27. Karma Makes a Misogynist Joke Backfire
For much of history, men treated the idea of women’s participation in politics as inconceivable, or as a joke. The latter is why in 1887 a cabal of men opposed to women’s participation in politics nominated a woman for the office of mayor of Argonia, Kansas. They were the opposite of fans of women’s empowerment: their aim was to secure a massive defeat for the female candidate that would humiliate women, and discourage them from voting or running for office.
In a nutshell, the whole thing was a sexist prank, along the lines of “nyuk, nyuk – a woman mayor. How absurd” type deals, for misogynists to chortle over. Karma had something else in mind, however. As seen below, rather than lose, the female candidate, Susanna Madora Salter (1860 – 1961), won the election convincingly. That made her the first woman ever elected mayor in American history. To put even more egg on the pranksters’ face, she went on to capably fulfill the duties of her mayoral office.
