Introduction
On April 2, 1917, the first woman ever elected into the United States Congress entered office, Jeannette Pickering Rankin. Immediately upon joining the House of Representatives, this passionate woman was placed in a very difficult situation, the voting on whether America should become involved in World War I. Angering many people, Jeannette stood among all the men around her and stated “I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war. I vote no” (qtd. in Alter 155). An action like this, so early on in office, was a very daring thing for her to do, especially considering the fact she was the only woman casting a vote. Surprisingly, this does not remain as the only time Rankin refused to support war. In 1941, she became …show more content…
Over the years, she eventually turned into a lobbyist for the National American Woman Suffrage Association and in 1914, she contributed to Montana women gaining the right to vote (“RANKIN, Jeannette.”) With that information being known, one may ponder why would a woman suffragist, who just recently attained the right to vote, use her first vote in a political position to protest against war. Jeannette Rankin possesses noticeably similar morals to Minnie J. Reynolds, who believes that “The women produce the boys and the men take them off and kill them in war” (qtd. in Moskowitz). Essentially, in her mind, arguing for women and against war are closely associated, so she
Paragraph on her actions destroying her
After the World War I situation, Jeannette Rankin’s biggest supporter, her home state of Montana, even opposed her. This is revealed to Rankin when Wellington, her brother and campaign manager, said that, “Montana is 110 percent against you” (qtd. in Alter 156-7). Additionally, in the Helena Independent, Montana’s daily newspaper, Jeannette was referred to as “a dupe of a Kaiser” and “a crying schoolgirl” (qtd. in Zeinert 27). This criticism, however, did not make her