Happy Birthday Jeanette Rankin, first woman ever elected to congress and the only member who voted

against entry into World War I and World War II. She was a virulantly anti-war Republican from Montana...



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannette_Rankin

Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was the first woman in the United States Congress. A Republican, she was elected statewide in Montana in 1916 and again in 1940. A lifelong pacifist, she was one of the 50 members of Congress who voted against the entry of the United States into World War I in 1917 and the only member of Congress who voted against declaring war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (World War II) in 1941. She is the only woman to be elected to Congress from Montana.

Jeannette Pickering Rankin is most widely known as the first woman elected into Congress. A Republican, she was first elected by her home state of Montana in 1916, and then again in 1941. Her domestic and foreign politics lie within the strict lines of Pacifism, and despite overwhelming unpopularity at the time, have resulted in a legacy that helped propel the second wave of feminism and pacifism during the 1960s and 1970s.

Rankin met with her most intense opposition when, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, she remained strong in her pacifism and voted against entering World War II--the only member of Congress to do so. She defended her vote by saying, "As a woman, I can't go to war and I refuse to send anyone else." Montana Republican leaders demanded that Rankin change her vote, but she refused. With her term ending in 1943, Rankin knew she didn’t have the support to win another election, and so she returned home to Montana to care for her aging mother. She then spent a few years traveling to different countries around the world, becoming even more determined in her political views for international cooperation and peace.

On the 18th of May 1973, just weeks before her 93rd birthday, Jeannette Pickering Rankin died of old age in Carmel, California. However, Rankin remained as active in politics as she could right up until her death. She continued to produce writing promoting women’s rights, peace, child welfare, and civil rights from her home which remained relevant in the civil rights movement of the era. Her career has left behind a legacy of controversy with some viewing her as impossibly idealistic, and others identifying her as an inspiration to be pursued. Her contributions to various feminist movements cannot be ignored, and continue to be relevant today. Rankin bequeathed her property in Watkinsville, Georgia to help "mature, unemployed women workers." This was the seed money for the Jeannette Rankin Foundation, a 501(c)(3) (non-profit) organization that gives educational scholarships annually to low income women all across the United States. The organization has built capacity since its single $500 scholarship in 1978 to the 80 $2,000 scholarships it awarded in 2007. She also remains recognized for her politics. In 1985, a statue of her was placed in the United States Capitol's Statuary Hall. And in 2004, a play titled A Single Woman, based on the life of Rankin, was produced and in 2009 a film adaptation of the same name was released.

Happy Birthday Representative Rankin. Your party, hell both parties need your kind of strength today.....

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