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| Felton |
In my
meanderings across the net relating to the 21st
November, I find the name of Rebecca Ann Latimer Felton. She was an American writer, lecturer,
reformer, and politician who became the first woman to serve in the United
States Senate. She was the most prominent woman in Georgia in the, so called,
Progressive Era, and was honoured by appointment to the Senate; she was sworn
in on the 21st of November 1922, and
served one day, the shortest serving Senator in U.S. history.
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| Hardwick |
In 1922, Governor Thomas W.
Hardwick was a candidate for the next general election to the Senate, when
Senator Thomas E. Watson died prematurely. Seeking an appointee who would not
be a competitor in the coming special election to fill the vacant seat and a
way to secure the vote of the new women voters alienated by his opposition to
the 19th Amendment, Hardwick chose Felton to serve as senator.
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| George |
Congress was not expected to
reconvene until after the election, so the chances were slim that Felton would
be formally sworn in. However, Walter F. George won the special election
despite Hardwick's ploy. Rather than take his seat immediately when the Senate
reconvened on 21st November 1922,
George allowed Felton to be officially sworn in. This was due in part to
persuasion by Felton and a supportive campaign launched by the women of
Georgia. Felton thus became the first woman seated in the Senate and served
until George took office on 22nd November 1922, one day later.
What is clear is that she served in name
only. Her tenure was the shortest for any Senator in history. One can at least
be thankful for that. There is a sting in the tail. At 87 years old, 9 months,
and 22 days, she was also the oldest freshman senator to enter the Senate. As
of 2012, she is also the only woman to have served as a Senator from Georgia.
She was a prominent society woman; an advocate of prison reform, women's
suffrage and educational modernization; and one of the few prominent women who
spoke in favour of lynching. She was also the last former slave-owner to serve
in the U.S. Senate. Felton considered "young blacks" who sought equal
treatment "half-civilized gorillas," and ascribed to them a
"brutal lust" for white women. While seeking suffrage for women, she
decried voting rights for blacks, arguing that it led directly to the rape of
white women
Felton also advocated more lynching of
black men, saying that such was "elysian" compared to the rape of
white women. On at least one occasion, she
stated that white Southerners should "lynch a thousand [black men] a week
if it becomes necessary" to "protect woman's dearest possession.
She was a despicable woman, and
certainly did not deserve the honour bestowed on her. Shame on Thomas Hardwick
for appointing her and shame on Walter George for allowing her to be sworn in,
although neither was much better. Walter George went on to ‘serve’ in the Senate
for 35 years. During the 1920s, George, a Democrat, tended to vote much like
his fellow senators from the South, conservatively. He supported prohibition
and opposed civil rights for blacks, even
voting against anti-lynching measures. He was a strong supporter of large
corporations, particularly those based in Georgia, like the Coca-Cola Company
and Georgia Power Company. Ah the joys of American politics.
