History

The topic of my research paper is to delve into the life of Alice Paul and her contribution to the advancement of women in American society. The papers main focus is on Pauls contribution to womens suffrage movement in America and her continued struggle for womens right after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. However, in order to fully understand Pauls motivation, it is important to know her background. Hence the paper will briefly discuss Pauls Quaker background and her experiences in England. Next I will discuss briefly Pauls time at National American Woman Suffrage Association, the causes of her split and the founding of National Womans Party (NWP). Next I will focus on the civil disobedience and the non-violent protests which led to Paul and other protestors being jailed. An account of the abusive conditions and force feeding in prison will be followed by President Wilsons change of heart and a discussion of the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment and its ratification. Finally, the paper will also discuss Pauls continued struggle to obtain equal rights for women and briefly discuss the about Pauls authorship and campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment. The study will focus on the period from 1907 to 1923 with a little background covered in the introduction. Pauls work in both England and the US will be covered with greater emphasis on her work in the US.

The main source for this paper was the website hosted by Alice Paul Institute. Another important source was the Library of Congress website which provides a detailed timeline of the suffrage movement and the National Womans Party from its inception in 1912 to 1997 when NWP became a non-profit, non-political, educational organization. Two books written by Doris Stevens (Jailed for Freedom) and Inez Haynes Gillmore (The Story of the Womans Party), published in 1920 and 1921 are also good sources of information as they provide a contemporary view of the Suffrage Movement and Alice Pauls contribution. Although there are a number of primary documents related to Womens suffrage, very few were available related to Alice Paul and the NWP specifically. However, the sources mentioned above provide all the information necessary for the successful completion of this paper.

In terms of boundary, I am only interested in Alice Pauls contribution to the American Suffrage Movement. However, an account of her contributions would be incomplete without providing a background which led her to become such an important figure of the suffrage movement. Also, focusing only on the suffrage will not do justice to the lifelong battle for equality of women that Paul was involved in. Hence, before the paper concludes, it must discuss briefly Pauls role in the authorship and campaigning of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). However, this paper will not focus on the passage of the ERA and its fate in the parliament. This paper will conclude with a general understanding of Pauls role in the advancement of women in the American Society but not go into the details of her contributions in this regard.