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counted as part of the total population, the Court found that the Four-

teenth Amendment did not add to the privileges and immunities of citi-

zens but only added a guaranty of protection for those already in place. In

addition, the Court noted that for ninety years, citizenship had been con-

ferred without the right of suffrage and that historically women were a

special category of citizens and their inability to vote did not infringe on

their rights as citizens.

See also Governors, Women

References Mullaney, Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States

1988–1994 (1994); New York Times, 7 February 1988.

Molinari, Susan (b. 1958)

Republican Susan Molinari of New York served in the U.S. House of Rep-

resentatives from 20 March 1990 to 2 August 1997. She held the leadership

position of vice chair of the House Republican conference in the 104th

Congress (1995–1997) and in the 105th Congress (1997) until her retire-

ment from office. Molinari, who grew up in a political family, resigned

from her seat to become a television news anchor, which had been her

dream job and one for which she had sought opportunities throughout

the years she had been in politics.

Born in Staten Island, New York, Susan Molinari received her bache-

lor of arts degree in 1980 and her master of arts degree in political com-

munications in 1982, both from the State University of New York. She be-

gan her career as a financial assistant for the Republican Governor’s

Association from 1981 to 1983, the year she joined the Republican Na-

tional Committee as its ethnic community liaison.

Molinari served on the New York City Council from 1986 to 1990,

where she focused on environmental and transportation issues. She was

particularly concerned with the responsible disposal of garbage and hos-

pital waste, which was dumped in the ocean and then washed onto the

Staten Island shore, creating significant health hazards. In addition, she

helped improve local recycling programs.

When her father Guy Molinari resigned his seat in Congress to be-

come Staten Island Borough president, Susan Molinari ran for and won

his seat in a special election. After taking office, she discovered that a mil-

itary port for Staten Island, for which commitments had been previously

made, was in danger of being abandoned by Congress. Saving the port

quickly became her first priority, one in which she was successful.

Although Molinari considers herself a conservative Republican, she

holds views that sometimes place her in conflict with her party, her sup-

446 Molinari, Susan

port for the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 providing one exam-

ple. President George Bush and the Republican Party leadership opposed

the act, but Molinari explained: “Republicans are supposed to care about

families, and I could think of no more dramatic way to demonstrate that

kind of caring than to support the Family and Medical Leave Act.” Fol-

lowing her comments during debate on the bill, one Republican member

of Congress did not speak to her for a year. Her support for reproductive

rights was another area in which she and her party disagreed.

Molinari’s occasional policy differences with her party, however, did

not alienate her from her partisan colleagues. In 1995, she was elected vice

chair of the Republican Conference, making her the highest-ranking

woman in the House of Representatives. In 1996, she delivered the

keynote address at the Republican National Convention.

Other policy areas important to Molinari included protection of

wetlands, other environmental issues, and the rights of crime victims. She

worked to pass judicial reforms to toughen laws dealing with repeat

rapists and child molesters and helped increase funding for the Violence

Against Women Act of 1994. As chair of the Transportation and Infra-

structure Subcommittee on Railroads, she has focused on increasing rail

safety and advocated reforming Amtrak to meet its budget targets. In the

international arena, Molinari has worked for the U.S. government to rec-

ognize Croatia as a republic and to facilitate aid efforts.

While in Congress, Molinari married Representative Bill Paxon, an-

other New York Republican member of Congress. In May 1997, Molinari

announced her planned resignation from the House to become a network

television coanchor.

Molinari, Susan 447

As vice chair of the

Republican Confer-

ence, Representative

Susan Molinari

(R-NY) was the

highest-ranking

Republican woman

in the U.S. House,

1994 (Archive

Photos)

See also Congress, Women in; Reproductive Rights; Violence Against Women

Act of 1994

References Congressional Quarterly, Politics in America 1994 (1993), Politics in

America 1998 (1997); Molinari, Representative Mom (1998); www.house.gov/

molinari/bio.htm.

Morella, Constance Albanese (b. 1931)

Republican Constance Morella of Maryland entered the U.S. House of

Representatives on 3 January 1987. Legislation introduced and passed by

Morella includes the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Oc-

cupations Act of 1992, which provides grants to community-based groups

that help private employers recruit, train, and retain women in appren-

ticeships or jobs traditionally held by men. Morella’s Battered Women’s

Testimony Act of 1992 increases the use of expert testimony in trials of

battered women accused of killing their abusers. A third bill related to

women’s issues that she introduced and passed is the Judicial Training Act

of 1992, a policy that provides training for judges and other court per-

sonnel dealing with child custody cases in families that have experienced

domestic violence. In addition, Morella has been a strong advocate for

breast cancer research, at least in part because her sister died of the dis-

ease. Morella cochaired the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues in

the 104th Congress (1995–1997).

Some of Morella’s other priorities include the federal workforce, sci-

entific research and development, educational and economic equity,

women’s health, prevention of domestic violence, and acquired immu-

nodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) research and prevention. In addition, she

has provided leadership in the areas of clean air and water, green technol-

ogy, and population stabilization.

Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Constance Morella received her

bachelor of arts degree from Boston University in 1954 and her master’s

degree in English from American University in 1967. She taught at Mont-

gomery College in Rockville, Maryland, from 1970 to 1985 and served in

the Maryland House of Delegates from 1979 to 1987.

See also Congress, Women in; Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues; State

Legislatures, Women in

References Congressional Quarterly, Politics in America 1996 (1995).

Moseley-Braun, Carol (b. 1947)

Democrat Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois served in the U.S. Senate from

3 January 1993 to 3 January 1999. She was the first African American

woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

448 Morella, Constance Albanese

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Carol Mose-

ley-Braun began her political activism

when she was a high school student. She

staged a one-woman sit-in at a restaurant

that denied her service because of her

color, had stones thrown at her while visit-

ing a beach previously used exclusively by

whites, and marched with the Reverend

Martin Luther King, Jr. Moseley-Braun

earned her bachelor of arts degree in polit-

ical science from the University of Illinois

in 1967 and her law degree from the Uni-

versity of Chicago in 1972.

Moseley-Braun began her career in a

private law practice in 1972. She served as

an assistant U.S. attorney from 1974 to

1977. She ran for the Illinois House of Representatives in 1977 and served

until 1988. While in the legislature, Moseley-Braun worked for educa-

tional reform and legislative redistricting. She also opposed investments

in South Africa and discrimination by private clubs. She next served as

Cook County recorder of deeds from 1988 to 1992. During her tenure as

recorder, she turned an outdated office into a modern operation.

Moseley-Braun decided to run for the U.S. Senate for two reasons.

First, she had become bored with her job as recorder. The second reason

was the spectacle of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the con-

firmation of Clarence Thomas for the U.S. Supreme Court in which Anita

Hill testified that Thomas had sexually harassed her. Moseley-Braun be-

came convinced that the mostly white, all-male Senate was unaware of

most citizens’ lives. Outraged by Illinois senator Alan Dixon’s vote to con-

firm Thomas, Moseley-Braun became a candidate in the primary election

and defeated Dixon. Few observers believed that Moseley-Braun could

win either the primary or the general elections. Following her successes,

questions arose about her campaign finances, personal life, staff changes

and misjudgments, and her actions as a state legislator, which complicated

her early days in the Senate.

During her first session in the Senate, Moseley-Braun objected to

North Carolina senator Jesse Helms’s proposal to renew a patent for the

United Daughters of the Confederacy’s (UDC) insignia. The patent has

permitted the UDC to use the seal of the U.S. Senate since the Civil War

and was routinely renewed every fourteen years. Offended by the in-

signia’s inclusion of the national flag of the Confederate States of Amer-

ica, Moseley-Braun threatened to filibuster the issue “until this room

Moseley-Braun, Carol 449

Senator Carol Mose-

ley-Braun (D-IL), the

first African

American woman

elected to the U.S.

Senate, defended

herself against

accusations of

campaign finance

abuse in 1992; she

was defeated in her

bid for reelection in

1998 (Associated

Press AP)

freezes over.” She told the Senate: “I have to tell you this vote is about race,

it is about racial symbolism. It is about racial symbols, the racial past, and

the single most painful episode in American history.” She continued: “On

this issue there can be no consensus....It is absolutely unacceptable to

me and to millions of Americans, black or white, that we would put the

imprimatur of the U.S. Senate on this kind of idea.” Moseley-Braun won,

and the UDC’s patent was not renewed.

Senator Moseley-Braun’s committee assignments included a position

on the Judiciary Committee, the same body that held hearings on U.S.

Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas’s confirmation. In the Senate,

Moseley-Braun was a strong civil rights advocate, supporting gays in the

military and as nominees for appointments. Her achievements included

passing the Education Infrastructure Act to repair and renovate school fa-

cilities and libraries. Moseley-Braun was also involved in child support is-

sues, support for small business, and the Violent Crime Control and Law

Enforcement Act of 1994.

See also Congress, Women in; Hill, Anita Faye; State Legislatures, Women in

References Congressional Quarterly, Politics in America 1996 (1995), Politics in

America 1998 (1997); H. W. Wilson, Current Biography Yearbook, 1994 (1994);

Smith, Powerful Black Women (1996); www.senate.gov/~moseley-

braun/bio.htm.

Moskowitz, Belle Lindner Israels (1877–1933)

Belle Moskowitz was among the earliest female political advisers in the

Democratic Party. Her skills as a publicist and strategist led to her be-

coming a trusted consultant to Alfred E. Smith, beginning with his candi-

dacy for governor of New York in 1918. After he won, Moskowitz coined

his administration’s slogan during the post–World War I era, naming him

the Reconstruction Governor. At her recommendation, Smith established

New York’s Reconstruction Commission, which sought to address the

state’s short-term and long-term problems. Smith appointed Moskowitz

executive secretary of the commission, a position she used to focus atten-

tion on Smith’s abilities to solve problems, filming him at work and dis-

tributing the footage across the state. She also oversaw the publication of

twelve reports on labor and industry, the rising cost of living, public

health, education, and government reorganization. Smith lost reelection

in 1920, and Moskowitz moved into public relations.

Moskowitz worked again with Smith in 1922 during his second suc-

cessful campaign for governor. Employed by the New York Democratic

State Committee, Moskowitz was Smith’s public relations counselor, writ-

ing his speeches, recommending appointees, and monitoring legislation

for him.

450 Moskowitz, Belle Lindner Israels

During Smith’s 1928 campaign to be the Democratic presidential

nominee, Moskowitz’s role centered on publicity, maintaining a wide cor-

respondence with newspaper reporters across the country. A trusted

member of the campaign, she also helped develop strategy. After Smith

won the nomination, Moskowitz held the same responsibilities in Smith’s

presidential campaign that she had held earlier. Under Eleanor Roosevelt’s

leadership, Moskowitz also directed the women’s division of the cam-

paign. After Smith’s defeat, Moskowitz opened a public relations firm.

Born in New York City, the daughter of East Prussian immigrants,

Moskowitz attended a teachers’ college in 1894, leaving to study dramatic

reading. Beginning in 1900, Moskowitz did social work in a Jewish neigh-

borhood settlement, wrote articles on social reform, and organized a

committee to study working girls’ leisure activities. Between 1913 and

1916, she was a negotiator between labor and management in the garment

industry.

See also Democratic Party, Women in the; Roosevelt, Eleanor

References Perry, Belle Moskowitz: Feminine Politics and the Exercise of Power in

the Age of Alfred E. Smith (1987).

Motley, Constance Baker (b. 1921)

Civil rights lawyer Constance Baker Motley was the first African American

woman appointed a federal judge. As a lawyer for the National Association

for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and Ed-

ucation Fund, she argued and won dozens of cases from the 1940s

through the mid-1960s. She once said: “You can have twenty-seven de-

grees from twenty-seven different universities, but if your skin is different,

you’re still forced to use the door marked ‘colored.’ We want an end to

that—and everything like it.”

Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Constance Baker Motley worked

in the National Youth Administration after graduating from high school

in 1939. Despite childhood dreams of being a lawyer, her family’s poverty

did not make a college education a realistic goal. She was president of the

New Haven Negro Youth Council and involved in Dixwell Community

House, a gathering place for African Americans. At a meeting about the

center’s programs and facilities with the center’s governing board, Motley

pointed out that no African Americans served on the board and explained

that African Americans did not have a sense of ownership in the center. In

the audience was a philanthropist who provided financial support to

Dixwell. Impressed by Motley’s comments, he later contacted her and

asked her the reasons why she was not in college. When she explained that

she could not afford it but that she wanted to be a lawyer, he told her that

he would pay for her education. Motley earned her bachelor’s degree in

Motley, Constance Baker 451

economics from New York University in 1943 and her law degree from

Columbia School of Law in 1946.

While she was a law student, Motley volunteered at the NAACP Le-

gal Defense and Education Fund beginning in 1945 and joined the staff

after graduating. The NAACP had turned its attention to racial segrega-

tion in education, the area in which Motley was first involved. Much of

Motley’s work was in the South, where racism reigned, danger stalked civil

rights workers, and neither whites nor African Americans were accus-

tomed to black professionals. For example, when Motley and a colleague

served as counsel in a Mississippi case to equalize black teachers’ salaries

in 1949, they were the first African Americans to try a case in the state in

the twentieth century.

From 1950 to 1954, she participated in the landmark Brown v. Board

of Education of Topeka, Kansas, school desegregation case. In that case, the

U.S. Supreme Court decided that the equal protection clause of the Four-

teenth Amendment prohibits states from maintaining racially segregated

public schools. According to Motley, the decision began a period of the

greatest social upheaval since the Civil War: “The Brown decision was the

catalyst which changed our society from a closed society to an open soci-

ety and created the momentum for other minority groups to establish

public interest law firms to secure their rights.” Over the next years, Mot-

ley played a significant role in almost every major school integration case,

including cases in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and other states.

Motley became associate counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and

Education Fund in 1961, the first woman to hold the position, the second

highest in the organization. That year, she argued a case before the U.S.

Supreme Court, probably the first African American woman to do so.

In 1961 and 1962, she successfully represented James Meredith in his

effort to gain admission to the then all-white University of Mississippi.

Motley persisted despite the opposition displayed by the state’s judicial,

executive, and university officials, including their defiance of appeals

courts’ decisions. Motley was a member of the team who represented

Martin Luther King, Jr., throughout his Birmingham, Alabama, campaign

and successfully fought the suspension of over 1,000 African American

students from Birmingham who participated in the demonstrations that

accompanied King’s campaign. In 1963, she defended four civil rights

workers convicted of breaking a Georgia insurrection law, which was pun-

ishable with the death penalty. She won the case in federal court, which

declared the law unconstitutional.

A summary of the U.S. Supreme Court cases in which Motley par-

ticipated includes three related to the exclusion of blacks from juries,

fourteen involving lunch-counter sit-ins, twenty school desegregation

452 Motley, Constance Baker

cases, and eighteen other discrimination cases. Of the ten Supreme Court

cases in which she was the lead counsel, Motley successfully argued nine

of them, with the tenth decided without argument. In addition, she par-

ticipated in seventy-three cases that went to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

In 1964, Motley became the first African American woman elected to

the New York Senate. From 1965 to 1966, she served as borough president

of Manhattan, the first woman to hold the position. She also became the

first woman to sit on the New York City Board of Estimates.

In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Motley federal judge

of the Southern District of New York state, making her the first African

American woman named a federal judge. In 1982, Motley was appointed

federal district court judge. She was named a senior federal judge in 1986.

See also Civil Rights Movement, Women in the; Fourteenth Amendment;

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Women in the;

State Legislatures, Women in

References H. W. Wilson, Current Biography Yearbook, 1964 (1964); Motley,

Equal Justice under Law (1998).

Mott, Lucretia Coffin (1793–1880)

Quaker minister, abolitionist, and suffragist Lucretia Coffin Mott orga-

nized the first antislavery convention of U.S. women and helped launch

the nineteenth-century women’s rights movement. Throughout her life,

Mott worked for equality for African Americans, women, Native Ameri-

cans, immigrants, and poor people.

Born on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, Mott attended a local

grammar school and then a Quaker boarding school, where she developed

her commitment to abolitionism. After completing the curriculum, Mott

joined the teaching staff and occasionally taught after her marriage in

1811. Mott was formally recognized as a Quaker minister in 1821, but her

relationship to the Quaker faith would be repeatedly challenged as she be-

came increasingly involved in social reform issues.

Mott decided in the early 1820s to boycott all products made by slave

labor, including cotton, cane sugar, and molasses. Although her boycott

did not provoke controversy, her repeated discussions during Meeting

(the Quaker expression for corporate worship) attracted criticism. She

furthered her involvement in the abolitionist effort in 1833 when she or-

ganized a gathering that led to the formation of the Philadelphia Female

Anti-Slavery Society. Mott organized the first Female Anti-Slavery Con-

vention of American women in 1837, but it was the second convention the

next year that proved dramatic and dangerous. A mob of thousands of

people gathered outside the convention hall, posing so great a threat that

the mayor asked those gathered at the convention to leave. Mott, demon-

Mott, Lucretia Coffin 453

strating the courage that characterized

her, invited the women to leave quietly in

pairs, one white woman accompanying

each black woman through the crowd.

Later that night, a mob of 17,000 burned

the convention hall. The third convention,

in 1839, proceeded without violence. That

year, Mott became an officer in the Penn-

sylvania Anti-Slavery Society.

The society named Lucretia Mott and

her husband James Mott delegates to the

World Anti-Slavery Society convention in

London in 1840. Lucretia Mott was one of

several U.S. women delegates to the con-

vention, all of whom learned upon arriv-

ing in London that the convention orga-

nizers did not want to seat the women.

The Motts and others protested the exclu-

sion, but the English abolitionists re-

mained adamant, and the women were relegated to a balcony.

Also seated in the balcony was Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the wife of a

delegate, who became an admirer and friend of Lucretia Mott. The two

women spent hours together, not only on the perimeter of the convention

hall but also walking the streets of London. They discussed women’s low

status and possible remedies and decided to hold a women’s rights con-

vention when they returned to the United States.

Eight years later, in July 1848, while visiting a mutual friend of hers

and Stanton’s, Mott received an invitation to a tea that Stanton also

planned to attend. Over cups of tea on 13 July 1848, Mott, Stanton, and a

few other women wrote a call to a women’s rights convention for publica-

tion the next day in the Seneca Falls newspaper. In less than a week, they

drafted resolutions based upon the Declaration of Independence for the

convention’s consideration. One of the resolutions Stanton proposed dis-

tressed Mott because it called for woman suffrage. Mott believed that it

would make the women appear ridiculous, but she came to see that it was

important and consented to its introduction.

Lucretia Mott’s husband James presided over the convention, the

women believing it improper for one of them to chair it. The resolutions,

including the one for suffrage, were accepted by the convention on 20 July

1848, but after the convention, some of the women in attendance asked to

have their names removed from the document because their husbands

opposed it. The convention launched the nineteenth-century women’s

454 Mott, Lucretia Coffin

Lucretia Mott,

suffragist and

abolitionist, was one

of the five women

who called the Seneca

Falls Convention that

began the women’s

rights movement in

the United States

(Library of Congress)