Paving the Way: An Oral History of Women Pioneers in Politics Interviewer: Jillian Kaufman Interviewee: Diane Dewhirst February 13, 2013 Kaufman 2 Table of Contents Interviewee Release Form 3 Interviewer Release Form 4 Statement of Purpose 5 Biography 6 Paving the Way: An Oral History of Women Pioneers in Politics 8 Interview Transcription 17 Analysis Paper 31 Works Consulted 35 Kaufman 3 Kaufman 4 Kaufman 5 Statement of Purpose The purpose of the American Century Oral History Project is to collect and preserve the how and why of history. While textbooks cover the who, what, when, and where of a historical event, only the account of an eyewitness can give one an insight into the how and why. From this one learns insider information and the real life emotions and effects an event had on everyday people. As a witness to the rise of Nancy Pelosi as the first Madam Speaker, Diane Dewhirst is a source of knowledge on the topic of politics, and as a woman, Diane is able to recount her feelings and treatment of women in the grueling world of government. Kaufman 6 Biography of Diane Dewhirst Diane Dewhirst was born on May 28, 1957 in Framingham, Massachusetts. Her family lived in Boston until she was three, and from there they moved to Bluebell, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. She attended Gwynedd Mercy Academy- a small, all girls’ Catholic school run by the Sisters of Mercy- for seventh through twelfth grade. After high school, Diane went to Ohio University and Northwestern University where she studied journalism and political science. Her first involvement in politics was in a gubernatorial race where she campaigned for a Republican, but during her time at Ohio University she began campaigning more seriously for Jimmy Carter in 1976. After transferring to Northwestern, Diane got an internship at Common Cause in Washington, DC. Upon graduating, she received another internship, this time at the Democratic National Committee. She then worked for Senator George Mitchell (D- ME) on his press staff and became his communications director. From there she did consulting work for Kaufman 7 Clinton and Gore and worked on the ’96 and 2000 Democratic Conventions. Diane came on to Nancy Pelosi’s staff in 2004 and in 2007 witnessed Pelosi become the first woman Speaker of the House. She worked closely with Pelosi on energy policy and- something they are both very proud of- healthcare reform. Diane Dewhirst is still currently Leader Pelosi’s senior policy advisor. She currently lives in Washington, DC with her family. Kaufman 8 Paving the Way: An Oral History of Women Pioneers in Politics Representative Florence Dwyer of New Jersey once said, “A Congresswoman must look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, speak on any given subject with authority and most of all work like a dog” (“Breaking the Political Glass Ceiling”). Representative Dwyer was absolutely correct; women, especially in the field of politics, have to “work like a dog” in order to gain the rights, respect, and representation men enjoy. Women have been fighting for their place in politics from the very beginning of the formation of the United States. While writing the Declaration of Independence in the Continental Congress in 1776, John Adams’ wife, Abigail, wrote the future president many letters voicing the opinions of women. This was the first push in America for women to be represented in government, and the second push did not come for 72 years with the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. The Seneca Falls Convention started the fight for women’s rights that lasted another 72 years and beyond. To understand women’s achievements in government, one must examine the events and pioneers that made places for women in politics as well as gain a first-hand perspective from someone who has found a place in the field. Since the birth of the country, women have been fighting for their place along side men in the government. The letters between Abigail Adams and her husband John Adams during the American Revolution give great insight into this early struggle. On March 31, 1776, Abigail wrote to John in hopes of hearing news of America’s independence. The future First Lady also asked her husband to, “remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors” in writing “the new code of laws” necessary for a new country (“Letters of Abigail Adams”). This request Kaufman 9 unfortunately fell onto deaf ears, as reflected in the famous line of the Declaration of Independence, “All men are created equal.” However, 72 years later, 300 people met in Seneca Falls, New York to change this statement. Quaker women organized the Seneca Falls Convention on July 19-20, 1848 for a visit from Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Stanton, two pioneering women of the time (“Seneca Falls Convention”). At the convention, the women prepared a Declaration of Sentiments, in which they rewrote the Declaration of Independence to include women. The Declaration of Sentiments, which was signed by 68 women and 32 men, affirmed, “that all men and women are created equal,” as well as listed the many grievances of women (Stanton 70). This document and the convention were the first of their kind in the United States1 and became the starting point for women fighting for their rights. The Declaration of Sentiments became the foundational document of the women’s suffrage movement. The women’s suffrage movement sought to give women the right to vote and the right to hold office (“Women’s Suffrage”). However, some women differed on how these rights would be achieved. In 1869, the 15th Amendment was proposed to give black men the right to vote. Women like Elizabeth Stanton opposed the amendment because it did not give women the right to vote; while others felt that if blacks received this right, women would be next. From this disagreement two organizations were formed: the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association. Stanton created the National Woman Suffrage Association to create laws through the federal government for women’s suffrage. The American Woman Suffrage 1 Mary Wollstonecraft’s 1792 book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, is thought by many to have started the women’s rights fight in the English-speaking world (“History of Women’s Suffrage”). Kaufman 10 Association worked on getting women the vote through state legislature (“History of Women’s Suffrage”). These early days of women’s fight for suffrage were laying down the groundwork for achieving the goal for women to vote and to hold office. Nancy Woloch, a historian, described these early endeavors as, “a crusade in political education by women and for women, and for most of its existence, a crusade in search of a constituency” (“I’m No Lady; I’m a Member of Congress”). This time in history is also known as the reform era because of the exodus of educated women from the home, out into public life (Barker-Benfield Clinton 309). These new educated, middle-class women came out into the world and took on the overwhelming task of fixing social issues, such as education and healthcare, as a result of unregulated capitalism. The women’s suffrage movement ended in 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The amendment stated that, “The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex”. This was the first time women were allowed to vote on the federal level, although some states, like Montana, allowed women to vote on the state level before hand. Alice Paul, a leading lady in the suffrage movement, once said, “I never doubted that equal rights was the right direction. Most reforms, most problems are complicated. But to me there is nothing complicated about ordinary equality” (qtd. in Johnson Lewis). The fight for this right was based upon the simple statement that the founding fathers wrote, and that was later edited at the Seneca Falls convention, that “all men and women are created equal.” Women were in Congress even before they received the right to vote at the federal level. The first woman elected to the Congress was Jeannette Rankin of Montana Kaufman 11 in 1916. Just like her fellow suffragists, Rankin ran her campaign on the words of America’s founding fathers: “No Taxation Without Representation.” Seeing that women were totally unrepresented in government, Rankin believed, “We’re half the people; we should be half the Congress” (“The First U.S. Congresswoman”). Dr. Louis Levine wrote in the New York Times, describing Rankin as the best representation of American women because of her hard working parents and her work with poor children. The article also touched on Rankin’s achievement of winning the seat as a Republican in a Democratic state, but as Levine put it, “she represents truly and fully but one party and one cause— the party and cause of woman” (Levine). Rankin’s 1916 election was also Montana women’s first time voting in a federal election, a right Rankin lobbied long and hard for in her state. In addition, as congresswoman, Rankin worked towards voting rights for all women and achieved those rights with the 19th Amendment. Besides being the United States’ first congresswoman, Jeannette Rankin was also the only representative to vote against both World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). Rankin told Congress upon voting, “I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war” (“Jeannette Rankin”).