In 1932, at the age of 53, Hattie Wyatt Caraway, widow of the well-known Senator from Arkansas, Thaddeus (Fighting Thad) Caraway, became the first woman to be appointed to succeed her husband in the United States Senate and fulfill his unexpired term. It was assumed that she would step down at the end of the term, but Hattie found that she liked the job and felt that she was good at representing the people of Arkansas, particularly the farmers struggling through the Great Depression.

As the deadline approached to file as a candidate for the 1932 Arkansas senatorial election, Hattie sent a tremor through the campaign offices of the men who had announced their intention to run. Though it was an earth shaking surprise, no one felt that she had a glimmer of a chance to actually win. Again, Hattie had a little surprise. She called upon her good friend, Senator Huey P. Long of Louisiana.

Long became Hattie’s champion and spoke out on her behalf as her campaign traveled across the state of Arkansas. They logged over 2,000 miles, visited 31 counties and gave 39 speeches in the course of one week. The result was that Hattie won the Democratic primary with 44.7 percent of the vote. Then Hattie made history when she was sworn in as the first woman elected to a full six-year term in the United States Senate. A shy housewife, who would quietly knit as she listened to speeches and arguments on the senate floor, she was dubbed “Silent Hattie” by the press.