Please join us at Chaucer’s Books on Thursday, December 4, at 6 PM for a conversation with former State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson and author Lorissa Rinehart about her new book Winning The Earthquake (St. Martin's Press).
The first comprehensive biography of progressive trailblazer and America’s first woman in Congress, Jeannette Rankin, Winning The Earthquake is part narrative biography and part in-depth history of America’s evolving democracy throughout the 20th Century.
Born on a Montana ranch in 1880, Jeannette Rankin knew how to ride a horse, make a fire, and read the sky for weather.
But most of all, she knew how to talk to people and convince them of her vision for America.
It was this rare skill that led her to become, in 1916, the first woman ever elected to the House of Representatives.
Across six decades as a lawmaker, lobbyist, and activist, Rankin never wavered.
She advocated for meaningful electoral reform, introducing the bill that became the 19th Amendment while championing Ranked Choice Voting, multi-member Congressional districts, and the abolition of the Electoral College.
She stood up to her era’s most powerful oligarchs while pushing for workers’ rights.
And she remained a fierce advocate for peace, voting against WWI and lobbying tirelessly for disarmament during the interwar period.
At every step, she fought to expand the meaning of We the People.