Montana Legacy

By bypassing the legislature and appealing directly to the voters, proponents of I-85 pulled back the curtain on political spending. More than forty years later, it remains the defining case study of how a focused electorate can force accountability upon a reluctant government

The story of Bill Galt is more than a citation for the Medal of Honor. It is an exploration of how a Montana ranch hand’s perspective allowed him to survive the unsurvivable, and why, when the moment demanded it, he chose to lead a charge that was never his to command.

The state was caught in the grip of the "copper collar," the term for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company's absolute stranglehold on Montana's politics, media, and economy. Wheeler, a progressive crusader, spent his career fighting this entrenched power, and his story offers a series of shocking and surprisingly relevant lessons in political courage.

Her persuasive power was so undeniable that after an impassioned speech in favor of an eight-hour workday for women, one male colleague offered a now-famous, if gendered, compliment:

"She is the biggest man in the House."

This swift and effective entry into politics demonstrates a core aspect of her character. Hathaway was not there to be a symbol; she was a substantive, confident, and formidable legislator from the moment she took her oath.

A Montana Legacy MicroCast: On April 2, 1917, Jeannette Rankin took her seat as the first woman ever elected to the United States Congress. That same day, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany. Four days later, Rankin cast one of only fifty votes against entering World War I. It would not be the last time she stood alone.

A Montana Legacy MicroCast: A Montana State Senator from the Flathead Valley in the 1890s, Whiteside's extraordinary acts of whistleblowing not only stopped massive financial fraud but also contributed to a constitutional amendment that fundamentally changed how Americans elect their senators.