1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class as a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,720 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: a show that believes there's no time like the president 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: to learn about the past. I'm Gay Bluesier, and in 5 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: this episode, we're talking about a passionate crusader for pacifism 6 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: and social reform who still hasn't gotten her full due. 7 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:26,760 Speaker 1: Her name was Jeanette Rankin, and she demonstrated a level 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: of steadfastness and courage seldom seen in American politics today. 9 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: The day was November seven, nine sixteen. Jeanette Rankin became 10 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: the first woman in American history to win a seat 11 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:51,879 Speaker 1: in Congress. The thirty six year old Republican suffragist was 12 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: elected to the U. S. House of Representatives as one 13 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: of two congressional reps for her home state of Montana. 14 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: Her achievement was this specially notable since it occurred four 15 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 1: years before the constitutional amendment that gave American women the 16 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,840 Speaker 1: right to vote. Jeanette Rankin was born on June eleventh, 17 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty, on a ranch near Missoula in the Montana Territory, 18 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: nine years before it became a state. She was the 19 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,119 Speaker 1: oldest of seven children born to John and Olive Rankin. 20 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: Her father was a Scottish Canadian immigrant who owned a 21 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: successful local mill, and her mother was a school teacher. 22 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: Jeanette and her siblings worked on the family ranch in 23 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: their youth. Many of her tasks were ones traditionally associated 24 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: with women, such as household chores and caring for her 25 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: younger sisters, but she also worked outdoors, maintained machinery, and 26 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: headed up construction projects. She often worked right alongside her 27 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: brother and other male workers, and that equal opportunity approach 28 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: to labor left a deep impression on her later in life. 29 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: Rankin recalled noticing even as a child, how unfair it 30 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: was that while frontier men and women worked as equals 31 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: to start a homestead, they did not have equal rights 32 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: or an equal voice in government. As she put it, quote, 33 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,240 Speaker 1: men and women are like right and left hands. It 34 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: doesn't make sense not to use both. As an adult, 35 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: Rankin endeavored to help her nation make more sense. After 36 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: graduating with a biology degree from the University of Montana, 37 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: she moved to San Francisco and took a job in 38 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: the fledgling field of social work. Several years later, she 39 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: relocated to Seattle to continue her education at the University 40 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: of Washington. There, she got involved in the women's suffrage 41 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: movement and began lobbying for an amendment to Washington state constitution. 42 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: Her efforts paid off, and in November of nineteen Washington 43 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,399 Speaker 1: became the fifth state to grant women the right to vote. 44 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:59,519 Speaker 1: Rankin was eager to replicate that success across the country. First, 45 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: she helped organize the New York Women's Suffrage Party and 46 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:07,519 Speaker 1: then promoted a similar suffrage bill in that state's legislature. Then, 47 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:10,840 Speaker 1: in nineteen eleven, she returned to Montana and spent the 48 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: next three years fighting for the enfranchisement of women in 49 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: her home state. Thanks to her coordinated efforts and sensible appeals, 50 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: Montana joined the ranks of other Western states like Wyoming 51 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: and Colorado by granting women the vote in November of 52 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: nineteen fourteen. Following that success, rank And switched tactics. Instead 53 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: of securing the vote one state at a time, she 54 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: would join the federal government and fight for women's rights 55 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: from within. It was an ambitious task because although women 56 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: were eligible to serve in Congress, none actually had sad 57 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: to say, But when men were the only ones with 58 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: the vote, a woman candidate didn't stand much chance of winning, 59 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: but in Montana and six other states, women now had 60 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: the vote too. That new political dynamic convinced Rankin to 61 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: throw her hat into the ring of the nineteen sixteen election. 62 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: She mounted a grassroots campaign with a decidedly progressive platform, 63 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: and when after one of the state's two available congressional 64 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: seats in August of that year, she got the most 65 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 1: votes in the states primary, besting the runner up by 66 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:22,160 Speaker 1: about seven thousand votes. Despite her decisive victory, the Republican 67 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 1: Party didn't offer rank And much support and spent hardly 68 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: any money on her campaign. However, Rankin got the word 69 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 1: out anyway, and her policies gained support among women and 70 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: men alike. Her platform called for women's suffrage and for 71 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: the institution of an eight hour work day for women. 72 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: She also advocated for laws to better protect children from exploitation, 73 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:46,920 Speaker 1: and as a devout pacifist, she pushed for the US 74 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 1: to remain neutral during World War One. Montana voters backed 75 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: Rankin's ideas, and on November seven, nineteen sixteen, she officially 76 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: became the first woman in the United States to be 77 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:04,039 Speaker 1: elected to con Chris. Much like the Montana goop. Many 78 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: congressmen in d C were unenthused about a woman joining 79 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,919 Speaker 1: the House. In fact, Rankin's entrance to Congress was delayed 80 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,600 Speaker 1: by a full month while they bickered over whether or 81 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: not they were really going to admit a woman. Finally, 82 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,600 Speaker 1: on April two, nineteen seventeen, the boys got out of 83 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: the way, and Jeanette Rankin was sworn in as the 84 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:28,599 Speaker 1: first female member in the House of Representatives. It turned 85 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: out to be a pivotal day in her political career 86 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: in more ways than one. That's because just a few 87 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: hours after she was sworn in, President Woodrow Wilson addressed 88 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 1: Congress urging it to declare war and authorized the nation's 89 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 1: entry into World War One. The matter was put to 90 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 1: a vote four days later, and though Rankin feared it 91 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,799 Speaker 1: might hurt the cause of suffrage and damage her chances 92 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: of reelection, she refused to betray her own principles. I 93 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,919 Speaker 1: want to stand by my country, she told her colleagues, 94 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: but I cannot vote for war. And so the first 95 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:05,839 Speaker 1: vote cast by a woman in the US Congress was 96 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: no on a declaration of war. Forty nine male colleagues 97 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: joined her in that objection, but the resolution ultimately passed, 98 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: with three hundred and seventy three representatives voting in its favor. 99 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: Much of the public supported Rankin's anti war stance, but 100 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: she still took a lot of heat in the press. 101 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 1: Some even drew the frustrating conclusion that her vote proved 102 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,480 Speaker 1: women were too emotional to make the tough choices required 103 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: of national leaders. The New York Times, for example, reported 104 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: that quote Miss Rankin's vote is regarded not as that 105 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,720 Speaker 1: of a pacifist, but rather as one dictated by the 106 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:50,280 Speaker 1: inherent abhorrence of women for war. Despite the controversy surrounding her, 107 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: Rankin remained an active and productive member of Congress. She 108 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: championed the creation of the Committee on Women's Suffrage and 109 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: helped build support for a voting right amendment that would 110 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,920 Speaker 1: extend suffrage to women nationally. She convinced many of her 111 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: House colleagues to get on board with the resolution by 112 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: connecting it directly to the vote to enter World War One. 113 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: She asked them, quote, how shall we explain the meaning 114 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: of democracy if the same Congress that voted to make 115 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 1: the world safe for democracy refuses to give this small 116 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 1: measure of democracy to the women of our country? Swayed 117 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: by her arguments, the House passed the resolution, but it 118 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: was eventually defeated in the Senate. The same resolution was 119 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: proposed again, though in nineteen nineteen, and that time it 120 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: passed both chambers. The following year, it was ratified by 121 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: three fourths of the states and became the Nineteenth Amendment, 122 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 1: the one that finally granted women the right to vote. 123 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: Rankin's efforts had directly paved the way for the amendment's passage, 124 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: but sadly she wasn't there to witness the historic moment. 125 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 1: Her no vote on World War One overshadow much of 126 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: her other work in Congress, so much so that in 127 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: nineteen eighteen she lost her bid for a seat in 128 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: the Senate, finishing third in the general election. For the 129 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: next two decades, Rankin continued to labor for the cause 130 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: of peace in the private sector, both as a lobbyist 131 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 1: and once again as a social worker. Then, in nineteen forty, 132 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 1: she made her triumphant return to Congress, winning back her 133 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: seat in the House of Representatives. She wasn't alone that time, 134 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: five other women joined her in the House that year, 135 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,199 Speaker 1: and two more in the Senate. Congress was a bit 136 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:37,319 Speaker 1: more welcoming to women by that point, but its tolerance 137 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: for pacifists had fallen sharply in the inter war years. 138 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: That proved unfortunate as Rankin began her second term at 139 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,439 Speaker 1: the dawn of the Second World War. Then just two 140 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 1: years later, she found herself faced with the same difficult 141 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 1: question that had tanked her career twenty years earlier. On 142 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: December eighth, nty one, the day after the infamous attack 143 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,920 Speaker 1: on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt spoke before a joint 144 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 1: session of Congress and called for a formal declaration of 145 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: war on Japan. The Senate passed that resolution in less 146 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: than an hour, and the House followed suit almost as quickly. 147 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: The lone voice of dissent during the vote was that 148 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: of Jeanette Rankin, and it was meant with booze and 149 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:25,439 Speaker 1: hisses from other members of the House. Several colleagues implored 150 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,560 Speaker 1: her to change her vote or to abstain altogether in 151 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 1: order to make the resolution unanimous, but she refused, saying quote, 152 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,200 Speaker 1: as a woman, I can't go to war, and I 153 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: refused to send anyone else. The final vote was three 154 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: hundred and eighty eight to one, making Rankin the only 155 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:49,760 Speaker 1: representative to vote against entry to both world wars. As 156 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: you might imagine, Rankin's public image was once again tarnished 157 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: by her vote. She was scorned so badly by the 158 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:00,400 Speaker 1: press and by her fellow politicians that once her term 159 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: was up, she didn't even bother running for reelection. That 160 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 1: marked the end of Rankin's career in public office, but 161 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: she continued to serve as a spokesperson for pacifism and 162 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:15,439 Speaker 1: social reform for decades to come. For instance, in nineteen 163 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: sixty seven, she organized the Jeanette Rankin Brigade and began 164 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: leading a number of high profile protests marches against the 165 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: Vietnam War. She was in her late eighties by that 166 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: point and would not live to see the US pull 167 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: out of Vietnam in nineteen seventy five. Instead, she died 168 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 1: two years earlier, just a few weeks before her ninety 169 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: three birthday. Jeanette Rankin's lifelong dedication to the cause of 170 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:45,199 Speaker 1: peace earned her the nickname the original Dove in Congress. 171 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 1: It was the title she would have been proud to hold, because, 172 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: when asked later in life if she ever regretted the 173 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: votes she cast, Rankin clung just as firmly to her 174 00:10:55,200 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 1: principles as ever, She replied. Never if you're against war, 175 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 1: here against war, regardless of what happens. It's a wrong 176 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:10,199 Speaker 1: method of trying to settle a dispute. I'm Gay Blusier 177 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:13,680 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 178 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:17,559 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. You can learn even more 179 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:21,280 Speaker 1: about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram 180 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: at t d i HC Show, and if you have 181 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, you can always send them my 182 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: way at this day at iHeart media dot com. Thanks 183 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,440 Speaker 1: to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks to 184 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,080 Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow 185 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 1: for another day in History class.