Alice Stokes Paul

"When you put your hand to the plow, you can't put it down until you get to the end of the row." --Alice Paul recalling her mother's advice

Alice Stokes Paul was born January 11th, 1885 in her hometown of Moorestown, New Jersey. She was born the daughter of William Mickle Paul I and Tacie Parry and a loving sister to Helen, Parry, and William II. Alice grew up on her family's farm, Paulsdale, and lived their most of her life. Her parents wanted the farm to have a sort of "Hick-site Quaker" ambiance, which pretty much meant that they believed people should live closer to nature rather than apart from it.

During school Alice was involved in many activities and sports. Maybe this was an early sign that she was a born activist! Alice's mother Tacie was also a suffrage leader and was part of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and brought Alice when she attended meetings, so it was natural for alice to feel influenced by her mom. In 1901 Alice enrolled in Swarthmore College and successfully graduated in 1905 with a B.A. in Biology. Alice was the only one of her siblings and moher to complete four years of college. After this achievement she decided to go through more schooling, which included:

-Graduating in 1907 with her M.A. in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania

-Graduating in 1912 with her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania

-Graduating in 1922 with her LL.B. from Washingon College of Law

-Graduating in 1927 with her LL.M. from American University

-Graduating in 1928 with her D.D.L. from American University

In the 1920's Alice Paul was in a gigantic suffrage parade that stole the attention from Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. When Wilson proved slow to help the suffrage cause, Alice Paul used the British strategy of holding the political party in power responsible. Her group,which at the time was called, Congressional Union, campaigned against Democrats in the states where women were already allowed to vote. She led them in militant tactics, even including picketing the White House! Unfortunately after WWI tensions grew and the pickets were threatened by hostile crowds and the picketers were thrown in jail. Alice Paul was thrown in the Psychopathic Ward where she refused to eat, but was force-fed through a plastic tube. By the 1920's her group, by then known as the National Women's Party, set the agenda for feminism: the vote won, and their next target would be an equal rights amendment.

In 1920 the Nineteenth amendment to the United States Constitution secured the vote for women! Alice Paul was the original author of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment in 1923.

In 1929 she settled into a house bought by Alva Belmont in Washington, D.C. for the NWP headquarters for 40 years. This house is now know as the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum( a historical house/museum of the women's suffrage and equal-rights movements.

In the late 1960's Alice lived alone in the Alta Craig Nursing Home in Ridgefield, Connecticut. At the age of 80 she still led rallies for women's suffrage. Shortly after her friend elise died she moved back to her hometown. In 1974 Alice had a stroke which disabled her, unfortunately from doing anymore work. On July 9th, 1977, Alice Paul died of heart failure. She was 92 years old. Two years after her death, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and she is also scheduled to appear on the U.S.'s half-ounce $10 gold coin in 2012, as part of the "First Spouse" program.

-Bella Mireles