History, Starters, US Government Jonathan Milner History, Starters, US Government Jonathan Milner

What state has never sent a women to Congress?

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

  1. Which American state has never had a woman representative in the US Congress?

  2. Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia, the first female Senator, was appointed in 1922 after Senator Thomas Watson died. She served for one day. The first woman elected to the Senate was Hattie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas, who served two full terms after initially being appointed to a seat in 1931. Since then, 32 of 50 states have had a woman serve as senator for at least one congressional term. In all, there have been 57 women senators in US history. How many states have never had a female US senator?

  3. Has your own state and district ever been represented by a female?

  4. What story does the map above tell?

  5. Nearly one hundred years after the first woman was elected to Congress, one state has never had either a woman senator or representative. Why do you think the US hasn’t yet had full representation by women?

  6. Describe three ways you imagine US policy would change if ever district and state was currently represented by a female?

  7. Montana was the first to send a woman to Congress in 1916, when voters elected suffragist Jeannette Rankin to the House. Rankin joined Congress three years before women across the country obtained the right to vote and was a key proponent for a constitutional amendment establishing women’s suffrage while she served in the House. Why do you think Montana was the first state to have female representation?

  8. Females currently make up about 27.1% of the U.S. House and 24% of the U.S. Senate. Why do you think that females are so underrepresented in the U.S. Congress?

  9. In what year do you think this map will be all purple (every single state represented by females in both the House and Senate)?

  10. The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920 and reads: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” American men had never been denied the right to vote based on gender or sex. Explain the connection between women gaining the right to vote and the visual above*.

Write and Discuss

Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.

Act on your Learning

Vote for a woman or convince someone else to vote for a woman. Better yet, lobby your political party (Emily's List for liberals, the NFRW for conservatives) to run women for office. Or best of all, if you are a woman, run for office.

Get Creative

If American politics was a sport, what sport would it be?

Learning Extension

 
 

Check out this great article and interactive map at Vox where you can find out about female representation in your own state and district. Here’s how it looks where I live. And here is an interactive timeline of when states first sent a female to Congress.

Montana was the first to send a woman to Congress in 1916, when voters elected suffragist Jeannette Rankin to the House.

Montana was the first to send a woman to Congress in 1916, when voters elected suffragist Jeannette Rankin to the House.

In 2018, Delaware and Mississippi elected female members to the U.S. Congress. Leaving only one state that had never been represented by a woman.

In 2018, Delaware and Mississippi elected female members to the U.S. Congress. Leaving only one state that had never been represented by a woman.

Glossary

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