Political Rights for Women
Suffrage is the pivotal right.
-Susan B. Anthony
(BrainyQuote)
The NAWSA
(The National American Women Suffrage Association)
The NAWSA, which was founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was the first women's suffrage group in the US. During the time that Alice Paul led the NWP, Carrie Chapman Catt was the president of the NAWSA. One of their main tactics to gain support for women's suffrage was lobbying members of Congress (One Woman, One Vote).
"I would have girls regard themselves not as adjetives but as nouns"
-Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Goodreads)
Although many people felt that this was the pragmatic way to gain support, Alice Paul wasn't convinced. She felt that in order to get immediate change, women needed to take a more militant stance. Unhappy with the way things were being run, Alice Paul took the responsibility into her own hands and broke away from the NAWSA in 1916 (Berg, 487). She then formed the NWP, or the National Women's Party.
The NWP
(The National Women's Party)
In contrast to the NAWSA, the NWP took a more direct approach to women's rights. Instead of writing letters and lobbying Congressmen, Alice Paul organized parades and picketed the White House.
On March 13 1913, the day before President Wilson's first inauguration, Alice Paul organized a march through Washington D.C. The parade drew people from every state in support of women's suffrage (People: Alice Paul).
"The Woman's Party is made up of women of all races, creeds and nationalities who are united on the one program of working to raise the status of women." -Alice Paul (Women Suffrage Quotes)