Mary Teresa Norton (née Hopkins; March 7, 1875 – August 2, 1959) was an American
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
who represented
Jersey City and
Bayonne in the United States House of Representatives from 1925 to 1951.
She was the first woman member of the Democratic Party elected to Congress and the first woman elected to represent
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, or any state in
the Northeast. She chaired four
House committees during her tenure and was a
labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
advocate and a supporter of
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
.
Early life and education
She was born as Mary Teresa Hopkins in
Jersey City, New Jersey. She attended
parochial schools and Jersey City High School (since renamed
William L. Dickinson High School) and graduated from
Packard Business College,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
in 1896. She married Robert Francis Norton in 1909.
Early career
Norton was president of the Queen's Daughters' Day Nursery Association of Jersey City from 1916 to 1927. She was appointed to represent
Hudson County
Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...
on the
New Jersey Democratic State Committee
The New Jersey Democratic State Committee (NJDSC) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New Jersey. LeRoy J. Jones Jr. is the chair and Peg Schaffer is the vice chair.
Structure
The NJDSC has a 13-member executive commit ...
in 1920. She was elected a member of that committee in 1921, and served as vice chairperson from 1921 to 1931. She chaired the state committee from 1932 to 1935 and again from 1940 to 1944. She also served as vice chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Committee.
She was elected to the Hudson County
Board of Chosen Freeholders
In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...
in 1922, and was a delegate at large to the
Democratic National Conventions in
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
,
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...
,
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...
,
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
,
1940
A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* Januar ...
,
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
, and
1948. She was a delegate to the
International Labor Conference at
Paris, France
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
in 1945.
Congress
Norton was elected as a Democrat to the
69th,
70th,
71st,
72nd,
73rd,
74th,
75th,
76th,
77th,
78th,
79th,
80th,
81st United States Congresses, serving from March 4, 1925, to January 3, 1951. She originally represented
New Jersey's 12th congressional district
New Jersey's 12th congressional district is represented by Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman, who has served in Congress since 2015. The district is known for its research centers and educational institutions such as Princeton University, Rider ...
, then composed of Jersey City and
Bayonne. Later, she represented the 13th district due to
reapportionment.
Committees
Norton was the chairperson of the
Committee on the District of Columbia (during the 72nd to 75th Congresses), the Committee on Labor (75th to 79th Congresses), the Committee on Memorials (77th Congress), and the Committee on House Administration (81st Congress). She helped pass the
Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, working with
Clara Mortenson Beyer,
Frances Perkins, and Mary La Dame as part of what was colloquially called the "Ladies' Brain Trust."
[The Living New Deal Archives]
Clara Beyer (c. 1892-1990).
/ref>
Norton was not a candidate for renomination in 1950. She became a "Womanpower Consultant" for the Women's Advisory Committee on Defense Manpower, in the United States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploy ...
from 1951 to 1952.
Death
Norton died on August 2, 1959, in Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other ...
, aged 84.
See also
*Women in the United States House of Representatives
References
External links
*
Mary T. Norton
at ''Women in Congress''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Mary Teresa
1875 births
1959 deaths
Burials at Holy Name Cemetery (Jersey City, New Jersey)
Chairmen of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee
County commissioners in New Jersey
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
People from Greenwich, Connecticut
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey
William L. Dickinson High School alumni
Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey
Women in New Jersey politics
Catholics from New Jersey
Catholics from Connecticut