Alice Paul Radical Suffragette American Hero

Suffrage: Right to Vote Throughout American history the right to vote has been seen as a crucial element to citizenship Voting is the way individuals have a say in how our government is run and the decisions made The struggle for each generation of Americans has been to redefine the meaning of citizenship and extending its most cherished right- the vote

Alice Paul: Giving a Voice to Women Among the many heroes of the women’s suffrage movement, Alice Paul was both controversial and effective Understanding her life can help us better understand the last phase of the women’s suffrage movement, which began in the earliest days of the U.S.

Paul Family Alice Paul, born 1885, was the eldest child of William and Tacie Paul Her family was fairly wealthy and lived on a “gentlemen’s farm” Growing up, she was influenced by the Quaker religious teachings including equality of the sexes, hard work, and perseverance Alice Paul (age 6) and her brother Billy (age 4)

Alice Paul on Perseverance "When you put your hand to the plow, you can't put it down until you get to the end of the row. " -Alice Paul recalling the advice of her mother

Quaker Values of Equality "When the Quakers were founded...one of their principles was and is equality of the sexes. So I never had any other idea...the principle was always there." Alice Paul recalling the influence of Quaker beliefs There were a disproportionate number of Quaker women involved in the suffrage movement including Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott

Education Alice graduated at the top of her class in Moorestown, NJ in 1901 She graduated from the co- ed Swarthmore College with a degree in Biology She played tennis, field hockey and basketball Alice was involved in student government and was chosen as commencement speaker Alice Paul (seated on chair to the right) with Swarthmore sorority.

Continuing Education Alice Paul was inspired by some of the leading female academics of the time who taught at Swarthmore College She went on to earn a Master’s degree in sociology in 1907 and a Ph. D in economics in 1912, both from the University of Pennsylvania She would continue her studies, eventually earning three separate law degrees as well

Militant Suffrage Movement in England Alice went to England in 1907 to study social work She met Christabel Pankhurst, daughter of the most radical suffragette in England, Emmeline Pankhurst The Pankhurst women believed in radical methods, such as heckling, window breaking, and other acts of civil disobedience They hoped their notoriety from arrests would achieve change faster than traditional suffrage protests including prayers and petitions Their slogan was “Deeds not words”

Civil Disobedience

Alice Paul Becomes Militant Alice joined the Pankhurst women in their protests According to her own count, she broke 48 windows while in England She was arrested and protested by hunger strikes She and other women, were brutally force-fed while in prison

Return to America In 1910, Alice Paul returned to the United States She brought the English civil disobedience tactics to the suffrage movement in America : "The militant policy is bringing success.... the agitation has brought England out of her lethargy, and women of England are now talking of the time when they will vote, instead of the time when their children would vote, as was the custom a year or two back." Alice Paul 1910

Paul and the NAWSA Paul quickly joined the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) She was put in charge of bringing attention to the idea of a federal suffrage amendment She organized a massive march of women in Washington, D.C. to occur during Woodrow Wilson’s inaguration The march turned ugly as the women were first verbally, then physically, attacked while police did nothing This march brought more attention to the suffrage movement in the U.S.

Womens suffrage parade in Washington DC Women’s Suffrage Parade Washington, D.C. March 3, 1913

Suffrage Parade

Break From NAWSA Paul differed with the NAWSW in two key areas: state or national suffrage campaigns and the question of Woodrow Wilson as an ally or enemy Alice Paul wanted to put all efforts toward a national amendment to give women the right to vote She also wanted to hold Wilson responsible for the lack of suffrage for women and to put pressure on him By 1916, Alice Paul and others cut ties with the NAWSA and formed the National Women’s Party (NWP)

Silent Sentinels Paul’s NWP was more radical They began to picket the White House with anti- Wilson signs At first they were ignored After U.S. entrance into WWI in 1917, Paul and the other women were seen as “un-patriotic” They began to be arrested and harassed

“This world crisis came about without women having anything to do with it. If the women of the world had not been excluded from world affairs, things today might have been different. “ Alice Paul on suffrage and WWI

Brutal Treatment of Suffragists Alice Paul and other arrested suffragettes were put into prison, and some were sent to insane asylums They were kept in unsanitary, harsh conditions When Paul and others went on hunger strikes, they were brutally force-fed News of this treatment gained more support for the women’s suffrage movement and embarrassed President Wilson The suffragettes were released by late 1917

Force feeding of Alice Paul from the 2004 movie, Iron Jawed Angels

Victory: The 19 th Amendment Wilson now supported women’s suffrage as a “wartime measure” By 1919, both the House and Senate had passed the amendment On August 26 th, 1920, the 19 th Amendment had been ratified, giving women the right to vote

Alice Paul Keeps Fighting Alice Paul introduced a new amendment giving total equality to women in 1923 This eventually became known as the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ERA was nearly ratified in 1982, failed by 3 states, but continues to be supported today Alice Paul also fought for women’s rights internationally and to end sexual discrimination in the U.S. Alice Paul died on July 9, 1977

"I never doubted that equal rights was the right direction. Most reforms, most problems are complicated. But to me there is nothing complicated about ordinary equality." Alice Paul 1972 Alice Paul, 1965