Jeannette Rankin, raised on a Montana ranch in the 1880s, became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916. She served two terms as a Republican and remains, to this day, the only woman from Montana to have been elected to Congress.

Known for her ability to connect with others, Rankin introduced legislation that helped secure women’s voting rights, protect workers, and boost aid for children in poverty. A pacifist, in 1941, she cast the only vote against declaring war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. "You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake," she said.

Historian Lorissa Rinehart’s Winning the Earthquake marks the first major biography about Rankin, bringing her story to a new generation. Rinehart discusses Rankin’s life and impact with Michele Ozumba, former president of the Women’s College Coalition. Ozumba has more than 20 years of leadership experience with organizations dedicated to empowering and promoting the well-being of women and girls.

Rinehart is also the author of First to the Front, which tells the story of pioneering journalist Dickey Chapelle, the first woman sent to the front lines of Iwo Jima. Her weekly Substack and podcast, The Female Body Politic, explores today’s headlines through the lens of 250 years of women's participation in American democracy.