How Did Alice Paul Win The Suffrage Movement

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In 1908, Alice Paul became involved in the suffrage movement for the first time. In June, the WSPU planned a march in association with the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). On June 13, three thousand women marched in the rain from Hyde Park to the Strand in the NUWSS “Mud March”. A week later on June 21, the WSPU led a second march with seven thousand marchers and two hundred fifty thousand spectators (Adams). After participating in the marches, Paul joined the WSPU. Paul began selling the suffrage magazine Votes for Women on street corners and eventually began giving speeches for the WSPU. On July 30, 1909, Alice Paul was arrested at a protest and was sent to Holloway Prison. Paul justified her actions through the Quaker belief that it was better to go to prison than to abandon one’s beliefs. …show more content…

In August, she was arrested for attempting to break into a hall where Winston Churchill was speaking with two other suffragists, one of whom was Lucy Burns. Burns was also inspired by her religion to join the suffrage movement. Burns was raised as a Catholic, and grew up hearing about Catholic martyrdom. Burns considered this movement as her own opportunity to die for what she believed in (Walton). Paul and Burns worked together throughout the remainder of the suffrage movement. On November 9, 1909, Paul was once again arrested after using her shoe to break windows at a banquet. Paul was sentenced to one month of hard labor. Paul went on a hunger strike in prison and was force fed. Force feedings were painful and often made Paul bleed and feel nauseous. When explaining the hunger strike to her mother Paul said, “simply a policy of passive resistance and as a Quaker thee ought to approve of that,” (Walton). After two years in England, Paul returned to the United States in January