McCarthy, Kathryn O'Loughlin (1894–1952)

American politician and U.S. representative to the 73rd Congress . Born Kathryn Ellen O'Loughlin on April 24, 1894, near Hays, Kansas; died in Hays,Kansas, on January 16, 1952; daughter of John O'Loughlin and Mary Ellen (McIntosh) O'Loughlin; Fort Hays State College (later Kansas State Teachers College), B.S. in Edn., 1917; University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1920; married Daniel M. McCarthy (a Kansas state senator), on February 4, 1933.

Kathryn O'Loughlin McCarthy was born on April 24, 1894, near Hays, Kansas, where she attended rural primary and secondary schools. She continued her education at the Kansas State Teachers College and the University of Chicago Law School, from which she received her law degree. After a brief stint practicing law in Chicago, in 1928 she returned to Hays to open her own practice. She also became active in the state Democratic Party and in 1931 was elected to the Kansas State House of Representatives. She then defeated Republican incumbent Charles Sparks to gain election in 1932 to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Sixth District of Kansas. She married Kansas state senator Daniel McCarthy shortly before the start of her term in March 1933.

A supporter of New Deal policies, McCarthy was also a strong backer of the Agriculture Adjustment Act, for many of her constituents were farmers who had been devastated by the Depression. She was assigned to serve on the House Committee of Insular Affairs, an appointment she protested in favor of participation on the Committee on Agriculture which she considered more appropriate to a representative from rural Kansas. Although her protest was denied, she was transferred to the Committee on Education, in which role she sought increased federal funding for vocational schools.

McCarthy lost her bid for reelection to the House in 1934. She returned to her law practice in Hays, and later operated a car dealership. Remaining active in Democratic politics, she participated in national party conventions until her death in Hays on January 16, 1952.

sources:

Office of the Historian. Women in Congress, 1917–1990. Commission on the Bicentenary of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1991.

Grant Eldridge , freelance writer, Pontiac, Michigan