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McRaven started her career in the post office for [[Altus, Arkansas]].<ref name=":0" /> She was active in the [[Pulaski County, Arkansas|Pulaski County]] community, supporting women's educational funding and volunteering for the county library.<ref name=":0" /> McRaven worked as an investigator for the [[Arkansas Department of Labor]] from 1923 to 1925.<ref name="Nort460613">{{Cite news |date=1946-06-13 |title=Inspector Finds Children Under 12 With Social Security Cards |url=https://newspapers.com/article/northwest-arkansas-times-inspector-finds/147337302/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |newspaper=Northwest Arkansas Times |location=Fayetteville, Arkansas |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
McRaven started her career in the post office for [[Altus, Arkansas]].<ref name=":0" /> She was active in the [[Pulaski County, Arkansas|Pulaski County]] community, supporting women's educational funding and volunteering for the county library.<ref name=":0" /> McRaven worked as an investigator for the [[Arkansas Department of Labor]] from 1923 to 1925.<ref name="Nort460613">{{Cite news |date=1946-06-13 |title=Inspector Finds Children Under 12 With Social Security Cards |url=https://newspapers.com/article/northwest-arkansas-times-inspector-finds/147337302/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |newspaper=Northwest Arkansas Times |location=Fayetteville, Arkansas |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>


In 1926, McRaven launched a campaign for the [[Arkansas House of Representatives]] as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]].<ref name=":0" /> Her only prior political involvement had been as a member of the [[Women of the Ku Klux Klan]], a [[white supremacist]] group that otherwise ascribed to [[Progressivism in the United States|Progressive politics]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=McGehee |first=Margaret T. |date=2023-06-16 |title=Women of the Ku Klux Klan (WKKK) |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/Women-of-the-Ku-Klux-Klan-4220/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=[[Encyclopedia of Arkansas]]}}</ref> She won her election and was reelected in 1928.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=January 1927 |title=World News About Women |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Woman_s_Journal/FhVlVXPWvPAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Florence+McRaven%22&pg=RA2-PA36&printsec=frontcover |journal=[[The Woman's Journal]] |volume=11 |issue=8 |pages=36 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> While serving in the House, McRaven actively sponsored progressive legislation, especially legislation relating to the rights of female workers.<ref name="Cour300329">{{Cite news |date=1930-03-29 |title=Mrs. Florence McRaven State Senate Candidate |url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-courier-news-mrs-florence-mcraven-s/147337334/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |newspaper=[[The Courier News]] |location=Blytheville, Arkansas |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She supported efforts to end [[capital punishment]] and to promote the teaching of [[evolution]] in schools.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Lindsley Armstrong |title=Stateswomen: A Centennial History of Arkansas Women Legislators, 1922-2022 |last2=Smith |first2=Stephen A. |publisher=[[University of Arkansas Press]] |year=2022 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv322v54j}}</ref>{{Rp|page=80}}
In 1926, McRaven launched a campaign for the [[Arkansas House of Representatives]] as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]].<ref name=":0" /> Her only prior political involvement had been as a member of the [[Women of the Ku Klux Klan]], a [[white supremacist]] group that otherwise ascribed to [[Progressivism in the United States|Progressive politics]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=McGehee |first=Margaret T. |date=2023-06-16 |title=Women of the Ku Klux Klan (WKKK) |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/Women-of-the-Ku-Klux-Klan-4220/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=[[Encyclopedia of Arkansas]]}}</ref> Her campaign did not heavily rely on her status as a woman, rather, she disseminated promotional material arguing that she had the "right motives, intelligence, and strength of character" for the job.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=108}} She won her election and was reelected in 1928.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=January 1927 |title=World News About Women |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Woman_s_Journal/FhVlVXPWvPAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Florence+McRaven%22&pg=RA2-PA36&printsec=frontcover |journal=[[The Woman's Journal]] |volume=11 |issue=8 |pages=36 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
While serving in the House, McRaven actively sponsored progressive legislation, especially legislation relating to the rights of female workers.<ref name="Cour300329">{{Cite news |date=1930-03-29 |title=Mrs. Florence McRaven State Senate Candidate |url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-courier-news-mrs-florence-mcraven-s/147337334/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |newspaper=[[The Courier News]] |location=Blytheville, Arkansas |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She supported efforts to end [[capital punishment]] and to promote the teaching of [[evolution]] in schools.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Lindsley Armstrong |title=Stateswomen: A Centennial History of Arkansas Women Legislators, 1922-2022 |last2=Smith |first2=Stephen A. |publisher=[[University of Arkansas Press]] |year=2022 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv322v54j}}</ref>{{Rp|page=80}} She opposed other efforts to combine church and state, arguing that recreational activities such as baseball should be allowed on Sundays.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=108}}


McRaven ran for the [[Arkansas Senate]] in 1930.<ref name="Cour300329" /> She was the first female candidate for the Arkansas Senate in the state's history.<ref name="Cour300329" /> She lost the race, coming in fifth.<ref name="Hope300820">{{Cite news |date=1930-08-20 |title=McRaven Defeated |url=https://newspapers.com/article/hope-star-mcraven-defeated/147337497/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |newspaper=[[Hope Star]] |location=Hope, Arkansas |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> After losing, she worked at the [[Pulaski County Courthouse (Arkansas)|Pulaski County Courthouse]] and campaigned for [[John L. McClellan]] and [[Benjamin T. Laney]].<ref name=":0" /> She also wrote an autobiography titled ''Swift Current'' which was published in 1954.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=McRaven |first=Florence McGraw |url=https://archive.org/details/swiftcurrent00mcra/page/n1/mode/2up |title=Swift Current |publisher=[[Central Collegiate Institute]] |year=1954}}</ref>
McRaven ran for the [[Arkansas Senate]] in 1930.<ref name="Cour300329" /> She was the first female candidate for the Arkansas Senate in the state's history.<ref name="Cour300329" /> She lost the race, coming in fifth.<ref name="Hope300820">{{Cite news |date=1930-08-20 |title=McRaven Defeated |url=https://newspapers.com/article/hope-star-mcraven-defeated/147337497/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |newspaper=[[Hope Star]] |location=Hope, Arkansas |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> After losing, she worked at the [[Pulaski County Courthouse (Arkansas)|Pulaski County Courthouse]] and campaigned for [[John L. McClellan]] and [[Benjamin T. Laney]].<ref name=":0" /> She also wrote an autobiography titled ''Swift Current'' which was published in 1954.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=McRaven |first=Florence McGraw |url=https://archive.org/details/swiftcurrent00mcra/page/n1/mode/2up |title=Swift Current |publisher=[[Central Collegiate Institute]] |year=1954}}</ref>


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==
McRaven married John Sanders McRaven in 1898.<ref name=":0" /> The two had three children.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=107}} She was an aunt to [[Janice Holt Giles]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stuart |first=Dianne W. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Janice_Holt_Giles/HksoEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Florence+McRaven%22&pg=PT49&printsec=frontcover |title=Janice Holt Giles: A Writer's Life |date= |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |year=2021 |isbn=9780813184548}}</ref> McRaven died on October 22, 1975.<ref name=":0" />
McRaven married John Sanders McRaven in 1898.<ref name=":0" /> The two had three children.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=107}} She was an aunt to the novelist [[Janice Holt Giles]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stuart |first=Dianne W. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Janice_Holt_Giles/HksoEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Florence+McRaven%22&pg=PT49&printsec=frontcover |title=Janice Holt Giles: A Writer's Life |date= |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |year=2021 |isbn=9780813184548}}</ref> McRaven died on October 22, 1975.<ref name=":0" />


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 15:07, 21 May 2024

Florence McRaven (May 11, 1877 - October 22, 1975) was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1927 to 1930.

Early life and education

McRaven was born on May 11, 1877, in Tate County, Mississippi.[1] She had fourteen siblings.[1] In 1878, her family moved to Arkansas, where her father became a deputy sheriff for Franklin County.[1][2]: 107  McRaven attended the Central Collegiate Institute and earned a master's degree in English literature from Hirarm and Lydia College in 1895.[1] McRaven studied at the Chautauqua Institution several times over the course of her life.[1]

Career

McRaven started her career in the post office for Altus, Arkansas.[1] She was active in the Pulaski County community, supporting women's educational funding and volunteering for the county library.[1] McRaven worked as an investigator for the Arkansas Department of Labor from 1923 to 1925.[3]

In 1926, McRaven launched a campaign for the Arkansas House of Representatives as a Democrat.[1] Her only prior political involvement had been as a member of the Women of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group that otherwise ascribed to Progressive politics.[1][4] Her campaign did not heavily rely on her status as a woman, rather, she disseminated promotional material arguing that she had the "right motives, intelligence, and strength of character" for the job.[2]: 108  She won her election and was reelected in 1928.[5][1]

While serving in the House, McRaven actively sponsored progressive legislation, especially legislation relating to the rights of female workers.[6] She supported efforts to end capital punishment and to promote the teaching of evolution in schools.[1][2]: 80  She opposed other efforts to combine church and state, arguing that recreational activities such as baseball should be allowed on Sundays.[2]: 108 

McRaven ran for the Arkansas Senate in 1930.[6] She was the first female candidate for the Arkansas Senate in the state's history.[6] She lost the race, coming in fifth.[7][1] After losing, she worked at the Pulaski County Courthouse and campaigned for John L. McClellan and Benjamin T. Laney.[1] She also wrote an autobiography titled Swift Current which was published in 1954.[1][8]

Personal life

McRaven married John Sanders McRaven in 1898.[1] The two had three children.[1][2]: 107  She was an aunt to the novelist Janice Holt Giles.[9] McRaven died on October 22, 1975.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Smith, Stephen A.; Smith, Lindsley Armstrong (2023-08-25). "Florence Emily McGraw McRaven (1877–1975)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  2. ^ a b c d e Smith, Lindsley Armstrong; Smith, Stephen A. (2022). Stateswomen: A Centennial History of Arkansas Women Legislators, 1922-2022. University of Arkansas Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv322v54j.
  3. ^ "Inspector Finds Children Under 12 With Social Security Cards". Northwest Arkansas Times. Fayetteville, Arkansas. 1946-06-13. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ McGehee, Margaret T. (2023-06-16). "Women of the Ku Klux Klan (WKKK)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  5. ^ "World News About Women". The Woman's Journal. 11 (8): 36. January 1927 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b c "Mrs. Florence McRaven State Senate Candidate". The Courier News. Blytheville, Arkansas. 1930-03-29. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "McRaven Defeated". Hope Star. Hope, Arkansas. 1930-08-20. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ McRaven, Florence McGraw (1954). Swift Current. Central Collegiate Institute.
  9. ^ Stuart, Dianne W. (2021). Janice Holt Giles: A Writer's Life. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813184548.