programs on the history of communities across the country at c-span.org/citiestour. next on american history tv congressional research service , analyst jane armstrong hudiburg talks about the life and legacy of suffragettist, pacifist, and politician jeannette rankin. the first woman elected to congress. the u.s. capitol historical society posted this event. it is about 55 minutes. chuck: today, we are here to listen to jane hudiburg, who is an old friend of the society. your first, as i understand it, your first involvement falling in love with the capital was as a tour guide with the capital guide service. then jane was a writer and researcher for the senate history office. she was student programs coordinator of the maryland general assembly in annapolis.

i am still kicking myself for not following up with her offer to tour the dome at the annapolis statehouse. that is probably out of reach at this because now she is in d.c. point with the congressional research service. we are happy to have her in the madison building down the street. she is a regular contributor. the latest article she submitted was in an issue a couple of years ago on bootlegging in the capital. as that might suggest, she is into digging out hidden corners of the capital. jeannette rankin isn't a hidden anything. all of us know who she is. she has got a statue. it is precisely those figures in history that have the most to surprise us with, because we think we know who they are and what their legacy is, but maybe jane hudiburg will share new information with us. so help me welcome jane. [applause] jane: thank you, chuck.

it is a great honor to be here. i've had had a lot of great experiences with the capital historical society. thank you, lauren and charlotte. really helpful as well. i also appreciate that some of my current colleagues are here, and my boss jim is here, along with people from my new office and also people from my old office. heather and mary from the senate historical office. even some people from way back in my capital guiding days are coming up here. thank you so much. i really appreciate the support and appreciate you coming back, even though we had a delay in this talk. in this presentation, i will be speaking about representative jeannette rankin. i'm going to use a lot of quotations from her. some of these quotations i have condensed for the sake of brevity. my sources include newspaper articles, the congressional record, jeannette rankin's testimony before committees in

congress, and her interviews with her biographer. many of the images come from the library of congress' prints and photographs collection, where they are available from the office of the house historian, which has a great website. if anyone is interested in the source material, i am happy to provide more information after the talk. i am currently an analyst in congress for the congressional research service, but all of the views discussed here are solely my own or attributed to the many people who interacted with jeannette rankin over her lengthy lifetime. jeannette rankin is remembered and celebrated for being the first woman elected to congress. in fact, she won her election in 1916, four years before the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote nationwide. she is also known as the only member of congress to vote against both world wars.

in 1917, the house voted for the declaration of war against germany. rankin, along with 49 other male members, voted against. she received harsh criticism for her vote and left congress at the end of her first term. rankin returned to congress 22 years later at the start of world war ii. this time when the president called for war, even confirmed pacifists joined the cause. the war vote occurred on december 8, 1941, just one after the japanese attacked pearl harbor. under such circumstances, no legislator dared to vote against the war declaration. that is, no legislator except jeannette rankin. on this issue, one newspaper reported, "she raised her voice alone." when the name jeannette rankin is recalled, she is likely to be linked to these facts. she was the first woman in congress and the only member to vote against both world wars.

it is right to do so that these two facts formed a core part of her identity. but she was more than the two votes and more than the first female in congress. she was an activist her entire life and until her death at the age of she returned again and 92 again to the capital to testify, to protest. she continued to fight the rights of others, whether they were women, children, copper miners in montana. she took the fullest role possible in the democratic process and fought for others to do so as well. for that she deserves to be remembered. in this talk, i will focus on rankin's time in congress. and her experiences in and around the capital. but first, let's briefly consider her years in montana, and her work with the suffrage movement before montana women got the right to vote in 1914. a necessary step for rankin winning the house election in

1916. rankin was born in 1880 and was raised on a ranch near missoula, montana. the oldest of seven children. far from being isolated on the frontier, she grew up with means, as you can see from the size of her family home. her father was a rancher and a building contractor, and her mother moved west to be a schoolteacher. her family was prominent in the community and the state's republican party. like many of the other women who who would join the suffrage movement, she went to college. she worked in washington state for a time before becoming fully immersed in the suffrage movement. she served as an organizer for the national american women's suffrage association, traveling throughout western states, she gave speeches on women's

right to vote. in addition to montana, she spent the rest of her time in california working without compensation. she claimed her own routes, hired halls and bands to drum up the crowd. she put up posters, made speeches in front of solutions, s, and drewaloon large numbers of people from the towns and surrounding countryside. meanwhile, the montana state legislature was considering making women's suffrage a referendum item. as chair as the montana state suffrage committee, rankin enlisted the support of politicians, male voters, and women who are unable to vote but were nevertheless necessary backers of the measure. she even spoke in front of the state legislature, the first woman to do so. at this time, the western states one by one were allowing women the right to vote, starting with wyoming in this may surprise 1889. this may surprise people because after the turn of the century,

many of the women -- it may be surprising that the states are on the western side of the country because after the turn of the century, many of the women in the suffrage movement were associated with the progressive movement, which was known for its outreach work in the urban northeast and chicago. part of the problem was the eastern states were not following the western was because many of these states made it difficult to change their constitutions. often, they required 2/3 or 3/5 votes to make a change. the majority of the state's male voters might support women's suffrage, but not have the super majority needed for the state to change the voting status for women. an amendment to the constitution was needed to make a change for the remaining state. montana was able to give women the vote by law with a 53% vote. their referendum passed in 1914.

as i said rankin influenced that , outcome by lobbying the state legislature, as well as the public. two years later at the age of 36, rankin ran for congress. to repent the limit with supported her. she had some advantages. her family was well-to-do and prominent in the state. she herself had built a name for herself and the suffrage movement, and she had the financial support of her younger brother, wellington, a well-known montana republican in his own right, who often served -- also served as her campaign manager. rankin had one more advantage. she received a vast amount of free publicity as both national and local papers cover the race. the reporters expressed a fascination with her campaign. in october 1916, "the montana enterprise" declared, "jeannette

rankin, candidate for congress on the republican ticket is , making a phenomenal campaign around the state." "the new york sun" reported "she , is a rare personality of fine intellect and unusual perspective." meanwhile, "the seattle times" made this conclusion. "ms. rankin is an incredible -- excellent speaker, attractive in appearance and a skilled politician." indeed she had honed her , political skills by lobbying politicians on behalf of the suffrage movement. at this time, montana had two congressional seats, but they were both in the same at-large district. in other words, the district encompassed the entire state of montana. rankin found the at-large arrangement gave her another advantage. she had more statewide recognition and her competitors but it meant she had to travel , long distances to reach far-flung populations. she held rallies in train stations, attended community and visiteduppers

, countless schools across the state. in an era of little political polling, she had no idea if she hadn't support she needed to win one of the two seats. in the end, she easily won the top spot in the primary. she earned the next competitor by 7000 votes. the next competitor by 7000 votes. indeed, many democratic women crossed to the republican primary in order to vote for her. on november 6, 1916, rankin proudly voted for herself in the primary election. as the polls closed, she could not take the tension of not knowing the outcome. according to her biographer, rankin was unable to bear the suspense. she called the missoula newspaper office to learn the results as they trickled in. she did not tell the reporter her identity. first, she asked about woodrow wilson's reelection, and almost offhandedly, 'how did jeannette rankin run?' "oh, she lost," was the reply. discouraged, rankin went to bed. but as the newspapers reported,

she actually won by more than 7000 votes. she believed three favorable conditions brought her to congress. the support of women voters, the at-large district, and her stance against entering the war in europe. this last point we shall see also made it difficult for her to stay in congress. newspapers and reporters flocked to missoula. many wanted to interview the representative-elect. photos hit the papers across the nation. some writers wondered if she would be able to handle the stress of being not only the first woman in congress, but the only woman in congress. some reporters scoffed at her ability to fit in, others give her credit for the circumstances. one kentucky reporter noted, "was there any man willing to

become one of a deliberative body made of 434 women and himself? no, a man in that position would have his courage ooze from the palm of his hand." to give you an idea of what it was like as the only female, jumping ahead to when she sat for the portrait of the 65th congress, here she is in the center surrounded on all sides by men. but look at it when you expand the picture how many men were on either side of her. 434 men, one woman. not only was rankin the only woman member of congress, but at that time there were few women working in the capital. before she was sworn in, she hired two women staffers who she had known and had lived with her for a time.

these women became trusted aides. they would serve every function. they were secretaries, researchers, correspondence, policy advisers. indeed rankin and her staff made , quite a capable team. they had one endearing difficulty. there were no bathroom facilities near her office. according to her biographer, as it seemed inconceivable women would ever be elected to congress, no provisions had been made for them. jeanette and her secretaries had to make their way through a maze of stairways to reach public accommodations. this was a dispute whenever decades after rankin as well by , the way. at the time, the constitutional start of a new congress was march 4, but the first session often did not commence for several months.

president woodrow wilson called congress in a special section to consider the war in europe generally, and specifically german submarine attacks. the special session started on april 2, 1917, the day rankin would be sworn in. that morning rankin was the guest of honor at a breakfast at the charming hotel -- shoreman hotel. she spoke to the crowd. "i want you to know how much i feel this responsibility. there will be many times when i make mistakes, and it means a great deal to me to know i have your encouragement and support." then she was driven to the headquarters of the association or she spoke from the balcony addressing the crowd. from there, she proceeded to the capital, arriving to be sworn in along with the other members of the 65th congress.

this is a little news clip they had of the 65th opening day. you can see the jefferson dome in the background. that day, the house chamber's galleries were packed. curious observers peered over the railing to see her enter. reporters describe the scene. men and women in the galleries

pound together and yelled themselves hoarse. there was disdain on eithersides of the chamber when miss jeannette rankin entered the hall. one witness, the wife of a congressman, recorded the proceedings in her journal. she described in great detail rankin's physical appearance as she walked to her seat, escorted by her elderly montana colleague. let me go back. "she wore a well-made, dark silk and chiffon suit. with open net and white great ffs. ing cu her skirt was a modest walking length, and she walked well and unselfconsciously. her hair was a commonplace brown and arranged in a pompadour. she carried a bouquet of flowers given to her at the suffrage breakfast. she did not look to her right or left until she reached her seat. far back on the republican side. but before she could sit down, she was surrounded by men shaking hands with her.

i rejoiced to see she met all of them with a frank smile and shook hands cordially and an effectively. it would have been sickening if she smirked or giggled or been coquettish. were still has it been masculine given no she was a sensible , young woman going about her business. when her name was called, the house cheered and rose so she had to rise and bow twice, which she did with entire self possession." the same day rankin and her colleagues were sworn in, president wilson addressed a joint session of congress calling for a war , declaration. the next few days, friends and house members tried to persuade rankin to vote for the war. a no vote would risk the suffregist cause. it would also risk rankin's political career.

her own brother warned her after the vote, there will be nothing. still, rankin held firm. at 3:00 in the morning, the final 17 hour debate wound down. the clerk prompted each member to vote. ignoring the first rollcall, rankin responded the second time she heard her name, "i want to stand by my country, but i cannot vote for war." immediately, the press turned against her. while no reporter disputed her use of the now famous phrase, how rankin said these words is uncertain. in an article, a newspaper claimed, "she spoke with a sob and a voice scarcely audible." additional newspapers claimed she shed tears, prompting an angry pennsylvania state legislature to declare, "this is the time for agitation.

this is the time we all must confront the difficulty that presents itself for the entire world at this time. jeannette rankin wept." andjeannette rankin wept." -- and jeannette rankin wept." rankin and others denied she cried during the vote. one congressman called the story apocryphal. however, rankin's voice most likely reflected the stress of great emotion. she knew american boys would be heading off to war and many would not return. this understanding triggered quite a few tears on the house floor. according to another newspaper, it was a time when a strong men were unashamed of their emotions. the hour perhaps of the country's greatest crisis. and while the public forgave congressmen who openly wept, the lone congresswoman was not given the same consideration. it is important to note that while rankin was opposed to war, she did support measures to prosecute the war. once congress voted to go to war, she wanted the u.s. to win.

in the weeks following the vote she voted on measures for , soldiers going into war. but rankin was concerned other issues would be pushed aside as the nation focused on war. in particular she did not want , women or children to lose any gains made by them or on their behalf. she and her staff wrote regular columns extolling the need to keep women moving forward. in one column, she disagreed with calls for women to support the war efforts by hand-grinding their own flour. " carried along the waves of misguided patriotism have come subtle attempts to destroy the industrial standards of this country." rankin also fought for the rights of women who married foreign men. she introduced a bill that would have allowed women to keep their citizenship and property after marrying aliens. as a montanan, she knew women who married canadians and in the process lost their citizenship, including their new right to vote, even though they had not

set foot outside of montana. while she was fighting for women throughout the country, rankin sought to expand democracy elsewhere. she introduced a resolution stating the u.s. supported political independents in ireland, stating, "women realize the irish struggle because of the struggle they went through for liberty and democracy." even while she eyed national and international affairs, she still represented the largely rural people of montana. shia shouldest to provide economic security for farmers and miners. her efforts to assist miners on strike perhaps doomed any chance for rankin to win a second term. she took on the powerful anaconda copper company, which was profiting heavily from wartime expenditures and according to rankin, blacklisting miners who

sophomore control over working conditions. the company dominated the montana state legislature. the legislature divided montana's at-large district into two districts. not surprisingly, rankin's territory, the first districts now had a large democratic , population. with her house seat in jeopardy, she ran for the senate, but lost the republican primaries. she ran as an independent in the general election, but lost that race as well. some say wellington rankin's prediction had come true. perhaps his sister's career was over with the no vote. janette rankin had one more major opportunity to take a stand in the last few months of her term. rankin and like-minded members argued for the creation of a committee on women's suffrage, which formed after the election to consider an amendment to the constitution. she served as the ranking member of that committee, which was an unusual honor given her lack of

seniority. before a packed gallery in 1919, rankin opened the debate. in this picture, notice the people wearing white. that was the color of women's suffrage. that's why i'm wearing a white shirt today in honor of that. rankin's speech connected the war with the need to expand democracy to women. "mr. speaker, we are facing today a question of political evolution. international circumstances have forced this issue. our country is in a state of war. the nation has had a terrible shock. the result has been a sudden change in our national consciousness. the things we had for years taken for granted are suddenly assuming a new significance to us. deep down in the hearts of the american people is a living faith in democracy. sometimes, it is not expressed in the most effective way. sometimes it seems almost forgotten, but when the test

comes, we find it still there, helping men and women to understand each other in their common needs. it is our national religion, and it prompts us the desire that measure of justice which is based on equal opportunity, equal protection, equal freedom for all. today, there are men and women in every field of endeavor bending all their energies toward a realization of this dream of universal justice. they believe we are waging a war for democracy. can we afford to allow these men and women to doubt for a single instance the sincerity of our protestations of democracy? how shall we answer the challenge, gentlemen? how shall we explain to them the meaning of democracy if the same congress that voted for war to make the world safe for democracy refuses to give this small measure of democracy to the women of our country?" prolonged applause from the

galleries. the galleries were full of her supporters. been a number of men stood to praise rankin, but some stood opposed. one representative brought up rankin's emotional sentiment, "i cannot vote for war," as not -- as a reason not to give women the right to vote. he said, "the sole representative of women's suffrage in the house admitted not from judgment but her women's heart that while she loved her country, she could not vote for war. with the war still on how would , you like to see a majority of the membership of congress made up of women? this is no issue to be decided by women's fears and tears and emotions. this is an issue to be decided by the manly men of america. this is why i am opposing the pending amendment." despite these reservations, the house voted to pass the

amendment by the barest super majority needed. 274-136. to celebrate rankin was presented with the flag that flew over the house at the time. the senate, however, did not pass that resolution, and rankin would leave before the ratification of the 19th amendment. still, the earlier vote rankin witnessed was an impressive first step in the march toward universal women's suffrage.

on march 4, 1919, rankin gave a farewell speech. she told her colleagues in the chamber, "i am sorry to leave you befor the women of this nation are enfranchised, that i -- but i leave to you the great trust of enfranchising the women of this country." in response, the members thanked her for her service. a fellow antiwar member submitted these remarks into the congressional record. "now and then, life reveals rare characters which almost admire. in the 65th congress, no man -- member showed greater courage or self-sacrifice no one was , readier to die a political death or principal than the brilliant and accomplished lady from montana. if the voters of her state do not return her to the house or senate at some later date, i feel sorry for them. the loss of her services is not

only a loss to montana, but to the whole people." as it turned out, rankin left the membership of congress, but she did not leave congress or the nation behind. instead, she returned again and again to the capital to testify before the house and senate committees. in the 1920's and 1930's, rankin remained active in the peace and social welfare movements. she lobbied congress on behalf of herself or organizations seeking to prevent war, ban child labor, and improve working conditions. in she testified for the need to 1920, improve maternal health in rural areas. in she defended the federal 1921, trade commission's ability to investigate industrial practices. and in 1930's, she turned her attention back to antiwar concerns, representing the national council for the prevention of war at several congressional hearings. as she did so, she irritated more than one member of congress, who objected to her

proposals. in a 1935 hearing entitled "taking the profits out of war," rankin stated, "i protested and voted against the earlier war, and i am still against this the last war was a rich man's war, but it was the poor man who fought the war. nevertheless, the committee has not heard any poor man's idea for taking the profit out of war." the committee chair responded, "let us hear your proposal." rankin made a radical suggestion. "congress must create a money or medium of exchange that would be good only during the war, and that would be the only legal tender, the only legal money during the war, and that money would become illegal at the moment the war ends. those who made profits would have nothing because they cannot use the money that was made."

i don't think that went over too well. rankin objected to the amount of money in the defense industry. she said they get contracts that run into the hundreds of millions. they spend in advertising as every other institution does. it is that propaganda for war that needs to be cut down. in 1937, she advised congress to study military expenditures. the chairman of the house committee on foreign affairs reprimanded her stance. "we are somewhat amazed when an effort is made to organize another committee by a lobbyist. we do not appreciate it, and i speak for the sentiments of this committee when i say it." undaunted, she returned to prevent congress from rolling back neutrality provisions. "i am only interested in keeping out of the war. i am willing to suffer the consequences. the loss from war is permanent.

the pace of progress is always slowed, and it may take hundreds of years to regain the standards we have now. if we fail to keep out of war, civilizations have been lost in the past. they can be lost in the future." all this testimony set the stage for rankin's second run for congress at the age of 60. at the time, montana still had two separate districts. it only has one now, by the way. but the district she was running for had become more favorable for republicans and was not beholden to the copper company. rankin visited school after school, calling for peace. the experience reminded her of a childhood memory. when a congressman visited her school in missoula, he addressed most of his remarks to the boys. he encouraged them to run for office.

then he turned to the girls and said, "perhaps one day you will be the wife of the president of the united states." now in 1940, rankin told the schoolchildren, "one day, we will have a woman president." she continued, "there are opportunities for girls now and opportunities for boys, too." and she turned to the boys and said, "maybe one of you will be the husband of a president." she beat the republican incumbent and faced another former member of congress in the general election. she won reelection to the house, taking 54% of the vote. at the time, rankin predicted, "no one will pay attention to me this time. there is nothing unusual about a woman being elected." now, she was described as a

slight, white-haired woman. she charged her second term focused on stopping or blowing down the march toward war, but her amendments were not adopted. meanwhile, she traveled across the country, giving lectures in support of peace and neutrality. she was on her way to detroit. on the train, she learned of the attack on pearl harbor. she headed back to washington. years later, she recalled that sunday evening. after briefly returning to her office, she left before anyone could see her. in her words, "i got in my car and disappeared. no one could reach me. everyone tried to reach me and they couldn't. i drove around washington and got madder and madder." she did not seek anyone's advice. "i was not going to put myself through that again.

i just went out on my own." the next day, president roosevelt addressed a joint session of congress, calling for war. you all are familiar with his opening sentence. "yesterday, december 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the united states of america was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the empire of japan." he was equally clear in his concluding statement. "i asked that the congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by japan on sunday, december 7, a state of war has existed between the united states and the japanese empire." immediately following the short speech, congress reassembled. rankin stood and announced her

objection, to which the speaker sam rayburn responded, "this is no unanimous request." no objection is in order. one by one, they expressed their views of entering the war. speaker rayburn would not recognize rankin to speak, although she stood up quickly. at one point she said, "please , mr. speaker," but the speaker would not call on her. in the rollcall vote began. when rankin's name was called, she stood was found more and enough firm and clear voice, she voted no. and she said, "as a woman, i cannot go to war, and i refuse to send anyone else." the galleries erupted in boos and hisses. according to "the washington post," representative jeannette rankin fled and took a barrage of questions. surrounded on all sides, she called for a capitol police escort back to her office.

the post continued "24 years , ago, miss rankin voted against america's entry in the war against germany. then, her hair was black and her blue eyes were young, and she could return for comfort to the others who voted no with her. yesterday, she raised her voice alone." indeed, she truly was alone, as every senator also voted for war. rankin spent the afternoon in her office under police protection. two days later, she faced another war vote on she recorded december 11. herself as present, but refused to vote for or against the war. this time without any allies in congress, rankin faced the harsh criticism alone. newspapers reported her as disgraceful and disloyal. a newspaper in montana called her a fanatical woman who failed to see beyond the confines of her own perspective. rankin did have a few defenders, though.

a teenage girl wrote to "the missoulan," "she has the right to free speech." an editor offered his opinion. "instead of booing rankin, americans should thank god they have her splendid example of conviction. another editor wrote, probably " men in congress would have liked 100 to do what she did. it was a brave thing." when in 100 years from now, sheer courage based on moral indignation is celebrated in this country, the name of jeannette rankin, who stood firm and folly for her faith, will be written in monumental bronze, not for what she did, but the way she did it." according to these defenders, rankin's solitary vote proved

that america is a free society, a value worth fighting for. still, rankin's critics far outnumbered her supporters. telegraphs poured in all over the nation. "we feel that by your actions today, you have done a great disservice to the state of montana." "if you cannot act as a true and patriotic representative, we suggest you refrain from acting at all." indeed, it appears the telegraph sentiment prevailed. after the vote, rankin had no more great acts in congress. she finished the remainder of her term and left washington, this time without a doubt it was a war vote and not a copper company that sank her chances for reelection. she did not attempt a new campaign. but she remained active in the peace movement and expanding rights across the globe. in the years after the second war vote, rankin visited

countless countries, india, turkey, all over europe asia, , africa, south america. she traveled by ships, railroads, buses, planes. age did not slow her down. in 1968 at the age of 87, fellow activists urged her to plan a march on washington in protest of the vietnam war. she was happy to oblige, and thus was born the jeannette rankin brigade. the reports varied. some said 3000 women. some said 5000 even declared one 10,000 women assembled at union station to march to the capital building. women dressed in black mourning clothes. young mothers pushed baby strollers. a dozen or so women walked up the capitol steps, petitions in hand, calling for the end of the war. the elderly rankin led a smaller number into the building to meet

with senator mansfield from montana. as she did so, a police officer offered a steadying hand. a friend objected, "she can walk, she doesn't need you to help her." she nodded. "you don't need to help us. we are unarmed and not at all threatening. do you need those big guns to hinder an old lady?" but other antiwar protesters were extremely threatening. in fact, a couple months later, president lyndon johnson announced he would not run again, and many said this decision was due in part to the unpopular war in vietnam. remarkably, rankin's march into senator mansfield's office was not her last trip to the capital. in 1969, she testified on behalf of the direct election of presidents. she wanted to eliminate the electoral college.

in 1970, she returned to the rayburn building for her own 90th birthday party. now in a wheelchair, she reveled in the praise members of congress heaped on her. after her death in 1983, she cannot stay away from the capital. in 1985, montana sent a statue of her to the collection. now, rankin stands at attention, greeting thousands of schoolchildren as they stream in for tours of the capital. the figure depicts a bold woman, with clear eyes boldly facing , the future. the phrase "i cannot vote for war" is written across the statue. when these words were first uttered, they were called weak, timid, a sign of nervous hysteria. decades later they represent the , courage of jeannette rankin,

the first woman elected to congress and the only one to vote against both world wars. she has inspired countless members of congress to pursue firsts of their own. the powerful women of today and tomorrow are likely to look back on jeannette rankin with fondness. they may view her as daring and outspoken in not emotional. i am going to show you a few pictures of notable female members of congress. not all, there are many, but just a few that were influenced by jeannette rankin. margaret chase smith. the first woman to serve in both the house and congress. i could do a series of lectures on a senator margaret chase smith. chisholm, first african-american woman in congress and beloved. shirley chisholm, the first

african-american woman in congress and beloved. nancy pelosi, of course. barbara mikulski, who is my senator. and to louise slaughter the , first female chair of the senate appropriations committee. and i wanted to recognize representative louise slaughter, the first woman chair of the powerful rules committee who passed away last week while she was still a member of congress, and i believe her funeral is tomorrow. she has inspired many people in her own right. in conclusion, to paraphrase an editor in 1941, "now sheer courage is celebrated in this country. the name of jeannette rankin is written in monumental bronze, not for what she did, but for the way she did it. no, rankin did not vote for war, but she could and she did stand up for the democratic process." thank you, and if you have any questions, i am happy to try and answer them. [applause]

>> did jeannette rankin encounter any retaliation for her participation in the suffrage movement? many other suffragists who participated were arrested and jailed for their activities, for protesting. jane: i didn't see any of that in the newspapers i surveyed. that is a really interesting question that i could look into. she did suffer a lot for being antiwar. she had some falling out with suffragists because of that. i never came across her being arrested, but i can look into it. >> i am interested in the reaction of the other freshmen republicans. the two photographs you have, the one of the entire congress,

and she is honored front and center. they all being gentlemen, of course. i wonder -- i am sure the others around her are the senior leaders, and the other freshmen are all stuck in the back. did anybody talk about that and her ability to command attention? jane: i am sure there were a lot of people who had their noses out of joint. i alluded to that, where she became the ranking member of a new committee, which is highly unheard of for a freshman at that time. i think a lot of people did realize she had such an unusual status that they couldn't expect her to have the same circumstances as anybody else. and a lot of the circumstances she faced were very negative. not having a bathroom or not getting the respect that a lot of the male freshmen would get. but she did also have the advantages as well, because when

you have 435 and you are new, usually no one knows who you are. but that was not the case for her. she came in to that congress and everybody knew who she was. people all over the country had read the newspapers. she came in with that advantage. there were probably some people who talked about it behind her back, but i did not see any particular quotations on that. >> [indiscernible] how long it has taken to get to some equality, but the women's commission was established in 2017, and on limits bill. -- omnibus bill. it will be commissioned in all 50 states to celebrate the 100th anniversary. the house gym wasn't integrated

for women until the 1990's. you talked about the restroom that got my attention. finally, they let the old speaker's lounge became a women's lounge, and in 1980, there were still no restrooms near the house floor. it was not until nancy pelosi became the speaker, she took over the parliamentarian's office which is off the , speaker's lobby, and equal access on the other side. that is how long it took just for that. when you look at that in the house chamber, you see why it is so important to celebrate the 100th anniversary. my mother and mother-in-law were born in 1920, when there were no rights. some were just fighting for legal rights.

animals had more rights in 1915 that women did in this country, as far as cruelty. for her to be elected in that period is even more astounding, when you think about it. jane: i do think so. i think that she was elected before women had the vote nationwide is impressive. i think if she were able to see how far we have come today, i think she would be happy that we have had a female speaker of the house, but i think in other ways she would be surprised that we have not come further along. it would be a mixed bag for her. she would see some advances and be happy about that bathroom, but in other ways, she would be mad. she liked to say -- >> [indiscernible]

jane: the one representative who was afraid that the majority of the house would be women. that hasn't happened yet. material for her campaign. >>material for her campaign. one of them says, look for the name on the ballot. if you don't see it, ask the judge for elections. wasn't there some fear that precincts might omit her name? jane: i think so. i don't think that ended up being a problem. but it was a concern for her, and she was going to make sure everyone knew it had to be there. in the end, she did very well in her election. i don't think it turned out to be a real problem. >> a couple of questions. a technical question, is set in 1940 she was reelected.

is that actually correct, because it's a congressman or woman has served previously and then it gets reelected -- jane: i have colleagues in the back who might be able to answer that. probably reelected -- elected again would probably be better -- i would probably say she was elected a second time. >> do they reelect them later if they serve again? jane: yes. >> maybe a terrible question, but did the legacy of -- rankin play a role in a conservative voting preference

clear into the 1960's? i was looking at women in congress in the 1960's. reached 18 or 19 members in the house, both house and senate, total members. somewhere in the middle 1960's, they had dropped to 11. that is a long time from 1917. is it possible rankin's legacy affected to the whole national mood toward voting women's office for all those years? because the numbers never really took off. they even went it down. amazingly, in the 1960's, the next generation -- jane: that is an interesting question. i don't know if it would be very easy to determine, because you have to look at intentions behind not only the people who did run and the people who decided not to run.

i don't know if you can actually answer that. i know her vote against the first world war upset a lot of people because they felt like it pulled back the possibility for women to vote in the suffrage movement and women who might want to be politicians. there was this fear that that vote could have taken down the movement of both suffrage and female politicians. but i think there would be many , other factors to consider before i would say jeannette rankin was a part of that. >> except for the party affiliations and multiple votes on war and warmaking, you would think she and eleanor roosevelt would have been chums. did you find any of that? jane: it was important to note that at this time, you had the

progressive republicans. a lot of people who were republican in the early 20th century probably would have become democrats later on, and the progressive republicans and liberal democrats overlapped on a lot of issues. when you look at a lot of the women in the progressive movement, they were republicans, but what they were fighting for was elimination of child labor and improving work conditions. it is hard to say if one person was a republican or a democrat when you look back over the time it had a different meaning. another thing about jeannette rankin is she never said i am a republican. she said i run on the republican ticket. she was a very independent person. her family was very involved in the republican party, and that is what influenced her to stay in the republican party. but she was not a big fan of parties. when she looked at the election

process, she was clear in her testimony that she was not a fan of primaries and the way the primaries make people skewed to one side or another. she wanted everyone to have an equal chance of winning, no matter what party they were from. >> was she the first one to put on a serious campaign? jane: i believe so. as far as i know. there might have been people who tried running but didn't get anywhere in the process. >> voting in all of those states in the west. jane: yes. any more questions? chuck: thank you again. [applause] jane: i am happy to answer

questions if anyone has individual questions they would like to ask. i appreciate everything, and thank you, chuck. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> next sunday, we continue our series 1968, women's rights. protests at miss america challenged not only the beauty contest the long-held assumptions about womanhood. women's liberation became part of the conversation, transforming households and workplaces across the country and society. 8:30 a.m.xt sunday at central on american history tv. >> c-span where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service i america's cable television companies.

today, we continue to bring unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court and public policy events in washington, d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by satellite provider. >> american history tv is on c-span3 every weekend featuring museum towards, archival films and films of the presidency. here's a clip from a recent program. >> i think it was a combination of his physical stature, manner and knowing of him as a historical figure, essentially. i think it was so intimidating or overwhelming at first. >> go ahead. to say.'s much as intimidating as he was, i

think back on how accessible he was that you really understood what he was thinking about. cases he was thinking about. he certainly did not hide. in the roughest a language, and the most explicit, we want to you who the heroes were and villains. he would share views about colleagues. he read aloud a letter he was about to read on at the occasion of the annual holiday party and i have a copy of it. essentially, "dear cheese, as usual, i will not attend the annual christmas party, i still believe in the separation of church and state." he was letting us into the tent. gave as axes to take on about everything.

>> he was -- you know, he cared about what we thought about things. he listened. there was a real dialogue between the clerks and the justice. boss?did he know who was sometimes, you would get a this treatment of he would appoint over to his wall and he would say, "ok, what is over there? can you look at it? whose name is on the commission?" then he had to this -- sometimes, people would say you , like, youx, y, or z i told -- and that case you before, you have to vote for mr. to he wouldrres. >> you could watch this and

other american history programs on our website. announcer: the new school professor, natalia mehlman petrzela, teaches a class about the history of health and physical education in the american school system. she describes how progressives in the early 1900s used compulsory education to to assimilate immigrant children and tackle a wide range of health issues. she outlines the importance funding and understanding of health and physical activity have changed through different eras and various residential -- presidential administrations. her class is about an hour and 20 minutes. natalia: as you all read today and for the viewers, we read active bodies, a good chunk of it, a history of women's education in 20th century america. in addition, you read the op-ed "should we teach plato in gym s,