In the early 1900’s Jeannette Rankin stood up against everyone and used her platform to make her voice heard and by doing this she has empowered women today to stand up and make their voices heard. Rankin impacted American women significantly. She held campaigns for the women's rights movement, she fought her colleagues for the women's right to vote, she also ran to be the first ever woman in congress, lastly she voted no to the Great War although many people told her that was a bad idea and was “unpatriotic”. Without her determination us women would not have the voice and the power that we have today. To understand why Jeannette Rankin fought for what she fought for you must understand her background. Rankin was born in Missoula, Montana …show more content…
Jeannette Rankin had many events that lead her to run for a spot in congress. She wanted women to know that they do have a voice and that they can use it and to not care what anyone says. In 1916 Jeannette Rankin was elected into congress and was known as the first woman in congress. One thing she did in congress is she voted against the United States entering the Great War. She wanted to vote against it because she was an advocate for peace and didn’t want to go against her beliefs. She fought for something that she strongly believed in. Although many women in the women’s suffrage movement told her vote for the war because if she didn’t then people would deem women in this movement and “unpatriotic”. However Alice Paul of the Woman’s Party encouraged her to vote “for peace”. Rankin decided to vote no with forty-eight other members. Before this Rankin was heavily involved in the women’s rights movement. She would help organize groups, hold campaigns and soon Rankin would become the legislative secretary for the National American Woman Suffrage Association. In this position she would promote their causes to different states and try to earn their support. This was very significant to her want of change. Her experience with running campaigns and getting groups together helped her with her own campaigns while she was running for congress. Getting involved with the Women’s rights movement helped her decide her beliefs and what she would stand for. Being involved in the Women’s rights campaigning encouraged her to take a step further and in result running to be the first ever woman in congress. Being elected into congress meant that she had a voice. She would be able to talk about topics she felt strongly about and would be able to fight for causes she felt were necessary to fight for even if everyone was against