incumbent William Hastings. She was the first woman to defeat an incumbent representative in a general election. She served from March 4, 1921, to March 3, 1923, but was unsuccessful in running for reelection in 1922 and was defeated by Hastings. Robertson was the second woman to hold a seat in Congress, after Representative Jeannette Rankin from Montana, who served from 1917 to 1919. Before the expiration of her term, Rebecca Felton was appointed for one day to the Senate, and representatives Winnifred Huck from Illinois and Mae Nolan from California both won special elections; they were the third, fourth, and fifth women to serve in Congress. During her term, Robertson became the first woman to preside over the House of Representatives, on June 20, 1921. Robertson was the first woman elected to Congress after passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing women the right to vote. She opposed feminist groups such as the League of Women Voters and the National Women's Party. Robertson voted against bills funding maternity and childcare on the grounds that they were an unwarranted governmental intrusion on personal rights. This earned her the support of the Daughters of the American Revolution, of which she was a member. She also voted against the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. Later life Robertson was appointed by President Warren G. Harding as a welfare worker at Veterans Hospital Number 90 at Muskogee in May 1923. She retired to run a 50-acre dairy farm. She also owned a café, named Sawokla. In 1925, her home and café were burned down by her opponents in retaliation for her votes in Congress. Robertson died in Muskogee, and was interred in Greenhill Cemetery. Legacy and honors She bequeathed her personal library and family papers to the University of Tulsa, where they became part of the collection of the McFarlin Library. The papers include Creek translations by her parents and her grandfather, Samuel Austin Worcester. Robertson Hall, a dormitory at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha was named in her honor. In Muskogee, the Alice Robertson Middle School is home to the 7th and 8th Grade Center of the town. She is one of only four Republicans to have ever held the 2nd district seat in Congress. Electoral history See also Women in the United States House of Representatives References External links University of Tulsa McFarlin Library's inventory of the