"The First Kansas Congresswoman: Kathryn O'Loughlin
Mc Carthy

A Moment in Time

Kansas Historical Society

March 2001

By Bobbie Athon

A monthly series from the Kansas Historical Society

When Kathryn O'Loughlin of Hays entered the Democratic primary for Sixth District Kansas U.S. House of Representatives in 1932, she had three strikes against her. She was a single woman, a Catholic, and a Democrat in a primarily Republican district that encompassed 26 counties in northwest Kansas. She overcame these obstacles to win by approximately 143,000 votes in the election landslide that elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt president. She was the first woman from Kansas to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Kathryn Ellen O'Loughlin was born in 1894 on a farm in Ellis County. Her Irish-American family were Roman Catholics and Democrats. She was educated in Hays, graduated from Fort Hays Kansas Normal School in 1917, obtained a law degree from the University of Chicago in 1920 and passed the Kansas Bar examination. While her father, John O'Loughlin, was serving in the Kansas House in 1921, she was employed as a clerk of the House Judiciary Committee. She practiced law in Chicago for several years, and was involved in legal aid work in Illinois politics. She returned to Kansas in 1929 and was elected to the state legislature in 1930.

During her campaign for Congress in 1932 she defeated eight men in the Democratic primary, traveled approximately 30,000 miles, made up to 12 speeches per day, and dealt with "whisper" campaigns about her marital status, her religion and her stand on prohibition. In the midst of the campaign, she met Daniel McCarthy of Mankato, a lawyer and state senator, whom she married in February of 1933.

As congresswoman, she was active in influencing New Deal agricultural policy. Growing discontent with the regulatory aspects of Roosevelt's farm policy and the traditional Republican leanings of her constituency contributed to her 2,000 vote defeat by Frank Carlson in her re-election bid in 1934.

O'Loughlin continued to help others after her political career ended. She paid tuition at Fort Hays State University for several African American students who had been discriminated against and provided them with rooms in her home. She also advocated for better treatment of women in the state's prisons.

Though her elected political career was brief, Kathryn O'Loughlin McCarthy ably demonstrated that women could withstand the hardships of a political campaign and could be a positive influence for our state at the national level. She led the way for other Kansas women to enter political careers.

O'Loughlin is one of many people, places and events featured in, A Kansas Portrait, on the Kansas Historical Society's web site. A Kansas Portrait can be found online. The Society is headquartered at the Kansas History Center, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099; 785-272-8681, TTY 785-272-8683; www.kshs.org

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© Kansas Historical Society 2001