Florence Price Dwyer (July 4, 1902 – February 29, 1976) was an American Republican Party politician who represented much of

Essex County, New Jersey Essex County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is one of the centrally located counties in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county was the state's second-most populous county,< ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1957 to 1973. From 1967 to 1973, she also represented parts of

Union County, New Jersey Union County is a County (United States), county in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's List of counties in New Jersey, seventh-most-populous county

. She was the second woman to be elected to the

from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. She was the first woman Republican from New Jersey elected to the House. Dwyer was an advocate for women's rights throughout her political career.

Early life and education

Dwyer was born Florence Louise Price in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...

. She went to public school in Reading and

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

after moving there. Dwyer later moved to

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Rutgers Law School Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

and became State Legislation Chairman of the New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women.

Political career

Dwyer served as an alternate delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

in 1944 and 1948. She was then elected to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

, where she served from 1950 to 1956. Assemblywoman Dwyer introduced the Equal Pay for Equal Work bill, which was passed in 1952. The bill criminalized "discrimination in the rate of wages on the basis of sex" and later became a model for federal legislation. In 1956, Dwyer was elected to the

for the first of eight terms. In 1962, she co-sponsored the Equal Pay Act, which was passed the following year. In 1970, she helped Representative Martha W. Griffiths to bring the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...

to the floor of the House after it had stalled in committee decades earlier. The amendment, originally drafted by

Alice Paul Alice Stokes Paul (January 11, 1885 – July 9, 1977) was an American Quaker, suffragette, suffragist, feminist, and women's rights activist, and one of the foremost leaders and strategists of the campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment to the Unit ...

in 1923, passed in the House and Senate, but its deadline for ratification passed without approval by the required number of state legislatures. The ERA has since been reintroduced dozens of times without success. Dwyer described herself as a "progressive and moderate Republican", who supported civil rights legislation, women's rights, Social Security benefit increases, housing renewal, mass transportation, food stamps, medical care for the aged and anti-poverty programs, making her one of the most liberal Republicans in the House of Representatives. Whenever she voted with the Democrats, Dwyer wore pink clothes, and white or black when voting with Republicans. Dwyer voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

. She was also a supporter of Medicare and

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

, the

and was one of 20 House Republicans to support the repeal of the right-to-work law in the Taft-Hartley Act. Dwyer supported the ERA as far back as her first term in Congress in 1957. Dwyer supported Pennsylvania Governor

William Scranton William Warren Scranton (July 19, 1917 – July 28, 2013) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician and diplomat. Scranton served as the 38th governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967, and as United States Am ...

in the 1964 Republican presidential primaries. Dwyer was one of thirty-one Republicans in the House to vote in favor of the Comprehensive Child Development Act of 1971. Dwyer was not a candidate for reelection in 1972. She retired to Elizabeth where she died in 1976. Her body is interred at St. Gertrude's Cemetery,

Colonia, New Jersey Colonia is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Woodbridge Township in Middlesex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

References

External links

*
Inventory to the Records of New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women, 1919-1998
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dwyer, Florence P. 1902 births 1976 deaths Female members of the United States House of Representatives Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Politicians from Elizabeth, New Jersey Politicians from Reading, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Women state legislators in New Jersey 20th-century American women politicians American feminists Equal Rights Amendment activists Liberalism in the United States 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Early life and education

Political career

See also

References

External links