Alice Stokes Paul was an American feminist, suffragist, and women's rights activist who was a key figure in the push for the 19th Amendment to the U.S. [[Constitution]], granting women the right to vote. Alice Paul was born on January 11, 1885, in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Raised as a Quaker, she was imbued with a belief in gender equality, the value of education, and the importance of service. Paul attended Swarthmore College, a Quaker institution co-founded by her grandfather, where she earned a degree in biology in 1905. She later earned a Master's degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1907. ## Suffragette Her involvement in the [[suffrage]] movement began during a trip to England. While studying social work in London, she met [[Emmeline Pankhurst]], whose militant tactics and dramatic protests ignited Paul's interest in the suffrage movement. Paul joined the Women's Social and Political Union, Pankhurst's organization, participating in demonstrations and enduring imprisonment for the cause. When Paul returned to the United States in 1910, she brought with her the confrontational tactics she'd learned in England. In 1913, she and Lucy Burns, another American activist she'd met in England, organized a massive women's suffrage parade on the day of President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. The event, which was met with hostility and violence, brought national attention to the suffrage movement. ## Women's rights activist In 1916, Paul and Burns formed the National Woman's Party (NWP), a political group dedicated to the passage of a federal suffrage amendment. The NWP orchestrated numerous protests, including the Silent Sentinels pickets in front of the White House, the first political protests to take place there. These demonstrations, which persisted even during [[World War I]], resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of Paul and many other suffragists. While incarcerated, Paul and other suffragists embarked on a hunger strike to protest their unjust imprisonment. They were force-fed and endured brutal conditions, leading to widespread public sympathy and increased pressure on the Wilson administration to support women's suffrage. In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was finally ratified, granting women the right to vote. However, Paul's work didn't stop there. Recognizing that the struggle for women's rights was far from over, she authored the [[Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)]] in 1923, which aimed to ensure equal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. The ERA was introduced in every session of Congress from 1923 until it passed in 1972, but it was not ratified by enough states to become an amendment. Paul continued to work for women's rights until her death on July 9, 1977. Her legacy lives on as a pioneering force in the women's [[suffrage]] movement and as a tireless advocate for gender equality.