Justice Charles Lawrence of the Illinois Supreme Court made an appalling statement in the case Bradwell v. Illinois back in 1873. "…God designed the sexes to occupy different spheres of action, and that it belonged to men to make, apply, and execute the laws…," Lawrence stated (Lupton). At that time, other justices also had the same thought; as a result, Myra Bradwell could not be allowed to be an attorney only because she was a woman. However, in 1981, according to "Sandra Day O'Connor," O'Connor became the first women to be on the United States Supreme Court in 191 years of history of the court. Her becoming a justice on the court encouraged other women to have a chance to proceed in male-dominant fields, and gave men a good look at what …show more content…
Sandra O'Connor not only worked in many areas, but she also gradually achieved many high positions. First, she was outstanding in the legislative branch of government. After being an assistant attorney general for four years, in 1969, Sandra O'Connor was appointed to a vacancy in Arizona State Legislature; then she won two terms in the Arizona State Senate (Shea 81). According to “Hard-to-Fill Vacancy/ Battle Looms as Arizonan Rides into Sunset: Top Court’s First Woman Leaves Thoughtful Legacy,” in 1972, O'Connor became the first female majority leader of a state senate. Next, Sandra O'Connor was also excellent in the judicial branch of government. She served in many positions in the field of law. The article “Sandra Day O'Connor” stated her first job was as a deputy county attorney in California. After moving to Germany, she was a civilian quartermaster corps attorney. When she and her husband returned, O'Connor worked at a law office which belonged to her and her friends. Then, as mentioned before, from 1969 to 1974, she served in the legislative branch of government. After that, she was elected to be a judge in the Maricopa County Superior Court. Then, she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals by Democratic Governor Bruce Babbitt 1978. In short, she had 24 years of service on state court, and 32 years of legislative …show more content…
Biskupic writes that Harry Day, Sandra’s father, taught his children “to work…like to work and expect to work…;” thus, Sandra always worked hard (Biskupic 53). In addition, Alison Beard, an author of “Life’s Work: An Interview with Sandra Day O’Connor,” said that O’Connor liked to explore many areas, and she would do her job consistently and diligently. For example, when she was studying at law school, she was also an editor in law review. Working on the law review indicated not only her intellect, but also her hard working character. Law school requires a challenging amount of work. However, Sandra not only studied well, but she also spent added hours to edit the law review. Later, according to Biskupic, O’Connor’s work as a majority leader and as a mother of three boy teenagers demonstrated her work ethic. In early 1974, Sandra O’Connor struggled with the Equal Rights Amendment (Biskupic 60). Meanwhile, her middle son became restless and rebellious. When she found out that he started hand-gliding secretly, she was upset about that. However, she “would rather see [him] jump out of an airplane,” so she allowed him to parachute. She also taught her sons to take care of themselves like doing house chores