Jeanette
Rankin
was born in Missoula, Montana, on 11th June, 1880. After graduating
from Montana University in 1902 Rankin worked as a schoolteacher before
entering the New York School of Philanthropy in 1908. This was followed
by periods as a social worker in Montana and Washington.
Unable to settle to social work, Rankin enrolled in the University
of Washington. While a student in Washington
she became involved in the struggle for women's
suffrage and eventually became legislative secretary of the National
American Woman Suffrage Association.
A member of the Republican Party,
in 1916 Rankin decided to run for Congress. Rankin, who campaigned
for universal suffrage, prohibition,
child welfare reform, an end to child labour
and staying out of the First World War, became
the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives. One
of her first actions was to introduce a bill that would have allowed
women citizenship independent of their husbands.
A pacifist, Rankin was one of the 49
members of Congress to vote against war with Germany.
Fellow suffragists such as Carrie Chapman Catt
urged Rankin to change her mind, fearing that she would damage the
cause by reflecting the view that women were sentimental and irresponsible.
Rankin's controversial views on the First World
War, trade union rights, equal pay and birth-control, lost her
the Republican Senate nomination in
1918. She therefore stood as an independent but without the support
of a party machine, was easily defeated.
After the war Rankin successfully campaigned for independent citizenship
(1922), the Maternity and Infancy Protection Act (1921), Independent
Citizenship (1922) and Child Labour Amendment (1924). Rankin was also
active in the Women's
International League for Peace and Freedom and the National Council
for the Prevention of War.
In 1940 Rankin was elected to the House of Representatives on an anti-war
programme. Rankin maintained this position and in December, 1941,
was the only member of Congress to vote against the declaration of
war on Japan. Rankin was convinced that Franklin
D. Roosevelt had deliberately provoked the Japanese attack. Once
again her pacifism made her extremely
unpopular with the electorate and she decided not to stand for re-election.
In
the 1960s Rankin established a self-sufficient women's co-operative
in Georgia. Rankin was also active in the campaign against the Vietnam
War and on 15th May, 1968, at the age of 87, led a women's demonstration
against the war in Washington.
Jeannette
Rankin
died at Carmel, California, on 18th May, 1973.
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