Jeannette Rankin was born on June 11, 1880 outside of Missoula, Montana. Her father was a rancher and businessman, and her mother was a school teacher. She was one of seven children.

Jeannette graduated from the Montana State University in 1902. After graduation, she moved to New York City to study social work at the School of Philanthropy. She briefly worked as a social worker in Seattle, Washington before dedicating her time to the woman suffrage movement. She fought for suffrage in Washington, California, Montana, New York, and Washington, D.C. In 1912, she served as the field secretary for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).

In 1914, Jeannette’s home state of Montana granted statewide suffrage to women. Jeannette saw this as an opportunity. Perhaps women voters could use their influence to elect a woman candidate. With financial support from her family, Jeannette ran for a Montana seat in the United States House of Representatives. She ran a nonpartisan campaign that promoted national woman suffrage, social welfare, and pacifism. On August 29, 1916, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress. She said “I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won’t be the last.”

On April 2, 1917, Jeannette was sworn in as a new member of Congress. That evening, President Woodrow Wilson called a joint session of the House and Senate to ask for support in entering the ongoing world war.

Jeannette strongly believed that war was wrong and that no problem could be solved by fighting. But she also knew that her position as the first female representative carried great responsibility. For most of the Nineteenth century, the suffrage movement had been tied to the peace movement. Suffragists argued that women voters, the country’s mothers and caretakers, would usher in an era of peace and justice. With the growing threat of world war, however, the suffrage movement became divided on this issue. Many suffragists now supported the war and begged Jeannette to do the same. They worried that opposing the war would make women look weak and hurt both the suffrage cause and the chances of future women candidates.

Jeannette spent days weighing her options. During the debates on the House floor, she remained silent. But when it was her turn to vote, she broke protocol and issued a statement: “I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war. I vote no.” She was one of only fifty members (out of 423) of the House to vote against the United States entering World War I. Many suffragists distanced themselves from Jeannette and condemned her actions. NAWSA even released a statement saying that she did not speak for its members.

Despite her unpopular vote, Jeannette remained an important part of the suffrage cause. She sat on the House Committee on Woman Suffrage and opened the