1937 ARLINGTON PL

1937 ARLINGTON PL

Dane

Madison

1902

1934

1974,2019

house

American Foursquare

Clapboard

Claude and Starck

No

City of Madison, Wisconsin Underrepresented Communities Historic Resource Survey Report:

Midge Miller was sensitive to women’s issues as early as 1966 when she was involved in Women’s Day activities on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. She began her career in politics as a volunteer for the 1968 presidential campaign of Eugene McCarthy. In 1970, she decided to run for an elected office herself. She ran with an anti-war position and was elected to her first of seven terms to represent the 77th Assembly District which included the west side of Madison. During her time in state government, she successfully advocated for improvements in rights and opportunities for women in Wisconsin. In 1972, Miller shepherded the federal Equal Rights Amendment through the ratification process in the Wisconsin legislature. She was a founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus the same year and was honored as Woman of the Year by the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Madison. Before 1972 was over, Miller headed an effort to craft an omnibus equal rights bill that would remove gender-discriminatory language from state laws. Her bill required an amendment to the state constitution and failed in a statewide referendum in 1973.

Miller continued to act for reform of state laws regarding women. In 1973, she sponsored a successful bill that prohibited discrimination based on sex in the granting of loans or credit. The same year, Miller headed a committee that studied all Wisconsin statutes. The committee found preferential treatment of men in many state laws. The study resulted in the introduction of a bill that would equalize the language relative to sex throughout Wisconsin statues. Miller articulated her mission in August of 1973 while promoting declarations by the city and the state on Women’s Rights Day. She said, “We honor [those courageous women who attained for American women the right to vote] only if we work for the new laws and customs that make equality a reality.” Early in 1974, Miller sponsored legislation to allow pregnant women to receive unemployment compensation during maternity leave from a job. In March, her state equal rights bill was defeated, and the backlash by women voters was cited as a deciding factor in a statewide election a month later. Miller based her 1974 re-election campaign partly on the advancement of women’s rights. After being re-elected, Miller reintroduced her equal rights bill. This time it was passed.

As a member of the Wisconsin Assembly, Miller was also active in the National Women’s Political Caucus. In 1976, she fought for a change in the rules of the national Democratic party that would have required that half of the delegates to the 1980 Democratic National Convention be women. In the late 1970s, she advocated for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution. Miller regularly took opportunities during her tenure on the Assembly to speak publicly about sexism, equality, and opportunities for women and reporting on state legislation related to women’s equality, rights, and obligations. She continued to serve in the Wisconsin Assembly for seven terms, until 1984. She went on to establish the Madison Institute and continue to advocate for issues of women’s rights. She died in 2009.

Permit to reside - Oct 13, 1934. Voucher No. 9006, Permit No. 629.

University Heights Historic District

Dec 17, 1982

Jan 01, 1989

Yes