Iris Faircloth Blitch (April 25, 1912 – August 19, 1993) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. She was the fourth woman to represent Georgia in the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

, and the first to win a regularly scheduled

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. Blitch was a vocal advocate both for women's rights and racial segregation.

Early life

Blitch was born near

Vidalia, Georgia Vidalia ( ''vye-DAYL-yə'' , ) is a city located primarily in Toombs County, Georgia, United States. The city also extends very slightly into Montgomery County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,473. Vidalia is the principal ...

and attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

(UGA) in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in 1929. She also attended South Georgia College in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

in 1949. Blitch worked with her husband in managing their farm as well as cattle, timber,

naval stores Naval stores are all liquid products derived from conifers. These materials include rosin, tall oil, pine oil, and terpentine. The term ''naval stores'' originally applied to the organic compounds used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ...

, fertilizer, and pharmacy businesses in

Homerville, Georgia Homerville is a city in Clinch County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 2,456 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 12.38% from 2,803 in 2000. It is the county seat of Clinch County. It was incorporated February 15, 1869. History Clinch C ...

Political career

State legislature

In 1946, Blitch was elected to the

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia Ho ...

; she was subsequently elected to the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

in 1948 but lost her reelection bid to that office in 1950. She won election to the state Senate again in 1952 and remained in that position through December 31, 1954. From 1948 through 1954, Blitch was Georgia's

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

national committee member.

Tenure in Congress

Running a successful campaign for

Georgia's 8th congressional district Georgia's 8th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. The district is currently represented by Republican Austin Scott. The district is located in central and south-central Georgia, and stretches from th ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

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 ...

, Blitch served in the

84th United States Congress The 84th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1955 ...

. A staunch

segregationist Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...

, in 1956, Blitch was among the 101 Southern politicians to sign the

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

. She won re-election to three additional terms in that seat before choosing not to seek reelection in 1962 due to severe arthritis. In 1964, Mrs. Blitch left the Democratic Party and endorsed Republican presidential nominee

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...

. Within days of her 1954 election, Blitch appeared on the American television show ''

What's My Line ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

''.

Later life

After her political service, Blitch resided on St. Simons Island, Georgia, until 1988, when she moved to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, to be closer to her daughter. She died there on August 19, 1993, and was buried in Pine Forest Cemetery in

Note

References

NY Times Obituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blitch, Iris Faircloth 1912 births 1993 deaths Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Members of the Georgia House of Representatives University of Georgia alumni American white supremacists Female members of the United States House of Representatives Women state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) People from Toombs County, Georgia Women in Georgia (U.S. state) politics Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans People from St. Simons, Georgia People from Clinch County, Georgia 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians California Republicans