I was taking the day off when I read that today is the anniversary of the start of picketing by the Silent Sentinels. I am a huge fan of Alice Paul, ever since I saw the movie “Iron-Jawed Angels”, so I couldn’t leave the ladies hanging.
The Silent Sentinels began picketing the White House on Jan. 10, 1917. This was the first picketing of the White House in American History. The National Women’s Party was pushing Pres. Wilson to support women’s suffrage. While the much larger National American Women’s Party was lobbying to get Congress to pass the 19th Amendment, Alice Paul and the NWA wanted more direct action. The picketing was meant to garner publicity and put pressure on the administration. Volunteers stood in front of the White House wearing their white dresses and their purple, white, and gold sashes. They held up banners with phrases like “Mr. President, what will you do for women’s suffrage?” and “Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?” At first, the women were mainly a curiosity and Wilson ignored them, but when the U.S. entered WWI, things changed. Now the NAWSA criticized the effort as counterproductive as many Americans considered the picketers to be unpatriotic. The Silent Sentinels refused to back down and now there were references to Kaiser Wilson. This provoked violence. Banners were ripped up. There were incidents where servicemen roughed up the women. On June 22, the first arrests were made – of the women! They were accused of obstructing traffic. This happened several times. Some of the women were sent to the Occoquan Workhouse, where they were mistreated. On Oct. 20, Alice Paul was arrested. She went on a hunger strike and was force fed. On Nov. 14, in the Night of Terror, some of the women were beaten. Press coverage began to turn public opinion in favor of the ladies. The government was forced to back off. The picketing continued until the amendment was passed. There is an excellent movie about Alice Paul and the Silent Sentinels called “Iron-Jawed Angels”. And check out my favorite historical song video on YouTube:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Sentinels
https://www.nps.gov/articles/national-womans-party-protests-world-war-i.htm
https://www.riverasun.com/silent-sentinels-start-suffrage-protest-on-jan-10th-1917/
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