Woman Suffrage Procession

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The line-up of the parade

The Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913, officially called the Woman Suffrage Procession , was a major American suffragette parade in Washington, DC on March 3, 1913. It was organized by suffragette Alice Paul for the National American Woman Suffrage Association ( NAWSA). Thousands of women activists and supporters of suffrage thing marched from the Capitol on Pennsylvania Avenue in the direction of the Treasury , where allegorical representation with a final rally ended the march. This parade was put on the day before the first inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson in order to make it particularly effective. The publicity, which also arose because of the incidents along the way, was important in promoting women's suffrage in the United States .

prehistory

Alice Paul (1915)

Experiences in England

Alice Paul had studied in England from 1907 to 1910 and, under the influence of the English suffragettes around Emmeline Pankhurst, had developed from a young woman interested in women's politics into a radical fighter for women's suffrage. She joined the English Women's Social and Political Union ( WSPU ) and during this time also met the American Lucy Burns , with whom she soon became close friends and worked together.

Paul was very committed to the British campaign for women's suffrage, took part in protests in front of the entrance to Parliament and, according to his own statement, smashed many window panes. Paul was arrested multiple times and sentenced to three prison terms. Like many imprisoned suffragettes, she protested the detention with hunger strikes and had to endure the unpleasant force-feeding herself.

Take over the organization

Carrie Chapman Catt (1914)

After her return to the United States in 1910, she was determined to revitalize the American women's suffrage movement and use other methods. She believed that policy of argument would be more successful and produce results in the foreseeable future. In 1912 Paul joined NAWSA and was appointed chairman of the congressional committee that was supposed to take care of a subordinate, later postponed goal at the federal level, a constitutional amendment for women's suffrage. At that time, the main goal of NAWSA and its chairman, Carrie Chapman Catt , was to gradually achieve women's suffrage in each state.

In Washington Paul met Lucy Burns, who had meanwhile also returned to the USA. After several unsuccessful meetings with future President Woodrow Wilson , who was uninterested in their cause , Paul and Burns organized a large parade in Washington, which took place on March 3, 1913 - the day before Wilson's inauguration - and received a lot of publicity about the incidents.

Course of the parade

The Treasury Building around 1913
“Columbia” awaits the parade at the Treasury Building

Riding a white horse, Inez Milholland led the parade on Pennsylvania Avenue - the route went from the Capitol to the “Treasury Building” next to the White House - behind her a long, colorful line of people with nine music bands, four equestrian departments, three heralds , around 24 display floats and more than 5,000 marchers. The parade was severely hampered and forcibly disrupted on its way, but eventually it reached its destination.

At the treasury building, 100 women and children presented a specially prepared allegorical representation with various scenes to show the ideals for what men and women had fought for over the centuries and what they would continue to fight for. Allegorical figures appeared such as Columbia , wrapped in the national colors , the charity was added, then the Liberty followed on the triumphal march from Aida and a dove of peace was released. In the last picture of the production, Columbia stood there with the sound of a trumpet , surrounded by the symbols of justice , charity, freedom , peace and hope , and thus received the parade.

  • Official program of the parade

  • A horse-drawn cart

  • Women in foreign costumes

  • A women's chapel

  • Women on a cart

  • Lucy Burns (1917), actively involved

Riots and incidents

March 8, 1913: Front page of Woman's Journal reporting the parade

Fears that the parade would not go on without disruption proved true. After a smooth start, the marchers met mostly male groups who had not been removed by the police beforehand. There was mobbing and abuse, and there were fights in which a number of people were injured. The police did not intervene vigorously and probably had insufficient resources. The military was even called in and 200 people were hospitalized.

The Woman's Journal of March 8, 1913 opened with the headline: "Parade struggles to victory despite disgraceful scenes" (German: Parade fights for victory despite degrading scenes) and assigns the police a great complicity for the riots.

A committee of inquiry released the police superintendent a few days later. These events and the coverage of them drew unexpectedly high press and public attention to the suffragettes.

Problem of the participation of colored people

Mary Church Terrell (1919)

There had previously been some problems with the involvement of women of color. Mary Church Terrell took part with a group from the "National Association of Colored Women". Although some NAWSA women from the south were against these colored women being allowed to march mixed with others, they did so anyway and the colored women marched according to their state and their occupation in the marching formation without being prevented (“the colored women marched according to their State and occupation without let or hindrance "). Ida B. Wells-Barnett was also among those who spoke out against a racial parade; she marched with the Illinois delegation.

Effects

The introduction and adoption of the 19th Amendment was delayed for a few years because of the First World War , in which the USA had also participated since 1917.

It was not added to the constitution until August 18, 1920. It was originally introduced by Senator Aaron A. Sargent in 1878, and it was only 41 years later that it was submitted to the states for ratification and narrowly passed.

Movie

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files
Commons : Alice Paul  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Lucy Burns  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sheridan Harvey: American Women: Marching for the vote: Remembering the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913. Retrieved November 15, 2018
  2. ↑ Report by Sheridan Harvey , accessed November 16, 2018.
  3. ↑ Report by Sheridan Harvey , accessed November 16, 2018.