Jeanette Rankin
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Jeannette Rankin believed, “What one decides to do in crisis depends on one 's philosophy of life, and that philosophy cannot be changed by an incident. If one hasn 't any philosophy in crises, others make the decision" (Lewis, 2011). This quote introduces us to the life of an amazing woman who dedicated her life to the rights of women, children, blue-collar workers, veterans and most importantly - peace. Many times in this paper, Jeanette 's own quotes will serve as the voice of her moral courage. Born in an era of limited women 's rights, Jeannette Rankin challenged conventional thought about the influence and power of a woman. She was the first woman elected to Congress, and the only person to vote against both World Wars. MoralCourage.org lists Jeannette Rankin amongst history 's most courageous moral heroes. Jeanette used the power of virtue - instrumental (fortitude and courage) and moral (selflessness) - to create significant thought shifts about women, labor, poverty and peace. She serves as an ongoing inspiration for all people.
JEANNETTE RANKIN MORAL COURAGE HERO
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to examine the life of Jeannette Rankin and her stature as a Moral Courage Hero. In examining what attributes Jeannette processed to deserve this honorable title, I looked to the web site moralhero.org. This site skillfully describes the traits of a moral hero. "Being a hero is selflessly doing the best you can in a time of need. ...almost all our heroes have all of the following five traits: education, compassion, networking, inspiration and sacrifice."
This report will focus on four major components of Jeannette 's life that embrace the traits described by moralhero.org:
(1) What foundations formed her moral courage/values in her youth (education, compassion, family)?
(2) How did she transition from a "country girl" to a social activist (education, networking,
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