The Honorable Martha Elizabeth Keys

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives

"Well, again, I didn’t feel sexism particularly. Sure, some of the old Southern guys might call you ‘Dear’ or something. I ignored that. I knew people that said, ‘I wouldn’t put up with that.’ To me that had no meaning. What was meaningful was the conversation that you had with them. Again, I had never felt a great deal of inequity. I had to learn in reality. I had to get into Congress and learn the statistics to understand the tremendous inequity that women had in the law. I had never felt it in my home. I certainly was never taught that growing up. I was always taught that I was smart and capable of making my own decisions. That was what my father really insisted on me. So I didn’t feel that greatly. And I didn’t feel it in Congress. Of course, part of it, once you get on Ways and Means, that kind of—no one feels sorry for you and they can’t look down on you too much either."
—The Honorable Martha Elizabeth Keys, June 14, 2016

Abstract & Transcript

U.S. Representative from Kansas (January 3, 1975–January 3, 1979)

One of the large number of Democratic freshmen elected to the House in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Martha Elizabeth Keys quickly stood out among her colleagues when she became only the second woman to serve on the influential Ways and Means Committee. Much of Keys’ oral history focuses on her tenure on Ways and Means where she recalls the heavy workload of the panel and compares the leadership of two committee chairmen, Dan Rostenkowski and Al Ullman.

The sister-in-law of Colorado Senator Gary Hart, Keys gained valuable political experience in Kansas as a volunteer for George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign. Keys’ skillful work for McGovern garnered the attention of national politicians like Representative Patricia Schroeder of Colorado who suggested that Keys run for Congress. In her interview, Keys reflects on her three campaigns for a Kansas House seat, including observations of the role of gender and the assistance she received from her family. The Kansas Congresswoman made headlines in 1976 when she married fellow Representative Andy Jacobs of Indiana. Keys describes the challenges she faced in marrying a House colleague who also served on Ways and Means. A founding member of the Congresswomen’s Caucus, Keys speaks about its formation and about the role of women in Congress during the 1970s.

Biography

KEYS, Martha Elizabeth, (wife of Andrew Jacobs Jr.), a Representative from Kansas; born Martha Elizabeth Ludwig in Hutchinson, Reno County, Kans., August 10, 1930; graduated from Paseo High School, Kansas City, Mo., 1945; attended Olivet College, Kankakee, Ill., 1946–1947; B.A., University of Missouri, Kansas City, Mo., 1951; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-fourth and to the Ninety-fifth Congresses (January 3, 1975–January 3, 1979); unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninety-sixth Congress in 1978; special adviser to the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, February 1979–May 1980; Assistant Secretary of Education, June 1980–January 1981; consultant; director, Center for a New Democracy, 1985–1986.

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Audio

Early Political Experience

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The Honorable Martha Elizabeth Keys describes the value of her experience as a volunteer for George McGovern's presidential campaign.