Why hasn't Montana sent a woman to Congress in 80 years? - Pt. 1

In 1916, four years before women nationwide won the right to vote, Montanans elected Jeannette Rankin to Congress. She served two nonconsecutive terms, retiring in 1943. Rankin was the first woman in the country – and the last woman in Montana – to hold congressional office. One listener wants to know why.

This is going to take more than one episode to sift through, so here is part 1 of our explanation.

Austin Amestoy: Welcome to the Big Why, a series from Montana Public Radio where we find out what we can discover together. I’m your host, Austin Amestoy. This is a show about listener-powered reporting. We’ll answer your questions – large or small – about anything under the Big Sky. By Montanans for Montana, this is The Big Why.

Austin Amestoy: Reporter Shaylee Ragar is joining today in the midst of a busy election season for a very special two-part Big Why. Hey, Shaylee!

Shaylee Ragar: Hey, Austin! And yes, we have lots of candidates running in Montana’s primary. So I think it’s the perfect time to dig into an election-related question.

Austin Amestoy: And what would that be?

Shaylee Ragar: I’m sure you’re familiar with former Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin, Austin?

Austin Amestoy: I’d have to turn over my Montanan card if I wasn’t, I’m pretty sure. The first woman ever elected to Congress and she represented Montana. An incredibly important figure in both Montana and U.S. history.

Shaylee Ragar: Yes, Rankin broke that glass ceiling in 1916. In fact, that was four years before women won the right to vote nationally.

She served two terms, not consecutively. Her second term ended in 1943, and that was the last time a woman held federal office in Montana.

Austin Amestoy: So Rankin was the first and last woman to represent our state in Congress? We haven’t elected another woman in more than 80 years?

Shaylee Ragar: Correct. And a listener in Browning wants to know why.   

Austin Amestoy: Well, that certainly is a Big Why. Where do we begin, Shaylee?

Shaylee Ragar: The core challenges Rankin faced all those decades ago still resonate today. So in part one of tackling this question, we’re going to take a deep dive into the life and times of Montana’s first female congresswoman to help understand today’s political landscape for women.

Austin Amestoy: Sounds like a plan. Let’s learn about Rankin.

Shaylee Ragar: Let’s start with what she stood for, and then tackle what made her such a successful politician. I recently met up with Kaelie Giffel, a researcher and educator with the Montana Historical Society, on the second floor of the state Capitol in Helena where a bronze statue of Rankin stands tall near the window.

Kaelie Giffel: It’s a replica of the statue that is in Statuary Hall in Washington D.C. Jeannette Rankin is one of our representative statues, the other is Charlie Russell. And she’s standing on a plinth that has her name and a slogan that became quite famous – ‘I cannot vote for war.’

Austin Amestoy: That’s right, Rankin was well-known as a pacifist. Wasn’t she the only member of Congress to vote against U.S. involvement in both World Wars?

Shaylee Ragar: Yes. In fact, she was the only no vote against World War II. After leaving office, she lobbied for the National Council for the Prevention of War, and took several trips to India to study Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent philosophy. At the age of 87, she led 5,000 women in a D.C. march protesting the Vietnam War.

Austin Amestoy: So it was a lifelong dedication to the cause. What else is Rankin known for?

Shaylee Ragar: She was a leader on women’s suffrage and she also worked to advance the labor movement – calling for better working conditions, better pay and ending child labor. That became a top priority for her in Congress after the Speculator Mine disaster in Butte — a mine fire that killed 168 workers.

Rankin criticized the Anaconda Copper Company and called on the federal government to mandate new safety rules. The miners went on strike.

Kaelie Giffel: And Jeannette will come out to the speak the workers there and she will speak to a crowd of tens of thousands of people who are eager to hear what she has to say because she’s speaking in support of them, she is in solidarity with their strike, they have the right to a safe workplace.

And she also had some controversial views.

Austin Amestoy: Few politicians, if any, are without controversy.

Shaylee Ragar: So true. Rankin was a supporter of eugenics – the discredited theory that selective breeding improves the human race. The theory was rooted in ableism and racism. While it was a more acceptable view in the early 19th century, many people today condemn it.

It’s also important to understand that some of her decisions were deeply unpopular at the time, including her trademark pacifism. Giffel says her "no" vote against World War I was likely a big factor in her failure to win reelection after her first term. She’s also believed to have been a political gameswoman.

Kaelie Giffel: She wasn’t reelected after this, because she had to run as an independent. She was previously elected as a Republican, though she maintained throughout her life that she wasn’t actually a Republican, she was just a very strategic woman.

Austin Amestoy: Very interesting, so Rankin thought she’d only get elected as a Republican. What other tactics made her a successful politician?

Shaylee Ragar: She was exceptionally tenacious, smart and privileged. That’s according to Jennifer Hill, a professor of women’s history and American studies at Montana State University.

Jennifer Hill: She also had a significant amount of time and money.

Shaylee Ragar: While she was certainly a sharp and talented politician, she was also a white, educated, child-free and well-connected woman of means. That put her in a rarefied position – one that made it possible for her to run for office.

Austin Amestoy: It makes sense that a trailblazer like Rankin would require significant resources. Time and money are still baseline requirements for politicians today.

Shaylee Ragar: Absolutely. Hill says Rankin also had good timing. Montana women won the right to vote in 1914 and were demanding more involvement in government. Hill says it’s not surprising that the first woman elected to Congress came from the West.

Austin Amestoy: Why’s that?

Shaylee Ragar: White, upper-class gender roles were ingrained in East Coast society, with deep roots in British colonialism and in Christianity. Women were the childbearers and caretakers, while men were the providers and decision-makers.

But in the rugged West, people were sparse and daily life required an all-hands approach. The divide between men and women began to blur.

Jennifer Hill: It was women doing all sorts of things because that work needed to be done and they were quite capable of doing it, but it made it harder to say women are these entirely separate creatures that shouldn’t be allowed in the public sphere, that can’t think through problems, that can’t solve problems, etc.

Shaylee Ragar: Hill emphasizes that those details should not take away from Rankin’s feat.

Jennifer Hill: She was a fireball. She was quite the character. And she was quite willing to be full-throatedly active in pursuing her own aims. She was excellent.

Austin Amestoy: What was a fireball politician like in 1916?

Shaylee Ragar: Well vastly different from today, of course. There were no perfectly curated videos or statements to post to social media for mass consumption. Rankin was known for her groundwork – traveling the state, giving inspiring speeches, shaking lots of hands.

Her tenacity was a family trait. Her well-known brother, Wellington, helped run her campaigns.

Former state legislator Winfield Page ran against both Rankin and Wellington in different races. He described the siblings for the Jeannette Rankin Oral History Project archived at the Mansfield Library.

"Once you take on one of the Rankins, you’ve gotta whip the whole bunch. And they are formidable. They are aggressive, ambitious and they left no stone unturned."

Austin Amestoy: It sounds like Rankin pulled off a balancing act. She was well-spoken and assertive. Came from wealth and chose to work. She rejected a traditional family for herself, and advocated for children and workers’ rights.

Shaylee Ragar: Definitely, and we’re getting to the crux of the matter here, Austin. Women trailblazed their way into public life by leveraging traditional gender roles. That’s a tough tightrope to walk – and was really the only path for women to take.

Sara Hayden is a communications professor at the University of Montana and studies gender in political rhetoric. She says that in the 1800s, women were allowed credibility on moral issues. Ethical problems impacting families and children – like alcoholism, slavery and child welfare.

Sara Hayden: Women wanted to start talking about these things in a public way, and they did it in ways that sort of reflected their femininity.

Austin Amestoy: So they’re breaking the mold by staying within the confines of a broader mold.

Shaylee Ragar: Exactly. A woman’s success in public life was largely tied to her ability to simultaneously embody traditional ideals. Hayden says men were seen as superior leaders, and entering politics was a masculine endeavor. So women needed to exhibit some of those characteristics deemed necessary for leadership, but not all. They also have to maintain some semblance of femininity to be taken seriously.

Sara Hayden: You’re jumping over higher hurdles, more hurdles, because there’s more work to do to prove to people that you do belong in the public sphere and you’re not only feminine.

Shaylee Ragar: Hayden says many of these hurdles for women persist today, though some more covertly. It’s added baggage in political races that male candidates just don’t have to carry. It’s easier to run a race with a lighter load.

Austin Amestoy: Ah, and this sounds like our transition to why women have had such a tough time getting elected to office in Montana in today’s political climate.

Shaylee Ragar: Exactly, Austin. That’s what we’ll talk about next time, in part two. In fact, I have a sneak peak for you.

Denise Juneau: ... The model for a congressman is basically white, male, military-background, wealthy ...

Austin Amestoy: Well I already can’t wait for part two on our next episode of The Big Why. Thanks so much, Shaylee.

Shaylee Ragar: Of course, Austin!

Austin Amestoy: Now we want to know what makes you curious about Montana. Submit your questions below, or leave a message at 406-640-8933. Let's see what we can discover together! Find us wherever you listen to podcasts and help others find the show by sharing it and leaving a review.