Myrtle Cain

Myrtle Agnes Cain (April 11, 1894 – February 6, 1980) was an American politician and labor activist.

Myrtle Cain
Minnesota House of Representatives
In office
1923–1924
Personal details
Born(1894-04-11)April 11, 1894
Minneapolis, Minnesota
DiedFebruary 6, 1980(1980-02-06) (aged 85)
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Irish immigrant parents, Cain went to the Minneapolis public schools and to the St. Anthony's Convent. Cain served as president of the Women's Trade Union of Minneapolis and was a member of the Minnesota Farmer Labor Party. In 1923 and 1924, Cain served in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Later, she served on the staff of United States Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota. Cain died in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[1][2] Governor Wendell Anderson named February 15, 1973 "Myrtle Cain Day."[3]

Union work

Cain led a strike with the Telephone Operators Union in 1918. She was also a member of the Women's Trade Union League of Minneapolis and the National Woman's Party.[4]

Minnesota House of Representatives

After the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified and upheld in the 1922 Supreme Court case of Leser v Garnett, Cain and three other women won seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives in the 1922 election. During Cain's single session in office (1923-1924), she co-sponsored a bill about anti-masking, which prevented KKK members from wearing masks or hoods in public (CHAPTER 160—H. F. No. 138[5]).[6] This ended up being the first of fifteen similar bills to be passed in the United States.[4]

In 1923, Cain unsuccessfully attempted to pass an Equal Rights Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution.[3] In 1973, Cain spoke at the Capitol in favor of the federal Equal Rights Amendment.[4]

Notes
  1. Minnesota Legislators Past and Present-Myrtle Cain
  2. "Myrtle Cain, one of first women in Legislature, dies". Minneapolis Tribune. Associated Press. February 8, 1980. p. 18. Retrieved July 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "It's a Fact! (Myrtle Cain)". Session Weekly, St. Paul: 35. March 13, 1992.
  4. "Do You Know?". Session Weekly, St. Paul: 13. February 28, 1997.
  5. "1923, Regular Session - Minnesota Session Laws". www.revisor.mn.gov. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  6. "Cain, Myrtle Agnes "Agnes Myrtle" - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved February 22, 2018.


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