Bella Abzug took office in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New York's 19th district, becoming a leading feminist voice in Congress.
On January 3, 1971, Bella Abzug was sworn into the 92nd United States Congress as the Representative for New York's 19th congressional district in Manhattan. She had campaigned under the slogan "This Woman's Place Is in the House — the House of Representatives," a defiant response to the era's expectations of women.
Known for her wide-brimmed hats — which she wore as a deliberate statement to be taken seriously in a male-dominated profession, joking that hats helped people remember who she was in a room full of men in suits — Abzug quickly became one of the most visible and outspoken members of Congress. On her very first day, she introduced a resolution calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam, signaling the combative, unapologetic style that would characterize her three terms in office.
She went on to champion landmark legislation, including the Freedom of Information Act amendments, the Right to Privacy Act, and Title IX-related protections, and she co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus. Her congressional career made her a national symbol of the feminist and antiwar movements of the 1970s, and she remained a fierce advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, introducing one of the first federal gay rights bills in 1974.