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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Ella T. Grasso
ELLA T. GRASSO
Awarded by
President Ronald Reagan
October 9, 1981
Long before the women's movement had gained prominence, Ella Grasso had already begun the long, hard ascent to distinction as an elected public servant. A fond wife and mother, she proved that it is possible to reconcile a full family life with a long and eventful political career. As a champion of moral as well as political principle, Mrs. Grasso won the respect of fellow citizens of both parties and served as the first woman governor to be elected to office in her own right. Tireless in the pursuit of duty and courageous in the face of illness, Ella Grasso has earned the admiration of all Americans as a legislator, a governor and a woman of outstanding character and achievement.
Ella Tambussi Grasso
Born: May 10, 1919, Windsor Locks, Connecticut
College: Mount Holyoke College -- Bachelor's degree, 1940;
Master of Arts, 1942
Political Party: Democrat
Offices: Connecticut House of Representatives, 1952-1957
Connecticut Secretary of the State, 1959-1971
U.S. Congress, 1971-1975
Governor of Connecticut, 1975-1980
Died: February 5, 1981, Hartford, Connecticut
First woman in the nation to be elected Governor in her own right.
Daughter of Italian immigrant parents, Ella Tambussi attended St. Mary's parochial school, Chaffee School and Mount Holyoke College, where she earned her B.A. and M.A. degrees. Ella was a gifted student who graduated with highest honors (Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude). In 1942 she married a school principal, Thomas Grasso; they had two children.
Ella Grasso joined the League of Women Voters and began working for her Democratic Party as a speech writer in 1943. In 1952 she was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives and served until 1957. There followed a 12-year stint as Connecticut's Secretary of State, after which she was elected to the United States Congress and re-elected in 1972. A hard-fought campaign resulted in her election as Governor in 1974 and re-election in 1978.
In her inaugural address she promised a government that would be more responsive to people but would keep within the fiscal limits demanded by the times. Looking for ways to economize, she began with herself, returning to the state treasury a $7,000 raise she could not legally refuse. Considered a liberal, old-style Democratic pro, Grasso never lost an election. She was seen as a warm, motherly person who remembered her Italian roots and the needs of the working class.
As Secretary of the State, she turned her office into a “people's lobby” where ordinary citizens could air grievances or seek advice. Ella Grasso endeared herself to her constituents when, during the 1978 blizzard, she stayed at the State Armory around the clock, directing emergency operations and making frequent television appearances. Ill health forced her resignation in December 1980.
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Medal History
