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In 1854, at a small schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin, history tells us that it was “50 men, 3 women, and 1 child” who met to create the new Republican Party. It was an activist party, committed to stopping the spread of slavery.  Within six years, the nation elected Abraham Lincoln as the first Republican president. Seen as a reform party, activist women like Susan B, Anthony, most famous for her role in the women’s suffrage movement; Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a late 19th century women’s rights advocate; and Lucy Stone, a mid-19th century abolitionist, suffragist, and vocal advocate for women’s rights, were prominent figures in the early days of the Republican Party. Bringing this story closer to home, in 1916, the first woman elected to Congress was Montanan Jeannette Rankin. Called "the woman who voted to give women the right to vote," Rankin was instrumental in the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

 

These activist women in the 19th century did not act alone. Republican women’s clubs were forming across the nation, with the oldest club on record founded in Salt Lake City in the late 1800’s. Today, the goals of the National Federation of Republican Women are to encourage women’s participation in the governing of our nation, to elect Republicans to office at all levels, and to promote public awareness of the issues that shape America. These, too, are the goals of Flathead County Republican Women.

 

Flathead County Republican Women is a leading grassroots political organization in Flathead County. Our members are actively involved in working with Republican candidates by supporting campaign activities, as well as ensuring our elected officials support the Republican platform by carefully vetting them as candidates prior to endorsing them for a political position in government.

 

While our primary role is getting the right people elected to office, FCRW is active in educating people on proposed and current legislation that affects the lives of people in our community. An uninformed or misinformed electorate negatively impacts the legislative process, and a goal of the FCRW is to act as an educational resource for our community to keep them informed.

 

With so much happening in the world today, now is the BEST time to be involved in a political organization that values unity and not division, education and not ignorance, and who represents the values of the strong, activist women who were groundbreakers in the history of the Republican Party -- and America -- over the past two centuries. Now is the BEST TIME for Republican women to join together!