it is not a new thing
We tend to think of a woman running for president as something new. Recently I heard the Thoughline podcast from NPR talking about 3 prior women who have done just that thing. Those 3 brave women who stood against the establishment and challenged the idea that a woman couldn’t be president.
[Total_Soft_Poll id=”2″]
From time to time you hear that women can do anything men can do. Is that true though? Can a woman really do anything? Could a woman be president? Of course, if they could get elected. That’s the challenge because most Americans don’t feel a woman could lead our country.
Funny how people would swear they wouldn’t contribute to misogyny. That’s really what is going on in these cases. Many in the general public have this bias. They might not even know they have the bias. Bias are a tricky thing. We have been programmed with bias since we were children.
In many of the other countries, a woman either has or is leading the country. Why is it then that we haven’t had or don’t have a woman leading our country?
The Throughline podcast presented 3 women and their bid to become president.
- Margaret Chase Smith
- Shirley Chisholm
- Pat Schroeder
Margaret Chase Smith was from Main and became a pioneer in 1940. Her husband Clyde Smith fell ill in the spring of 1940. Upon his passing Margaret took over his seat in the House of Representatives. Later in 1940 she ran for the seat her husband had occupied as a Repubican. She won the race by a margin of 65%–35%. Margaret Chase Smith was in the House of Representatives from 1940 – 1949 before becoming a Senator 1949 – 1973.
Shirley Chisholm was from Brooklyn and was the first black female elected to the United States Congress in 1968. She challenged the establishment in many ways beyond just the fact that she was a female and black. She was a member of the House of Representatives 1969 – 1983. In 1972 she announced her bid for the presidency.
Pat Schroeder was from Colorado and at the time the third-youngest woman ever elected to the House of Representatives. While serving Pat became the first woman to serve on the House Armed Services Committee. Her presidency campaign came after she was the chairman for Gary Hart’s 1988 presidental campaign. Gary Hart was accused of having an affair and after dropping out of the race Pat thought that maybe she should throw her hat in the ring. Pat was famous for saying “No dough, no go.” Only after trying to raise funds for the campaign by a deadline did she conclude pull out of the race. Pat was in office from 1973 – 1997.
The last 2 presidential elections have had women run. We think of this as becoming the norm now but let history remember those women who challenged the establishment in a different time.
Leave a reply showing there's intelligent life out there