For most of our history, with few exceptions, women were considered to be breeders and servants or pawns in political games. Even Queen Elizabeth I stood in front of a large portrait of her, King Henry VIII to remind all there who her father was. She never married because she knew it would diminish her power.
Man was the king of the roost and women were subject to their rule. No wonder women had to sink to "feminine wiles" to get what they wanted and sometimes needed in the home. Women knew that unless they could vote, their lot was not likely to change. So they took to the streets.
On August 28, 1917, women suffragists marched in front of the white house, carrying signs.
"The first picket line—College day in the picket line." 1917 Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Reproduction Number LC-USZ62-31799
They were peaceful. As the protests grew, 33 women were arrested and charged with "obstructing sidewalk traffic" outside the White House Gates. Unlike the "Occupy Wall Street" arrests today, the women were brutally treated By the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards went on a rampage, beating the women with clubs.
Lucy Brown was beaten then chained by her hands to the cell bars above her head. She was left hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.
Dora Lewis was thrown into a dark cell where she smashed her head against an iron bed so hard she passed out.
Other reports from the time describe the guards abusing the women by grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting, and kicking them.
All this for holding picket signs asking for the right to vote.
On November 15, 1917, known as the "Night of Terror," the warden at the Occaquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach the ladies a lesson because they dared to picket for the right to vote. They were kept in jail for weeks with only dirty water and their only food, a colorless slop infested with worms.
Alice Paul, one of the leaders went on a hunger strike.
The guards tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured for weeks until someone tipped off the press.
Woodrow Wilson tried to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so she could be permanently institutionalized, but the doctor refused. He said that Alice Paul was strong and brave. That did not make her crazy.
It was a long, hard fight, but we won the right to vote. From that grew more and more rights for women. We are still fighting for our rights. We are fighting against sexism and those who would push us back behind the broom and mute our voices. Did you know that in Florida, it is still legal for a husband to beat his wife?
If you have Netflix, or HBO you can watch an incredible movie, Iron Jawed Angels, starring Angelica Huston, about our fight for equality. It was a Golden Globe winner and a SunDance Premiere Selection. You can also purchase the DVD at Amazon.com. See the official trailer here http://videos.bandits-movie.com/view.htm?ija/ija_trailer_1
Vote! Many women suffered so that we could. Make the right choices for your future and the future of your daughters and granddaughters.
I'm stepping off of my soapbox now, until the next time.
