To honor Women’s History Month the United States Senate Historical Office posted a story on their website entitled “Two Women Take the Oath.”  Here are the opening paragraphs of the story:

“In celebration of Women’s History Month, this Senate Story highlights a historic day in 1961 when—for the first time in Senate history—two women took the oath of office on the same day.

One of the Senate’s most enduring traditions is the biennial oath-taking ceremony. A long-standing feature of this ritual is the escorting of newly elected or reelected senators to the well of the Chamber. Marching down the center aisle in pairs, or occasionally in groups of three, current and former senators, traditionally from the same state as the newly elected or reelected senator, then stand by to witness this much-anticipated moment in every Senate career.

In January of 2019, at the beginning of the 116th Congress, a record-breaking 14 women senators took the oath of office. Eight of those women were escorted by another female senator. As the number of women in Congress grows, these symbolically important moments are becoming more commonplace, but that wasn’t always the case. In fact, in 1961, the sight of two women taking the oath together caused quite a stir!”

Read the entire story on this link:

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/Two-Women-Take-the-Oath.htm

Here is a list of the women who have served in the U.S. Senate with live links to their biography.

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/women_senators.htm

Explore more outstanding resources by the Senate Historical Office on the struggle by women for political equality here:

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/People/Women/WomanSuffrage2019.htm

-          Mark J. Molli, Associate Director, Center for Civic Education