Social Reformer, Suffragist. She was born of Quaker parents who encouraged her to prosper through the world of education. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree at Swarthmore College, she went on to the University of Pennsylvania where she earned a master's degree in sociology. In 1907 she moved to England where she was a Ph.D. student at the School of Economics and Social Science. When attending a lecture on women's rights by Christabel Pankhurst in Birmingham, Alice Paul became inspired. She joined the Women's Social and Political Union and fought with such ardor and conviction that she endured imprisonment three times in her career as a result of her refusing to back down from her staunch belief of women being equal in society. During one period she went on hunger strike with other suffragists and was force-fed. Alice Paul met Lucy Burns during one of her incarcerations. Burns was another American woman who had joined the organization while studying in England. In 1910 Paul was back in the United States where she became involved in the struggle for obtaining the right for women to vote. Paul and Burns formed an alliance in 1913 which resulted in the Congressional Union for Women's Suffrage and used militant methods they learned in Britain to try and achieve results in America. The methods included organizing large demonstrations, recruiting thousands of women and picketing the White House daily. She continued to picket even after the country became involved in the First World War. She withstood seemingly unending assaults both verbal and physical by male bystanders who considered her unpatriotic. In 1917, during one of these episodes of inflammation with the crowd, Paul was arrested and imprisoned for seven months. It was then that she went on hunger strike and was eventually released from prison. While President Woodrow Wilson did announce in January 1918 that women's suffrage was "greatly needed as a war measure" the passage of the 19th amendment that gave the vote to women wasn't until 1920. To Alice Paul, this victory was of a battle, she continued to fight a war for equality for women. She founded the World Party for Equal Rights for Women in 1938 (also known as the World Women's Party), lobbied for civil rights in the 1960's and dedicated her entire life to the cause of freedom and equality for all. She is credited with having drafted the Equal Rights Amendment, she wrote the amendment in 1921 and from 1923 on she presented it to congress every session until it was passed in the house and later by the senate in 1972. At age 92 Alice Paul died without having given ended her crusade, and her legacy of tenacity remains. In 2004 HBO Movies presented a film about the lives and work of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns called "Iron Jawed Angels" The role of Paul was played by Oscar winning actress Hillary Swank. The Equal Rights Amendment, the very same one drafted by Alice Paul, has yet to be ratified by all 50 states.
Bio by: R. Digati