Simms, Ruth Hanna McCormick, 1880-1944

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Ruth Hanna McCormick (née Ruth Hanna, also known as Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms; March 27, 1880 – December 31, 1944), was an American politician, activist, and publisher. She served one term in the United States House of Representatives, winning an at-large seat in Illinois in 1928. She gave up the chance to run for re-election to seek a United States Senate seat from Illinois. She defeated the incumbent, Senator Charles S. Deneen, in the Republican primary, becoming the first female Senate candidate for a major party. McCormick lost the general election. A decade later, she became the first woman to manage a presidential campaign, although her candidate, Thomas E. Dewey, failed to capture his party's nomination.

Politics were a part of McCormick's life from an early age. She was the daughter of Mark Hanna, a Senator and politician who was instrumental in the election of President William McKinley. McCormick learned politics by watching her father, and put those lessons to use fighting for causes such as women's suffrage and improved working conditions for women. McCormick was instrumental in passing a partial suffrage law in Illinois in 1913, allowing women to vote in municipal and Presidential elections. She also married two politicians, Senator Medill McCormick and, after Senator McCormick's death, Congressman Albert Gallatin Simms. McCormick had the fame, the background and the determination to build a career on the new opportunities for women in high level politics. As a spokesperson for the suffrage and for the Republican party, she made political activism attractive for partisan women.

McCormick's endeavors were not limited to politics. Throughout her life, she maintained an interest in agriculture. She owned and operated ranches in Illinois, New Mexico, and Colorado. She also owned several newspapers, founding the Rockford Consolidated Newspapers in Rockford, Illinois.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Brownell, Baker, 1887-1965. Baker Brownell Papers, 1904-1965. Northwestern University
referencedIn Loines, Mary Hillard, 1844-1944. Papers in the Woman's Rights Collection, 1886-1944 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Hanna-McCormick Family Papers, 1792-1985, (bulk 1902-1944) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Hanna, Marcus Alonzo. Papers, 1904-1920 Ohio History Connection, Ohio Historical Society
referencedIn Roberts, Margaret Stevenson, 1872-1952. Papers, 1896-1956 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Blaine, Anita McCormick. Correspondence and papers, 1828-1958. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Gaines, Irene M. (Irene McCoy), 1896-1964. Irene McCoy Gaines papers, 1893-1968 (bulk 1940-1959). Chicago History Museum
referencedIn McCulloch, Catharine Waugh, 1862-1945. Papers in the Mary Earhart Dillon Collection, 1869-1945 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Sherman, Lawrence Y., 1858-1939. Papers, 1871-1939 (bulk 1912-1920). Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
referencedIn Viola Price Franklin letter collection, 1849-1941 Willamette University Archives and Special Collections
referencedIn Newspaper clippings regarding Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms and her family : concerns her political career in Illinois and her personal life. Chicago History Museum
referencedIn Mary Church Terrell Papers, 1851-1962, (bulk 1886-1954) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Roberts, Margaret Stevenson, 1872-1952. Papers, 1896-1956 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Hanna-McCormick Family Papers, 1792-1985, (bulk 1902-1944) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Breckinridge Family Papers, 1752-1965 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Charlotte Everett Hopkins Collection of National Civic Federation, Woman's Department, District of Columbia Section Records., 1900-1926, (bulk 1910-1918) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Papers of Helen Brewster Owens, 1867-1948 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn McCormick, Harold Fowler, 1872-1941. Harold Fowler McCormick papers, 1892-1947. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Loines, Mary Hillard, 1844-1944. Papers in the Woman's Rights Collection, 1886-1944 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Chicago Teachers' Federation. Chicago Teachers' Federation records, 1864-1968 (bulk 1898-1968). Chicago History Museum
referencedIn McCulloch, Catharine Waugh, 1862-1945. Papers in the Mary Earhart Dillon collection, 1869-1945 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
parentOf Barnes, Katrina McCormick. person
associatedWith Blaine, Anita McCormick. person
correspondedWith Breckinridge family family
associatedWith Brownell, Baker, 1887-1965. person
associatedWith Catharine Gouger (Waugh) McCullouch, 1862-1945 person
associatedWith Chicago Teachers' Federation corporateBody
associatedWith Franklin, Viola Price person
associatedWith Gaines, Irene M. (Irene McCoy), 1896-1964. person
childOf Hanna, Charlotte Augusta Rhodes. person
memberOf Hanna family family
childOf Hanna, Marcus Alonzo. person
almaMaterOf Hathaway Brown School corporateBody
correspondedWith Hopkins, Charlotte Everett. person
associatedWith Loines, Mary Hillard, 1844-1944. person
associatedWith Margaret Stephenson Roberts, d. 1952 person
associatedWith Mary (Hillard) Loines, 1844-1944 person
associatedWith Mary (Hillard) Loines, 1844-1944 person
almaMaterOf Masters School (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) corporateBody
memberOf McCormick family family
associatedWith McCormick, Harold Fowler, 1872-1941. person
child-in-law of McCormick, Katharine Medill, 1853-1932 person
spouseOf McCormick, Medill, 1877-1925 person
child-in-law of McCormick, Robert Sanderson, 1849-1919. person
associatedWith McCulloch, Catharine Waugh, b. 1862. person
almaMaterOf Miss Porter's School (Farmington, Conn.) corporateBody
associatedWith Owens, Helen Brewster, 1881-1968. person
associatedWith Roberts, Margaret Stephenson, d.1952. person
associatedWith Sherman, Lawrence Y., 1858-1939. person
spouseOf Simms, Albert G. person
parentOf Tankersley, Ruth McCormick, 1921- person
associatedWith Terrell, Mary Church, 1863-1954. person
memberOf United States. Congress. House person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Ogle County IL US
Farmington CT US
Albuquerque NM US
Dobbs Ferry NY US
Cleveland OH US
Rockford IL US
District of Columbia DC US
Chicago IL US
Subject
Occupation
Farmers
Newspaper publishers
Ranchers
Representatives, U.S. Congress
Socialites
Activity

Person

Birth 1880-03-27

Death 1944-12-31

Female

Americans

English

Information

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