For those of you unsure of just which amendment the 19th is, it goes a lil' somethin' like this:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Voting is something a lot of us take for granted. High school history classes spend very little time on the women's suffrage movement. Most teens I encounter may know the name of a suffragette but generally do not know why they are important. I decided today, of all days, would be the best time to talk about suffrage, Alice Paul and the Silent Sentinels, and the ERA. And the best way to start? Describing just what the heck suffrage is:Suffrage, simply, is the right to vote in public, political elections. It is synonymous with franchise/political franchise. There are many types of suffrage but I am going to focus on women's suffrage.
Women's suffrage, as we know it in the US, emerged in the late 1840's when it was made a plank in the Liberty Party's platform. A month later, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony started what would become a 70 year fight for the right to vote at the Seneca Falls Convention. They were joined by Lucy Stone, who organized the National Women's Rights Convention in 1850 (in scenic Worcester, MA), and the three became the voice of the movement through the 19th century. They won some earlier victories in the west, Wyoming territory was the first to approve a law granting women to vote. They were followed by Utah (only after women exercised voting rights to keep polygamy), Idaho, and Colorado.
The early part of the 20th century brought victories in both the US and Great Britain. Neither fight was won easily or neatly. The movement across the pond was violent and militant, with women putting themselves in danger to get the point across. Alice Paul, later leader of the National Women's Party in the US, was in GB for part of their women's suffrage movement and learned much about suffrage while there. She was arrested numerous times and while on a hunger strike in prison was force fed in a manor which actually harmed her body and was so weak she was carried out of the prison at the end of her sentence.
The only example we readily have available to us as children, where women's suffrage is a BIG DEAL (which it rightfully should be) is Mary Poppins and, naturally, it gives a glimpse into what it was like in Great Britain. While campy, because most female focused things are spun that way - especially at this time-, it does point out 2 important things: 1). That women were doing things like chaining themselves to carriages for the sake of the movement, and 2). Women's suffrage was something that women of all walks of life rooted for. Here, Mrs. Banks let's us know what was up at the last suffragette gathering:
See? Campy AF. Everyone knows all women do is sing and dance.
When Alice returned to the US in 1910, she came home to recover and to make a plan for women's suffrage at home. Let's just say that she, and her comrades, nail it.
In 1913, Paul was working with the National American Woman Suffrage Association and organized a suffrage parade the day before President Wilson's inauguration where half a million people were in attendance. That is a whole lot for back then and the police presence was not enough to keep the crowd back. They pushed forward to the point the women marching couldn't get through and the national guard of 2 states were called in. A college group also helped form a barrier so they could march through. Soon after, NAWSA and Paul cut ties. they focused more on lobbying and felt she was too aggressive.
By 1916, she had the National Woman's Party up and running. the party was working on a constitutional amendment to allow women the right to vote. Paul and the party campaigned against President Wilson's refusal, as well as other democrats (betcha weren't expecting that) refusals of the amendment. In January 1917, they were silently picketing the White House in a campaign of civil disobedience. Their non-violent protesting was often met with violence, especially after the start or World War I. It was not abnormal for men to come up to them and assault them while they continued their silent picketing. Paul and the "Silent Sentinels" (Lucy burns, Dora Lewis, and Alice Cosu to name a few) continued to hold their banners day in and day out, but by June of that year they started getting arrested for obstructing traffic. In one month, 30 women were arrested, and given the option of jail or paying a fine. The charges were dropped on two, but the rest chose jail. They were later pardoned.
Most of these women were brought to the same "workhouse" where the conditions were disgusting. There was a single bar of soap they were all to share. The food was sour and often not edible as worms were often found in it. The clothing they were given was dirty. Other inmates that were known to have Syphilis were housed in the same cells as them. Those in charge also moved African American sex workers into their wing in hopes of making them feel humiliated.
While I disagree with the racism of today as well as then, I think it says a lot that these men felt bringing sex workers in would knock these women down a peg. That their crimes were on equal footing.
It wasn't long before they were back in, Alice Paul included. Paul was placed in solitary confinement and given bread and milk. She became extremely weak. Unable to walk, Paul was taken to the infirmary where she began her hunger strike. Many of the others followed. Those that went on the hunger strike were force fed by tubes in their throats mixtures like raw eggs and milk in an attempt to force protein into them. Many couldn't handle the mixture and would only end up throwing it back up. But their solidarity and their spirit was and still is inspiring. They made themselves sick, they purposefully endured terrible and sometimes terrifying conditions so I would have the right to NOT put an x or line or check mark next to Donald Trump's name. They went through "The Night of Terror" where the warden ordered almost 40 guards to beat the 33 suffragettes that had returned to jail, 33 women ranging in age to 73. Burns was beaten and her hands chained above her head, left that way all night. Lewis was thrown into her cell, her head was smashed against iron, knocking her out. Her roommate, Alice Cosu thought she was dead...leading to a heart attack. They were grabbed, beaten, chocked, dragged, kicked... because they would not give up. Because the idea of women being on equal footing as men terrifies them. Because we should not disturb the status quo.
I have two back to back clips from Iron Jawed Angels below because the words I have above are often not enough. The cast of this movie brought these women and their work to life in a way that I will never be able to. Yes, I cry every time I watch it. No, I did not include "the" force feeding scene. These clips follow the women from the war announcement to jail. There is violence in the second clip.
A much more light hearted look at Paul and the Silent Sentinels, as well as suffrage is this:
Not only is this video fun, it is extremely accurate. The straight jacket and force feeding imagery is there. They are always silent in front of the White House until they are arrested. The signs used were actual quotes they picketed with. There was a tremendous amount of anti-vote propaganda that used women. When it comes to the men voting, they identified which side you were on by which color you wore, yellow or red. The actual swing vote that won the ratification was cast by a junior congressman and the note in his jacket in the video was one his mother gave him that day. (And, yes, I cry when I watch this too. At the very least, I get choked up) This is something I have used to teach suffrage to teens and find it is one of the best ways to do it.
Obviously, we can vote now. Which is great. But it isn't where Alice Paul's work ended. She did work in the civil rights movement as well as co-wrote the ERA. The ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) has not been passed. It was introduced to Congress in 1923. It reads:
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
This has still not passed. The last time we were close, women decided to fight each other over it with a large conservative base using the defense of traditional gender roles as a reason to defeat the ERA. 38 states were needed to ratify this and only 35 did in both houses, 5 of those state rescinded. 9 states have approval in only one house of Congress.
It is 2015. This is the USA. And this has yet to pass. Why did the women before us for so hard for other women if we can't be bothered to band together and get this passed? Why did they bother to make a better path for us if we won't continue to clear for those after us?
Bae, I mean Alice Paul
I didn't even know that The ERA hasn't passed yet. Shame on me. With that said, we are distracted. Our lives are good enough that we care more about our selfies and snap chats than issues like this. We have lived our whole lives being able to cast votes and not fully being taught about how much the women of the movement had to suffer and persevere for us to live the way we do now. Loved this post. Definitely learned some things. :)
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