- Susanna Salter
Susanna Salter was born in Ohio in the ripe year of 1860. She later attended the Kansas State Agricultural College in 1872, where she met her husband Lewis Salter. Together, they stayed in Kansas where they started a family. Salter was nominated for mayor by several men as a joke; however, she proved herself to be a force to be reckoned with, as she won over half of the votes of her town. As the men’s plan backfired, Salter thrived in office, knowing way more about politics than the world thought. She even granted Kansas women the right to vote in their city elections. Despite the fact that Salter didn’t re-run or serve again, she stuck her foot in the door of politics on behalf of all women as being the first female to hold public office; creating new opportunities for leadership and participation in our government.
- Sandra Day O’Connor
Perhaps the most notable of all, Sandra Day O’Connor was born in Texas in 1930, although she lived most of her young life on her family’s Arizona ranch. O’Connor went to high school in Texas, where she graduated two years early. She then went on to graduate one year early from Stanford Law, third in her class. Despite O’Connor’s robust intelligence and great success in her field, the societal bias against attorneys caused her to struggle for employment. She became so desperate, that her first “job” as an attorney had a wage of $0; still, she chose it over a paid position as a secretary because she was deeply driven and determined to pursue her passion for law. In 1957, she opened a private practice in Arizona alongside her husband and a friend. Then in 1969, she was appointed to an interim senate position, where she was so liked that she was officially elected the following year. In 1975, O’Connor moved on up to Arizona’s Supreme Court of Appeals. It took just two years for O’Connor to catch President Reagan’s attention, who appointed her to be the first female to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court; which was approved by the Senate unanimously. Of course, O’Connor isn’t in the political spotlight anymore; however, she continues to this day to encourage all young adults in their civic engagement.
- Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris was born in California in 1964 to immigrant parents from India and Jamaica. She much later graduated from law school and became a prosecutor in 1990 for the Alameda County District Atorrney’s Office, specializing in child sexual assault cases. Harris briskly moved up the ranks, being elected in 2003 as San Francisco’s head District Attorney; then in 2010 as the state of California’s Attorney General. She continued to advocate for women and children, establishing California’s first Bureau of Children’s Justice. In 2017, Harris advanced into becoming a United States Senator. Just three short years later, she was elected as the first woman, Black American, and South Asian American Vice President alongside Joe Biden. Still in office, Kamala Harris is one of many female trailblazers in our country today.
Photo Credit: supremecourt.gov
Sources:
https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/susanna-madora-salter/12191
https://www.oyez.org/justices/sandra_day_oconnor
https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-harris/