Author's Opinion

Author's Opinion

Women's Right to Vote

A Warrior for Women's Rights

In January 1917, a group of women marched silently in front of the White House. Each carried a banner asking for the right to vote. One banner read, “Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?” These women, called Silent Sentinels, picketed outside the White House almost every day for eighteen months. Passersby attacked the women and called them names, but the demonstrators continued their silent march. These women were the first ever to protest in front of the White House. Their leader was a brave young woman named Alice Paul.

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Alice Paul was born in 1885 in Moorestown, New Jersey. She came from a Quaker family that believed in women’s education and women’s equality, uncommon beliefs for the time. Her mother worked for women’s suffrage and brought young Alice to her suffrage meetings. Paul graduated high school at the top of her class and went on to college. She earned degrees in biology and sociology before going to England to study social work.

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Her stay in England transformed Paul. She met Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, leaders of the women’s suffrage movement in England. They taught Paul a new way to fight for women’s equality. American suffragists had chosen quieter ways to push for women’s rights. They wrote letters, passed around petitions, and held private meetings with political leaders. English suffragists believed in “deeds, not words.” They held parades. They formed picket lines. They went on hunger strikes. Alice Paul returned to the United States with a fighting spirit.

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Alice Paul had always been shy, but she was not afraid of confrontation. She learned in England that confrontation was the best way to bring attention to the issue of women’s suffrage.

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Her first act as a leader in the American suffrage movement was to organize a parade in Washington, D.C. She schedule d the parade for the day before President Woodrow Wilson took office. On March 3, 1913, thousands of women marched down Pennsylvania Avenue carrying banners demanding the right to vote. The marchers were attacked, and the police did very little to help them. Despite the attacks, Paul got what she wanted: attention for her cause.

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Silent Sentinels

Four years later, when women still did not have the vote, Paul organized the Silent Sentinels. Again, the police did not protect the protestors. Instead, they arrested the women. Each day, a few more were arrested. At first, the women were released quickly. As their picketing continued, however, their jail sentences became longer. In October 1917, Paul was arrested for organizing the protests. She and the other suffragists were mistreated in jail. Newspapers printed stories about the women’s treatment. The stories earned public sympathy for the women. President Wilson announced that he supported Paul’s cause. In 1918, he sent Congress a constitutional amendment that would give women the right to vote. Two years later, the amendment—the 19th—became law.