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The Life Of Ruth Bader Ginsburg-- Told In Epigraphs

By Mersadie Murray, University of Wisconsin-Platteville Class of 2020

August 14, 2020

My mother told me two things constantly. One was to be a lady, and the other was to be independent.

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) was born in Brooklyn, New York. She was known to be a deep thinker and was rarely into small talk [4]. Ruth was very close to her mother who was strict about her daughter’s education, although she had never graduated high school. The day before Ruth graduated high school, her mother passed away, but the lessons her mom taught her about handling her emotions and never relying solely on a man would never be forgotten [4]. The work ethic instilled by her mother would stick with Ruth throughout her life.

Marty was an extraordinary person. Of all the boys I had dated, he was the only one who cared that I had a brain. And he was always — well, making me feel that I was better than I thought I was. So we went to law school. And he told everybody, all of his friends, and he was one year ahead of me, his wife was gonna be on the Law Review.

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg, The Rachel Maddow Show

Ruth met her future husband, Marty, on a blind date when she was attending Cornell for her undergrad. However, Marty admits that the date was only blind for Ruth—she had been pointed out to him before the date [4]. The two were married quickly and had their first child, Jane, together while they were attending law school at Harvard. During her first year in law school, Marty was diagnosed with cancer that gave him a very slim chance at survival. For many people, deadly cancer and a young child might have been a sign that they should take a break from their studies, but not for Ruth. She took care of both Marty and Jane. Also, she completed both her and Marty’s studies. She would even attend his classes for him, although he was in the year ahead of her [4]. She was determined that they both succeed.

Luckily, Marty went into remission. He continued to be an extremely supportive husband for the time, never getting upset when Ruth had more success or wanted him to take on the caregiver role at times. Some men looked down on Marty for this or sneered at Ruth for not allowing her husband to be the breadwinner, but they remained focused on each other and their mutual success. They knew that there were certain times that the others’ careers needed to be put first [4]. Neither Marty nor Ruth would have been as successful without the help of each other.

You felt, in class, as if all eyes were on you and that if you didn’t perform well, you would be failing, not only for yourself but for all women. [2]

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth was one of nine women in a class of 500 at Harvard, where she attended the first two years of law school [1]. This was a time when women were supposed to be the homemakers and serve their husbands, not pursue a career or attend college. There was not even a women’s bathroom in most Harvard buildings [2]. However, Ruth defied the odds, and society, and excelled in law school. She even made it on the Law Review. Before Ruth had the chance to start her final semester at Harvard, Marty accepted a job in New York City doing tax law. The two decided that it would not be a good idea for them to separate in case Marty relapsed. Unfortunately, this meant that Ruth would not receive her law degree from Harvard, but rather from Columbia, where she also made Law Review and graduated tied for first in her class [1]. This is one of many times in Ruth’s life where she made the best out of unideal circumstances.

A gender line… helps to keep women not on a pedestal, but in a cage.

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld

Being a female with a law degree in the 1960s was not easy. These were times when banks could require a husband to co-sign on their wives' loans and it was legal for a husband to rape his spouse [4]. Ruth was faced with sex discrimination by every law office she applied at, despite her outstanding achievements throughout law school that rivaled most men. Ultimately, she was left with no choice but to become a professor of Women and the Law. While teaching in the ’70s, Ruth also headed the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, where she took on cases that would influence equality for women [1]. She was careful to only take on cases that would promote legal change and make for good law. She argued six landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, winning five of them [3].

The first case Ruth argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court was Frontiero v. Richardson (1972). This case dealt with a housing allowance for the military that was only offered to males. She won this case, but didn’t receive the standard she was hoping for, which was that sex discrimination equals race discrimination—she lost that standard with a vote of 4-5 [3]. Another critical case she won before the Supreme Court was Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld (1974). This case was important because it was a man, as opposed to a woman, was claiming he was a victim of sex discrimination. He was the caregiving parent to a newborn child whose mother died in childbirth. When he went to ask about benefits for the sole surviving parent, he was told that that benefit is called a mother’s benefit and he didn’t qualify. Ruth wanted to take this case to show how important sex discrimination is and that it can affect both genders negatively. She won this case with a unanimous vote [3].

One of our nation’s best judges.

-Bill Clinton on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ginsburg Supreme Court Nomination

In 1993, Bill Clinton had the opportunity to appoint a new U.S. Supreme Court justice and make the court democratic. He admits that Ruth was not the person he had in mind, however, due to Marty’s campaigning, she secured an interview with the president. Clinton admits that it was this interview that changed his mind and helped him realize that Ruth was the one for the job. During her confirmation hearing, Ruth did something that no judge had the guts to do before—she talked about abortion rights. Although this topic is very liberal and controversial, she was confirmed 96-3. Ruth would be the 107th Supreme Court justice [4].

We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts out with three words, ‘We, the people’.

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

When she began her career as a justice, Ruth wasn’t the most liberal. She mainly wanted to bring the parties together and create good laws. Surprisingly, she was good friends with Justice Scalia, who believes that we should read the constitution just as the words meant to the men who ratified the constitution. Scalia was as far right as one could be. One prominent case that Ruth wrote the majority opinion for was U.S. v. Virginia. A case that dealt with the exclusion of women at VMI, a military college, and violated equal protection of the law. This was the first women’s rights case while she was a justice, so this was a very important case for her. The court ruled that VMI would have to allow women at the school if they could do the tasks required of them. After the election of President George Bush, Ruth knew that she had to push further to the left to balance the court [4]. It was this shift that began her notorious dissents.

Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Shelby v. Holder dissent

Referred to by many as the “Notorious RBG,” Ruth was famous for ruthlessly—no pun intended—honest dissents. She didn’t hold anything back. In the case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., which dealt with a women’s pay being 40% less than males doing the same job, the court ruled that she didn’t file her charge timely, even though she was discriminated against. Ruth was outraged at the outcome and wrote the dissent. Because of this dissent, the law was changed; Congress ultimately passed the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009”, which would ensure that cases such as Ledbetter’s wouldn’t be let off on a technicality [4]. Ruth was a woman that wasn’t afraid to voice her opinion and always fought for what she thought was right.

I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability.

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg, The Rachel Maddow Show

The legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg will live on long after she retires from the U.S. Supreme Court. She has inspired the lives of so many young women through her achievements and dedication in a time where women were not supposed to do what she did. Also, she was a lead influencer in gender equality, whether it was bringing gender discrimination cases to the Supreme Court pro bono or writing controversial dissents. Ruth could care less of what people thought of her, she was going to do what it took to make good law and ensure that all people were treated equally in the eyes of the law.

________________________________________________________________

[1] Academy of Achievement. (2019). Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Retrieved from http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ruth-bader-ginsburg/

[2] Gluck, A.R. (2013). A conversation with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, 4905. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/4905/

[3] Oyez. (n.d.) Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Retrieved March 3, 2019, from https://www.oyez.org/justices/ruth_bader_ginsburg

[4] West, B & Cohen, J (Producers & Directors). (2018). RBG. [Motion Picture]. United States: Magnolia Pictures.

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