Martha Griffiths
Martha Griffiths | |
---|---|
James Blanchard | |
Preceded by | James Brickley |
Succeeded by | Connie Binsfeld |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 17th district | |
In office January 3, 1955 – December 31, 1974 | |
Preceded by | Charles Oakman |
Succeeded by | William Brodhead |
Personal details | |
Born | Martha Edna Wright January 29, 1912 Pierce City, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | April 22, 2003 Armada, Michigan, U.S. | (aged 91)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Hicks Griffiths
(m. 1933; died 1996) |
Education | University of Missouri, Columbia (BA) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (LLB) |
Martha Wright Griffiths (January 29, 1912 – April 22, 2003) was an American lawyer and judge before being elected to the
Life and career
Martha Edna Wright was born in Pierce City, Missouri. She attended public schools and went on to graduate with a B.A. from the University of Missouri in 1934. She chose to continue her education by studying law and graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1940.[2] She married Hicks George Griffiths (July 9, 1940 – March 4, 1996), a lawyer and a judge as well as chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party from 1949 to 1950.
She worked as a lawyer in private practice, then in the legal department of the American Automobile Insurance Co. in
In 1954, Griffiths was elected as a Democrat from
Equal Rights Amendment
During her time in Congress, Griffiths sponsored the Equal Rights Amendment, one of 33 proposed amendments to pass in Congress and be sent to the states for ratification, and among the six that were not ratified.
The Guardian described her as "the mother of the Equal Rights Amendment", adding:
The weapons she deployed during her 10-term congressional career included implacable determination, a lawyer's grasp of procedural niceties, and a tongue like a blacksmith's rasp.[5]
Quote
"I don't know really that I have so much perseverance as I do a sense of indignity at the fact that women are not justly treated. I have the same sort of feeling for Blacks, Latinos and the Asiatics. If we are America, then we ought to be what we say we are. We ought to be the land of the free and the brave. What people sought in this land was justice."
"Some of that I get from my father. I adored my father. My father thought that girls were smarter than boys, which was unusual in my day and age."[6]
Post-Congressional career as lieutenant governor
After her congressional service, Griffiths returned to the practice of law and then served as the
Martha Griffiths was a member of the American Association of University Women. The AAUW of Michigan named its "Martha Griffiths Equity Award" in her honor.[7]
See also
- List of female lieutenant governors in the United States
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
References
- ^ "Martha Griffiths and the Equal Rights Amendment". National Archives: The Center for Legislative Archives. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
- ^ a b "GRIFFITHS, Martha Wright (1912-2003)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
- ^ a b "Martha Griffiths, Fighter for Women's Rights, Dies at 91". Common Dreams. 2003-04-25. Archived from the original on 2013-06-16. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
- ^ "Martha Griffiths Biography". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
- ^ "Obituary: Martha Griffiths". The Guardian. London. 2003-04-28. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
- ^ Keenan, Marney Rich (1990-01-07). "Martha Griffiths". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
- ^ "Awards". AAUW Michigan - American Association of University Women, Michigan. Archived from the original on 2013-08-19. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
- United States Congress. "Martha Griffiths (id: G000471)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- The Political Graveyard
External links
- "Martha Griffiths (b. 1912) (RYA 1064-1073). Taped interview and transcript". Women in Congress:Recorded Sound Section--Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress.