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Only One Member of Congress Voted Against Declaring War On Japan
An unpopular vote
It only took one day for the United States to declare war on Japan after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. As soon as reports of the stunning blow started flowing into Washington the mood was tense. People were angry. There was a sense of shock that stretched from Hawaii to Massachusetts. War had come to America against her will.
The hasty declaration of war reflected the mood in the nation. It did not take any debate or lengthy discussions. America was at war. Congress heeded the call and made their declaration on December 8th, 1941 directly following the attacks.
The declaration would have been unanimous save for one single vote. Despite being attacked and having multiple battleships smashed and thousands killed, one representative still did not want to vote for a declaration of war.
There was only one dissenting vote in all of Congress that day and it belonged to Jeannette Rankin of Montana.
A true pacifist
Rankin was the first woman to ever hold federal office in the United States. She served two terms as a Representative from Montana. She was elected first in 1916 and then again in 1940. Interestingly enough, both of her terms came on the eve of America entering a major world conflict.
Rankin was a women’s rights advocate and a pacifist. She did not believe in war and she did not believe in sending men off to war. She believed that that power was beyond her right as a human and a woman to exercise.
As a woman I can’t go to war and I refuse to send anyone else. — Jeannette Rankin
Rankin was one of 50 representatives to vote against going to war against Germany in 1917 and was the only person to vote against the war in 1941. The latter vote was extremely unpopular.
