Women in Society

In 1995, the passage of the 19th amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote, celebrated its 75th anniversary (Swers 172-183). The resolution calling for woman suffrage was passed at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, convened by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott (Jaydel 78-81). This had challenged America to social revolution that would touch every aspect of life. Early women's rights leaders believed suffrage to be the most effective means to change an unjust system. By the late 1800s, nearly fifty years of progress afforded women advancement in property rights, employment and educational opportunities, divorce and child custody laws, and increased social freedoms. The early 1900s saw a successful push for the vote through a coalition of suffragists, temperance groups, reform-minded politicians, and women's social welfare organizations. Although Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton devoted 50 years to the woman's suffrage movement, neither lived to see women gain the right to vote(Jaydel 78). But they contributed to the ultimate passage of the 19th amendment in 1920 (Swers 189-194). This movement has paved the way for women, like men, to gain leadership roles in government.

There were many women pioneers in the political field. In 1887, thirty three years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Susanna Medora Salter became the first women elected mayor of an American town, in Argonia, Kansas. In 1917 Jeannette Rankin became the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives. In 1932, Hattie Caraway becomes the first women elected to the United States Senate. In 1981 Sandra Day O’Connor was appointed by President Reagan to the Supreme Court, making her its first woman justice. Another first came from Madeleine Albright, who was sworn in as United States secretary of state in 1997. She is the first woman this position as well as the highest-ranking woman in United States government (Swers 231-245).

Right now, there are two women serving as Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman to serve on the High Court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the second woman. She was nominated by President Clinton on June 14, 1993 and also was sworn in later that year. Although no woman has served as Chief Justice of the United States, it is just a matter of time (Freeman 15-21).

For the United States Senate, Rebecca Latimer Felton was the first woman to serve. She was appointed in 1922 to fill the unexpired term of a Senator who had died in office. In addition to being the first female Senator, Ms. Felton holds two other Senate records. Her tenure in the Senate remains the shortest ever (one day), and at the age of 87, she was the oldest person ever to begin Senate service (Freeman 26-39). The youngest woman elected to the Senate is Senator Blanche Lincoln. She was first elected in 1998 at the age of 38. She previously served in the House(Carrol 158-162). Besides Ms. Felton, 32 other women, including the 14 in the 109th Congress, have served in the Senate. Of these 33 women, 13 were initially appointed to the Senate, including Lisa Murkowski, who was appointed to the 108th Congress by her father, Frank Murkowski, to succeed him after he was elected governor of Alaska. She was subsequently elected to her own six-year term in 2004. Five women, including Dianne Feinstein and Kay Bailey Hutchison were first elected to fill unexpired terms. Two of the women were first elected and seven were first appointed to fill vacancies caused by the death of their husbands, including Jean Carnahan, who was appointed to the 107th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by her husband’s election to the Senate. Two women have been appointed to the Senate by their husbands to fill vacancies. Senator Dixie Bibb Graves was appointed in 1937 by her husband, then-Governor David Bibb Graves, to fill a vacancy. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun is only black woman to have served in the Senate (Gelb 98-110).

Of the 203 women who have served in the House, thirty six were elected to fill

vacancies caused by the death of their husbands. Fifteen of the thirty six were

elected to additional terms. Twenty women have been elected to fill

other vacancies caused by death or resignation. Of these, Nancy Pelosi was

first elected to fill the vacancy caused by the death of another woman, Sala Burton. Representative Pelosi, a Member of the 109th Congress, began her service in 1987. Seven additional women have directly succeeded other women by defeating them or being elected to open seats (Swers 109-135).

Elizabeth Holtzman is the youngest woman to serve in the House. She was elected