She was outraged at the possibility of government being the catalyst for social injustice. Millicent always pointed to Hitler’s terrorizing reign as the reason she became involved in politics. It was her passion to fight injustice that thrust her forward. If someone had told Millicent as a young woman that she would be elected to national office, she would have dismissed such a suggestion. When Millicent Vernon Hammond was born in New York City on February 25, 1910, women did not have the right to vote, and would not for another ten years. She was a strong-willed, opinionated, independent woman who embodied charm, wit, and sophistication. Once Millicent made a decision she could not be derailed. She strolled along life’s path, not knowing what her next step would be or where it might lead. She rarely set goals for herself, nor did she visualize any barriers. She continually challenged the status quo and succeeded. In some ways her life mirrored the times, yet in other ways she was a woman ahead of her times-a pioneer. Millicent Fenwick’s life spanned the twentieth century. Kean, president of Drew University, governor of New Jersey (1982–1990) In the end, that was probably why she lost her last election, but the example she set and the way she conducted her life continue to stand as a model for all those who might want to pursue public life. Stubborn to a fault, she never betrayed her ideals or paid much attention to the polls. Above all things, she hated hypocrisy and those who abused the public trust. Beloved by many, she had few close friends. ![]() And as much as she became a citizen of the world, she was never so much at peace as among her neighbors in Bernardsville. In legislative bodies she remained a maverick, but at home in Somerset County, she never went against the wishes of the county chairmen. She loved serving in office, and whether in the state assembly or the United States Congress, she never ceased marveling that she had actually been chosen to represent the people. She was the only really ambitious seventy-year-old I’ve ever met. They weren’t paying attention to anything I was saying. The entire audience was watching, waiting to see if she was actually going to light it. ![]() She had taken out her pipe and was slowly filling it with tobacco. About three minutes in, I had the sense nobody in the audience was paying attention. Once, when we were debating, she finished her comments and sat down. She was smart politically and not above a trick or two to achieve her ends. She never answered questions about her failed marriage or even her family. Fenwick, where does your money come from?” “The land, the land,” she replied. In an age of disclosure, I once heard a reporter ask, “Mrs. Because she was Millicent and because the press was in awe, she easily avoided questions she didn’t want to answer. ![]() She was a national phenomenon and yet until now very little has been written about her, and nobody has pierced the veil that Millicent drew around her personal life. Although she ran for national office for the first time in her mid-sixties, it took only two years for her to become one of the best-known and -loved members of the United States Congress. Largely self-educated yet erudite, Millicent made her pipe a trademark. A liberal in her approach to most issues, she maintained a lifelong devotion to the Republican Party. Yet she had a particular affinity for the downtrodden, the poor, and the underprivileged. She was an aristocrat of the kind Katharine Hepburn used to play in movies like The Philadelphia Story. The best writers of fiction might have struggled to make her believable, but they would have failed. Kean ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiiiĢ23 Notes 239 Selected Bibliography 263 Index 271 vii Manufactured in the United States of Americaįoreword, by Thomas H. ![]() The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use” as defined by U.S. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 100 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8099. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Copyright © 2003 by Amy Schapiro All rights reserved. Eliot reprinted by permission of the publisher. Eliot, copyright © 1936 by Harcourt, Inc., copyright © 1964, 1963 by T. Excerpt from “Choruses from ‘The Rock’” in Collected Poems 1909–1962 by T. E840.8.F 328.73'092-dc21 2002012130 British Cataloging-in-Publication data for this book is available from the British Library. Women legislators-United States-Biography. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schapiro, Amy, 1970– Millicent Fenwick: her way / Amy Schapiro foreword by Thomas H. Rutgers University Press New Brunswick, New Jersey, and London Millicent Fenwick Her Way Amy Schapiro Foreword by Thomas H.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |