Knutson, Cornelia Gjesdal, 1912-1996

<p>Cornelia Genevive Gjesdal "Coya" Knutson (née Gjesdal; August 22, 1912 – October 10, 1996) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Minnesota. She served two terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives, from 1951 to 1955, before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 9th congressional district as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). She served two terms there, in the 84th and 85th Congresses, (from January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1959).</p>

<p>Knutson was the first woman elected to Congress from Minnesota, and is remembered today for the notorious "Coya, Come Home" letter supposedly written by her then-estranged husband, Andy, urging her to give up her seat and not seek reelection in 1958. Political rivals had put him up to it, and it was seen as instrumental in her ensuing defeat. The incident is often cited as an example of sexism in American politics.</p>

<p>Knutson was born Cornelia Genevive Gjesdal in Edmore, Ramsey County, North Dakota.</p>

<p>She grew up on the farm where she was born, and inherited her politics from her father, a Populist who belonged to a socialist organization called the Non-Partisan League.</p>

<p>After growing up and attending Concordia College in nearby Moorhead, Minnesota, Knutson planned on a career in opera and went to New York City to attend the Juilliard School for a year. When she realized she would not make it in opera, she returned to Minnesota, where she married Andy Knutson and moved to his farm near Oklee.</p>

<p>Unlike so many women whose marriage connection catapulted them to Congress, Coya Knutson’s familial ties brought her promising political career to a premature close. Knutson’s work in the House, devoted largely to protecting the family farm and opening educational opportunities, unraveled after her husband publicly called on her to resign. “I am not a feminist or anything else of that sort,” Knutson once explained. “I do not use my womanhood as a weapon or a tool. . . . What I want most is to be respected and thought of as a person rather than as a woman in this particular job. I would like to feel that I am respected for my ability, my honesty, my judgment, my imagination, and my vision.”</p>

<p>Cornelia “Coya” Genevive Gjesdal was born on August 22, 1912, in Edmore, North Dakota, to Christian and Christine (Anderson) Gjesdal, Norwegian immigrant farmers. She attended the public schools of Edmore, worked on her father’s farm, and, in 1934 earned a BS from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Coya completed postgraduate work at the State Teachers College in Moorhead. In 1935 she briefly attended the Julliard School of Music in New York City. An unsuccessful appearance on a national amateur hour radio show convinced her to abandon a career as a professional singer. For the next dozen years, she taught high school classes in North Dakota and Minnesota. In 1940 Coya Gjesdal married Andy Knutson, her father’s farm hand. The young couple moved to Oklee, Minnesota, his hometown, where they eventually operated a hotel and grain farm. In 1948 the Knutsons adopted an eight-year-old boy, Terry.</p>

<p>Coya Knutson’s involvement in politics developed through community activism. During World War II, Knutson served as a field agent for the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, investigating issues of price support. She helped establish the Oklee Medical Clinic, a local Red Cross branch, and the Community Chest Fund. She became a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party, created in 1944 when state Democrats, a minority party, merged with a third party composed of agricultural and factory workers. In 1948 Knutson became a member of Red Lake County welfare board and was appointed chair of the DFL’s Red Lake County organization. In the fall of 1950, she won election as a DFL candidate to the Minnesota house of representatives. Meanwhile, Andy Knutson resented his wife’s burgeoning political career and lent little support. Moreover, their marriage deteriorated because of his alcoholism.</p>