Jeannette Rankins Accomplishments

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Who was Jeannette Rankins? Jeannette Rankins was born and raised in Missoula County, Montana. She lived a very long, successful life in many different areas of the government. She was an American politician, women’s rights advocate, and was the first woman to hold national office in the United States (“Jeannette”). She attended the University of Montana and graduated in 1902 where she went on to try working as an elementary school teacher. After realizing she did not want to do this, she went to the New York School of Philanthropy, but she soon realized that she did not enjoy this either. Eight years later she went to the University of Washington, where she joined the state suffrage organization (History). She had many great accomplishments in life and was an important figure during the 1900s. Jeannette Rankin lived during the time of World War I, the 18th Amendment being ratified, the 19th Amendment being ratified, and World War II. World War I was about to be declared and the advocates for the prohibition of alcohol were pushing for the 18th Amendment to happen. Jeanette Rankin’s involvement in these events were very significant. Rankin was the first women to ever hold national office in the United States and was allowed to vote on …show more content…

She has a famous quote that says, “I may be the first woman in Congress, but I won’t be the last.” From her life, Rankin created many different organizations and some are still around today like the Antiwar and Center on Peace and Liberty. Along with these organizations, there has been a scholarship made in honor of Jeannette Rankin. It is called the Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund. It was created to provide scholarships and support for low income women 35 and older across the U.S. to build better lives through college completion (“History & Mission”). Since the creation of this fund, over $2.5 million in scholarships has been awarded to 1,000 women (“History &