Who Was Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg graduated from Columbia Law School, going on to become a staunch courtroom advocate for the fair treatment of women and working with the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project. She was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1980 and appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
Early Life and Education
Ginsburg was born Joan Ruth Bader on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York. Ginsburg's mother, taught her the value of independence and a good education.
She earned her bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University in 1954, finishing first in her class. She married law student Martin D. Ginsburg that same year. The couple went together to Harvard. At Harvard, she became the first female member of the prestigious Harvard Law Review.
Arguing for Gender Equality
Ginsburg believed that the law was gender-blind and all groups were entitled to equal rights. One of the five cases she won before the Supreme Court involved a portion of the Social Security Act that favored women over men because it granted certain benefits to widows but not widowers.
During the 1970s, she also served as the director of the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, for which she argued six landmark cases on gender equality before the U.S. Supreme Court.
On the Supreme Court
She was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 by President Clinton, he wanted a replacement with the intellect and political skills to deal with the more conservative members of the Court.
As a judge, Ginsburg favored caution, moderation and restraint. She was considered part of the Supreme Court's moderate-liberal bloc presenting a strong voice in favor of gender equality, the rights of workers and the separation of church and state.
'RBG' Movie
RBG is a 2018 American documentary film focusing on the life and career of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was chosen by the National Board of Review as the Best Documentary Film of 2018.
RBG chronicles the career of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which spans several decades, and how she developed a legal legacy while becoming a pop culture icon.
