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The "Night of Terror" When Women Were Beaten and Tortured for the Right to Vote

Remembering the forgotten history of the Women's Suffrage Movement's "Night of Terror"

The Silent Sentinels picketing the White House in 1917 The Silent Sentinels picketing the White House in 1917.

When we tell our children about the fight for women's suffrage in America, we often tell a sanitized version of the story. We talk about letter-writing campaigns, activist conferences, and stirring speeches — and occasionally, we mention defiant suffragists being hauled to jail. But we often shy away from the darker truths about the sacrifices and suffering many suffragists had to endure in the fight for women's right to vote.

One especially notorious event, the "Night of Terror," when 33 suffragists from the National Women's Party, who had been arrested for protesting outside of the White House, were brutally beaten and tortured at the Occoquan Workhouse, a prison in northern Virginia took place on November 14, 1917. For many of the women, the physical and psychological consequences of their harrowing experience would be lifelong. Their stories horrified the nation, galvanizing public support for the Women's Suffrage Movement and bringing new momentum which helped pass the 19th Amendment — the Constitutional amendment which guaranteed American women the right to vote — three years later on August 18, 1920. The freedom to vote, however, had come at a cost, and that cost was borne in part by these women.

To give these courageous women the recognition they deserve, A Mighty Girl is telling the shocking story of the Night of Terror so that people who were unaware of this ugly part of women's rights history can see just one example of what activists had to sacrifice during the decades-long fight for women's right to vote. While it is a painful story to tell and to hear, it is crucial that we remember — so that we use our right to vote well, and so that we never allow ourselves to lose ground for which so many women fought so hard.

A movement in transition

Suffrage leader Alice Paul, the co-founder of the National Women's Party, in 1915.

In the early 1900s, the Women's Suffrage Movement was at a crossroads. Decades had passed since the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, at which the Declaration of Sentiments, drafted by early suffragist leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was signed by attendees, declaring that the "inalienable right to the elective franchise" was one of the key rights being denied to women. Many activists felt that the movement had stalled and the suffragists were increasingly split between those who wanted to work incrementally, securing support for women's suffrage state by state, and others who believed that a constitutional amendment granting women's suffrage was the only way to push the cause forward.

Into this divide came young activists, many of them inspired by the British suffragettes, who were ready to take more radical steps in their fight for the vote. One of the most famous was Alice Paul, who returned from England in 1910; during her time there, she had joined the militant suffragettes in their protests, and had even been jailed and force fed while on hunger strikes. However, she had also seen the effectiveness of the suffragettes' tactics in bringing attention to their cause.

Together with her friend and colleague Lucy Burns, Paul was determined to reignite the fight for a constitutional amendment granting women's suffrage. Their first major event, a suffrage parade held the day before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, received national attention when spectators in the largely male crowd attacked the marchers. Although over 100 women had to be hospitalized for injuries, the women refused to give up and completed the march. Historians credit the 1913 parade for inspiring a new wave of interest in the Women's Suffrage Movement, especially among a new generation of activists.

With Paul and her supporters continuing to push for the use of such high-visibility and often controversial tactics, tensions continued to grow between the younger organizers and long-time leaders of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. In 1916, an official split occurred when Paul and Burns broke off to form the National Women's Party (NWP). The NWP put its full attention on securing the passage of a constitutional amendment, and were willing to use  confrontational  tactics to bring attention to women's suffrage. The NWP held "watchfires," where they burned copies of Wilson's speeches, as well as marches and other protests. But they knew that further action was needed to advance their cause.

Tension rises

Suffrage leader Lucy Burns imprisoned in the Occoquan Workhouse, November 1917.

In January 1917, the NWP took the controversial step of picketing outside the White House — the first time any group had done so. The "Silent Sentinels" held banners and signs that were deliberately intended to provoke; when the Russian delegation visited the White House, one of them read, "We, the women of America, tell you that America is not a democracy. Twenty million American women are denied the right to vote. President Wilson is the chief opponent of their national enfranchisement."

Although initially many people thought of the Silent Sentinels as a joke or a curiosity, public sentiment changed after the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917. "The NWP was not going to stop protesting simply because we were at war," explained Jennifer Krafchik, executive director of the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument. "They held Woodrow Wilson up as a pinnacle of democracy abroad but not at home. By June, crowds were getting incensed at what they saw as unpatriotic actions by these women." At times, onlookers would rip the signs out of the women's hands and even beat the women picketing, while the police looked on.

While the protesters were tolerated at first, after war was declared, the police began arresting the women on the charge of obstructing traffic. Undeterred, the protest continued every day and night, except Sundays, with new women coming to picket when others were sent to prison. Paul was among those arrested, and she was sentenced to a seven-month jail term starting in October. In protest of the horrific conditions at the District Jail, she began a hunger strike which led the jail authorities to force feed her raw eggs by forcing a tube down her throat twice a day. They also attempted to have Paul committed against her will to a psychiatric hospital; the hospital superintendent William Alanson White, however, refused to admit her, stating that she was sane and "perfectly calm, yet determined."

The harsh treatment of Paul infuriated her fellow suffragists who continued to picket the White House, while also protesting Paul's imprisonment. They demanded that the imprisoned suffragists be considered political prisoners, a distinction that could mean better treatment. Most suffragists were being held at Occoquan, where rats ran freely in and out of unlit cells, the food was infested with maggots, and prisoners were denied counsel. With tensions so high, the suffragists knew that arrests would no doubt continue. They did not, however, expect what would happen on November 14, 1917.

The Night of Terror

Supporters outside the prison, including National Women's Party organizer Lucy Branham pictured here, called for the suffragists to be treated as political prisoners.

By November, many of the Silent Sentinels had been repeatedly arrested and Occoquan superintendent W.H. Whittaker was frustrated. On November 14, he ordered the nearly 40 male guards to "teach the women a lesson." The guards attacked the 33 women with clubs, brutalizing them and throwing them into cells. According to affidavits taken during a later investigation, women were dragged, choked, pinched, and kicked — and some women received even worse treatment. They twisted Dora Lewis' arm behind her back and slammed her into a iron bed twice before leaving her unconscious on the floor. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, believed that Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack, but she was denied medical treatment until the next morning. Dorothy Day, who later co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement, was slammed repeatedly over the back of an iron bench.

After she started a roll call from her cell to check in on her fellow prisoners, Lucy Burns was identified as the group's ringleader. When she refused the guards' orders to stop the roll call, they handcuffed her arms to the cell bars above her head, leaving her standing bleeding all night. In solidarity, other women stood holding their arms above their own heads until she was released.

After the Night of Terror, the women refused to eat for three days; the guards tried to tempt the women to eat with fried chicken, which Burns considered an insult: "They think there is nothing in our souls above fried chicken." As the hunger strike continued, Whittaker began to fear that one of the prisoners would die, leading to even more negative publicity, so he ordered Burns to be removed to another jail, where she too was force fed. She was held down by five people as a tube was forced through her nostril, a practice which caused painful, severe nosebleeds. Burns ultimately served more jail time than any other American suffragist.

Reflecting on these horrific events years later, Paul observed: "Seems almost unthinkable now, doesn't it? It was shocking that a government of men could look with such extreme contempt on a movement that was asking nothing except such a simple little thing as the right to vote."

aftermath & Victory

Officers of the National Woman’s Party hold a banner in front of its headquarters in 1920. The banner reads: "No self respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party that ignores her sex.” - Susan B. Anthony

When the suffragists outside Occoquan learned about the Night of Terror, they were determined to make it public. They had an important ally in the Wilson White House who helped make it possible: Dudley Field Malone, an attorney who served as a campaign adviser to Wilson, resigned his political post so he could represent the Silent Sentinels in court. Malone, who later married Doris Stevens, one of the Occoquan prisoners, also passed on her jailhouse letters about the ordeal to the party newsletter, The Suffragist. Once the story broke, it received broad coverage in the media, outraging many readers and contributing to the growing public support of the suffragists' cause.

Malone's work in court paid off in late November, when a hearing into the arrests was ordered; on November 27 and 28, all of the suffragists were released from prison. The women spoke widely about their experiences and brought the attention of the world to the struggle for women's rights in America. The women also appealed their convictions for "unlawful assembly" for "obstructing the sidewalk" in front of the White House and the case went before the D.C. Court of Appeals in January 1918. Although the Night of Terror wasn't even mentioned during the trial, the three judges nevertheless issued a unanimous decision that every one of the women had been illegally arrested, illegally convicted, and illegally imprisoned.

Following their release from prison, the former detainees joined their fellow activists in their on-going protests at the White House and continued their organizing work calling for a constitutional amendment. In total, the Silent Sentinels picketed six days a week in front of the White House for two and a half years, with nearly 2,000 women participating in the vigil at different times. All of the negative press attention around the suffragists' arrests and brutal treatment finally drove Wilson to act. In January 1918, Wilson declared that women's suffrage was urgently needed as a "war measure" and called on Congress to act. The next year, the Senate passed the suffrage amendment, which began a state-by-state fight to secure ratification by state legislatures. At long last, the 19th Amendment -- declaring that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex" -- was adopted on August 18, 1920.

When the amendment was finally ratified, little credit was given to the NWP or to the women who had to suffer such brutal treatment in the pursuit of the right to vote, even though, according to scholar Belinda A. Stillion Southard, "the campaign of the NWP was crucial toward securing the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment." Following its passage, many of the NWP's leading activists continued to fight for women's rights and other social justice causes, including Alice Paul who later co-authored the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Others felt they simply had no more to give — including Burns, who never fully physically recovered from the Night of Terror and reportedly said, "I don’t want to do anything more. I think we have done all this for women, and we have sacrificed everything we possessed for them, and now let them fight for it now. I am not going to fight anymore."

Today, too many people have forgotten — or have never learned — the story of the Night of Terror. The Occoquan Workhouse, which was later renamed the Lorton Reformatory, closed in 2001. To ensure that this important history will not be lost, the former prison has been transformed into the new Lucy Burns Museum, which includes exhibits in memory of the suffragists and their sacrifices. Most importantly, we must teach our children what the suffragists had to do in order to win the rights and privileges that we take for granted today, recalling that this one horrific night was just one day in a struggle which lasted for over 70 years. A Mighty Girl honors the memory of these brave women by doing our part to share their story, and we encourage you to do the same. To make it easier, we have showcased a variety of books and films for all ages below telling the stories of these heroic women.

Books & Films about the 20th Century suffragists

Below you'll find a variety of books and films for all ages about these courageous leaders of the 'final push' to win women's suffrage. For books for young readers about the early days of the Women's Suffrage Movement, check out our blog post How Women Won the Vote: Teaching Kids About the U.S. Suffrage Movement and the Suffrage section of our Women's History Collection.

Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote

Fight of the Century: Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote

Written by: Barb Rosenstock
Illustrated by: Sarah Green
Recommended Age: 5 - 9

When Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as President, Alice Paul was waiting — and knew he would meet his match! Paul was determined to win the battle for women's suffrage, and she battered Wilson with clever protests, articulate arguments, and a ferocious refusal to quit. In this thrilling picture book biography, author Barb Rosenstock captures the struggle between Paul and Wilson as a four-round boxing match — in which Paul's clever strategy defeats him at every turn! With colorful, period-inspired illustrations from Sarah Green, and extensive back matter providing additional detail about Paul's work and legacy, this compelling book highlights just how fierce the fight for the vote was.

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C$24.99 (CAD)
Amazon.co.uk
£14.77 (GBP)
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A$44.37 (AUD)
Amazon.com
$15.81 (USD)

The Voice That Won The Vote: How One Woman's Words Made History

The Voice That Won The Vote: How One Woman's Words Made History

Written by: Elisa Boxer
Illustrated by: Vivien Mildenberger
Recommended Age: 5 - 9

August, 1920: Tennessee's legislature is about to cast a history-making vote. If they approve the 19th Amendment, it will be ratified and women across the country will be assured of their right to vote. If they don't, the suffragists have more battles ahead. The decision came down to a single vote, and a shocking moment when Harry Burns — previously a staunch opponent of suffrage — voted in favor of suffrage. And he did so because of a letter from his indomitable mother, Febb Burns, who said "Vote for suffrage and don't forget to be a good boy." This inspiring picture book celebrates a defining moment of American history — and the determined woman whose letter helped give all women a voice in politics.

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C$21.99 (CAD)
Amazon.co.uk
£15.42 (GBP)
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A$43.22 (AUD)
Amazon.com
$16.99 (USD)

Elizabeth Started All The Trouble

Elizabeth Started All The Trouble

Written by: Doreen Rappaport
Illustrated by: Matt Faulkner
Recommended Age: 6 - 9

This unique picture book takes readers on a journey through the seven decades of the Women's Suffrage Movement. From Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott at the Seneca Falls convention, to Alice Paul and Lucy Burns' protests that finally led to the 19th Amendment, this book presents a capsule history of the movement, its key figures, and the most important moments on the quest to get women the vote. With enough detail to satisfy a newly independent reader, but an accessible tone that creates a sense of excitement to the story, this book is sure to become a favorite resource on women's history.

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C$23.99 (CAD)
Amazon.co.uk
£11.31 (GBP)
Amazon.com.au
A$40.83 (AUD)
Amazon.com
$8.79 (USD)

Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote

Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote

Written by: Kirsten Gillibrand
Illustrated by: Maira Kalman
Recommended Age: 6 - 10

In time for the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduces young readers to the bold and brave women of the American Suffrage Movement in this inspiring picture book! It took seventy years of passion, perseverance, and protest before women won the right to vote, and the ten women featured here poured their hearts and souls into the fight. With a mix of both well-known names like Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, and Sojourner Truth and lesser known women such as Jovita Idár and Mary Church Terrell, Gillibrand tells the stories of these courageous women of the past with vigor — and encourages young readers to raise their own voices to build our future.

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C$16.85 (CAD)
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£8.00 (GBP)
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A$39.99 (AUD)
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$16.26 (USD)

How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea

How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea

Illustrated by: Ziyue Chen
Recommended Age: 7 - 12

When Alice Paul and Lucy Burns met in a London jail after being arrested in UK suffrage protests, the two American women knew they wanted to reinvigorate the American suffrage battle! The pair organized the DC Women’s March of 1913, a stunning and attention-grabbing parade right before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson, and that was just the beginning of their protests. Author Susan Campbell Bartoletti tells the story of the final push towards the 19th Amendment with verve, including archival images, sidebars, and other fascinating details, while illustrator Ziyue Chen captures the feeling of the early 20th century. Filled with captivating storytelling, photos, and artwork, this fascinating book, published for the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, is the perfect introduction to the Suffrage Movement for young readers!

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C$16.88 (CAD)
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£15.03 (GBP)
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A$29.99 (AUD)
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$12.89 (USD)

What Is The Women's Rights Movement?

What Is The Women's Rights Movement?

Illustrated by: Laurie A. Conley
Recommended Age: 8 - 12

For kids today, the idea that women couldn't vote, or didn't belong in many jobs, is foreign — but this history is critical for understanding how far we've come and the struggles that carry on to this day. In this engaging volume from the Who Was...? biography series, young readers will learn the story of the Women's Rights Movement, from its early days with leaders with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton fighting for the vote to the work of 20th century groundbreakers to present day events like the historic 2017 Women's March. This compelling introduction to women's long fight for equality will inspire kids to continue to work for positive social change.

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C$7.99 (CAD)
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£6.67 (GBP)
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A$14.55 (AUD)
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$4.99 (USD)

Rightfully Ours: How Women Won the Vote

Rightfully Ours: How Women Won the Vote

Written by: Kerrie Logan Hollihan
Recommended Age: 9 and up

In this lively narrative, Kerrie Logan Hollihan provides an overview of the Women's Suffrage Movement for tweens and teens. Hollihan looks at several heroes of the movement, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Lucy Burns, and Alice Paul, as well as the key events of the decades-long movement. Along with the history, the book provides 21 activities to give kids a sense of the everyday life of the suffragists, from making a protest banner with coat hangers to baking a cake with suffrage frosting to composing a suffrage rhyme. This entry in the For Kids book series is sure to inspire young readers and give them a new appreciation of women's hard-fought struggle to have their right to vote recognized!

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C$29.09 (CAD)
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£18.30 (GBP)
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A$44.05 (AUD)
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$18.99 (USD)

Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights

Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights

Written by: Deborah Kops
Recommended Age: 10 and up

Alice Paul not only helped win the battle for women's suffrage in the United States, she remained a leading women's rights activist for decades during the "second wave" of feminism, as women fought for full equality with men across society. At the beginning of the 20th century, Paul reignited the Women's Suffrage Movement with dramatic new protests, finally bringing sufficient pressure on elected officials that the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920. Then, she set her sights on other laws that discriminated against women. Her proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) may not have been passed — yet — but her continued fight for equality for women has inspired the generations after her to take up the banner. This compelling biography provides an excellent introduction for tweens and teens to the life and work of one of the greatest champions of women's rights in U.S. history.

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C$18.57 (CAD)
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£13.61 (GBP)
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A$29.38 (AUD)
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$17.95 (USD)

With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman's Right to Vote

With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman's Right to Vote

Written by: Ann Bausum
Recommended Age: 10 and up

When Alice Paul helped design the banners for the Women's Suffrage Movement, she suggested three colors: purple for justice, white for purity of purpose, and gold for courage. The colors were apt, because facing the angry opponents of women's suffrage required an ample helping of all three! In this fascinating book, Ann Bausum melds archival photographs with a compelling narrative telling of the history of women's suffrage to create a history book that reads like a thriller. Bausum doesn't shy away from the consequences that these brave activists faced, from prisons full of rats to force feeding when they went on hunger strikes. Her book serves as an apt reminder that women were not given the vote — they won it, through blood, sweat, and tears.

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C$30.82 (CAD)
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£17.12 (GBP)
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A$67.75 (AUD)
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$32.99 (USD)

One Woman, One Vote

One Woman, One Vote

Recommended Age: 10 and up

This documentary of the seven decade fight for women's suffrage in the US examines how a country that proclaimed itself the world's greatest democracy could justify refusing the vote to so many citizens. Director Ruth Pollack presents the reasons that people of both genders opposed the idea of women's suffrage, and explores how the women's rights movement managed to overcome their objections in order to pass the 19th Amendment in 1920. Susan Sarandon narrates this story, which also touches on notable figures like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Alice Paul, and captures the shift as women's suffrage went from a fringe opinion to a sophisticated, organized movement.

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C$26.42 (CAD)
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£19.21 (GBP)
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A$39.82 (AUD)
Amazon.com
$9.49 (USD)

The Woman's Hour: Our Fight for the Right to Vote (Young Readers Edition)

The Woman's Hour: Our Fight for the Right to Vote (Young Readers Edition)

Written by: Elaine Weiss
Recommended Age: 10 and up

In August 1920, women's right to vote is at a tipping point. Suffragists have been fighting for the vote for over 70 years, and one more state needs to ratify the 19th Amendment for it to finally be enshrined in the Constitution. Tennessee is about to make their decision, but the road isn't easy. Many people oppose the amendment, including the "Antis": women who don't want women to be able to vote and racists who oppose the fact that its passage would give black women the right to vote. As suffragist leaders Carrie Catt, Sue White, and Alice Paul agitate for the amendment's ratification, they face blackmail, betrayal, and more. Elaine Weiss told this nail-biting story for adults in The Woman's Hour; now, this young readers edition, which includes an 8-page photo insert, will teach kids about the power of activism, the importance of equal rights, and just how close the passage of the 19th Amendment really was.

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C$32.49 (CAD)
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£20.79 (GBP)
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A$43.29 (AUD)
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$19.12 (USD)

Roses and Radicals

The Epic Story of How American Women Won the Right to Vote

Roses and Radicals

The Epic Story of How American Women Won the Right to Vote

Recommended Age: 10 and up

It's easy to say that the 19th Amendment "gave" women the right to vote, but the truth is that women had to fight to win that right — for almost eighty years, with literal blood, sweat, and tears. In this exciting volume, author Susan Zimet captures just how complicated the quest for women's suffrage in the United States was, and paints vivid portraits of the women who endured mockery, arrest, and even torture to achieve it, in some cases knowing that the Amendment wouldn't pass in their lifetimes. With portraits, period cartoons, and other archival images, Zimet highlights just how controversial the notion of votes for women was. Tween and teen readers will be shocked to learn the details of this epic women's rights battle — and inspired to use their votes well in future!

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C$13.99 (CAD)
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£10.38 (GBP)
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A$24.95 (AUD)
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$9.89 (USD)

Iron Jawed Angels

Iron Jawed Angels

Recommended Age: 13 and up

This inspiring film starring Oscar-winner Hilary Swank is one of the few feature films focused on the Women's Suffrage Movement in the US. It tells the story of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, two young women's rights activists who broke with the established suffragists to establish the National Women's Party and lead the final successful campaign for women's suffrage in the United States. The film compellingly depicts the fervent energy that Paul and Burns injected into the suffrage battle — through White House pickets, imprisonment, hunger strikes, and force feeding, these determined women were unstoppable in their pursuit of women's suffrage. This moving film will give viewers a new appreciation of the unflagging perseverance and the astounding personal sacrifices made by suffragists in their efforts to win women the right to vote. Due to a harsh, though realistic, force-feeding scene, we recommend this film for teen and adult viewers.

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C$12.06 (CAD)
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£13.46 (GBP)
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A$32.32 (AUD)
Amazon.com
$5.84 (USD)

Votes for Women!: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot

Votes for Women!: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot

Written by: Winifred Conkling
Recommended Age: 13 and up

When American women won the right to vote in 1920, it was the culmination of a nearly eighty-year fight! In this mesmerizing book, author Winifred Conkling crafts a unique history of the Women's Suffrage Movement that explores the broader progress of the movement, as well as its often powerful and sometimes rocky relationship with the temperance and abolitionist movements. From early activists like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth; to the first female candidate for president, Victoria Woodhull; to later activists like Alice Paul and Lucy Burns who succeeded in successfully pushing the amendment through at great personal cost, Votes for Women! tells their stories and explores their legacies in a riveting and unflinching fashion.

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C$15.55 (CAD)
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£9.99 (GBP)
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A$19.48 (AUD)
Amazon.com
$10.46 (USD)

A Woman's Crusade: Alice Paul and the Battle for the Ballot

A Woman's Crusade: Alice Paul and the Battle for the Ballot

Written by: Mary Walton
Recommended Age: Adults

Alice Paul went from a studious life as the daughter of a devoted Quaker family to being the leader of the militant wing of the women's rights movement. Her daring and unconventional tactics forced the hand of President Woodrow Wilson and the U.S. Congress — but getting there came at significant cost. In this powerful biography, Mary Walton captures Paul's fervent passion, as well as her canny understanding of the importance of public opinion. Walton doesn't shy away from the harsh realities that the suffragists faced in their quest, proving that far from being "given" the vote, women had to win it, step by painful step.

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C$28.50 (CAD)
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A$51.90 (AUD)
Amazon.com
$16.91 (USD)

Suffragists in Washington, D.C.

The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote

Suffragists in Washington, D.C.

The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote

Written by: Rebecca Boggs Roberts
Recommended Age: Adults

By 1913, despite sixty years of grueling work by suffragists, only six states allowed women to vote. Then Alice Paul came to Washington, D.C., with a bold plan: a Great Suffrage Parade, right down Pennsylvania Avenue, the day before Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. Paul's demonstration marked the beginning of a more aggressive strategy that divided the women's suffrage movement, and even resulted in suffrage protesters being thrown in jail and beaten. But these tactics would eventually lead to victory: the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment was seven years away. This narrative telling of the final years of the suffrage struggle is a testament to the power of protest and the will of determined women.

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C$18.15 (CAD)
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£16.15 (GBP)
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A$47.16 (AUD)
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$8.88 (USD)

Suffrage: Women's Long Battle for the Vote

Suffrage: Women's Long Battle for the Vote

Written by: Ellen Carol DuBois
Recommended Age: Adults

Follow the long and dramatic 72-year fight for women's right to vote with this thrilling and deeply-researched account of the Women's Suffrage Movement by distinguished historian Carol DuBois! Beginning with the Women's Rights Movement's early years, and bold activists like Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth, DuBois explores how the movement rose and fell; how the crushing disappointment of women being denied the vote with the 15th Amendment led to a schism between many people who had long worked shoulder to shoulder as abolitionists against slavery; and then introduces a new generation of champions like Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul who helped make the 19th Amendment a reality fifty years later. This authoritative history, released for the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment's ratification, is a stirring account of one of the most important movements in American history.

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C$16.92 (CAD)
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£4.91 (GBP)
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A$26.72 (AUD)
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$11.31 (USD)

Jailed for Freedom: A First-Person Account of the Militant Fight for Women's Rights

Jailed for Freedom: A First-Person Account of the Militant Fight for Women's Rights

Written by: Doris Stevens
Recommended Age: Adults

To win the vote, women had to put their bodies and lives on the line — and one of them was Doris Stevens. In this stunning first person account, Stevens lays out the political backdrop — an administration refusing to consider women's suffrage no matter what argument was laid before them — and then describes the courage of women like her who demanded to have their voices heard. Stevens herself was arrested for "obstructing the sidewalk" and jailed; her colleagues and friends suffered worse, including beatings and force-feeding. This 100th anniversary edition of her book, with a new introduction from suffrage historian Angela P. Dodson, is a powerful reminder of what the suffragists had to do to win the rights we take for granted today.

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C$25.24 (CAD)
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£9.24 (GBP)
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A$50.51 (AUD)
Amazon.com
$25.00 (USD)

The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote

The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote

Written by: Elaine Weiss
Recommended Age: Adults

This real-life political thriller tells the story of the nail-biting climax of one of the greatest political battles in American history: the ratification of the constitutional amendment that granted women the right to vote. In August 1920, 35 states have ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, twelve have rejected or refused to vote, and one last state is needed — after a seven-decade long crusade, the future of women's suffrage comes down to Tennessee. Over one hot summer, opposing forces converge on the state for a vicious face-off replete with dirty tricks, bigotry, and betrayals. Following a handful of remarkable women who led their respective forces into battle, The Woman's Hour is the inspiring story of activists winning their own freedom in one of the last campaigns forged in the shadow of the Civil War, and the beginning of the great twentieth-century battles for civil rights.

Buy:
Buy:
Amazon.ca
C$22.12 (CAD)
Amazon.co.uk
£22.56 (GBP)
Amazon.com.au
A$42.94 (AUD)
Amazon.com
$9.08 (USD)

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