Bushfield, Vera Cahalan, 1889-1976

<p>Vera Cahalan Bushfield’s brief Senate service in the autumn of 1948 never brought her to the Capitol, where the 80th Congress (1947–1949) had recessed for the general elections. Instead, she stayed in her native South Dakota tending to constituent services after being appointed to the final weeks of the term of her late husband, Harlan John Bushfield.</p>

<p>Vera Sarah Cahalan was born in Miller, South Dakota, on August 9, 1889, the year the state was admitted to the Union. Her parents, Maurice Francis Cahalan and Mary Ellen Conners Cahalan, were farmers who had recently resettled from Iowa. They raised three daughters and a son. Vera Cahalan grew up in Miller, attended the public schools, and, in 1912, graduated with a degree in domestic science from Stout Institute in Menominee, Wisconsin. She later attended Dakota Wesleyan University and the University of Minnesota. On April 15, 1912, Vera Cahalan married Harlan J. Bushfield, a lawyer born and raised in Miller. The Bushfields had three children: Mary, John, and Harlan Jr.</p>

<p>Harlan Bushfield became involved in state politics and eventually chaired the South Dakota GOP, guiding the state into Alf Landon’s win column during the 1936 presidential election. He later served as governor of South Dakota from 1939 to 1943. Elected to the U.S. Senate in November 1942, Bushfield served on the Rules and Finance Committees, as well as the District of Columbia; the Agriculture and Forestry; and the Indian Affairs Committees. Bushfield earned a reputation as a leading isolationist and an outspoken opponent of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs.</p>

<p>Vera Cahalan Bushfield (August 9, 1889 – April 16, 1976) was a U.S. Senator from South Dakota briefly in 1948, as well as the First Lady of South Dakota from 1939 to 1943. Bushfield's election also marked the first time a state had been represented by two female senators; Gladys Pyle served for two months in late 1938 and early 1939.</p>

<p>Born in Miller, South Dakota, she attended the public schools, graduated from the Stout Institute in Menomonie, Wisconsin, and also attended Dakota Wesleyan University and the University of Minnesota.</p>

<p>In 1912, she married Harlan J. Bushfield, and they had three children Mary J. (b. 1913), John P. (b. 1914), and Harlan J. (b. 1921). The Bushfields were residents of Miller.</p>

<p>Harlan Bushfield was an attorney and Republican Party official who served as Governor of South Dakota from 1939 to 1943. During his governorship, his wife was the official sponsor of the launch of the USS South Dakota (BB-57) on June 7, 1941, in Camden, New Jersey.</p>