|
|
Article: `Jeannette Rankin: America's Conscience' by Norma Smith; Montana Historical Society Press.(The Seattle Times)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- November 20, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
War? Or no war? Congress has voted several times, and in its two big votes in the 20th century _ World Wars I and II _ only one person twice voted no: Rep. Jeannette Rankin, Republican of Montana.
She was not a major historical figure. Her speeches, as quoted in this book, do not sizzle. But Rankin sizzled. She was a woman of extraordinary toughness. She devoted herself to two causes: for women's right to vote and against war. She did not compromise.
Rankin first campaigned for the vote on the streets of Seattle, for the Washington suffrage amendment of 1910 (it passed). After a similar campaign in her home state of Montana in 1914, she announced for ...