This is my Political Hero...

About the life and work of New Jersey’s most famous suffragist, Alice Stokes Paul (1885-1977), author of the Equal Rights Amendment, founder of the National Woman’s Party, and a lifelong activist for women’s equality.


Note: The name Iron Jawed Angels comes from an HBo film Named as that.

"Iron Jawed Angels" recounts for a contemporary audience a key chapter in U.S. history: in this case, the struggle of suffragists who fought for the passage of the 19th Amendment. Focusing on the two defiant women, Alice Paul (Hilary Swank) and Lucy Burns (Frances O'Connor), the film shows how these activists broke from the mainstream women's-rights movement and created a more radical wing, daring to push the boundaries of political protest to secure women's voting rights in 1920. Breathing life into the relationships between Paul, Burns and others, the movie makes the women feel like complete characters instead of one-dimensional figures from a distant past. A must see docudrama.

 

Throughout the winter of 1917, Alice Paul and her followers in the National Women's Party picketed the White House. They stood silently at the gates, holding signs that said "Mr. president, how long must women wait for liberty?" The picketers were suffragists. They wanted President Woodrow Wilson to support a Constitutional amendment giving all American women suffrage, or the right to vote. Most all were imprisoned for this saying that they were hendering the president.

 

Paul was placed in solitary confinement. For two weeks, she had nothing to eat except bread and water. Weak and unable to walk, she was taken to the prison hospital. There she began a hunger strike--one which others would join. "It was," Paul said later, "the strongest weapon left with which to continue... our battle . . ."

In response to the hunger strike, prison doctors put Alice Paul in a psychiatric ward. They threatened to transfer her to an insane asylum. Still, she refused to eat. Afraid that she might die, doctors force fed her. Three times a day for three weeks, they forced a tube down her throat and poured liquids into her stomach. Despite the pain and ilness the force feeding caused, Paul refused to end the hunger strike--or her fight for the vote.


Paul was a veteran of suffrage protests. She had served a prison term in Britain for supporting women's right to the vote. She and other younger leaders like Harriet Stanton Blatch thought one last push was needed to get the attention of the President and the Congress. Giant suffrage parades were held in New York and Washington. Thousands of suffragists in long white dresses marched. There were floats, women on horseback, and banners flying. A number of men joined in. But the parades did not change the minds of President Wilson or Congress. So the picketing began at the White House.

After 5 weeks in prison, Alice Paul was set free. The attempts to stop the picketers had backfired. Newspapers carried stories about the jail terms and forced feedings of the suffragists. The stories angered many Americans and created more support than ever for the suffrage amendment.



 

American women at last had the right to vote. But Alice Paul and her colleagues did not stop their campaign for women's rights. Instead, they began to push for an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, which would guarantee women protection against discrimination. Some 80 years later, the battle for such an amendment is still being fought.

 

Now we pull down on the lever Cast our ballots, And we endeavor To improve our country, state, county, town and school.

Thank you Alice Stokes Paul, Susan B Anthony, and  Julia Howe, Lucy Burns, Lucretia March and all Women who stood all day silently, and those who remained imprisoned for our rights.

Not a woman here could vote. No matter what age Until the 19th Amendment Struck down that Restrictive rule.

 

This is a split photo one of mom and other me. She & I have gained lots of weight and we are trying to loose it. But we both have health problems. So we almost always wear sweats. She is 58 years old and I am about to turn 39 in September. She recently quit smoking after 40 years of it and I would love for her to have a new wardrobe for the new her. She cries , as I do when we hate to shop because we never find anything we like in our sizes. Maybe a trip to NY for a shopping trip is just the ticket. It would even help with the new relationship that has formed after my baby brother died. It also took something away from her, too. I hope I never have to experience a child dieing. Although I was holding my 2 hour old brandaughter when she died. We both experienced so much loss and despite the setbacks, we are best friends now because of it. AS we are both  grandmothers now. Both of us usually run from cameras unless we are taking the pics. I would love my mom all dressed up and smiling.  Not to mention we wear old out dated clothes from hand me downs. Even if i dont win for me , I hope my mom can get updated somehow. And I am sure my daughters would love to see me dressed for this generation.