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Sandra Day O Connor: Hard Working Woman

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Sandra Day O'Connor was born in El Paso, Texas March 26, 1930. She lived a pioneer like life on a ranch called The Lazy B in Arizona with her parents. This helped her grow an independent spirit of a hard working woman. As she grew up, her family could see her potential and her intelligence. They encouraged her to be well educated and sent her off to live with her grandmother to get an adequate education. O’Connor later attended Stanford University, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics. She soon after attended Stanford Law school and received a law degree and graduated third in her class along with a future colleague, William Rehnquist. Regardless of her academic abilities when she had tried to apply to many law firms, none …show more content…

He kept his word and when Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart retired from his position in July 1981 President Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor. This was going to be a big deal. It was going to change history so he needed a woman with merit. He believed that O’Connor had the competence with her state court experience and lawmaking experience and the right spirit and approach to jurisprudence to do the job. Furthermore that is how her hard work made history as she became the United State’s first woman Supreme Court justice with the senate unanimously confirming her with a 99-0 vote on September 25, …show more content…

This was due to the deteriorating health of her husband who had developed Alzheimer's at the time and later died in 2009. O’Connor was disappointed that she had to leave the court so early because she would have had preferred to stay on the bench for as long as her health would allow her. In her twenty-four year tenure O’Connor became such an important individual in United States History it figured that she would not stop there. Even in her retirement, the 75 year old O’Connor was still active. In 2006 she launched iCivics, a website containing free lesson plans and games for learning civics for young adolescents. Not only that, but she also had written several books including Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court, and two children’s books called Chico and Finding Suzy. She also has continued hearing over eighty cases giving many opinions as a substitute judge in federal appellate courts across the country whenever there is a space for her to come and stand-in. Even though they are not as intellectually challenging or significant as the cases she would hear in the Supreme Court she still continues on, showing once again her drive to do what she does best, make decisions and upholding the law according to the

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