Bella Abzug (1920-1998) was a feminist and civil rights advocate who brought social issues to the forefront of American politics during her six years in Congress.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
I’m excited to introduce a brand new theme. For the month of October, leading up to the election, we’re talking about Politicians.
Today’s Politician was a feminist and civil rights advocate who brought social issues to the forefront of American politics during her six years in Congress. Her strong character, unique wardrobe, and refusal to bend from her principles paved the way for a new generation of professional women. Please welcome Bella Abzug.
Bella was born Bella Savitsky in the Bronx on July 24th, 1920. She was the second child born to Russian-Jewish immigrants Esther and Emmanuel, who ran the Live and Let Live Meat Market on 9th Avenue. Bella gave her first public speech in the subway while collecting for a Zionist youth organization. She later said that early activism inspired her desire to become a lawyer. Bella graduated from Hunter College in 1942 and then attended Columbia Law School. A few years later, Bella met Martin Azbug on a bus in Miami on the way to a Yehudi Menuhin concert. The pair married in 1944 and had two children.
Bella graduated from Columbia Law in 1947 and spent the next twenty years practicing law for people she described as being “on the outside of power.” Her defendants included individuals targeted by Senator McCarthy during the Red Scare and Willie McGee, an African American man convicted of raping a white woman by an all-white jury and sentenced to death. Bella stayed execution twice, but ultimately lost the suit.
In 1961, Bella successfully tried her hand at political activism. She co-founded Women Strike for Peace, a group that protested testing of nuclear arms and, later, American military involvement in Vietnam.
Nine years later, at 50 years old, Bella ran for the US House of Representatives. Her slogan, now a familiar catchphrase, read: “This woman’s place is in the House… the House of Representatives!” Her strong character and firm anti-war, pro-feminist platform garnered national media attention. At the end of her campaign, she unseated a seven-term Democratic incumbent and won the general election with 52 percent of the vote.
On January 3rd, 1971, Bella took the official oath of office and was inducted into the 92nd Congress. Afterwards, she turned and took a special “people’s oath,” administered by New York colleague Shirley Chisholm, in front of a crowd of 600 people shouting to “Give ‘em hella, Bella!”. This introduction would be only the first of many convention-breaking actions Bella would take during her time in office.
On her first day in Congress, Bella introduced legislation to withdraw US forces from Vietnam by July 4th of the same year. The move was mostly symbolic, but set a precedent for the kinds of causes Bella would rally for and the level of determination with which she would do it. She quickly earned names like “Battling Bella” and “Mother Courage” and amassed fame outside of the House. One of the most famous descriptions of Bella came from novelist Norman Mailer, who said her voice “could boil the fat off a taxicab driver’s neck.”
One of Bella’s most famous battles was over her signature wide-brimmed hat. She had begun to wear it as a young professional, as she believed it was the only way for men to take her seriously as a lawyer. Members of Congress, however, seemed to think otherwise. Once Bella caught wind of differing opinions on her hat, she fought for her right to wear it on the House floor-- and won. When asked why she waged such an embattled war for her hat, she replied, “They didn’t want me to wear it, so I did.”
Bella stood firm on many divisive issues, including ending the draft, providing national health insurance, and passing legislation for gay and lesbian rights. She also passed her “Sunshine Laws,” which required government hearings to be held in public.
She also fought to make anti-sex-discrimination the standard in legislation. She extended minimum wage to domestic workers, co-sponsored the equal rights amendment, and attempted to establish federal child-care programs and Medicaid-funded abortions. Her goal, Bella said, was for “a woman schlemiel to get promoted as quickly as a male schlemiel.” She also established the National Women’s Political Caucus alongside the likes of Gloria Steinem, Betty Freidan, and Shirley Chisholm, in her first year in office.
Throughout her time in Congress, Bella worked to, as she wrote in her later-published journal, “beat the machine and knock the crap out of the political power structure.” She fought against the ingrained norms of keeping freshmen representatives on low-level assignments. She was one of the first to call for President Nixon’s impeachment and, as one story has it, accepted an invitation to the White House only to inform him in person that her constituents requested a withdrawal from Vietnam. It’s also said Bella managed to get women admitted to the congressional swimming pool, which was all-male at the time only because the men disliked the idea of having to wear swimsuits.
While Bella’s intensity made her a near-unstoppable force, it also made her a controversial figure in the House. Ralph Nader once estimated her support of a bill could cost it as many as 30 votes. Bella’s 1972 election further complicated her public image-- she chose to run against William Fitts Ryan, a well-liked, liberal Democrat battling cancer. Ryan won, but died before the general election. Bella, the new Democratic nominee, then defeated Ryan’s widow, Priscilla, who ran on a third-party ticket. Though ultimately victorious, the bitter battle made her into an even more polarizing figure.
In 1976, Bella gave up her seat to run for Senate, and lost the race. Though she entered many other close elections, including one for mayor of New York City, she didn’t win
In her post-political career, Bella continued to fervently support feminist endeavors. She attended women’s conferences around the world and was appointed to co-chair the National Advisory Committee on Women by President Jimmy Carter. After criticizing its economic policy, however, she was replaced.
In the 1990s, Bella established the Women’s USA Fund and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, two nonprofit advocacy groups that worked to create influence for women’s issues in the UN. She worked for these groups until the end of her life, delivering her final speech to the UN just weeks before her death. She died in New York City on March 31, 1998, at the age of 77 after years-long battles against breast cancer and heart disease.
Bella shook up the political world. Her unapologetic nature inspired a new generation of women to enter the political sphere. As New York Representative and the first woman to be nominated for Vice President on a major party ticket Geraldine Ferraro said at Bella’s memorial in 1998, “If there never had been a Bella Abzug, there never would have been a Gerry Ferraro.”
All month, we’re talking about Politicians. For more on why we’re doing what we’re doing check out our newsletter Womannica Weekly. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @encyclopediawomannica and follow me directly on twitter @jennymkaplan.
Special thanks to my favorite sister and co-creator, Liz Kaplan.
Talk to you tomorrow!