Rogers, Edith Nourse, 1881-1960
Variant namesBiographical notes:
Edith Nourse Rogers, Republican Congresswoman from the Fifth District of Massachusetts, was born March 19, 1881 in Saco, Maine. She graduated from Rogers Hall School in Lowell, Massachusetts and Madame Julien's School in Paris, France. In 1907 she married John Jacob Rogers, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1913 until his death in 1925. During World War I, ENR served in France and England on a special assignment from President Wilson to survey medical care of wounded American soldiers, and was also a Red Cross nurse in France. In 1922, following four additional years of Red Cross work in Walter Reed Hospital, ENR was appointed by President Harding as his personal representative to oversee the care of disabled veterans. She was reappointed to this position by President Coolidge in 1923 and President. Hoover in 1929. ENR again served overseas during World War II, inspecting soldiers' care, under a special assignment from President Roosevelt.
Mrs. Rogers was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives during the 69th Congress, on June 30, 1925, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband. She was re-elected to every successive Congress, and died in office on September 10, 1960. Legislation attributed to ENR includes the improvement of the American Foreign Service; the establishment of the Women's Army Corps (WAC); the enactment of the G.I. Bill of Rights; the enactment of the bill for Korean Veterans Benefits; the establishment of a permanent Nurse Corps for veterans; and many other laws providing aid and assistance to permanently disabled American war veterans.
Although forced to give up her position on the Foreign Affairs Committee upon assuming the Chairmanship of Veterans' Affairs, Mrs. Rogers continued her interest in U.S. foreign policy. She vigorously opposed Vice President Nixon's proposal to intervene in Indochina in 1954 because she fervently believed that, "If America is to strike a blow at Communism, it must be struck at Moscow, the heart of Communism." She was a strong supporter of Senator Joseph McCarthy, and of military predominance, and opposed the admittance of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations; other favorite causes included highway safety, cancer research, and legislation to help Massachusetts' Fifth District.
Congresswoman Rogers received awards and citations from veterans' and other groups, including the American Legion's Distinguished Service Medal. She was the recipient of honorary degrees from Tufts College, Bates College, Staley College, Washington College of Law, and the Lowell Textile Institute.
From the guide to the Papers, 1854, 1881-1961, (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)
Edith Nourse Rogers (March 19, 1881 – September 10, 1960) was an American social welfare volunteer and politician who served in the United States Congress. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts.
Born in Saco, Maine, her parents' affluence allowed Edith Nourse to be privately tutored until she was fourteen. She then attended and graduated from Rogers Hall School, a private boarding school for girls in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Madame Julien's School, a finishing school at Neuilly in Paris, France. In 1907, she married John Jacob Rogers. In 1911, he started his career in politics, becoming involved in the city government, and the next year he became the school commissioner. In 1912 he was elected as a Republican to the 63rd United States Congress as the Representative from the 5th District of Massachusetts, and began service in Washington, D.C. on March 4, 1913. During her husband's time in Congress, Edith Rogers volunteered with the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in London for a short time, then from 1917 to 1922 as a "Gray Lady" with the American Red Cross in France and with the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Following the end of the First World War, her husband joined the American Legion veteran's organization, and she joined the auxiliary. Her experience with veteran's issues led President Warren G. Harding to appoint her as the inspector of new veterans' hospitals from 1922 to 1923, for $1 USD a year. She reported on conditions and her appointment was renewed by both the Coolidge and Hoover administrations. Her first experience in politics was serving as an elector in the U.S. Electoral College during Calvin Coolidge's 1924 presidential campaign.
Upon her husband's passing in 1925, Rogers was spurred by pressure from the Republican Party and the American Legion to run in the special election for his seat. In her 35 years in the House of Representatives she was a powerful voice for veterans and sponsored seminal legislation, including the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (commonly known as the G.I. Bill), which provided educational and financial benefits for veterans returning home from World War II, the 1942 bill that created the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), and the 1943 bill that created the Women's Army Corps (WAC). She was also instrumental in bringing federal appropriations to her constituency, Massachusetts's 5th congressional district.
Though considered a formidable candidate for U.S. Senate in 1958 against the much younger John F. Kennedy, she decided not to run. Edith Rogers died of pneumonia in Boston in the midst of her 19th Congressional campaign. She was interred with her husband in Lowell Cemetery, in their hometown of Lowell.
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Subjects:
- Anti-communist movements
- Labor laws and legislation
- Nurses
- Politics, Practical
- Veterans
- Women
- Women in war
- World War, 1939-1945
- World War, 1939-1945
- World War, 1939-1945
Occupations:
- Representatives, U.S. Congress
- Social Activist
Places:
- Paris, A8, FR
- Lowell, Massachusetts (as recorded)
- Saco, ME, US
- Lowell, MA, US
- Boston, MA, US
