Whereas: Stories from the People’s House

#10in10: 100 Years of Women in the House Collection

On April 2, 1917, Jeannette Rankin made history when she was sworn in as the first woman in Congress. In honor of the centennial of Rankin’s pioneering achievement, the Office of the Historian and the Office of Art and Archives launched digital projects about the early women Members of Congress and the changing role of women in the institution. For 10 days beginning on April 2, our Twitter feed exhibited women represented in the House Collection. @USHouseHistory used #10in10 to highlight 10 decades’ worth of objects from the House Collection. Keep reading to find out which era was the most popular on Twitter.

Here are the top three most popular decades:

The 1960s secured a third place finish, with the Ebony magazine cover celebrating Shirley Chisholm as the first African-American woman in Congress.

(2/2) 5 years + Shirley Chisholm breaks new ground as the 1st African-American Congresswoman in 1969. #HouseCollection#Rankin100#10in10pic.twitter.com/MxUewS4s3B

— U.S. House History (@USHouseHistory) April 7, 2017

Keeping with media coverage of female trailblazers, the second most popular decade went to the 1910s, thanks to this newspaper article announcing Jeannette Rankin’s historic election as the first Congresswoman.

It’s 1916 & Jeannette Rankin’s election just made front page news. #Rankin100#HouseCollection#10in10https://t.co/E8TDFhpftMpic.twitter.com/riM2RF05gI

— U.S. House History (@USHouseHistory) April 3, 2017

And finally, the most popular decade in #10in10 was the 1980s, with this campaign pin of Representative Barbara Kennelly.

#HouseCollection includes congresswomen's campaign objects; includes Rep Barbara Kennelly's pin from the 1980s. #Rankin100#10in10pic.twitter.com/3IOFwSjv5r

— U.S. House History (@USHouseHistory) April 10, 2017

Thanks for following #10in10 and be sure to check @USHouseHistory on Twitter for more tweets about House history, #HouseRecords, and the #HouseCollection of art and artifacts.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the election and swearing-in of the first woman in Congress, we will publish a series of blog posts about the early women Members and the changing role of women in the institution. Check back each month through 2017 to see the latest posts.

Follow @USHouseHistory