Alice Paul's Silent Sentinels and President Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson, was first elected in 1912 (The White House). He was elected to a second term in 1916. Alice Paul saw President Wilson as her biggest adversary in her fight for the right to vote (PBS.org).
Wilson claimed to support women's suffrage, but thought that "changes of this sort ought to be brought about state by state" (Berg, 487). Alice Paul, on the other hand, thought that Wilson should take the responsibility upon himself to support the 19th Amendment. She knew that Wilson's support was vital to passing the Constitutional amendment, so she focused most of her attention on him. She picketed the White House with her Silent Sentinels carrying audacious banners reading "Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty" and "Kaiser Wilson" (Sisters).
"...Wilson could enact national suffrage almost immediately if he sincerely believed in it." -(Berg, 490)
"Silent Sentinels"
"...no group of protesters had so defiantly confronted an American president." -Sisters
One of Alice Paul's strategies in 1917 was constant picketing of the White House. Paul stood with other suffragists at the north gate of the White House, Monday through Saturday seven hours a day (Berg, 488). These women became known as "Silent Sentinels" (PBS.org). They stood outside the White House in rain or shine making their point very clear.
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Although many admired Paul for the responsibility she took upon herself, Carrie Chapman Catt considered Paul's organization a "stupendous stupidity" (Carrie Chapman Catt, Sisters). The picketing of the White House contributed to the tension between the NWP and the NAWSA.
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Force Feeding in Prison
Alice Paul and her Silent Sentinels were very determined in their fight for equal rights. Even when they were arrested for picketing the White House, they still protested for equality by going on hunger strikes in prison. The authorities wanted to derail their ability to protest and thought that force feeding would accomplish this. When the public heard how these women were treated, they were outraged. This led to more support for women's suffrage (Library of Congress).
"Dear Mama,
The force feeding was terrible. They tied me to a chair because I struggled. One wardress sat astride my knees. Two others held my arms and hands, while two doctors forced a tube five or six feet long through my nose, like driving a stake into the ground." -Alice Paul, writing a letter to her mother (One Woman, One Vote) |