Megan Sabocor

Alice Paul was born on January 11,1885, in Moorestown, New Jersey to a prominent household. Her parents, William M. Paul and Tacie Parry, chose to apply early in her childhood the Quaker values of discipline, service, honesty, and equality by bringing her to suffragette movements. She was well educated, earning degrees in both law and sociology from the University of Pennsylvania, the Washington College of Law, the New York School of Social Work, and American University.
 
After being incarcerated in England for her militant, suffrage activities (i.e. demonstrations, hunger strikes), Paul returned to the United States, determined to emphasize the need of a federal women’s suffrage amendment. Inspired by the suffragette movement happening in England, she, along with other dedicated suffragists, founded the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage in 1913. Although it landed her in jail, the tactic that proved most effective was Paul’s picketing of the White House, as her imprisonment won her public sympathy and the attention of President Woodrow Wilson in 1918. It was then that Wilson announced his support for Paul’s federal, suffrage amendment for women. This led to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states the following: 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.” Through her campaign of sex discrimination to Congress, Paul also contributed to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which secured equal rights for women in employment. Paul’s ability to fight for what she believes in, despite the consequences, is what makes her such a memorable feminist activist.
 
I think one outside factor that influenced such activism in Paul is the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870. This document granted only males of all races the right to vote, which would have inspired a number of women, including Paul, to fight for women's suffrage.