Winifred C. Stanley
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Winifred Claire Stanley | |
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![]() Portrait of Winifred C. Stanley | |
Born | |
Died | February 29, 1996 | (aged 86)
Resting place | Mount Olivet Cemetery, Tonawanda, New York |
Winifred Claire Stanley (August 14, 1909 Bronx, New York – February 29, 1996 Kenmore, Erie County, New York) was an American politician and attorney from New York affiliated with the Republican Party. Stanley is known for her adamant women's rights advocation during the WWII war time period, her work as a prosecutor, and for being the first female assistant district attorney in Erie County.[1] Although Stanley only served one term before her constituency was redistricted, she used her legislative standing to champion causes such as peacetime demobilization and equal pay regardless of sex.
Early life
Winifred C. Stanley was born to Mary and John Francis Stanley on August 14, 1909 in Bronx, NY. Stanley was the eldest of her parent's six siblings.[2] Stanley's mother was an English and music teacher, and her father was an architect, neither professions exhibiting political inclination. Although being initially born in Bronx, she and her family spent her childhood in Buffalo, NY.
Education
Following her high school career at Lafayette High School, Stanley pursued her undergraduate degree with the University of Buffalo, eventually graduating with honors in 1930. Stanley then decided to return to the University of Buffalo to pursue her L.L.B. and J.D., of which she attained by 1933[3] while being first in her class.[2]
Early career
Prior to pursuing politics, Winifred Stanley became a practicing attorney. She started this following her first year out of school in 1934 by entering the bar at age 25.[4] She gained her legal prowess following an encounter with New York Judicial System; Stanley found the barring of women from being able to participate on a jury absolutely abhorrent and started a movement by mobilizing different parts of society such as church societies, women's clubs, and political organizations to stand behind her endeavors. Her efforts were largely successful in acquiring the right for women to participate in jury panels in the state of New York.[2] Her abilities did not go unnoticed by the law community as well, landing her a job with the then District Attorney Leo J. Hagerty who appointed her as the first female assistant deputy attorney in Erie County (1938-1942).[3] Stanley accomplished this all by the age of 28 years old.
Congressional Service
When New York was being redistricted following the 1940 Census, two seats were being lost in the process. This warranted the Republican Party to search for a candidate to take a short-term seat slated for elimination. At this point in her career, Stanley was an accomplished attorney who wouldn't threaten a higher-ranking Republican when reelection came around, making her the prime candidate for the job. Stanley ran on a campaign of $6.00[5] and was elected to the 78th Congress in November 1942. She beat out eight other candidates for the position by garnering nearly 2 million votes.[6] Three of the eight candidates she ran against were women; Stanley's female opponents were Flora D. Johnson (Syracuse Democrat also running on the American Labor Party's ticket), Elizabeth Gurly Flynn (New York City Communist and famed activist for workers' and women's rights), and Layle Lane (Harlem Socialist and African American educator, civil rights activist and labor organizer).[4] Her term would start in January 3, 1943 and would run until January 3, 1945.[7]
Committee Assignments
Although Winifred Stanley vied for a position on the powerful House Judiciary Committee, she was appointed to Patents and Civil Service Committees. Her background in law inspired her inclination to be appointed to the Judiciary, however those in charge of committee assignments (such as James W. Wadsworth Jr.) opposed women in the workplace vehemently and she received little support from her Republican colleagues due to her short-term status.[2]
Stanley's Appointed Committees | Years Served |
---|---|
Patents Committee | 1943-1945 |
Civil Service Committee | 1943-1945 |
Women's Rights Legislative Work
Stanley was a large advocate for women's rights in the society and in the workplace as made very clear in her demonstration against the New York Judicial System. She continued this work in her position in Congress by introducing the first equal pay for equal work bill on June 19, 1944.[8] Stanley did this through the form of a bill to amend the NLRA (National Labor Relations Act of 1935). Her proposed amendment would include the provision of making it unlawful to discriminate against any employee on account of sex[9](HR 5056). Stanley made clear that she wanted to maintain in "peacetime the drive and energy which women have contributed to the war."[10] She introduced HR 5056 to the house floor with the accompanying statement, "It has often been remarked that this is a 'man's world.' The war and its far-reaching effects have provided the answer. It's 'our world,' and this battered old universe needs and will need the best brains and ability of both men and women."[11] Despite her efforts, the bill was referred to the Committee on Labor where it expired and was never made into law.
Stanley also argued the point that women should be commissioned as surgeons in the US Army as well as was a large supporter for fighting to renew the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in 1943.[12]
Post-War Planning Legislative Work
Beyond being an advocate for Women's rights, Stanley was a large proponent of Post-World War II reconstruction and was largely known as being a driving force in sensible post-war planning.[2]
Stanley herself introduced a concurrent resolution in order to call to order a special joint committee to discuss plausible legislation addressing postwar employment on January 24, 1944. This committee was, per her request, to deal with the influx of returning soldiers into the economy which would flood the job market. In order to handle this effectively, Stanley suggested this to be a bipartisan committee with members from each region of the country.[13]
Legislative records show that Stanley also supported Beardsley Ruml's 1943 plan to forgive all 1942 income taxes while instating a withholding tax on all 1943 wages. She supported this in hopes that the withheld tax could prove to bring in an easily acquired source of revenue for federal government's war effort.[13]
In addition to this work, Stanley made a speech in the House of Representative's chambers proposing a resolution that would support an American delegation to the proposed UN (United Nations).
Other Noted Legislative Support
Stanley was a noted supporter of increasing wages for postal employees along with eliminating the poll tax.[14]
Stanley was a vocal opponent to the New Deal programs during the 1944 campaigns.[15]
Stanley was for protecting veteran's rights by attempting to put forth legislation pushing for construction of more Veterans' Administration hospitals in her constituency of Upstate New York.[2]
Missed Votes
From January 1943 to December 1944, Stanley missed a total of 8 of 156 roll call votes. This information translated to missing 5.1%, being better than the median of 7.1% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Dec 1944. The chart below reports missed votes over time.[16]
Time Period | Votes Eligible | Missed Votes | Percent | Percentile |
---|---|---|---|---|
1943 Jan-Mar | 17 | 1 | 5.9% | 24th |
1943 Apr-Jun | 49 | 3 | 6.1% | 48th |
1943 Jul-Sep | 13 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
1943 Oct-Dec | 12 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
1944 Jan-Mar | 23 | 1 | 4.3% | 32nd |
1944 Apr-Jun | 32 | 2 | 6.3% | 53rd |
1944 Sep-Oct | 3 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
1944 Nov-Dec | 7 | 1 | 14.3% | 32nd |
Later career
Following her short-lived career in the halls of Congress, Stanley stayed within the public sector and got appointed in New York Governor Dewey's administration. Following her appointment, she was appointed counsel for the State Employees' Retirement System(1945-1955)[3] and later returned to her position as an assistant district attorney in Albany(1955-1979).[3] She later retired in 1979 only to continue in private practice until 1986.
Death and Internment
Following an illness, Stanley died in Kenmore, NY on February 29, 1996. Her internment is in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Tonawanda, NY.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Women in Congress, 1917-2006. Wasniewski, Matthew A. (Matthew Andrew), 1969-, United States. Congress. House. Committee on House Administration., United States. Congress. House. Office of History and Preservation. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O. 2006. ISBN 9780160767531. OCLC 71427081.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c d e f "STANLEY, Winifred Claire | US House Of Representatives: History, Art & Archives." History.house.gov. N. p., 2018. Web.
- ^ a b c d "STANLEY, Winifred Claire - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
- ^ a b Project), Jeff Z. Klein (Niagara Frontier Heritage. "Heritage Moments: The Buffalo congresswoman and the fight for equal pay". Retrieved 2018-04-04.
- ^ Rosenwald, Michael S. (2017-04-04). "Meet Miss Stanley, the forgotten 'Buffalo beauty' who first introduced equal pay legislation in Congress". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
- ^ "Election Statistics, 1920 to Present," http://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/Election-Statistics/.
- ^ a b "Winifred Claire Stanley". www.buffaloah.com. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
- ^ "Representative Winifred Stanley of New York | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
- ^ "Miss Stanley Backs Bill and Plank on Equal Pay," 20 June 1944, New York Times: 22.
- ^ Hope Chamberlin, A Minority of Members: Women in the U.S. Congress (New York: Praeger, 1973): 161.
- ^ "Equal Pay for Equal Work Bill | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
- ^ "Mrs. Luce Presses Equal Rights Bill," 23 February 1943, New York Times: 16.
- ^ a b Women in Congress, 1917-2006. Wasniewski, Matthew A. (Matthew Andrew), 1969-, United States. Congress. House. Committee on House Administration., United States. Congress. House. Office of History and Preservation. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O. 2006. ISBN 9780160767531. OCLC 71427081.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "Submits Poll—Tax Ban Amendment," 18 May 1944, New York Times: 22. Congressional Record, House, 78th Cong., 2nd sess. (12 December 1944): A4721.
- ^ "Anti—New Deal Tide Seen," 6 November 1944, New York Times: 16.
- ^ "Winifred Stanley, former Representative for New York - GovTrack.us". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
External links
- United States Congress. "Winifred C. Stanley (id: S000798)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Women in Congress, 1917-2006, pp. 220–223
- 1909 births
- 1996 deaths
- 20th-century American politicians
- 20th-century American lawyers
- 20th-century women politicians
- University at Buffalo alumni
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
- Female members of the United States House of Representatives
- Women in New York (state) politics
- New York (state) Republicans
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- American people of Irish descent
- American women lawyers
- Politicians from New York City
- People from Manhattan
- Politicians from Buffalo, New York
- Lawyers from Buffalo, New York