Learning from Historical Documents for Chapter 15 |
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Letter from Jeannette Rankin to Anna Shaw, quoted in the Montana Good Government State Central Committee records, 1895-1919. Small Collection 567. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Archives. Excerpted in Not In Precious Metals Alone: A Manuscript History of Montana (Helena, 1976): 235. Context for Jeannette Rankin's Letter: When, after a long struggle, Montana women won the right to vote in 1914, part of their victory could be attributed to the Progressive crusade to make political institutions more representative. However, credit was also due to the dedicated campaigners who visited every part of the state. One of the lead organizers of the suffrage campaign was Jeannette Rankin, who formed a sophisticated organization that marshaled a host of committed volunteers. During the campaign, Rankin reported on the progress to Anna Howard Shaw, president of the National American Women's Suffrage Association. Although suffragists (and their opponents) declared that women would reform and/or vastly change politics, women as members of the electorate actually altered the character of Montana politics very little.
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