| Existing comment:
Rankin's service began as Congress met in an extraordinary session in April 1917 to declare war on Germany and enter World War I. In the lead-up to her swearing-in, the press paid as much attention to her fashion sense as her policy positions. News accounts took breathless interest in her looks -- "tall and slender, with frank hazel eyes, sandy hair, and energetic mouth" -- and speculated whether she would cry in public or flirt with her colleagues. |