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Mary Dent Crisp

Mary Dent Crisp (Born November 5, 1923 - Died March 24, 2007) Crisp was a career-long Republican and a feminist. She was an American Republican Leader, and Rebel ousted from her party after publicly opposing its views on abortion rights and the Equal Rights Amendment. Crisp was significant in advancing issues on Women's freedom.

Personal Life and Education:

On November 5, 1923 Crisp was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the 7th child of Elizabeth (Patch) and Harry Dent. In 1946, Crisp graduated with a degree in botany from Oberlin College then studied political science at Arizona State University. In 1948, she married William Crisp. They had three children together, William, Barbara, and Anne. Mary and William divorced in 1976. Mary Dent Crisp had Parkinson's disease and died on March 24, 2007.

Political Life:

Crisp was active as a volunteer in politics, which she continued throughout her life. She began working in politics at a grassroots level. Her political career started in 1961 as a deputy registrar for the campaign of Barry Goldwater. Following this Crisp was elected to positions within the Republican Party, serving as vice-chair of the Mariposa County Republican Committee from 1968 to1970, and as vice-chair of Arizona's Republican State Committee from 1971 to 1972. In 1972 she became a Republican National Committeewoman in Arizona. In 1976 Crisp became Secretary of the Republican National Convention. From 1977-1980, after working her way up through the Republican Party, she served as Co-Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. For over twenty years, Crisp was an active member of the Republican Party.

"From 1984 until the mid-1990s, Crisp served as director of a Washington-based political action committee, Business Executives for National Security, a nonpartisan group concerned about the economic effects of the arms race" (washingtonpost.com)

Activism:

In her speech at the 1980 Republican Convention, Crisp publicly challenged and spoke against the Republican Party’s decision to abandon the Equal Rights Amendment and support and abandon their anti-abortion platform (latimes.com).

After Mary Crisp spoke out against the Republican Party, the party chairman, Bill Brock, told her that “[She] should adopt the lowest profile possible”. Bill Brock ordered her remarks to be deleted from the program of the national nominating convention. In addition, he cancelled two convention events that Mary Crisp was supposed to host. (International Herald Tribune). When Mary Crisp endorsed an independent Republican John Anderson of Illinois for president, Mary denied endorsing him and arranged with Brock that she would no longer talk to reporters and would not seek reelection of her position. Later, her friends said that Crisp agreed to listen to Mr. Brock to protect her staff members from being fired. (International Herald Tribune). An avid supporter of Equal Rights Amendment and abortion rights, Crisp supported pro-choice and women's right to make their own reproductive choices (washingtonpost.com). Crisp also protested the Republican Party's decision to oppose federal funding for abortion. In 1989, the Supreme Court in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, restricted federal funding for abortion (guides.library.harvard.edu). Crisp then left her position under pressure from Reagan Operatives (jstor.org/stable/419498) and in 1989 she co-founded the Republican National Coalition for Choice, where she served as chair and spokesperson, in response to governments abandonment of the abortion and equal rights (latimes.com). Shortly after, Crisp signed on as campaign manager for John Anderson's 1980 presidential run as an independent (radcliffe.harvard.edu). She served on boards for numerous political organizations and "fought to return the Republican Party to what she believed were its ideological roots: individual freedom and limited government" (radcliffe.harvard.edu). Mary devoted her life as an ardent feminist to "promoting issues of women's freedom, opportunity, choice, and peace" (legacy.com).

Accolades and Credits:


 * Women's Economic Roundtable Advisory Board
 * National Women's Political Caucus
 * National Advocacy Board of Planned Parenthood
 * Trustee for The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression
 * Honorary Doctor of Law degree from Cedar Crest College in 1981
 * Honorary Doctor of Law degree from Oberlin College in 1982

https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1995-05-17-3035285-story.html

Speeches and Writings:

Crisp made numerous speeches on behalf of the Republican National Committee. The target of most of her speeches were Republican organizations. In addition, Crisp gave speeches campaigning for Republican candidates running for office. After leaving the Republican Party, many of Crisps speeches related to her work for the National Republican Coalition for Choice.

Office Wiretapping Incident (June 1980):

In June of 1980, the Republican National Committee officials investigated with an electronic inspection of their headquarters to see if it had been bugged. The report was inconclusive that Mary Crisp’s office was used in the wiretapping. However, chairman Brill Brock ordered for the investigation to stop after he found out that a police officer had entered the headquarters before they were there. Nothing was found after the search. The police officer had been sent by Winston Norman, who was the chief of security for the national committee. Later, two electronic experts said that a magnetic field and suspicious wires that were found in Mary Crisp’s office could have been for eavesdropping (International Herald Tribune).

Mary D. Crisp was a Republican and pro life advocate who served as the secretary of the Republican National Convention in 1976. In 1977, she had become the co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.

Mary is known for making a plea for the Equal Rights Amendment at the 1980 Republican National Convention. She also opposed the constitutional ban on abortion. She stood up for what she believed in and was even rebuked by Ronald Reagan who said that "she should look to herself and see how loyal she's been to the Republican Party for quite some time." Later, Mary worked for the National Abortion Rights Action League to continue her pro choice advocacy. After the Supreme Court decision in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, she founded the National Republican Coalition for Choice.

Background

Mary Dent Crisp, an American Republican Leader and Rebel, was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania on November 5, 1923, the 7th child of Elizabeth and Harry Dent. In 1946, Mary graduated from Oberlin College. A few years later in 1948, she married William Crisp and resided in Arizona. They had three children together. Mary was active as a volunteer in politics, which she continued throughout her life. She began working in politics at a grassroots level, and in 1972 she became a Republican National Committeewoman in Arizona. In 1976 Crisp became Secretary of the Republican National Convention. From 1977-1980, after working her way up through the Republican Party, she served as Co-Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. In her speech to the national convention, Crisp challenged the Republican’s Party “abandonment of the Equal Rights Amendment and their anti-abortion platform” (latimes.com). Crisp supported pro-choice and women’s right to make their own reproductive choices (washingtonpost.com). She served on boards for numerous political organizations. In 1989, Crisp founded the Republican National Coalition for Choice in response to governments abandonment of the abortion and equal rights (latimes.com). Mary devoted her life to “promoting issues of women’s freedom, opportunity, choice, and peace” (legacy.com). Mary Dent Crisp died on March 24, 2007.

Work Cited:

 https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mcall/obituary.aspx?pid=87276839 

 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-16-op-6680-story.html 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502882.html

Works Cited

“Abortion, Birth Control, Contraception, and Family Planning: Archival Collections.” Research Guides, guides.library.harvard.edu/c.php?g=310560&p=2081711.

Berebitsky, Julie. “Republican Feminists.” Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, 13 Dec. 2016, www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news/schlesinger-newsletter/republican-feminists.

Call, The Morning. “MARY DENT CRISP TO ADDRESS PLANNED PARENTHOOD DINNER.” Themorningcall.com, 21 Dec. 2018, www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1995-05-17-3035285-story.html.

"Co-Chairman's Role Reduced." International Herald Tribune [European Edition], 20 June 1980, p. [1]. International Herald Tribune Historical Archive 1887-2013, http://tinyurl.gale.com/tinyurl/Bgcey3.

Freeman, Jo. “Feminism vs. Family Values: Women at the 1992 Democratic and Republican Conventions.” Vol. 26, no. 1, 1993, pp. 21–28. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/419498. Accessed 11 Sept. 2019.

Freeman, Jo. “Whatever Happened to Republican Feminists?” Jofreeman.com, 1996, www.jofreeman.com/polhistory/repubfem.htm.

“GOP Leader, Feminist Mary Crisp Dies at 83.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 Apr. 2007, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502882.html.

How Did the National Women's Conference in Houston in 1977 Shape a Feminist Agenda for the Future?, search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity|web_collection|2482855. Accessed 12 Sept. 2019.

Martin, Douglas. “Mary D. Crisp, 83, Feminist G.O.P. Leader, Dies.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 Apr. 2007, www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/washington/17crisp.html.

Morley, Jefferson. “LOS ANGELES TIMES INTERVIEW : Mary Dent Crisp : Can She Sell Pro-Choice to the Republican Party?” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 1992, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-16-op-6680-story.html.

“Papers of Mary Dent Crisp, 1942-1999 (Inclusive), 1972-1990 (Bulk).” Return to the HOLLIS for Archival Discovery Main Page, hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/8/resources/6108/collection_organization.

Patrick E. Tyler and David S. Broder. "Republicans Check Offices for Wiretaps." International Herald Tribune [European Edition], 23 June 1980, p. 3. International Herald Tribune Historical Archive 1887-2013,

Rosenfeld, Sam, et al. “How Feminists Became Democrats.” POLITICO Magazine, 3 Feb. 2018, www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/03/how-feminists-became-democrats-216926

Spruill, Marjorie Julian. Divided We Stand: the Battle over Women's Rights and Family Values That Polarized American Politics. Bloomsbury, 2019.

Williams, Daniel K. “The GOP's Abortion Strategy: Why Pro-Choice Republicans Became Pro-Life in the 1970s: Journal of Policy History.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 25 Oct. 2011, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-policy-history/article/gops-abortion-strategy-why-prochoice-republicans-became-prolife-in-the-1970s/C7EC0E0C0F5FF1F4488AA47C787DEC01.

Wright, Julie Meier. “View Mary Crisp's Obituary on Mcall.com and Share Memories.” Mary Crisp Obituary - Allentown, PA | Morning Call, www.legacy.com/obituaries/mcall/obituary.aspx?pid=87276839.