Introduction

Although some women were elected to serve as County School Superintendents as early as 1880, the Washington State Legislature passed a law in 1890 disqualifying women from public office. After Women's Suffrage was enacted in the state in 1910, Washington’s first women legislators were elected in 1912 and served in the 1913 State Legislature. Washington has consistently been in the top five states for percentage of women legislators and from 1993 to 2004 led the nation in percentage of Women State Legislators, and in 1999 and 2000 boasted a record-breaking 40.8 percent of the House and Senate. 218 women have served in the Washington State Legislature since 1913.

The papers of Catherine May Bedell (overview | browse), Member of Congress, were acquired by the Washington State University Library in February 1971. A gift of Mrs. May, the collection was transferred to the Library from her office and the National Archives and Records Service facility at Washington, D.C. The collection consists of approximately 400,000 items in 558 containers and constitutes the Congressional office files of Mrs. May during her tenure as United States Representative from the Fourth Congressional District of Washington, between 1959 and 1970. (See finding aid, Cage 304.)

During her 43 years in public office, Julia Butler Hansen became one of the greatest political figures Washington has ever known. This WHC profile presents a brief biographical introduction and points visitors to numerous resources available for further study.