No history of American representative government could properly be written
without a major reference to Rep. Jeannette Rankin. The Montana Republican
carries the distinction of being the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress,
in 1916. In 1940, riding a tide of isolationism, she won her second term in
the House. The December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor put an end
to isolationism, but Rankin remained true to her anti-war beliefs, becoming
the only member of Congress to vote against declaring war just as she had in
1917. – Corrine Egan, B.A.
Corrine Egan has served as Executive Director for the NW PA Labor-Management Council and director of Special Events and Community Education at Mercyhurst University. She graduated from Mercyhurst with a business degree in 1980. She has served on the Board of Trustees for Metro Health Center, as a commissioner for the NW Regional Planning Commission, and is a past member of the Pennsylvania Commission for Women.