In 1917, Jeannette Rankin, a Republican from Montana and the first woman in the country elected to Congress, cast her vote against American entry into World War I. In casting her vote, she declared:
I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war.
In all 56 members of Congress voted against the war. Rankin was praised by some for standing by her pacifist convictions. Others condemned her for being soft on Germany, for being a publicity seeker, and for not being worthy of public office.
Rankin later expressed her pacifist views:
I still believe war is a stupid and futile way of attempting to settle international difficulties. I believe war can be avoided and will be avoided when the people, the men and women in America, as well as in Germany, have the controlling voice in their government. Today special interests are controlling the world.
Rankin was defeated in the next election and moved to Georgia where she lobbied for peace, for women’s rights, and for children’s rights. She was the founding vice-president of the American Civil Liberties Union and a founding member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
She returned to Montana in 1940, ran for Congress, and was present when the United States entered World War II. During the debate about the war, Rankin was not allowed to speak. When her name was called to vote, she simply said:
As a woman, I can’t go to war and I refuse to send anyone else.
Rankin cast the lone vote against World War II and had to be escorted from the House to her office by the Capitol police. She returned to Georgia and remained active in anti-war protests through the Vietnam War. She died in 1973, just short of her 93rd birthday.