ABSTRACT
On April 2, 1917, the moment that the nation had long been expecting finally arrived: President Wilson appeared before a joint session of Congress and asked for a declaration of war. “The world,” he said, “must be made safe for democracy.” 1 Ranged before him sat the legislators who would respond to his call—435 members of the House of Representatives and 96 Senators. Or, to put it another way, 530 men and Jeanette Rankin.
