Jeannette Rankin

Jeannette Rankin
Rankin in 1917
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Montana
In office January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1943
Preceded by	Jacob Thorkelson
Succeeded by	Mike Mansfield
Constituency	1st district
In office March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1919 Serving with John Evans
Preceded by	Tom Stout
Succeeded by	John Evans (1st district) Carl Riddick (2nd district)
Constituency	At-large district
Personal details
Born	Jeannette Pickering Rankin (1880-06-11)June 11, 1880 Missoula County, Montana, U.S.
Died	May 18, 1973(1973-05-18) (aged 92) Carmel, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	University of Montana (BS) Columbia University University of Washington

Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was an American politician and women's rights advocate who became the first woman to hold federal office in the United States. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Montana in 1916 for one term, then was elected again in 1940. Rankin remains the only woman ever elected to Congress from Montana.^[1][2]

Each of Rankin's congressional terms coincided with the initiation of U.S. military intervention in one of the two world wars. A lifelong pacifist, she was one of 50 House members who opposed the declaration of war on Germany in 1917. In 1941, she was the sole member of Congress to vote against the declaration of war on Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

A suffragist during the Progressive Era, Rankin organized and lobbied for legislation enfranchising women in several states, including Montana, New York, and North Dakota. While in Congress, she introduced legislation that eventually became the 19th Constitutional Amendment, granting unrestricted voting rights to women nationwide. She championed a multitude of diverse women's rights and civil rights causes throughout a career that spanned more than six decades.