Rebecca L Felton

Rebecca Latimer Felton, a prominent suffragist and temperance advocate but also a white supremacist and an advocate of segregation and lynching, was the first woman to serve in the United States Senate, as a senator for Georgia. Appointed to fill a vacancy, she served only 24 hours.

Felton was born on June 10, 1835, in De Kalb County, Georgia. She graduated from Madison Female College in 1852. In 1953, she married William H. Felton, a state legislator, physician, Methodist minister and planter. She began her political career as his campaign manager, press secretary and aide. After her husband's death in 1909, Felton remained active in Georgia and national politics, and was a writer and lecturer.

Felton was appointed to the Senate while Congress was in recess by Governor Thomas Hardwick to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Senator Thomas E. Watson until a special election could be held. Gov. Hardwick, who had opposed passage of the 19th Amendment, was a candidate in the special election. He choose Felton because she would not be an opponent in the election and to appease new women voters. However, Hardwick lost the election to Walter F. George, who was persuaded by Felton to delay presenting his credentials to the Senate when Congress re-convened. Felton was sworn in November 21, 1922, and served just 24 hours.

Felton died on January 24, 1930, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sources:

United States House of Representatives (n.d.). Felton, Rebecca Latimer.. Retrieved on May 6, 2020, from https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/13054?ret=True.

United States Senate (n.d.). Rebecca Latimer Felton: A Featured Biography. Retrieved on May 6, 2020, from https://www.senate.gov/senators/FeaturedBios/Featured_Bio_Felton.htm.