Book Review | “Triumphing in the Earthquake: How Janet Rankin Defied the Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress” by Lorisa Reinhart

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Barbara Lee, a black congresswoman from California, cast the lone vote opposing the AUMF after the September 11 terrorist attacks that allowed the Bush administration to invade and occupy Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq two years later (arguably the biggest strategic blunder in American history until Donald Trump’s illegal war against Iran). Whether she realized it or not, Lee was following in the principled footsteps of another woman, Montana’s Janet Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, who famously defied conventional wisdom by voting against America’s entry into World War I, expanding the military draft in 1939, and declaring war against Japan in 1941.

Among other things, historians tell us who deserves to be remembered and why. American history until fairly recently has been told largely through the lives and actions of white men. Before I read Lorisa Reinhart’s impressive biography of Janet Rankin, I unfortunately knew that Rankin was the first woman elected to Congress. While this is an important milestone, Rankin deserves more recognition for her remarkable and pioneering life. How can such a brave character be forgotten? The answer not only reveals America’s past and present, but it serves as a lesson about the consequences of standing against entrenched power structures.

Reinhart tells this story with passion, and her prose embodies the character of her subject, the “force of nature.” Janet Rankin was born in Montana in 1880, when life in Big Sky country was rugged and children were expected to help feed chickens, split firewood, mend fences and tend livestock. At the same time, there were horses to ride, mountain canyons to explore, and pristine streams to swim in. Rankin’s father, John Rankin, an enterprising and resourceful man, owned and operated a sawmill at a time when the army, settlers, and Northern Pacific Railroad needed lumber. The Rankins family became one of the wealthiest families in Montana. By the age of 12, Janet was helping her father in the family business; She had a mind to create systems and structures that would serve her well when she entered politics. In addition to this practical experience, Janet imbibed what we might call “classical” values: wisdom, courage, moderation, and the idea of ​​the common good. Early on, she witnesses the brutal treatment of Native Americans and the exploitation of working men and their families at the hands of the powerful copper mining nation of Anaconda. Despite her relatively privileged upbringing, Janet was willing to stand with the less fortunate, the downtrodden, and the downtrodden.

Working for political and social change is often a lonely endeavor, full of setbacks and disappointments. American women learned this lesson when they organized, campaigned, and championed the right to vote, a campaign that did not bear fruit for nearly a century. Rankin was an effective and tireless spokesman and lobbyist for the cause of women’s suffrage, but she campaigned just as vigorously for the right of workers to organize and join labor unions, for an end to child labor, and for the expansion of democracy, positions that placed her in opposition to the most powerful economic and political forces of the day. This has not changed. Efforts to limit the power and privileges of the wealthy or to redistribute the fruits of society more equitably still face fierce and persistent opposition.

As hard as Rankin toiled for women’s suffrage, union rights, and democracy, she worked even harder for peace. A staunch and unrelenting pacifist, Rankin believed that the decision to engage in armed hostilities and expose the lives of young citizens to the horrors of war is, or should be, a solemn decision taken only when a nation has exhausted all peaceful means. American history, in many respects, is a history of near-continuous war. When Rankin rose from her seat in Congress and voted against America’s entry into World War I, she angered women who had been allies and men she considered supportive colleagues; When it opposed the expansion of conscription in 1939 and the declaration of war against Japan in 1941, it stood against a powerful tide. Every time she voted her conscience and condemned her, Rankin knew she would be roundly criticized in the press, belittled, and ostracized.

In the end, it is considered not worth remembering. The courage that Janet Rankin demonstrated throughout her long and purposeful life is rare. One can only admire a woman who is willing to stand up when everyone else is sitting down, to voice dissent when others are silent, and who willfully takes the bumpy road of condemnation rather than the easy and comfortable one. Imagine if more contemporary political leaders acted according to Janet Rankin’s unbreakable moral compass. May our country be a more peaceful, democratic and equal place.

This review originally appeared in the California Review of Books.

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