Why I'm An Agitator.

First a history lesson: Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, Reverend Anna Howard Shaw, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,  Sojourner Truth,  Ida B. Wells, these are the names that we usually recognize as members of the Women's Suffrage movement.

Alice Paul

There was a smaller group, led by the indefatigable Alice Paul. She and her cohort Lucy Burns, joined NAWSA (National American Woman Suffrage Association) to create the Congressional Union whose sole purpose was to lobby for a congressional amendment to the U.S. Constitution. NAWSA's methodology involved a state-by-state movement, whereas the Congressional Union wanted a federal amendment. This lead to Paul, Burns and the other members of the Congressional Union breaking with NAWSA to form the NWP or National Women's Party. The NWP used a more public form of lobbying, which involved picketing the White House. This picketing lead to the women being arrested for obstructing traffic. The erroneous charge of obstructing traffic resulted in their being imprisoned in the Occoquan workhouse. The charge was erroneous as the women stood in front of the White House fence and at times, were chained to it.  If you've ever seen a picture of the White House you know there certainly is not a fence running down the center of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. (Even before they shut the street down to traffic completely.) They were no more obstructing traffic than the White House itself.



Lucy Burns



Even in prison, Lucy Burns did not desist in her efforts to rally the cause. As the women were in fact, political prisoners, Burns demanded that the women be treated in kind, being provided with their own clothes, pen and paper to write their families and food. Their demands were not met. The clothes and linens with which they were provided were unwashed and infested with lice, the food contained maggots. On Burns' third arrest, she was given the maximum sentence. The night of that arrest the women were treated to, as they referred to it, the "Night of Terror". Injured women were refused medical treatment. Burns again demanded that they be treated as political prisoners with all the rights this status afforded. When she refused to desist she was shackled with her arms above her head to the bars of her cell.

The women in Occoquan were subjected to many indignities, the worst of all (in my opinion) was force-feeding. In the movie, Iron Jawed Angels, a portrayal of this makes the hair on the back of my neck go up. The women of the suffrage movement gave their lives, the health of their bodies and their energy to a right that some (if not most) of my gender take for granted; with no understanding of what it took to get us into the voting booth.

The "Night of Terror" as well as a detailed history of NWP's development and activites are detailed in the book Jailed For Freedom by Doris Stevens. Another of the courageous suffragists.

An excerpt from Jailed for Freedom featuring Rose Winslow 





Inez Millholland



For instance, I'd like to introduce you to Inez Milholland. I myself had never heard of the Vassar educated, labor lawyer before I saw Julia Ormand portray her in the movie, Iron Jawed Angels. Milholland traveled to France on a peace mission during WWI. She campaigned tirelessly for the vote across the West while dealing with pernicious anemia. During one of her speeches she collapsed, succumbing to complications of the disease on November 25, 1916, she was just 30 years old. Her last public words were, "Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?"


So, when I fight passionately for what I feel is important, when people look away because my voice might be a little too loud, I do it because of Lucy Burns. When someone refers to me as being "angry" because I refuse to back down, speak my mind and expect to be heard, I do it because Alice Paul did it first. When others want to stand back and play nice, hoping that through passivity they will achieve their goals... I reach in my pocket and squeeze my Suzie B. half-dollar, call on the spirit of Inez Milholland and let it rip. When I vote, I think fondly of those women who sacrificed to get me in that booth. I honor their memories by fighting for women and their rights.

We may no longer wear corsets, sit daintily and choose the prettiest curtains for our kitchens. Now, we choose curtains while blogging about our rights, calling our congress-people and Tweeting to get our voices out there. These bitchin' daughters of the suffragists won't stop fighting until we achieve every one of  those right they wanted for us and knew we deserved.



Copyright 2011 Michelle Cahill