Alice Paul
Alice
Paul
and
the National Women's Party picketing at the White House
Alice Paul was one of the most powerful suffragettes of her time. She was born on January 11, 1855 in Moorestown, New Jersey. After attending Swarthmore College, she traveled to Britain to fight for women's rights there. She came back to America and continued to battle for suffrage, forming the National Women's Party (NWP) which later picketed at the White House. She believed,
"There will never be a new world order until women are a part of it." This peaceful stand led to Paul's arrest. In prison, she began a widely practiced trend among the women of that time called hunger striking. Although she was provided with food and water every day, she refused to eat, over time becoming very malnourished. This was to make her point clear that her imprisonment wasn't fair. The guards caught on to the fact that she was willing to die for this cause, and they ended up tying Paul down and feeding her through a tube against her will.
"There will never be a new world order until women are a part of it." This peaceful stand led to Paul's arrest. In prison, she began a widely practiced trend among the women of that time called hunger striking. Although she was provided with food and water every day, she refused to eat, over time becoming very malnourished. This was to make her point clear that her imprisonment wasn't fair. The guards caught on to the fact that she was willing to die for this cause, and they ended up tying Paul down and feeding her through a tube against her will.
When released from prison, she continued to fight for women's rights, promoting the nineteenth amendment which allowed women the right to vote. She stood by her thought,
"We the women of America tell you that America is not a democracy. Twenty million women are denied the right to vote." By forming the NWP and leading the hunger strike, Paul was a pivotal character in the struggle for civil rights. |
In 1974, she died of a stroke in her hometown of Moorestown, New Jersey, leaving behind an impact on feminism that one could argue is the most significant one in history.
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