Kathryn Ellen O'Loughlin (April 24, 1894 – January 16, 1952) was a

U.S. 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 c ...

from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. After her election, she was married to Daniel M. McCarthy, who served in the Kansas State Senate, and thereupon served under the name of Kathryn O'Loughlin McCarthy. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Kansas. Born near Hays, Kansas, O'Loughlin attended rural schools. She graduated from the Hays (Kansas) High School in 1913, from the Kansas State Teachers College in 1917, and from the law school of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1920. She was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1921 and commenced practice in Chicago, but she returned to Kansas in 1928 and continued the practice of law in Hays. She served as a delegate to the State Democratic conventions in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, and 1936, and she served the Democratic National Conventions in 1940 and 1944. She also served as a member of the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafti ...

in 1931 and 1932. O'Loughlin was elected 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 ...

to the Seventy-third Congress (March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935), defeating

Clyde Short Clyde Lorraine Short (January 30, 1883 – February 27, 1936) was a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Kansas, best known as a former two-time candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives and the Chairman of the Kansas Democratic ...

in the primary and Charles I. Sparks in the general election. She was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Seventy-fourth Congress. Her support for the New Deal angered Kansas Republicans, including Governor

Alf Landon Alfred Mossman Landon (September 9, 1887October 12, 1987) was an American oilman and politician who served as the 26th governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 1936 presidential el ...

, who promised to have her defeated. Public opinion in Kansas had shifted against the New Deal, especially the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which McCarthy strongly supported. The GOP nominated

Frank Carlson Frank Carlson (January 23, 1893May 30, 1987) was an American politician who served as the 30th governor of Kansas, Kansas State representative, United States representative, and United States senator from Kansas. Carlson is the only Kansan to ...

, the chair of the Kansas Republican Party and close ally of Governor Landon. McCarthy was narrowly defeated by Carlson by a margin of 51%–49%, or just under 2,800 votes. Carlson would go on to become one of the most powerful politicians in Kansas history, serving as Governor and later representing the state in the US Senate. In 1937, McCarthy condemned the forced sterilization of 62 inmates of the

Kansas Industrial School for Girls The Kansas Industrial School for Girls was established on February 1, 1888, in Beloit, Kansas by the Women's Christian Temperance Union. The State of Kansas took over the operations in 1899. The school was one of the longest operating reformatori ...

in Beloit, Kansas. In an article published in the ''Abilene Reflector'' called, McCarthy called for a formal investigation of the school. After this, she resumed the practice of law. She also owned and operated a large ranch and was part owner of an automobile agency at Hays and Ellis, Kansas. O'Loughlin died in Hays, Kansas, and she was interred in St. Joseph's Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oloughlin, Kathryn Ellen 1894 births 1952 deaths People from Hays, Kansas Emporia State University alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni Democratic Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Female members of the United States House of Representatives Women state legislators in Kansas Illinois lawyers Kansas lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers

See also

References