On November 7, 1916, Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the United States Congress. To commemorate the centennial of her November 1916 election and April 1917 swearing-in as a U.S. Representative, the Office of the House Historian conducted oral histories with former women Members, staff, and family. Drawn from decades of congressional experience, the interviews in this ongoing project convey a larger narrative about the transformative role of women in American politics and their contributions to Congress during the past century. Learn more about this project.
Learn more about the oral history program, editing practices, and rights and reproductions.
Search a list of individual interviews, and access audio and video clips, transcripts, interview abstracts, and related images and artifacts.
View a list of the available interview transcripts for the Office of the Historian's oral history program. New transcripts will be added periodically as additional interviews are completed and processed.
Utilize lesson plans and teaching tips to incorporate information from oral history interviews in the classroom.