Farquharson, Mary U.

Mary Farquharson was an activist for liberal and Christian causes who served as a Washington state senator from 1935 to 1941. She was born in 1901 and died in 1982. During World War II, Farquharson was deeply committed to aiding Japanese Americans who had been forcibly incarcerated. She was instrumental in advancing the case of Gordon Hirabayashi, a Japanese American who refused internment, to the U.S. Supreme Court.

From the description of Mary Farquharson papers relating to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, 1942-1945. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 50084416

Washington State senator and advocate for social justice.

Mary U. Nichols was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1901, earned a degree in English from the University of Washington in 1925, and married civil engineer and fellow peace activist Burt Farquharson in 1928. Running as a Democrat in the 46th district, Mary Farquharson won a seat in the Washington State Senate in 1934 and for two terms worked to support education, tax reform, social welfare, and fair employment practices. An adamant anti-Communist, Farquharson was nonetheless labeled a "Red" by some for her support of left-wing causes. She was a founder of the local American Civil Liberties Union affiliate; she worked to free Ray Becker, the last Wobbly imprisoned after the 1919 Centralia Massacre; and during World War II, she vocally supported peace (as a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation), and strongly opposed the incarceration of Japanese Americans in the western U.S. She was instrumental in advancing the case of Gordon Hirabayashi, a Japanese American who refused internment, to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Farquharsons were active members of Seattle's Church of the People, and after the war, Mary Farquharson promoted peace through the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, fought racial discrimination through the local Urban League, and sought to halt the arms race and outlaw the death penalty. She died in 1982, her husband in 1970.

From the description of Mary U. Farquharson papers, 1875-1982. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 50084413