1913 Woman Suffrage Procession

Peaceful protest works! Let’s have a conversation.

So, it’s 1913 and the women’s suffrage movement is losing momentum. It’s been 35 years since the 19th Amendment, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, was introduced—35 years of women fighting for the right to vote. They are exhausted, and many are losing hope.

Then, something amazing happens that changes the game: Two women—Alice Paul and Lucy Burns—work with the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) to plan an elaborate protest procession on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., one day before President Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration.

They raise $15,000 to fund the effort and make plans to bring women from all across the country to Washington so that they may join the procession. When the day finally arrives, at the front of the parade is Inez Milholland, activist and lawyer, riding a white horse. Dressed in a tiara and cape, she projects a powerful image. In all her glory, she is the physical representation of what a new, strong, and independent woman looks like.

Behind her, a float proclaims, “We demand an amendment to the Constitution of the United States enfranchising the women of this country.” The Great Demand, as it was then called, shows that these women are no longer asking for the right to vote and are done accepting the scraps of freedom.

The women start marching, and the crowd gathered on the sides start blocking their way, jeering at them, and making unsavory remarks. Some of the women are even physically assaulted. Many of the present policemen either couldn’t help or didn’t want to offer assistance. Reportedly, the only group that helped protect these women was the Boy Scouts of America! (See the NPS video)

Some protesters left, and around 200 people were injured, but most continued forward. The women made it to their destination an hour later than expected… but they made it.

We also acknowledge the role African American women played in this protest. Many African American women wanted to participate, but were discouraged, and those who still wanted to march were told they would have to remain in the back of the procession. One brave woman, Ida B. Wells, a journalist and sociologist, refused and joined the Illinois delegation anyway. There are reports that many African American women chose to do the same, marching with their state delegation.

There were also promises made in the newspaper that a Native American leader named “Dawn Mist” would march. The thing is, she wasn’t a real person. She was a figure made up as part of a publicity stunt by the Great Northern Railroad, who hired three different Native American women to play her. This seems rather absurd! However, there was at least one Native American woman marching that we know of: a lawyer named Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin.

Was this protest perfect? Obviously not—honest history requires that we acknowledge that—but it also worked. The papers were all over this story; people were talking; and it provided the push needed to get the 19th Amendment passed. This is why we must protect our right to protest. What do you think? Join the conversation!

Sources:

1913 Woman Suffrage Procession. (n.d.). National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/woman-suffrage-procession1913.htm.

Harvey, Sheridan. (2001, June 28). Marching for the Vote: Remembering the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913. Library of Congress. https://guides.loc.gov/american-women-essays/marching-for-the-vote.

Manesse, Alana M. (2020, February 26). USU Reflects on the 1913 Women's Suffrage Parade. Utah State University. https://www.usu.edu/today/story/usu-reflects-on-the-1913-womens-suffrage-parade.

National Parks Service. (2020, September 1). Suffrage in 60 Seconds Woman Suffrage Procession [Video]. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/suffrage60seconds_suffrage_procession_1913.htm.