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56 Counties: Jeannette Rankin

Jeannette Rankin
Jeannette Rankin

On a cold winter day in February of 1911, an unknown former social worker took the podium in the Montana capital to address the legislature about Women’s Suffrage. It was the first time a woman had ever been invited to speak at the Montana legislature, and Jeannette Rankin made such a huge impression that day that it launched her into a career even she herself could not have anticipated.

Harlow Willis Bitter Taste
Harlow Willis Bitter Taste

For this episode of 56 Counties, I tell the unlikely story of how this woman who sometimes described herself as ‘timid’ became such a strong voice in the political arena, not only in Montana but in the entire nation, especially when she became the very first woman ever elected to office in Congress. And that was only one milestone in the career of Jeannette Rankin. For this episode, I also feature the music of Livingston artist and musician Audrey Hall, aka Harlow Willis, from her CD Bitter Taste.

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