Alice Mary Robertson
Encyclopedia
Alice Mary Robertson was an American
educator, social worker, government official, and politician
who became the second woman to serve in the United States Congress
, and the first from the state of Oklahoma
. Robertson was the first woman to defeat an incumbent congressman. She was known for her strong personality, commitment to Native American
issues, and an anti-feminist stance.
Until the election of Mary Fallin
in 2006, Robertson was the only female member of Congress to serve the state of Oklahoma
.
, to William Schenck Robertson and Ann Eliza Worcester, who were missionaries. The 1860 United States Census shows the family living in Creek Nation, Indian Lands, Arkansas
. Her parents were missionaries
to the Creek Nation. They translated
many works into the Creek language
, including the Bible
. In early life Mary Alice Robertson was self-taught under the supervision of her parents. She attended Elmira College
, in Elmira, New York
.
Robertson started working as a clerk in the Bureau of Indian Affairs
in Washington, D.C.
(1873 to 1879). She returned to the Indian Territory and taught briefly in the school at Tullahassee. Later she taught at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
from 1880 to 1882.
After returning to the Indian Territory, Robertson established the Nuyaka Mission
, which was run by Presbyterians reporting to the Creek Council. She taught in Okmulgee, Oklahoma
, where she had charge of a Presbyterian boarding school
for Native American
girls. It eventually developed into Henry Kendall College and then the University of Tulsa
).
Robertson was appointed by the BIA as the first government supervisor of Creek
Indian schools, and she served from 1900 to 1905. She was next appointed the postmaster of Muskogee, Oklahoma
from 1905 to 1913. Her canteen service to the troops during World War I
was the start of the Muskogee Chapter of the American Red Cross
.
Representative
to the 67th Congress, defeating the incumbent
William Hastings. She was the first woman to defeat an incumbent representative in a general election. She served from March 4, 1921 to March 3, 1923, but was unsuccessful in running for reelection in 1922 and was defeated by Hastings.
Robertson was the second woman to hold a seat in Congress, after Representative Jeannette Rankin
from Montana
who served from 1917 to 1919. Before the expiration of her term, Rebecca Felton
was appointed for one day to the Senate
, and representatives Winnifred Huck
from Illinois
and Mae Nolan
from California
both won special elections; they were the 3rd, 4th, and 5th women to serve in Congress. During her term, Robertson became the first woman to preside over the House of Representatives, on June 20, 1921.
Robertson was the first woman elected to Congress after passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution
guaranteeing women the right to vote
. She opposed feminist groups such as the League of Women Voters
and the National Women's Party. Robertson voted against bills
funding maternity
and childcare
on the grounds that they were an unwarranted governmental intrusion on personal rights. This earned her the support of the Daughters of the American Revolution
, of which she was a member.
as a welfare worker at Veterans Hospital
Number 90 at Muskogee in May 1923. She retired to run a dairy
farm
.
Robertson died in Muskogee, and was interred in Greenhill Cemetery.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
educator, social worker, government official, and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who became the second woman to serve in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, and the first from the state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. Robertson was the first woman to defeat an incumbent congressman. She was known for her strong personality, commitment to Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
issues, and an anti-feminist stance.
Until the election of Mary Fallin
Mary Fallin
Mary Fallin is the 27th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. She was a U.S. Representative for from 2007 until 2011....
in 2006, Robertson was the only female member of Congress to serve the state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
Education, teaching, and early public service
Robertson was born in Creek Nation, Indian TerritoryIndian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
, to William Schenck Robertson and Ann Eliza Worcester, who were missionaries. The 1860 United States Census shows the family living in Creek Nation, Indian Lands, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. Her parents were missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to the Creek Nation. They translated
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
many works into the Creek language
Creek language
The Creek language, also known as Muskogee or Muscogee , is a Muskogean language spoken by Muscogee and Seminole people primarily in the U.S. states of Oklahoma and Florida....
, including the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. In early life Mary Alice Robertson was self-taught under the supervision of her parents. She attended Elmira College
Elmira College
Elmira College is a coeducational private liberal arts college located in Elmira, in New York State's Southern Tier region.The college is noted as the oldest college still in existence which granted degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men...
, in Elmira, New York
Elmira, New York
Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
.
Robertson started working as a clerk in the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
(1873 to 1879). She returned to the Indian Territory and taught briefly in the school at Tullahassee. Later she taught at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations...
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
from 1880 to 1882.
After returning to the Indian Territory, Robertson established the Nuyaka Mission
Nuyaka Mission
The Nuyaka Mission site is located in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, approximately 15.7 miles west of the intersection of U.S. Route 75 and State Highway 56 in the City of Okmulgee, Oklahoma. The Nuyaka Mission is included on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Okmulgee County,...
, which was run by Presbyterians reporting to the Creek Council. She taught in Okmulgee, Oklahoma
Okmulgee, Oklahoma
Okmulgee is a city in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 12,321 a loss of 5.4 percent since the 2000 census figure of 13,022. It has been the capital of the Muscogee Nation since the United States Civil War. Okmulgee means "boiling waters" in the Creek...
, where she had charge of a Presbyterian boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
for Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
girls. It eventually developed into Henry Kendall College and then the University of Tulsa
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
).
Robertson was appointed by the BIA as the first government supervisor of Creek
Creek people
The Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
Indian schools, and she served from 1900 to 1905. She was next appointed the postmaster of Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
from 1905 to 1913. Her canteen service to the troops during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
was the start of the Muskogee Chapter of the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
.
Representative
Robertson was elected by the 2nd District of Oklahoma as a RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
to the 67th Congress, defeating the incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
William Hastings. She was the first woman to defeat an incumbent representative in a general election. She served from March 4, 1921 to March 3, 1923, but was unsuccessful in running for reelection in 1922 and was defeated by Hastings.
Robertson was the second woman to hold a seat in Congress, after Representative Jeannette Rankin
Jeannette Rankin
Jeannette Pickering Rankin was the first woman in the US Congress. A Republican, she was elected statewide in Montana in 1916 and again in 1940. A lifelong pacifist, she voted against the entry of the United States into both World War I in 1917 and World War II in 1941, the only member of Congress...
from Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
who served from 1917 to 1919. Before the expiration of her term, Rebecca Felton
Rebecca Latimer Felton
Rebecca Ann Latimer Felton was an American writer, lecturer, reformer, and politician who became the first woman to serve in the United States Senate...
was appointed for one day to the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, and representatives Winnifred Huck
Winnifred Sprague Mason Huck
Winnifred Mason Huck was an American journalist and politician from the state of Illinois who became the third woman to serve in the United States Congress, after Jeannette Rankin and Alice Mary Robertson, the first woman to represent Illinois in Congress, and the first mother...
from Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Mae Nolan
Mae Nolan
Mae Ella Nolan was an American politician who became the fourth woman to serve in the United States Congress, the first woman elected to Congress from California, the first woman to chair a Congressional committee, the first women to win a special election for the United States Congress, and the...
from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
both won special elections; they were the 3rd, 4th, and 5th women to serve in Congress. During her term, Robertson became the first woman to preside over the House of Representatives, on June 20, 1921.
Robertson was the first woman elected to Congress after passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution
Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920....
guaranteeing women the right to vote
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
. She opposed feminist groups such as the League of Women Voters
League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote...
and the National Women's Party. Robertson voted against bills
Act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
funding maternity
Maternity
Maternity or motherhood is the social and legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a mother and her child.It is specially related with the protection of the baby and the mother within and after the childbirth.-See also:...
and childcare
Childcare
Child care means caring for and supervising child/children usually from 0–13 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child...
on the grounds that they were an unwarranted governmental intrusion on personal rights. This earned her the support of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
, of which she was a member.
Later life
Robertson was appointed by President Warren G. HardingWarren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
as a welfare worker at Veterans Hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
Number 90 at Muskogee in May 1923. She retired to run a dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
.
Robertson died in Muskogee, and was interred in Greenhill Cemetery.
Legacy and honors
- She bequeathed her personal library and family papers to the University of TulsaUniversity of TulsaThe University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
, where they became part of the collection of the McFarlin Library. The papers include Creek translations by her parents and her grandfather, Samuel Austin Worcester. - Robertson Hall, a dormitory at the University of Science and Arts of OklahomaUniversity of Science and Arts of OklahomaThe University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, or USAO, is a public liberal arts college located in Chickasha, Oklahoma. It is the only public college with a strictly liberal arts-focused curriculum in Oklahoma. It provides Bachelor's Degrees and many students move on to graduate schools across...
in ChickashaChickasha, OklahomaChickasha is a city in and the county seat, business and employment center of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 15,850 at the 2000 census. Chickasha is home to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma and hosts an annual Festival of Light celebration located at...
was named in her honor. - In Muskogee, the Alice Robertson Middle School is home to the Muskogee 7th & 8th Grade Center.
External links
- University of Tulsa McFarlin Library's inventory of the Alice Robertson collection housed in their special collections department.
- http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/highlights.html?action=categories&category=House%20Firsts%20and%20Records