Caroline O’Day
A Voice for Peace and Progress

Caroline Goodwin O’Day (1869–1943) was a pioneering politician and social justice advocate. Born in Perry, Georgia, she studied art in New York and Paris before settling in Rye, New York, with her husband, Daniel O’Day. After his death in 1916, she became active in social welfare, women’s suffrage, and peace movements.

A close ally of Eleanor Roosevelt, O’Day was elected to Congress in 1934 as New York’s third female at-large representative and the first from the Democratic Party. A committed pacifist, she valued peace but recognized the necessity of confronting oppression during World War II. Serving four terms (1935–1943), she championed the New Deal, labor rights, and immigration reform. O’Day also co-sponsored the Wagner-O’Day Act, creating jobs for blind workers. In honor of her legacy, the Rye Post Office bears her name.