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Join us for this webinar on the life of North Carolina Congresswoman, Jane Pratt, presented by author Marion Deerhake. On May 25th, 1946, after 22 years as a congressional secretary, Jane Pratt was elected North Carolina’s first congresswoman. At that time, it was unusual for a woman to be elected to Congress, especially a female congressional staffer with no family ties to the preceding congressman. The press reported with great interest how “Miss Jane,” won by a landslide with only a $100 campaign budget. She hit the ground running, voting to pass the Atomic Energy Act, working tirelessly to mitigate a century of flood disasters in western North Carolina, and serving the constituents she knew so well.This first biography of Congresswoman Jane Pratt recounts her youth and fascinating career on Capitol Hill. It also provides a unique federal view of North Carolina’s early 20th-century history. After working as a rare female newspaper editor in the early 1920s, Pratt was secretary to four consecutive North Carolina congressmen across three decades before her own election. After her term ended, she worked in the Office of Alien Property, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Library of Congress before she returned to the Capitol as secretary to a fifth congressman. Her career spanned the roaring twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. Pratt’s amazing network was a who’s who of leaders in North Carolina and Washington, DC. Her decision not to run for re-election offers insight into why 46 years passed before the state elected another woman to Congress.
Like all USCHS programs, this webinar is free and open to the public; registration is required.
