The first woman titled “Miss America” was Edith Macartney. She was crowned on Feb. 1, 1919 in a pageant held in New York City. This pageant did not go on to become the famous Miss America Pageant. Atlantic City was a popular destination for families wanting to enjoy a beach vacation, but after Labor Day, tourism dropped off drastically. H. Conrad Eckholm, owner of the Monticello Hotel, was looking for a way to keep tourists coming. He came up with the idea of a festival called “Fall Frolic” that was held the weekend after Labor Day in 1920. It was a hit. The next year, a newspaperman suggested a beauty contest be added. Newspapers would solicit photos of women, choose one, and send her to Atlantic for a paid vacation. Newspapers in Washington, DC, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Ocean City, Camden, Newark, NYC, and Philadelphia. The contest winner was called “The Most Beautiful Bathing Beauty in America”. 100,000 spectators gathered on the Boardwalk for the contest. The winner was sixteen year-old Margaret Gorman who did not even know she was entered until reporters told her while she was playing marbles. In 1922, there were 57 contestants and the pageant had taken off. It had to overcome opposition from women’s and religious groups and scandals involving married contestants.
By 1925, the winner was being called “Miss America”, but it was not until 1941 that it became official. The pageant ceased to exist from 1928-1935 because of bad publicity. It was revived under the leadership of Lenora Slaughter who cleaned it up and re-invented it. She deemphasized the swimsuit competition and added evening gowns and the talent competition. She insisted on am eighteen year-old minimum and instituted strict rules like no contact with any men (including fathers) and no contact with alcohol. The first Jewish-American winner was Bess Myerson in 1945. She faced a lot of anti-semitism. In her travels, she sometimes could not sleep in hotels that warned “no coloreds, no Jews, no dogs.” The pageant was all-white by rule until 1950. Before that the only blacks that appeared in the pageant were in musical numbers. In one, they portrayed slaves. The first African-American participant was Miss Iowa in 1970. The first African-American winner was Vanessa Williams. She was stripped of her crown when Penthouse magazine ran nudes she had taken years before. (The pageant later apologized to her.)
The pageant first appeared on TV in 1954 and became enormously popular. Bert Parks became famous for hosting it from 1955-1979. In the early 60s, it was the most popular program each year. The late-60s brought more controversy as feminists protested the idea of judging women based on their looks. In 1969, feminist protesters came to Atlantic City for the event. They crowned a sheep and threw feminine products like bras in a trashcan. They did not burn their bras, but this protest began the myth that feminists burned bras to protest. Reforms were made. Miss Congeniality was dropped in 1975 and the pageant stopped mentioning the women’s measurements in 1986. In 2018, the swimsuit competition was dropped. In 1996, the pageant CEO lifted the ban on divorced contestants and women who had had an abortion. He was fired the next year and the restrictions were put back in. In 2013, Nina Davuluri became the first Native-American winner.
– Uncle 8 49-51, 112-114, 152-154, 202-203, 257-259, 296-298
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_America
Margaret Gorman
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