NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Jeannette Rankin

Jeannette Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was the first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives and the first female member of Congress. A Republican and a lifelong pacifist, she was the only member of Congress to vote against United States entry into World War II and one of fifty to vote against World War I. Additionally, she led resistance to the Vietnam War. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... Official language(s) English Capital Helena Largest city Billings Area Ranked 4th - Total 147,165 sq mi (381,156 kmÂ²) - Width 255 miles (410 km) - Length 630 miles (1,015 km) - % water 1 - Latitude 44Â°26N to 49Â°N - Longitude 104Â°2W to 116Â°2W Population Ranked... map The U.S. state of Montana is fully within one congressional district, represented since 2001 by Republican Dennis R. (Denny) Rehberg. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tom Stout (May 20, 1879 - December 26, 1965) was a U.S. Representative from Montana. ... Jacob Thorkelson (1876-09-24 Egersund, Norway â€“ 1945-12-20 Butte, Montana) was a United States Representative from Montana from 1939-01-03 to 1941-01-03. ... Carl Wood Riddick (25 Feb 1872 - 9 Jul 1960) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the Second District of Montana, from March 1919 to March 1923 in the 66th and 67th Congresses, replacing Jeannette Rankin. ... Mike Mansfield, Congressional portrait This article describes the American politician. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... Missoula, Montana viewed from the top of Mount Sentinel in 1999. ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ... Carmel-by-the-Sea is a city located in Monterey County, California. ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party. ... A social worker is a person employed in the administration of charity, social service, welfare, and poverty agencies, advocacy, or religious outreach programs. ... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... Congress in Joint Session. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Pacifist may mean: an advocate of pacifism. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... â€œThe Great War â€ redirects here. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

Early life and suffrage movement

Rankin, the daughter of a rancher and a schoolteacher, was born in Missoula, Montana. She attended the University of Montana and graduated in 1902. Missoula, Montana viewed from the top of Mount Sentinel in 1999. ... University of Montana The University of Montana campus, 1999. ...

In 1908, she moved to New York City, where she started a career as a social worker. She later moved to Seattle, Washington, and then enrolled at the University of Washington, where she joined the incipient suffrage movement. She played an instrumental role in the movement's fight to grant women the right to vote in Montana, brought to fruition in 1914. Professional social workers are concerned with social problems, their causes, their solutions and their human impacts. ... Nickname: Location of Seattle in King County and Washington Coordinates: Country United States State Washington County King County Incorporated December 2 1869 Government - Type Mayor-council - Mayor Greg Nickels (NP) Area - City 142. ... The University of Washington, founded in 1861, is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. ...

Congressional career

On November 7, 1916 she was elected to the House of Representatives as a Republican from Montana, becoming the first female member of Congress. On April 6, 1917, only four days into her term, the House voted on the resolution to enter World War I. Rankin cast one of 50^[1] votes against the resolution, earning her immediate vilification from the press. Suffrage groups cancelled her speaking engagements. Despite her vote against entering the war, she devoted herself to selling Liberty Bonds and voted for the military draft. November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Congress in Joint Session. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... â€œThe Great War â€ redirects here. ... Liberty bonds are a special type of war bonds that were sold to support the allied cause in World War I. It could be redeemed for the orginal value of the bond with interest. ... Conscription is a general term for forced labor demanded by some established authority, e. ...

In 1918, she ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Republican nomination to represent Montana in the United States Senate. She then ran an independent candidacy, which also failed. Her term as Representative ended early in 1919. For the next two decades, she worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. for various causes. Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Politics Portal The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral United States Congress, the... Lobbying is the practice of private advocacy with the goal of influencing a governing body, in order to ensure that an individuals or organizations point of view is represented in the government. ... Nickname: Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: Country United States Federal District District of Columbia Government - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) - City Council Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2: Jack...

In 1918 and again in 1919, she introduced legislation to provide state and federal funds for health clinics, midwife education, and visiting nurse programs in an effort to reduce the nation's infant mortality. While serving as a field secretary for the National Consumers' League, she campaigned for legislation to promote maternal and child health care. As a lobbyist, Rankin argued for passage of the Sheppard-Towner Act, an infant and maternal health bill which was the first federal social welfare program created explicitly for women and children. As an effect of the bill, maternal and infant mortality rates improved significantly. The legislation, however, was not enacted until 1921 and was repealed just eight years later.

She was founding Vice-President of the American Civil Liberties Union and a founding member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a major American non-profit organization with headquarters in New York City, New York, whose stated mission is to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States... Founded in 1915, the Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is the oldest womens peace organization in the world. ...

In 1940, Rankin was again elected to Congress, this time on an anti-war platform. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, she once again voted against entering a World War, the only member of Congress to do so, saying "As a woman, I can't go to war and I refuse to send anyone else. I vote 'NO'". However she did not vote against declaring war on Germany and Italy following their declaration of war on the U.S. Instead, she voted merely "Present." Combatants United States Empire of Japan Commanders Husband Kimmel (USN), Walter Short (USA) Chuichi Nagumo (IJN), Mitsuo Fuchida (IJNAS), Shigekazu Shimazaki (IJNAS) Strength 8 battleships, 8 cruisers, 29 destroyers, 9 submarines, ~50 other ships, ~390 planes 6 aircraft carriers, 9 destroyers, 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 8...

Rankin did not bother to run for re-election because she became so unpopular from her decision. During the remainder of her life, she traveled to India seven times and was a devotee of Gandhian principles of non-violence and self-determination. Gandhian is a person who lives his life practicing the teaching of Mahatma Gandhi, that is, one who follows Gandhism or the Gandhian philosophy. ... Nonviolence (or non-violence) is a set of assumptions about morality, power and conflict that leads its proponents to reject the use of violence in efforts to attain social or political goals. ... Self-determination is a principle in international law that a people ought to be able to determine their own governmental forms and structure free from outside influence. ...

Post-congressional activities

An admirer of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968, Rankin led more than 5,000 women who called themselves "The Jeannette Rankin Brigade" to the United States Capitol to demonstrate their opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Coretta Scott King and Judy Collins were among the luminaries who attended. Photo of Jeannette Rankin from http://teachpol. ... Photo of Jeannette Rankin from http://teachpol. ... Martin Luther King Jr. ... The West front of the United States Capitol. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... Coretta Scott King (April 27, 1927 â€“ January 30, 2006) was the wife of the assassinated civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. ... Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939 in Seattle, Washington) is an American folk and standards singer. ...

Death and legacy

Rankin died in Carmel, California at the age of 92 from natural causes. 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 organization that gives educational grants annually to low-income women all across the United States. The organization has built capacity since its single $500 scholarship in 1978 to the eighty $2000 scholarships it is awarding in 2007. In 1985, a statue of her was placed in the United States Capitol's Statuary Hall. Carmel-by-the-Sea is a city located in Monterey County, California. ... Watkinsville is a town located in Oconee County, Georgia. ... 501(c)(3) is the type of non-profit organization that is dominant in the United States. ... The West front of the United States Capitol. ... Part of the National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is comprised of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. ...

Notes

Contents

Early life and suffrage movement

Congressional career

Post-congressional activities

Death and legacy

Notes

See also

External links