While women have not always been praised and valued for their work, they have continued to influence government since its start. Whether they held office at the local and federal level, were appointed to the most high-profile jobs in politics or to a role many would never hear about, and even if they merely ran and lost, each made her mark. History is still continuing to be written by amazing women in and out of politics, and this month, we have the honor of celebrating them.
Our first feature is Abigail Adams. As wife to President John Adams, and her husband’s confidante and adviser, she opposed slavery and pushed for women’s rights and education. Her famous line “remember the ladies” was followed by urging her husband not to “put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember all men would be tyrants if they could.” Abigail lead the way for women influencing policy even when they didn’t have the right to vote. She used her leverage on her husband as her voice, which shaped the future of America.
Next, Tammy Baldwin, a junior Senator from Wisconsin, is the first openly gay person elected a U.S. Senator and the first woman in the senate from Wisconsin. In office, she has advocated for health care reform and sponsored action related to women’s rights, such as the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Reauthorization Act of 2007.
Eleanor Roosevelt, much like Abigail Adams, revolutionized her role as a wife. As the longest-serving First Lady (12 years), she hit the road to promote the work of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration and her public policy interests via nationwide press conferences, radio segments and her daily, syndicated newspaper column “My Day.” Having pioneered the activist role of the First Lady, she was later appointed a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly by Harry S. Truman, after FDR died, and served as the first chairperson of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights when it drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the wake of World War II.
Likely most recognizable in modern politics is Hillary Clinton. In 2016, she was the first woman nominated by a major party for President of the United States. A lawyer by training, she went on to acquire a historical political career. She was the first First Lady to have an office in the West Wing, and while the healthcare reform plan she spearheaded during that time failed to pass, she successfully worked with members of Congress on the creation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Prior to her unsuccessful run for the White House, she was also the first woman to serve as a U.S. Senator from New York (2001-2009) and served as Secretary of State (2009-2013) in the Obama administration.
Lastly, we have one of the biggest badasses of modern politics. RBG. Nominated to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, from a previous position as a United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit judge, this Brooklyn opera buff boasts many firsts. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first woman to serve on two major law reviews (Harvard Law Review and Columbia Law Review), first tenured female Columbia Law School professor, and co-author of the first casebook on sex discrimination. She’s known for her opinions on gender equality, notably the landmark case of United States v Virginia, which allowed women to attend the Virginia Military Institute.
These women have continued to change history, and have paved the road for generations of freedom fighters to come. Virginia Woolf said, “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” This no longer stands. Women have earned a voice and will continue to speak out and celebrate our equality.