Helen Douglas Mankin
Encyclopedia
Helen Douglas Mankin was an American politician; she was the second woman to represent Georgia
in the United States
House of Representatives
.
Mankin was born September 11, 1896, in Atlanta
, Fulton County, Georgia
. She grew up there, attending public and private schools. She graduated with an A.B.
from Rockford College
, Rockford
, Illinois
, in 1917. She graduated with an LL.B. from Atlanta Law School, Atlanta, Georgia, in 1920. During and after the First World War, Mankin served as an ambulance driver in the American Women’s Hospital Unit No. 1, a Red Cross unit attached to the French army in 1918 and 1919. She was as civilian and not officially a military veteran.
After the war and earning her law degree, Mankin entered private practice as an attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. She entered politics, and served as a Democratic
member of the Georgia General Assembly
from 1937 until 1946.
In 1946, Mankin was elected as a Democrat to represent the fifth congressional district
of Georgia in the 79th United States Congress
, filling the seat left vacant by the resignation of Robert Ramspeck
. She took her seat February 12, 1946. She was an unsuccessful candidate in that year's Democratic Party
primary election
when she sought renomination to run for reelection. She won the popular vote, gaining major support from Atlanta's African-American community, but lost in the county unit system
, a voting system similar to the presidential electoral college
that Georgia then used for primary elections. The county-unit system gain disproportionate weight to the votes of rural counties, severely discounting the votes of large urban areas, such as Atlanta's Fulton County. Mankin then was an unsuccessful write-in candidate in the general election
of 1946.
Mankin's term of office concluded January 3, 1947. She continued to live in Atlanta, and she died there on July 25, 1956.
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
.
Mankin was born September 11, 1896, in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
. She grew up there, attending public and private schools. She graduated with an A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Rockford College
Rockford College
Rockford College is a private American liberal arts college in Rockford, Illinois. It was founded in 1847 as Rockford Female Seminary and changed its name in 1892. The college is known as the alma mater of Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams, who was a member of the class of...
, Rockford
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, in 1917. She graduated with an LL.B. from Atlanta Law School, Atlanta, Georgia, in 1920. During and after the First World War, Mankin served as an ambulance driver in the American Women’s Hospital Unit No. 1, a Red Cross unit attached to the French army in 1918 and 1919. She was as civilian and not officially a military veteran.
After the war and earning her law degree, Mankin entered private practice as an attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. She entered politics, and served as a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of the Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
from 1937 until 1946.
In 1946, Mankin was elected as a Democrat to represent the fifth congressional district
Georgia's 5th congressional district
Georgia's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. Based in central Fulton and parts of Dekalb and Clayton counties, the heavily African American district includes the state capital and largest city of Atlanta as well as many of the surrounding suburbs...
of Georgia in the 79th United States Congress
79th United States Congress
The Seventy-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1945 to January 3, 1947, during the last months of...
, filling the seat left vacant by the resignation of Robert Ramspeck
Robert Ramspeck
Robert C. Word Ramspeck was an American politician and businessman.-Biography:Ramspeck was born in Decatur, Georgia. As a young man he was a federal police officer. He was admitted to the bar in 1920. He would go on to be a Democratic congressman from Georgia from 1929 to 1945. In the period of...
. She took her seat February 12, 1946. She was an unsuccessful candidate in that year's Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
when she sought renomination to run for reelection. She won the popular vote, gaining major support from Atlanta's African-American community, but lost in the county unit system
County Unit System
The County Unit System was used by the U.S. state of Georgia to determine a victor in its primary elections.Each county was given a certain number of votes and the candidate who received the highest number of votes in that county won all their 'unit votes', under a form of block voting...
, a voting system similar to the presidential electoral college
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
that Georgia then used for primary elections. The county-unit system gain disproportionate weight to the votes of rural counties, severely discounting the votes of large urban areas, such as Atlanta's Fulton County. Mankin then was an unsuccessful write-in candidate in the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
of 1946.
Mankin's term of office concluded January 3, 1947. She continued to live in Atlanta, and she died there on July 25, 1956.