Hattie Caraway (1878-1950) was the first female elected to the U.S. Senate. Born to Tennessee farmers, Hattie married Arkansas lawyer Thaddeus Caraway in 1902. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives and was elected to the Senate in 1921. In 1926, the couple moved into Riversdale, the former Federal-era home of the Calvert family. Thaddeus died unexpectedly in 1931 and Hattie was elected to complete his term. She surprised everyone by running in her own right, winning on a populist platform in 1932. Hattie accomplished many female firsts in office; she was the first to chair a Senate committee and first to win reelection. In 1938, she defeated an opponent whose slogan declared, “Arkansas Needs Another Man in the Senate!” Dubbed “Silent Hattie”, she worked passionately without the verbose speech common on the Senate floor. Caraway sponsored several notable bills, including the Equal Rights Amendment and the GI Bill. In 1944, Hattie lost her reelection bid, but her legacy remains.