Iris Faircloth Blitch (April 25, 1912 – August 19, 1993) was a

United States representative 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

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. She was the fourth woman to represent Georgia in the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, and the first to win a regularly scheduled

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. Blitch was a vocal advocate both for women's rights and racial segregation.

Early life

Blitch was born near

Vidalia, Georgia Vidalia ( ''vye-DAYL-yə'', ) is a city located primarily in Toombs County, Georgia, United States. The city also extends very slightly into Montgomery County. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,785. Vidalia is the principal ...

and attended the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

(UGA) in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in 1929. She also attended South Georgia College in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

in 1949. Blitch worked with her husband in managing their farm as well as cattle, timber,

naval stores Naval stores refers to the industry that produces various chemicals collected from conifers. The term was originally applied to the compounds used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ships. Presently, the naval stores industry are used to ...

, fertilizer, and pharmacy businesses in

Homerville, Georgia Homerville is a city and the county seat of Clinch County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 2,456 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 12.38% from 2,803 in 2000. It was incorporated February 15, 1869. History Clinch County was create ...

Political career

State legislature

In 1946, Blitch was elected to the

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...

; she was subsequently elected to the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

in 1948 but lost her reelection bid to that office in 1950. She won election to the state Senate again in 1952 and remained in that position through December 31, 1954. From 1948 through 1954, Blitch was Georgia's Democratic Party national committee member.

Tenure in Congress

Running a successful campaign for

Georgia's 8th congressional district Georgia's 8th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The district is currently represented by Republican Party (United States), Republican Austin Scott (politician), Austin Scott. T ...

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 ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Blitch served in the

84th United States Congress The 84th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1955 ...

. A staunch

segregationist Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by peopl ...

, in 1956, Blitch was among the 101 Southern politicians to sign the

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

. She won re-election to three additional terms in that seat before choosing not to seek reelection in 1962 due to severe arthritis. In 1964, Mrs. Blitch left the Democratic Party and endorsed Republican presidential nominee

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

. Switched back to Democrat to campaign for Jimmy Carter during his gubernatorial election. Five days after her 1954 election, Blitch appeared on the American television show ''

What's My Line ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists to questi ...

''.

Later life

After her political service, Blitch resided on St. Simons Island, Georgia, until 1988, when she moved to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, to be closer to her daughter. She died there on August 19, 1993, and was buried in Pine Forest Cemetery in

Note

References

NY Times Obituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blitch, Iris Faircloth 1912 births 1993 deaths Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Members of the Georgia House of Representatives University of Georgia alumni Female members of the United States House of Representatives Women state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) People from Toombs County, Georgia Women in Georgia (U.S. state) politics Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans People from St. Simons, Georgia People from Clinch County, Georgia 20th-century American women politicians California Republicans Signatories of the Southern Manifesto 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly