The first female was elected to Congress before American women even had the right to vote!
Jeannette Rankin helped pass women’s suffrage in her home state of Montana in 1913, though the majority of women in the rest of the country remained unrepresented. Rankin’s brother Wellington was a major player among Montana Republicans and served as her campaign manager three years later in both the party nomination for Congress and in the general election. On November 17th, 1916, Jeannette was elected to the House of Representatives. This is quite interesting seeing as the 19th Amendment, which gave ALL American women the right to vote, was not ratified until 1920 - a year after Rankin had completed her first congressional term!
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