Jeannette Rankin: The First Women's Suffrage Movement

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She was influential in the women's suffrage movement. She was the first woman elected to Congress. She was the only Member of Congress to vote against the United State participation in both World War I and World War II. She is Jeannette Rankin and her life was one filled with social change and achievements of extraordinary proportion. Jeannette Rankin played a vital role in Montana’s history and women’s equality in America. Jeannette Rankin was born on June 11, 1880, near Missoula, Montana. She was the eldest daughter to schoolteacher Olive Pickering and rancher John Rankin. She had 5 younger sisters and one younger brother. In 1902, she graduated with a bachelors degree in biology from the University of Montana. Following after her mother, she then temporarily worked for one year as a schoolteacher in addition,Rankin then tried several more occupations including seamstress. However, in 1908, she thought she had found her calling and moved to New York, where she studied …show more content…

On April 2, 1917, she became the first female member of Congress. Because of this triumph she became one of the most well-known women in the United States as a symbol of gender equality. Rankin becoming a congresswoman is even more impressive when considering most women in the United States did not even have the right to vote at this time. Rankin’s brother, Wellington, was instrumental in her campaigns success as he was the main funder and manager. Also significant to her becoming the first congresswoman of the United States is her work on the women’s suffrage movement in Montana. The Montanan women who had won the right to vote just three year prior were able to vote for Rankin. Her campaign skills, commitment, and energy were perhaps the most influential aspect of winning the congressional election. Compared to the third place candidate she received an impressive 6,354 more

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