Did You Know: A woman was elected to the Congress before women had the right to vote in the United States (US). In the winter of 1917, a quiet but seismic shift took place on the House floor: for the first time in American history, a woman took her seat as a voting member of the United States Congress. Her name was Jeannette Rankin, a Republican from Montana, and her election in November 1916 came at a time when most American women still could not vote in federal elections.
Commenting on her election in 1916, Rankin said, “I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won’t be the last.”
As written in the country’s national archives, four years before ratification of the 19th Amendment secured American women’s constitutional right to vote, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress. Like many other American liberties, women’s suffrage was slowly granted state by state before becoming a national right protected by the Constitution. Check Jeannette Rankin’s election certificate from the National Archives, Records of the US House of Representatives, below. It is important to note that Rankin’s congressional terms coincided with the country’s entry into the World War. During her time in Congress, Rankin also made significant efforts to secure women suffrage and pass social reforms that improved working conditions and protected women and children.
Because montana had already granted women the right to vote in 1914, two years before her campaign, allowing her to run and win nearly four years before the 19th Amendment secured nationwide women’s suffrage in 1920, rankin’s victory was made possible. Interestingly, as per some historical sources, Rankin did not take her rightful seat in the chamber until April 2, 1917, due to a month-long debate about whether it was appropriate for a woman to be a US representative Commenting on her election in 1916, Rankin said, “I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won’t be the last. Rankin was sworn in as a representative for Montana on April 2, 1917. She served a second term in the House of Representatives in 1941. Montana granted women the unrestricted right to vote in 1914. Two years later, 36-year-old Rankin, a vocal suffragist, ran for one of the state’s two House seats and won. Rankin was the only member of Congress to vote against US involvement in both World War 1 and World War 2. On August 26, 1920, US Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the 19th Amendment, finally granting American women the right to vote after a hard-fought battle.
