Women's Suffrage in the 1920s

Women's Suffrage Movement

1890-1920

Lucy Stone, 1855

We protest especially against the laws which give to the husband:

• 1) The custody of the wife’s person

• 2) The exclusive control and guardianship of their children

• 3) The sole ownership of her personal, and her use of her estate, unless previously settled upon her, or placed in the hands of trustees, as in case of minors, lunatics, and idiots.

• 4) The absolute right to the product of her industry

• 5) Also against laws which give to the widower so much larger and more permanent an interest in the property of his deceased wife, than they give the widow of a deceased husband

• 6) Finally, against the whole system by which “the legal existence of the wife is suspended during marriage,” so that in most States, she neither has a legal part in the choice of her residence, nor can she make a will, nor sue or be sued in her own name, nor inherit property.

Poll

Which form of protest do you think is more effective in bringing about change?

• Radical (more aggressive tactics, calls for rapid change)

• Conservative (Less aggressive, petitions, fundraisers, calls for gradual changes)

Women’s Suffrage Movement - Historical Context (Secondary Source)

Formed in 1890, the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) had two main tactics aimed at gaining women the right to vote. The first was through a federal constitutional amendment, while the second tactic operated under the belief that women’s enfranchisement could be more easily obtained through a state-by-state campaign. 

Open Ended

Exit Ticket: What tactics did the Women's Suffrage Movement disagree about? Which methods were supported by the NAWSA? Which methods were supported by the NWP?

(Possible Sentence Starters:

"The Women's Suffrage Movement was divided over [explain disagreements]. The NAWSA supported [explain their methods]. On the other hand, [explain their methods].")

Women’s Suffrage Movement - Historical Context (Secondary Source)

Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, originally members of the NAWSA, were appointed to the troubled Congressional Committee. Paul and Burns were radicalized by their experiences in England, which included violent confrontations with authorities, jail sentences, hunger strikes, and force-feedings, and they sought to inject these radical ways into the American campaign. Paul and Burns also wanted to push for a federal amendment more than state-by-state campaign. The President of the NAWSA, Carrie Chapman Catt, didn’t believe in the tactics that Alice Paul and Lucy Burns were asking to pursue.  

This disagreement led to the formation of the NWP (National Women's Party), a group separate from NAWSA that also endeavored to fight for women’s suffrage. Forming in 1912, the NWP was led by Alice Paul & Lucy Burns. 

Multiple Choice

Checking for Understanding: Why did Alice Paul and Lucy Burns split from the NAWSA?

• Paul and Burns wanted more peaceful forms of protest.

• Paul and Burns believed that the NAWSA should not work with the British Women's Suffrage Movement.

• Paul and Burns believed that the NAWSA should engaged in more radical methods of protest.

Comparing NAWSA and NWP Methods

"When thirty-six state associations [of NAWSA], or preferably more, enter into a solemn [agreement] to get the [Federal] Amendment submitted by Congress and ratified by their respective legislatures; we can get the Amendment through." - "The Winning Plan", speech to NAWSA, Carrie Chapman Catt (1916) 

"We are not working to win New York. We are working to put the Federal Suffrage Amendment in the Constitution." - Alice Paul (NWP) Excerpt from speech for suffrage activists luncheon New York, Dec., 1916. 

Youngest parader in New York City 

NAWSA suffrage parade New York City, May 6 1912

NWP Suffragists demonstrating against President Woodrow Wilson October 1916

 National Woman’s Party fires burn outside White House, Jan. 1919

Open Ended

How do these images show the difference in the methods of the NAWSA and the NWP? Consider the way the suffragists are dressed, the organization of the crowd, and the words they use.

(Possible Sentence Starter:

"While the NAWSA [describe method], the NWP [describe difference]...

"The NAWSA [describe method]. On the other hand, the NWP [describe difference].)

Primary Source - Starving for Women’s Suffrage: “I Am Not Strong after These Weeks”

NWP members who had been imprisoned in the Occoquan Workhouse went on a hunger strike to draw international attention to their cause. Prison authorities responded with brutal force feedings  - this article details that ordeal. The New York Times Published: November 7, 1917 Copyright © The New York Times

Primary Source - Starving for Women’s Suffrage: “I Am Not Strong after These Weeks”

MISS ALICE PAUL ON HUNGER STRIKE

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6- Alice Paul, National Chairman for the Woman’s Party, now doing a seven months’ sentence in jail here for picketing the White House, has gone on a hunger strike, and tonight she had been in the jail hospital without food for the preceding twenty-four hours, stolidly threatening to starve herself to death unless her six companions, serving time for the same offense, got better food.

So far the jail officials are taking the strike calmly and waiting for Miss Paul to get hungry enough to eat. Forcible feeding has not been discussed as yet. ... Headquarters of the NWP are quite confident that she will give the prison officials a surprise if they expect her to [give up] quickly.

Primary Source - Starving for Women’s Suffrage: “I Am Not Strong after These Weeks”

MISS ALICE PAUL ON HUNGER STRIKE

“If we are to be starved, I prefer to be starved at once,” was the message Miss Paul sent out to the workers. “There is no use giving us special food today and not tomorrow simply to keep us alive as long as possible.”

Although the militants have announced they will not resume picketing the White House until Congress reconvenes in December, they consider that a hunger strike is good enough for now, to force President Wilson to endorse woman suffrage by Constitutional amendment. 

Open Ended

According to the article, what tactics did Alice Paul use in demanding Women's Suffrage? What was the intended effect of her actions?

(Possible Sentence Starters: "One tactic Alice Paul used to demand Women's Suffrage was [decribe]. She hoped that her actions would lead to [effect]."

Multiple Choice

Which organization pushed for a federal Constitutional Amendment? (Not state by state laws)

• NAWSA

• NWP

Multiple Choice

Which organization promoted less radical tactics and calls for action by state legislatures?

• NAWSA

• NWP