Mary D. Cain was a Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

 newspaper editor and 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...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. A fiery and outspoken supporter of segregation

Racial segregation

Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...

 and other conservative causes, she earned herself the nickname "Hacksaw Mary" . Besides editing the Summit Sun, a weekly newspaper of Pike County, Mississippi

Pike County, Mississippi

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,940 people, 14,792 households, and 10,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 95 people per square mile . There were 16,720 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile...

, she was the first woman to run for governor in the state, though she never won the office. Cain first came to national attention in 1952 when she refused to pay $42.87 in social security

Social Security (United States)

In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...

taxes, calling the program "unconstitutional, immoral and un-American" . She considered the federal government in general a "bloated abomination" . Cain died on May 6, 1984 at the age of 79.

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