Jeannette Rankin: The woman who voted to give women the right to vote
By Christine Blackerby | Prologue
Today marks the birthday of the first woman elected to Congress. Jeannette Pickering Rankin was born on June 11, 1880. In 1914, her home state of Montana passed a law granting suffrage to women in that state. Rankin, a suffragist, had been heavily involved in the campaign for suffrage in Montana.
In 1916, Rankin ran as a Republican candidate and campaigned for one of two at-large seats from Montana in the U.S. House of Representatives. She won and was sworn into office in the 65th Congress on April 2, 1917.
Rankin was sworn into office in the 65th Congress on April 2, 1917. When Rankin arrived at the House that day, she presented her credential (above). This is the document that serves as evidence that a person was duly elected by the people of a state. It is usually signed by the governor and the secretary of state, as hers is.
On her first day, President Woodrow Wilson addressed a joint session of Congress to ask for a declaration of war against Germany. Rankin was in a very tough position. She had long advocated for pacifism, and her inclination was to vote against war.
But many of her suffragist supporters were concerned that if the only woman in Congress voted against war, it would damage the cause of woman suffrage by making women look weak.
Regardless, she cast her vote against the declaration of war, as did 49 other members. As a result, many suffragists pulled their support from her, although she continued to advocate in the House for suffrage.
In 1918 the House voted on a constitutional amendment for woman suffrage. Although that resolution failed, Rankin later said that she was “the only woman who ever voted to give women the right to vote.”
Read her full story on the Prologue blog.