Anne Brancato Wood (January 17, 1903 – August 22, 1972) was an American politician who in 1932 became the first woman to be elected to the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts.
It ...
as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and only the second
Italian American
Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...
to serve in the state legislature, she served five terms in the Pennsylvania House (1933, 1935, 1937, 1939, and 1945) and became the first woman to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1935. The
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares for ...
Born Anne M. Brancato to Italian immigrant parents in Philadelphia on January 17, 1903, she grew up speaking English, Italian, and Hebrew in her multi-ethnic neighborhood. Brancato graduated high school from the Academy of the Sisters of Mercy and attended Banks Business College and
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
, where she studied languages such as French and Japanese, though she never completed a college degree.
Brancato worked as an advertising manager and photographer's assistant for a local newspaper called ''Spector'' and became involved in local Democratic Party politics starting in 1928. She served as chair and president of the Women's Democratic Club of
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.
Political career
As a 29-year-old unmarried Italian American woman running in a district dominated by Philadelphia's
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
political machine, Brancato was a long-shot candidate. She walked door-to-door in Philadelphia's fifth district distributing campaign literature and delivered speeches in fluent Italian from the backs of flatbed trucks. One of a wave of Democrats elected to the state assembly that year on
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's coattails, she defeated Republican nominee Joseph Argentieri by fifteen hundred votes, becoming the first woman to serve in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as a Democrat. Brancato also broke new ground by becoming only the second Italian American—and the first Roman Catholic of Italian descent—to serve in the House.
Brancato swiftly established a progressive record in the House, championing an array of social welfare and poverty relief laws to protect her most vulnerable constituents. In March 1933, in the midst of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, she introduced an anti-eviction bill to protect homeowners and renters from eviction if they were unable to find a job. The bill passed the House but failed in the Senate. She introduced or sponsored bills such as the Pawnbrokers' Act (cracking down on loan sharks), the Hasty Marriage Act (requiring a three-day waiting period between obtaining a marriage license and getting married), the Mothers' Assistance Fund Law (to support poor mothers), and the Minimum Wage and Hour Law for Women, along with bills to protect women's property rights, build playgrounds in crowded urban neighborhoods, and ban the word ''illegitimate'' from the birth certificates of children born out of wedlock. She also fought successfully to give Philadelphia police officers and firefighters one day off a week.
Brancato served four consecutive terms in the House (1933, 1935, 1937, 1939) and became the first woman to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House in 1935. She served on the Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Governmental Costs of Philadelphia (1937–1938). Brancato lost her 1940 primary election to future Philadelphia council president
Paul D'Ortona
Paul D'Ortona (December 29, 1903 – October 17, 1992) was a Democratic politician from Philadelphia who served as President of Philadelphia's City Council.
Early life and career
D'Ortona was born in Guastameroli, Abruzzo, Italy, in 1903, the ...
. Reelected in 1944, she served a fifth and final term in office. She went on to run unsuccessfully as the Democratic nominee for
Pennsylvania State Senate
The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...
in 1956 and work as assistant secretary of the House from 1969 to 1972.
Brancato worked as a real estate and insurance broker and in 1946 established a telephone answering and secretarial service. Her offices were located in the
Land Title Building
The Land Title Building and Annex is an American early skyscraper located at 1400 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
History and architectural features
This ...
, outside which the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission erected a commemorative marker on June 17, 1994.
Personal life
During the mid-1940s, Brancato married Philadelphia businessman Augustus Wood and took the name Anne Brancato Wood. She suffered from chronic laryngitis during the last fifteen years of her life, weakening her ability to speak. Despite her ailment, she remained active in a wide range of civic organizations, including the
Navy League of the United States
The Navy League of the United States, commonly referred to as the Navy League, is a national association with nearly 50,000 members who advocate for a strong, credible United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard and ...
, the Pennsylvania Constitution Commemoration Committee, the Alliance of Catholic Women, the
Philadelphia Civic Center
The Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center – more commonly known simply as the Philadelphia Civic Center – was a convention center complex located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It developed out of a series of buildings dedicated to ...
, the
Philadelphia Housing Authority
The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) is a municipal authority providing Public housing services in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It is the fourth-largest housing authority in the United States and is the largest landlord in Pennsylvania. PHA ho ...
, Saint Bernadette's Home for the Aged and Convalescent, the Ladies of Charity, the Pan American Association, the Youth Study Center, and More Women on the Ballot (a group she formed to elect more women to office).
Brancato died on August 22, 1972, at a hospital in
Lower Merion Township
Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language transcription of the W ...
after a brief illness. Her remains were interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery in
Yeadon, Pennsylvania
Yeadon is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It borders the city of Philadelphia. The population was 11,443 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Yeadon is located in eastern Delaware County at (39.932862, -75.251540). It is bordered on the sou ...
. Her papers are held at the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...