Celebrating Veterans and those on the home front who tried to keep them safe

In just a few moments, it will be, in the heart of America, 11:11 am on 11/11 and many people will bow their heads in remembrance of all who have given their lives or their limbs in military service to the United States, as they should.

As with all things, there is another side to our pursuit of freedom and justice and the American Way. That other side is the side represented by those who have, war after war, shown up to say "There's got to be another way". Many of them lost lives, homes, reputations for doing so.

One prominent person in this arena was the first woman elected to Congress, Jeannette Rankin. Although we are highlighting her here, there are millions of unrecognized "peacniks" who have done and continue to do the work of changing the heart of the biggest arms dealer on the planet and, as a co-founding member of DuPage Against War Now with Kathy Slovick, I, salute them all.
Amy Rohrer, ED, DPDC

December 8, 1941

On this day, Montanan Jeanette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress and a dedicated lifelong pacifist, casts the sole Congressional vote against the U.S. declaration of war on Japan. She was the only member of Congress to vote against U.S. involvement in both World Wars, having been among those who voted against American entry intoWorld War I nearly a quarter of a century earlier.

Rankin was a committed pacifist, and she cared little about the damage her beliefs caused her political career. Although some male representatives joined her in voting against World War I in 1917, many citizens saw her vote as evidence that a woman could not handle the difficult burdens of national leadership. Perhaps as a result, Montanans voted her out of office two years later. Ironically, Rankin won re-election to the House in 1940, just in time to face another vote on war.

While her commitment to pacifism was politically harmful during World War I, Rankin knew that in the case of World War II, it would be downright suicidal. The surprise Japanese attack on the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor was devastating, and zeal for revenge was at a fever pitch. The vast majority of Americans supported President Roosevelt's call for a declaration of war.

Rankin, however, believed that Roosevelt deliberately provoked the Japanese to attack because he wanted to bring the U.S. into the European war against Germany; she was determined not to cooperate with the president's plan. After a 40-minute debate on the floor of the House, a roll call vote began. When her turn came, Rankin stood and said, "As a woman, I can't go to war and I refuse to send anyone else."

When news of Rankin's vote reached the crowd gathered outside the capitol, some patriots threatened to attack the Montana congresswoman, and police escorted her out of the building. Rankin was vilified in the press, accused of disloyalty, and called "Japanette Rankin," among other impolite names. She stood her ground, however, and never apologized for her vote.

When her term neared completion two years later, Rankin was certain she would not win re-election and chose not to run again. She continued to be an active advocate for pacifism, and led a campaign against the Vietnam War in 1968 when she was 87 years old.