Author (Your Name)

Donna K. Curran, Colby College

Date of Award

1982

Document Type

Senior Scholars Paper (Open Access)

Department

Colby College. Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program

Advisor(s)

Charles Bassett

Second Advisor

Jane Hunter

Third Advisor

William B. Miller

Abstract

The focus of this paper is to investigate the development of "political women" in the State of Maine. The first section outlines the suffrage movement in Maine and highlights information on the struggle for women's voting rights. It provides descriptions of the women who were involved in the movement and their collective political activity during the quest for enfranchisement. The next section looks at the involvement of women in the State Legislature between the years 1920-1970. The study focuses on the personal and political characteristics of these women and analyzes their political participation in the Legislature as shaped by state and societal norms throughout the decades. The final section looks at the women serving in the 110th Legislative session. It explores their personal characteristics and profiles, their prior political experience, their legislative records and accomplishments as legislators, and their attitudes toward the role of women in politics today. This information is supplemented by an audio-visual production which portrays the political situation of women involved in Maine's governmental structure. This slide-tape presentation is on file at the Colby College Audio-Visual Department, Waterville, Maine.

Keywords

Women in politics, Maine, Politics and government

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