24 Years Ago In TIME

The historic appointment of SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR as the first female Supreme Court Justice was rooted in election politics.

Ronald Reagan lived up to a campaign pledge last week, and the nation cheered. At a hastily arranged television appearance in the White House press room, the President referred to his promise that he would name a woman to the Supreme Court, explaining, "That is not to say I would appoint a woman merely to do so. That would not be fair to women, nor to future generations of all Americans whose lives are so deeply affected by decisions of the court. Rather, I pledged to appoint a woman who meets the very high standards I demand of all court appointees."... To be sure, Reagan's announcement that he intended to elevate [Sandra Day] O'Connor to the highest U.S. Government post ever held by a woman had its roots in partisan politics. Mainly because he had been portrayed by Jimmy Carter as a man who might blunder the nation into war, Reagan had lacked strong support among women in last year's campaign. --TIME, July 20, 1981

Read the entire article at time.com/years