Dickson graduate.
Her husband was elected into the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat, and the couple moved to Maryland with their three young sons where Thaddeus would represent Arkansas for eight years before winning a senate seat.
Thaddeus would continue to serve as an Arkansas senator, with Hattie by his side until his sudden death in 1931.
In the wake of Senator Thaddeus Caraway's unforeseen death, a practical, educated, and passionate individual would need to be called upon swiftly to represent Arkansas in its time of need:
Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway was sworn in just seven days after her husband's death.
From there she was confirmed and elected into the United State Senate—filling the void of her late husband and making history in the process.
Even more impressively, records show that within months of becoming the first female U.S. Senator, Hattie Caraway became the first woman to preside over the senate, "when the vice president, Charles Curtis, was resting."
To the shock and befuddlement of her peers, she used the opportunity to announce her intention to run for reelection.
Many believed that she was just there to fill a seat. She decidedly was not.
She went on to win reelection in 1932, and once again in 1938 when she ran against congressman John L. McLellan, who ran with the slogan "We need another man in the Senate."
Though she lost her third reelection bid in 1944 to J. William Fulbright, her long and prolific career of progressive social activism would inspire many for years to come.
She stayed in Washington and served on the United States Employees’ Compensation Commission until 1946 and on the Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board from 1946 until her death.
Hattie Caraway died of a stroke in Falls Church, Virginia, on Dec. 21, 1950. She is buried next to her husband at Oaklawn Cemetery in Jonesboro Arkansas.
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