Hattie Caraway, wife of Senator Thaddeus Caraway, became a U.S. senator in 1931, when she was appointed to fill the seat left vacant by her husband’s death. In 1932 she became the first woman elected to the Senate. She is seen here during her pre-Senate days, on May 22, 1914. [Library of Congress]
Senator Hattie Caraway of Arkansas [Library of Congress]
Huey P. Long of Louisiana campaigned for Hattie Caraway in 1932 during a nine-day tour across Arkansas. [United States Senate Historical Office]
Senator Hattie Caraway of Arkansas, ca. 1932 [Library of Congress]
Senator Hattie Caraway (center) enjoys a reception in 1936. Caraway served in the Senate from 1931 to 1945. [Library of Congress]
Senator Hattie Caraway of Arkansas confers with Representatives Caroline O’Day and Mary T. Norton on July 23, 1937. At that time all three women chaired a congressional committee, a first for women in Congress. Senator Caraway was chair of the Senate Committee on Enrolled Bills. [Library of Congress]
In 1932 Hattie Caraway made history by becoming the first woman elected to the Senate. During her nearly 14 years in office, Caraway was joined by just three other women senators, all of whom served short terms of less than a year. In this photo Senator Caraway confers with Senator Dixie Bibb Graves in 1937. [Library of Congress]
Senators Hattie Caraway and Dixie B. Graves greet one another on the Capitol steps, 1937. Caraway served in the Senate from 1931 to 1945. Graves served a brief appointed term, from August 20, 1937, to January 10, 1938. [Library of Congress]
Senator Hattie Caraway of Arkansas joins Senators Warren Austin (left) and Herbert Hitchcock (center) on a Senate subway ride to the Capitol, November 15, 1937. [Library of Congress]
Hattie Caraway became the first woman to formally take up the gavel as the Senate's acting president pro tempore on October 19, 1943. In this photo Caraway holds a traditional gavel (not the Senate’s unique ivory gavel) as she reenacts the historic event for reporters. [United States Senate Historical Office]
