Jeanette Rankin stuck to her guns, even when she was preventing others from firing them.
On this day in 1941, Rankin was the only member of Congress to vote against the U.S. declaring war on Japan following the December 7 attacks on Pearl Harbor. That declaration brought the United States into World War II. It wasn’t the first time Representative Rankin spoke out for peace, and it wouldn’t be the last.
Rankin’s December 8, 1941 vote also made her the only member of Congress to vote against the U.S. joining both World Wars, writes History.com. Add those on to the other pile of firsts that Rankin laid claim to: she was the first woman to be elected to Congress, before women were even able to vote, and was also instrumental to the passing of the 19th Amendment, which gave them the power to do so, writes Scott Mansch for the Great Falls Tribune.
