Leonor Kretzer Sullivan (August 21, 1902 – September 1, 1988) was a member of 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. She was a Democrat and the first woman in Congress from

Biography

Born Leonor Kretzer in St. Louis,

, three of her grandparents were German immigrants. Sullivan attended Washington University in St. Louis and was a teacher and director at St. Louis Comptometer school. She was married to

John B. Sullivan John Berchmans Sullivan (born Sedalia, Missouri October 10, 1897 – died Bethesda, Maryland January 29, 1951) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri. He was a Democrat. He was married to Leonor Kretzer Sulli ...

, who served four terms in Congress, and she served as his administrative aide. Following her husband's death in 1951, she served as an aide to Congressman

Leonard Irving Theodore Leonard Irving (March 24, 1898 – March 8, 1962) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri. Born in St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, Irving moved with his parents to a farm in North Dakota. He attended the public schools of North Dak ...

until she left to run for Congress herself in 1952. She was re-elected eleven times. In Congress, she served for many years as Secretary of the House Democratic Caucus. Sullivan helped create the food stamp program, which was opposed by Agriculture Secretary Ezra Taft Benson and became law in the 1960s during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Sullivan did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto, and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, 1964, and

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...

. Sullivan was one of very few members of Congress, and the only woman member of Congress, to vote against the Equal Rights Amendment for women in the early 1970s. She did not seek re-election in 1976, and was succeeded by Dick Gephardt. In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Sullivan's name and picture. The former Wharf Street in front of the Gateway Arch in Downtown St. Louis was renamed Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard in her honor.

Quotes

"A woman with a woman's viewpoint is of more value when she forgets she's a woman and begins to act like a man."

References

External links

* * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Leonor 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians American people of German descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri Female members of the United States House of Representatives Politicians from St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis alumni Women in Missouri politics

Biography

Quotes

See also

References

External links