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Ella Grasso was the definition of a governor to all young girls growing up in Connecticut in the late 70's and early 80's....and some of them like Peachy just presumed all governors must be women! Sadly, that is not the case and Ella Grasso was an admirable pioneer in that regard. Only weeks after Ella's birth in 1919, the United States Senate passed the 19th amendment, granting women the right to vote. If you want to be inspired by politics and the news today doesn't cut it for you, this book will. Note that though she was a Democrat, Grasso refused to consider an income tax for Connecticut-and Connecticut can thank Lowell Weicker for that we believe.
Ella Tambussi Grasso was the nation’s first woman to be elected governor in her own right. As a daughter of immigrants, she graduated from the prestigious girls school, Chaffee. Then she was off to the respected Mount Holyoke College. This school profoundly shaped her life and future career in politics. This book gives you great insight to the path of greatness that Ella Grasso takes.
In her election to Secretary of State her rise in politics was truly outward bound. Her largest legacy was quite remarkable. Being the first in any walk of life is never easy. Being the first woman presents an ever greater achievement. We love the way the author poignantly writes the accounts of many honors that were given to Grasso.
The evolution of her career is highly inspiring as is her intelligence, dedication and obvious hard work. This is a book not only for little girls from Connecticut, but also for anyone that wants to see success in politics which is not something we always see today: politicians today take note-you can learn a lot from Ella's example as she accomplished legislation across party lines with class, earning posthumously the nation's highest civilian medal, the Medal of Freedom. Whom You Know Highly Recommends Ella Grasso Connecticut's Pioneering Governor by Jon E. Purmont.
-This review was penned by two graduates of Farmington who grew up in Connecticut.-
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Ella Grasso
Connecticut’s Pioneering Governor
by Jon E. Purmont
296 pp. 20 illus. 6 x 9”
$28.95 hardcover, 978-0-8195-7343-8
$14.99 eBook, 978-0-8195-7344-5
Publication Date: November 6, 2012
Ella Grasso was not only an important figure in
the history of Connecticut, but also a note-
worthy person o
n the national
political stage,
as the first
woman elected
governor of any state in her own right. Grasso
broke through gender barriers in “a long, hard
ascent to distinction as an elected figure,” as
President Ronald Reagan put it (and we read his book too!). In Ella Grasso:
Connecticut’s Pioneering Governor, the first
biography of this significant political figure, Jon
E. Purmont traces the extraordinary life and
career of Connecticut’s first female governor, w
ho was the posthumous recipient of the Medal
of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian medal
for service.
Purmont tells Ella’s story beginning with
her birth, in 1919, to immigrant parents. He
describes her experiences during the Great
Depression, World War II, the Vietnam War, the
Women’s Rights Movement of the 1960s, and
the Watergate controversy. We witness how her
remarkable character was formed by personal
experiences, and how it allowed her to build a s
olid career in public life, as a Democrat with
positions as
state
representative,
secretary of
the state,
congresswoman, and, finally, governor. Pu
rmont used interviews with family members,
friends, and political associates, as well as his
own diary from the period in which he worked
for Grasso, to complete this definitive biography.
He tells of her victories and struggles, her
balancing act of political and family life, and
her heroic battle with the cancer that eventually
ended her life. The book is part of The Driftless
Connecticut Series, funded by the
Beatrice Fox
Auerbach Foundation Fund
at the Hartford
Foundation for Public Giving.
Jon E. Purmont is an emeritus professor of
history at Southern Connecticut State University
and worked as an executive assistant to
Governor Grasso. His articles have appeared in
Connecticut Review and Connecticut Explored,
and he is coauthor of A Concise History of the
United States.
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