Alice Paul

Date of Birth: January 11, 1885

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Date of Death: July 9, 1977

Biography

Alice Stokes Paul was a prominent American suffragist, feminist, and women’s rights activist who played a pivotal role in the campaign for the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the right to vote. Born into a Quaker family with strong values of gender equality and social justice, Paul dedicated her life to the cause of women’s suffrage and equality. She earned a degree in biology from Swarthmore College in 1905 and later went on to study social work at the New York School of Philanthropy. Her education continued abroad in England, where she became deeply involved in the British suffrage movement. Inspired by the militant tactics she observed there, Paul returned to the United States determined to adopt a more confrontational strategy for the American suffrage movement. In 1913, she co-founded the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage, which later became the National Woman’s Party (NWP). Under her leadership, the NWP organized numerous high-profile events, including the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C., and the Silent Sentinels’ picketing of the White House. Her unyielding advocacy and strategic acumen were instrumental in the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Paul continued her activism beyond the suffrage victory, working on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and other women’s rights issues until her death. She remains a significant figure in the history of American civil rights.

5 Interesting Facts about Alice Paul

1. Alice Paul authored the original Equal Rights Amendment in 1923.

2. She was imprisoned multiple times during her suffrage activities and went on hunger strikes to protest her treatment.

3. Paul earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1912.

4. She was a key figure in organizing the first-ever picket of the White House.

5. Alice Paul was awarded the Distinguished Alumna Award from Swarthmore College in 1974.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Alice Paul

1. “There will never be a new world order until women are a part of it.”

2. “I always feel the movement is a sort of mosaic. Each of us puts in one little stone, and then you get a great mosaic at the end.”

3. “We women of America tell you that America is not a democracy. Twenty million women are denied the right to vote.”

4. “When you put your hand to the plow, you can’t put it down until you get to the end of the row.”

5. “I never doubted that equal rights was the right direction. Most reforms, most problems are complicated. But to me, there is nothing complicated about ordinary equality.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

Alice Paul did not accumulate significant personal wealth through her activism. Instead, she devoted her life and resources to the cause of women’s rights.