How Did Alice Paul Influence The Civil Rights Movement

Beginning at the Seneca Falls convention in 1848, American women mobilized to advocate for their civil rights. Following a lull during the civil war, the women’s rights campaign began again in earnest at the turn of the century. An organization called the National American Woman Suffrage Association (henceforth NAWSA) proved successful in gaining grassroots support in their hopes to earn women’s suffrage. However, after years of unsuccessful agitation, a radical movement was needed; with no revolution, there can be no real change. Alice Paul, a young Quaker from New Jersey, proved herself to lead this radical revolution. Initially working with the British Suffragettes and consequently with NAWSA, Paul eventually broke off from NAWSA in hopes of creating more aggressive political agitation for a federal amendment. Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party (henceforth NWP) created the first successful nonviolent civil rights campaign in the history of the nation. This was an incredible landmark in the history of revolution, and the nature of this innovation can be attributed to Alice Paul’s unique personal experiences. The formative experiences of Quakerism, Thoreau's ideas of Civil Disobedience, and experience with the British Suffragettes led Alice Paul to

These experiences led her to pioneer the first successful nonviolent civil right campaign, a revolution in its own right. Alice Paul’s determination to succeed at all costs—through prison, insults, and force feeding— represents the immense dedication needed in order to spearhead a movement. Alice Paul left a legacy for women’s rights and human rights, creating the framework from which Dr. Martin Luther King would pull from forty years later. The dynamic of the oppressors and the oppressed will always exist— how we stand up for ourselves is a separate