Jeannette Rankin: Nothing Left but My Integrity

How did the actions of Jeannette Rankin's, the first woman elected to U.S. Congress, voting record demonstrate integrity?

Walk-In-The-Shoes Questions
As you read, imagine you are the protagonist.

• What challenges are you facing?
• What fears or concerns might you have?
• What may prevent you from acting in the way you ought?

Observation Questions

• In what ways did Jeannette Rankin demonstrate integrity to enhance life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
• Jeannette Rankin had many different interests and skills, and had a hard time settling on a career as a young woman. What did she understand her identity to be and to what extent did her identity change over time?
• What did Jeanette Rankin understand her purpose to be? How did she want to be remembered?

Discussion Questions
Discuss the following questions with your students.

• What is the historical context of the narrative?
• What historical circumstances presented a challenge to the protagonist?
• How and why did the individual exhibit a moral and/or civic virtue in facing and overcoming the challenge?
• How did the exercise of the virtue benefit civil society?
• How might exercise of the virtue benefit the protagonist?
• What might the exercise of the virtue cost the protagonist?
• Would you react the same under similar circumstances? Why or why not?
• How can you act similarly in your own life? What obstacles must you overcome in order to do so?

• Students will analyze Jeannette Rankin’s character as a citizen.
• Students will examine Rankin’s demonstration of integrity and commitment to truth.
• Students will understand why integrity is an essential virtue in their own lives.
• Students will act with integrity to protect freedom even when their beliefs are unpopular.