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Anna Johnson Gates (January 25, 1889 - January 12, 1939) was West Virginia's first female state legislator. A native of East Bank, Kanawha County, she was elected to the House of Delegates in 1922 and served a single term. In announcing her candidacy, she said,

"I am in favor of good roads, broad and liberal support to education and child welfare, and the defense of the good name of this state and its institutions. I am for prohibition of the liquor traffic, and for good faith enforcement of the letter and spirit of the national and state constitutions on that subject and for all laws passed to carry out these constitutional provisions including the Volstead act. I am also for home rule, that is a wholesome recognition of the doctrine of the fathers that, except where the power has been otherwise delegated, each state, each county and each neighborhood is the best judge of its own domestic affairs."

Gates sponsored 13 pieces of legislation during the legislative session, and five of her bills were passed. Among her successes was "Mother's Pensions" legislation, a state welfare program to provide income to any woman with children whose husband was unable to support the family. State legislation of this type was being approved across the nation at the time. Gates was also successful in getting a bill passed that provided the Kanawha County Board of Education the authority to establish, support, and maintain a public library. She chaired the House Committee on Arts, Science and General Improvements.

She once observed, “Women in most states are awakening to their political responsibilities. The women do not urge the election of women as women, but believe women should be represented in office, and only ask for cooperation.”

Previously a suffrage worker, Gates was elected to the legislature just three years after women received the right to vote. She chaired the Kanawha County Women's Democratic Executive Committee and was a delegate to the 1932 Democratic National Convention, which nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt for president.

She is buried in Charleston's Spring Hill Cemetery.

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"Anna Johnson Gates." e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 27 February 2025. Web. Accessed: 14 March 2025.

27 Feb 2025