Accomplishments Of Jeannette Rankin

Former House of Representatives member Jeannette Rankin, a pacifist, took stance for what she believed in despite the negative comments she knew she would receive. Encouragement was an important factor in Rankin’s life growing up. With great support from her family, she became highly motivated to involve herself in numerous activities such as getting an education. Following in her family’s footsteps, she became involved in political activism (Congress 340). In 1911, she became active in the women’s suffrage movement and was later assigned the position of a field secretary for the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1913 (Frost 446). Eventually, the women of Montana won suffrage in 1914, which led Rankin to make a brave decision

This historic event brought her into disrepute which unsurprisingly only affected her and not her fellow male colleagues who also voted no (Congress 340-41). After serving her two-year term from 1917-19, Rankin decided to try and run for Senate. Ultimately, she lost the nomination more or less because of her bad reputation. This was not an ideal situation, however she still continued to advocate for peace and women’s rights. In 1940, Rankin won re-election into the House, leading her to serve another two years from 1941-43. During this second term, Congress again was brought together to vote whether or not the United States should enter World War II. With great courage, Rankin became the only member of the House to cast a vote against entering this war (Frost 446). Supposedly after the vote, she had to lock herself in a phone booth to escape from angry, threatening crowds (Congress 341). From much harassment to many death threats, Rankin stood her ground. Soon after all of the controversy, Rankin’s term ended. Knowing that the likelihood of her being re-elected was very low, she did not run