Discover the Top 11 Fascinating and Fun Facts About Alice Paul: American Revolutionary and Trailblazer

1. Suffragette Mom-ster

Born with an extra spoonful of feminism in her DNA, Alice Paul's mother was a genuine suffragette mom-ster: She was a member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and imparted her fervor for women's rights to her mighty daughter from a tender age.
Source => almanac.upenn.edu

2. Fabulous Suffrage Parade

Talk about a ladies' day out: Alice Paul orchestrated the most fabulous, fabulous suffrage parade the world had ever seen - with eight thousand women marching from the Capitol to the White House in Washington, DC on March 3, 1913, and leaving half a million onlookers in awe.
Source => womenshistory.org

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=> Fun Facts about Emmeline-Pankhurst

3. Suffra'gator, the Hunger Striker

If Alice Paul were a superhero, her alter ego would be the forever hungry, picket-wielding Suffra'gator: fighting injustice one hunger strike at a time! Boom Bap Pow: Alice was a strategic genius who orchestrated the suffrage parade, led the National Woman's Party for the 19th Amendment, and endured arrest and imprisonment before becoming a lifelong advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment.
Source => womenshistory.org

4. The Suffragist Surfer

If Alice Paul were a superhero, her nickname might be "The Suffragist Surfer," gliding through waves of inequality while sporting a bright sash and a megaphone: A trailblazing feminist and scholar, Alice fought ceaselessly for women's rights in the early 20th century, even in the face of strong opposition and imprisonment, inspiring generations of women to join her in toppling the patriarchy from coast to coast.
Source => archives.upenn.edu

5. BBQ Watch Fire Demonstrators

Like the world's most determined barbecue aficionados, the suffragists of the National Woman's Party loved to watch their fires burn – especially when they were roasting copies of President Woodrow Wilson's fiery speeches: Alice Paul led these feisty ladies in the "Watch Fire" demonstrations in front of the White House, persistently rekindling the flames as soldiers and sailors doused them, and contributing to the heat that eventually cooked up the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, granting women the right to vote.
Source => todayinclh.com

6. Silent Sentinels

In a game of "Who Can Stand Still the Longest Outside the White House?" that would put any stoic statue to shame, Alice Paul and her band of suffragists absolutely crushed the competition: These "silent sentinels" began picketing in January 1917 for women's suffrage, enduring threats, taunts, and arrests, and even going on hunger strikes, ultimately earning themselves silver banner pins that now reside in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History collections.
Source => si.edu

7. Fight Club for Suffragettes

When Alice Paul decided to throw a parade, she went all in and came out swinging, quite literally: On March 3, 1913, she organized a historic women's suffrage parade in Washington D.C., featuring over 5,000 feisty participants from across the Union. The event drew hundreds of thousands of onlookers and inadvertently turned into a sort of "Fight Club" for suffragettes when some spectators began attacking the marchers. Despite the unexpected brawl, the parade's main goal was achieved, catapulting women's suffrage into the national spotlight.
Source => pbs.org

8. Elle Woods of Women's Rights

If Alice Paul were a movie character, she'd be the high-spirited, parade-organizing, picket-toting version of Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, fighting for women's rights instead of law school respect: This suffragette served us unapologetic girl power by masterminding the grand 1913 parade in Washington, DC, gathering a squad of over eight thousand women to march together in pursuit of equality.
Source => womenshistory.org

9. Alice in Jail: The Real OITNB

When Alice Paul wasn't auditioning for the next season of Orange Is the New Black – in a time when it wasn't even a thing yet: She was actually serving seven months in jail for protesting in front of the White House, where she was joined by her fierce suffragette gang and initiated a hunger strike. And while the doctors threatened to cast her in the next season of American Horror Story: Asylum, it was her force-feeding and consequent public support that helped her earn her rightful place as a key player in the US women's suffrage movement.
Source => womenshistory.org

10. Alice Paul: The Avenger

Who needs the Avengers when you've got Alice Paul? This real-life superhero organized a suffrage parade so grand, it would've left Tony Stark in awe: Assembling over 5,000 women warriors from every corner of the Union, Alice Paul pioneered the use of direct action tactics in the women's suffrage movement, even facing violence and assault from spectators; but in the end, our fearless heroine garnered national attention for the cause, making it a smash-hit event.
Source => pbs.org

11. Kangaroo Hurdles of the ERA

Who knew the Equal Rights Amendment had more hurdles than a colicky kangaroo with a penchant for the high jump. On your marks, get set, chuckle: Alice Paul's proposed Mott Amendment faced opposition from the labor movement, fearing it would dismantle workplace protections for women. After consideration in nearly every Congress since its 1923 introduction, it finally passed both chambers in 1972. Alas, by 1982, it fell short of the needed three-fourths state ratification to make it across the finish line.
Source => history.house.gov