Vera Sarah Bushfield (née Cahalan, August 9, 1889April 16, 1976) was an American politician served as a

U.S. senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

in 1948, as well as the First Lady of South Dakota from 1939 to 1943. Bushfield's appointment also marked the first time one state had been represented by two female senators;

Gladys Pyle Gladys Shields Pyle (October 4, 1890March 14, 1989) was an American educator, politician and the first woman elected to the United States Senate without having previously been appointed to her position; she was also the first female senator to se ...

served for two months in late 1938 and early 1939.

Early life

Vera Sarah Cahalan was born in

Miller, South Dakota Miller is a city in and county seat of Hand County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,489 at the 2010 census. History The city was named for its founder, Henry Miller. The post office has been in operation since 1881. Geography ...

on August 9, 1889, the daughter of Maurice Francis Cahalan and Mary Ellen (Conners) Cahalan. She attended the public schools of Miller and in 1912 she graduated from

Menomonie, Wisconsin Menomonie () is a city in and the county seat of Dunn County in the western part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city's population was 16,843 as of the 2020 census. Named for the original inhabitants of the area, the Menominee, the city fo ...

's Stout Institute with a degree in domestic science. In addition, Cahalan attended

Dakota Wesleyan University Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) is a private Methodist university in Mitchell, South Dakota. It was founded in 1885 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The student body averages slightly fewer than 800 students. The campus of the ...

and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. On April 15, 1912, Cahalan married Harlan J. Bushfield, who was also a resident of Miller, and the Bushfields continued to reside there. The Bushfields were the parents of three children; Mary, John, and Harlan Jr.

First lady of South Dakota

Harlan Bushfield was an attorney and Republican Party official who served as

Governor of South Dakota The governor of South Dakota is the head of government of South Dakota. The governor is elected to a four-year term in even years when there is no presidential election. The current governor is Kristi Noem, a member of the Republican Party who t ...

from 1939 to 1943. During his governorship, Vera Bushfield was the official sponsor of , a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

ship launched in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

on June 7, 1941. After serving as governor, Harlan Bushfield served as a U.S. Senator beginning in 1943. Because of illness, he was not running for reelection in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, and he died in September. The contest to succeed him was between Republican

Karl E. Mundt Karl Earl Mundt (June 3, 1900August 16, 1974) was an American educator and a Republican member of the United States Congress, representing South Dakota in the United States House of Representatives (1939–48) and in the United States Senate (19 ...

and

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 ...

John A. Engel.

U.S. Senator

On October 6, 1948, Vera Bushfield was appointed to the Senate to temporarily fill the vacancy caused by her husband's death. Governor

George T. Mickelson George Theodore Mickelson (July 23, 1903 – February 28, 1965) was an American lawyer, 16th Attorney General of South Dakota and 18th Governor of South Dakota, and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Distri ...

appointed her with the understanding that she would resign before the end of the term. During her tenure, the Senate was not in session, so Bushfield chose to remain in

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

with a small staff and attend to constituent services rather than travel to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Mundt won the November election, and Bushfield resigned on December 26, 1948. Her resignation enabled Mickelson to appoint Mundt, giving him a few days of seniority over other senators elected in 1948, whose terms began in January 1949.

Later life

Bushfield maintained an interest in politics. In 1952, she endorsed Senator

Robert A. Taft Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate Majority Leade ...

for president. Taft lost the Republican nomination to

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, who went on to win the general election. In 1961, Bushfield took advantage of the floor privileges granted to former senators to speak to the U.S. Senate on the 100th anniversary of the creation of

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

. After a speech by

James Eastland James Oliver Eastland (November 28, 1904 February 19, 1986) was an American attorney, plantation owner, and politician from Mississippi. A Democrat, he served in the United States Senate in 1941 and again from 1943 until his resignation on Decem ...

in which he praised the career of Harlan Bushfield, Eastland yielded the floor to Senator

Francis H. Case Francis Higbee Case (December 9, 1896June 22, 1962) was an American journalist and politician who served for 25 years as a member of the United States Congress from South Dakota. He was a Republican. Biography Case was born in Everly, Iowa, the ...

, who introduced Vera Bushfield so she could deliver her remarks. Vera Bushfield died in

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359 ...

on April 16, 1976. She is buried at the G.A.R. Cemetery in Miller.

References

External links