1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:12,120 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: a show for those who can never know enough about history. 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Louzier, and today we're talking about the life 5 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:24,439 Speaker 1: and times of Sandra Day O'Connor, a one time cattle 6 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: rancher who glazed a trail by becoming the first female 7 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: justice of the U. S. Supreme Court. The day was 8 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:46,200 Speaker 1: July seven. President Ronald Reagan nominated Court of Appeals Judge 9 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: Sandra Day O'Connor to be the first woman to serve 10 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: on the U. S. Supreme Courts. Despite some public opposition 11 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: to her nomination, including from members of her own party, 12 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: she was unanimously confirmed by the it and sworn in 13 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: later that year. During her first year on the job, 14 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: O'Connor received a staggering sixty thousand letters from private citizens. 15 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 1: Most of this correspondence was positive, but there was a 16 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 1: good amount of hate mail too. The negative letters were 17 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: generally baseless enough to brush off things like back to 18 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: your kitchen and this is a job for a man, 19 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: But the vitriol showed that even though she had been 20 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 1: hand picked by the President and unanimously confirmed by the Senate, 21 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: there was still a percentage of the population that couldn't 22 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: stand the thought of a woman in power. Thankfully, O'Connor 23 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: was made of much sterner stuff than her detractors. Her 24 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: childhood upbringing had all but assured that. Sandra Day was 25 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: born in al Paso, Texas, on March. She grew up 26 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: on her family's vast cattle ranch on the New Mexico 27 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: Arizona border. The property been passed down through her family 28 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: for a couple of generations, but despite its large size, 29 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: it wasn't worth that much when Sandra's father inherited it. 30 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: The days, one bedroom house didn't have electricity or running water, 31 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: and scraping together enough income to survive was a constant struggle. Still, 32 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: thanks to their unrelenting work ethic, the family eventually prospered 33 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: by repairing wells and raising cattle for slaughter. Sandra played 34 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: an important role in that success. Even at a young age, 35 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: she was branding cattle, driving tractors, and warding off coyotes 36 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: with her trustee twenty two caliber rifle. But Sandra's parents 37 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: also recognized how intelligent she was, and they knew she 38 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: couldn't get the formal education she deserved on the ranch, 39 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: so instead they sent her to live with her grandmother 40 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: in El Paso, where she attended an all girls private 41 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:59,079 Speaker 1: school for her primary education. Not long after, Sandra was 42 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: allowed to skip two grades and go straight to Stanford 43 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: University at age sixteen. There she met a law professor 44 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: named Harry Rathman. Sandra had enrolled as an economics major, 45 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: but her encounters with Rathman sparked an interest in law 46 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: that convinced her to pursue a completely different path. The 47 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:22,520 Speaker 1: professor frequently made passion and arguments about civic duty and 48 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: the satisfaction that comes from serving your community. That message 49 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: struck a chord with Sandra, who had grown up as 50 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: an independent cow girl twenty five miles from her closest neighbor. 51 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: Inspired by the idea that anyone could make a difference, 52 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: she decided to go to law school and to devote 53 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 1: her life to public service. After graduating at the age 54 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: of twenty, Sandra started attending Stanford Law School, which is 55 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: where she met the love of her life and future husband, 56 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: John J. O'Connor. They got married soon after in nineteen 57 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: fifty two, the same year they both graduated law school, 58 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: Sandra day, O'Connor had been one of the top students 59 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 1: in her class. She actually ranked third, with the top 60 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: spot going to another future Supreme Court member, William Renquest. 61 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: But when she graduated, not a single law firm was 62 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,599 Speaker 1: willing to hire her. In fact, when she finally did 63 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: land an interview with a California law firm, it was 64 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: only as a favor to one of her friends fathers, 65 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: and even then, when she got to l a for 66 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 1: the interview, the firm made it clear that they had 67 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: never hired a female lawyer before and didn't intend to start. Instead, 68 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,720 Speaker 1: they asked O'Connor how well she could type, and offered 69 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: to bring her on as a legal secretary. It was 70 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: an inauspicious start to her career, but thankfully O'Connor soon 71 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: caught wind of a law firm in San Mateo that 72 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: already had a female lawyer on staff. She went to 73 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: the office and asked for a job, but the county 74 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: attorney said they didn't have the budget for a new 75 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: hire or even a place for her to work. However, 76 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 1: Sandra knew that that was the only place where she'd 77 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: be able to get a foot in the door, so 78 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: she convinced the firm to take her on by agreeing 79 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 1: to work for free and to share desk space with 80 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,039 Speaker 1: the administrative assistant. It was a raw deal, one of 81 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: many she had to endure during her early years in law. 82 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: In the early nineteen fifties, the O'Connor's moved to Phoenix, 83 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:24,599 Speaker 1: where Sandra opened a small walk in law practice in 84 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: a strip mall. She maintained it for a few years 85 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: while also getting more and more involved with local Republican politics. 86 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: A short while later, Sandra actually stepped away from her 87 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: practice for five or six years to be a stay 88 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 1: at home mom for her three boys. And I used 89 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: the term stay at home rather loosely, as O'Connor stayed 90 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,479 Speaker 1: so busy with various volunteer, civic and community groups that 91 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 1: it's kind of a misnomer. I mean, just listen to 92 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 1: this resume. O'Connor served on the Governor's Committee on Marriage 93 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: and Family and as an administrative assistant at the Arizona 94 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 1: Stay Hospital. She volunteered at a school for minorities, She 95 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 1: wrote test questions for the Arizona Bar Exam, and she 96 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: acted as an advisor to the Salvation Army. Something tells 97 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:16,280 Speaker 1: me she wasn't staying at home all that often. Years later, 98 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: after the kids were a little older, O'Connor went right 99 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: back to work in earnest At first, she was a 100 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: part time assistant for the Attorney General because no private 101 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: firm was willing to hire her. However, the Arizona governor 102 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: was so impressed with her work that he later appointed 103 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: her to a vacant seat in the state Senate. The 104 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 1: next year, in nineteen seventy, Sandra formally won that seat, 105 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: and just a few months later, her fellow Republicans voted 106 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:47,359 Speaker 1: her in as America's first female state majority leader. A 107 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,839 Speaker 1: decade later, in one, O'Connor was serving on the Arizona 108 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 1: State Court of Appeals when she was invited to Washington, 109 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: d c. To meet with President Reagan. The two hit 110 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: it off right away, opping stories about horse riding and 111 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,679 Speaker 1: life on the range. Reagan had won the women's vote 112 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: by campaigning on the promise that he would nominate a 113 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: woman to the Supreme Court to replace the retiring Justice Stewart. 114 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 1: In Sandra Day O'Connor, Reagan found the perfect candidate to 115 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: help him keep his promise. Her nomination to the Supreme 116 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: Court was announced on July seven, of that year, and 117 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: at the end of her confirmation hearings, the Senate voted 118 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: unanimously to endorse her nomination. On September, she was sworn 119 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: in as the first woman justice in US Supreme Court history. 120 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: Once on the bench, the then fifty one year old 121 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: O'Connor set herself apart not only by her gender and 122 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: relative youth, but also by her level headed approach to cases. 123 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: As one of her clerks, Ronell Anderson Jones later recalled 124 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: quote eternally a ranch girl. She wanted solutions that really 125 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: worked and had little patients for esoteric theory that had 126 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: no grounding in reality. That's something that can be seen 127 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: right from the start of her time with the Court. 128 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: For example, in two the Court heard a case called 129 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, a male student. Hogan 130 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: had raised the complaint after being denied admission to an 131 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: all female nursing school. Justice O'Connor sided with the student, 132 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 1: believing that the school's gender based enrollment policy was invalid 133 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: because it quote perpetuated the stereotyped view of nursing as 134 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:40,959 Speaker 1: an exclusively women's job. Rather than siding with the women 135 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: of the college and the short term, O'Connor took a 136 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: practical approach that helped break down the stigma surrounding the 137 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:51,839 Speaker 1: nursing profession. One of the most striking features of O'Connor's 138 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: tenure on the Supreme Court is how she seemed to 139 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: go her own way on many traditionally partisan issues. To 140 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 1: be clear, she was a moderate Conservative, and she tended 141 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:04,840 Speaker 1: to vote as such for the most part, but she 142 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: also had a reputation for caring more about how legal 143 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 1: matters would affect individuals than she did for towing the 144 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: party line or for rigidly adhering to legal precedent. For instance, 145 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 1: O'Connor bucked conservative expectations in when the Court had to 146 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: decide whether it was constitutional to require women to notify 147 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:30,080 Speaker 1: their spouses before obtaining an abortion. In her written opinion, 148 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: O'Connor called the measure quote repugnant to our present understanding 149 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: of marriage and of the nature of the rights secured 150 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: by the Constitution. Women do not lose their constitutionally protected 151 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 1: liberty when they marry. O'Connor also cast the deciding vote 152 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: to uphold Roe v. Wade, which drew a lot of 153 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: ire from her Republican colleagues that wasn't the only time 154 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,560 Speaker 1: that happened, either, as O'Connor was actually responsible for the 155 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: determining vote in many of the courts five to four decisions. 156 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: This gave her a reputation as a swing vote, since 157 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: you could never really predict where she would come down 158 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: on some of the more divisive issues of the day. 159 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 1: O'Connor herself never liked being called a swing vote because 160 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,760 Speaker 1: she thought it implied she lacked principles and was kind 161 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 1: of fickle in her decision making. That wasn't the case, 162 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: of course, and you need look no further for proof 163 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,959 Speaker 1: than her own opinions. During the George W. Bush administration, 164 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:32,320 Speaker 1: she sided with her party in the year two thousand 165 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 1: when she cast the deciding vote that ended the Florida 166 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,200 Speaker 1: recount for the contested presidential race, but then in two 167 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: thousand four, she went against the man she helped elect 168 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: when faced with the hom d v. Rumsfeld case. This 169 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: was an instance where the court was tasked with deciding 170 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: whether an American citizen is still entitled to the due 171 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:57,079 Speaker 1: process of law after being named an enemy combatant by 172 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:01,680 Speaker 1: the President. O'Connor voted in eiver of due process and 173 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: in her opinion she reminded her party that quote, a 174 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 1: state of war is not a blank check for the 175 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:10,960 Speaker 1: president when it comes to the rights of the nation citizens. 176 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: For nearly thirty years, O'Connor served on the Supreme Court, 177 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,199 Speaker 1: where she often cast the deciding vote on a number 178 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: of deadlocked political and social issues. Whether you agree with 179 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 1: her personal politics or not, there's no denying the impact 180 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 1: she had not just on our legal institutions, but on 181 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,560 Speaker 1: the roles that women serve within them. As the first 182 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: female justice, she showed the world exactly why women deserve 183 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 1: a place on America's highest court. She once remarked, quote, 184 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: it's all right to be the first to do something, 185 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,160 Speaker 1: but I certainly didn't want to be the last woman 186 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: on the Supreme Court, and thankfully she wasn't. In fact, 187 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 1: the current sitting Supreme Court includes for women, Sonya Soda Mayor, 188 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: Elaina Kagan, Amy Coney bear It, and Katangi Brown Jackson. 189 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,720 Speaker 1: O'Connor herself retired in two thousand five in order to 190 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:10,680 Speaker 1: care for her husband, John, who had been suffering with Alzheimer's. 191 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: It's not like retirements slowed her down much, though. In 192 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,960 Speaker 1: two thousand nine she started a free online civics education 193 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: program for middle schoolers called I Civics. It basically allows 194 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,640 Speaker 1: students to research and argue actual law cases and to 195 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,440 Speaker 1: take part in mock ups of realistic government situations, all 196 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: in the form of video games. According to O'Connor, this 197 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: venture to make learning civics fun is the most important 198 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 1: thing she's ever done, and it seems to be working 199 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:44,840 Speaker 1: so far. I Civics is used by educators in all 200 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:48,560 Speaker 1: fifty states, and about five million students use it each year. 201 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:53,680 Speaker 1: It's impressive that after a lifetime of public service, Sandra 202 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,760 Speaker 1: Day O'Connor still felt the drive to help instill a 203 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 1: sense of civic duty in the next generation, although given 204 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: her a track record, I guess that shouldn't be too surprising. 205 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 1: As she once said, quote, I'm not accustomed to sitting 206 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:14,559 Speaker 1: around doing nothing, and that's putting it light. I'm Gabe 207 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 1: Louisier and hopefully you now know a little more about 208 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:21,720 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If you want to 209 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 1: keep up with the show, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, 210 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d I HC Show and if 211 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:32,559 Speaker 1: you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to send 212 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: them my way. At this day at I heart media 213 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,079 Speaker 1: dot Com. Thanks to Chandler May's for producing the show, 214 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:41,679 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 215 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,959 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in history class.