Join the Alice Paul Institute for a pre-release virtual viewing party of an excerpt from The Vote, a new four-hour, two-part documentary series by PBS's American Experience. This compelling series tells the dramatic story of the epic crusade waged by American women for the right to vote. Focusing primarily on the movement’s final decade, the series charts American women’s determined march to the ballot box, and illuminates the myriad social, political and cultural obstacles that stood in their path.
The clip from the series we will view is “Upping the Ante” (23 Minutes). It showcases the moment when Alice Paul “turned her back on decades of polite patience and politics-as-usual and threw down the gauntlet at the very gates of the White House,” to add pressure upon President Woodrow Wilson’s administration by organizing the history-making first-ever public picketing at the gates of White House by The “Silent Sentinels.” Notably conspicuous in their purple, gold, and white—the colors of Paul’s National Woman’s Party—the Silent Sentinels bore hand-made banners with messages directed at the President. This very public protest solidified Alice Paul’s reputation as a militant activist, added tension to the strained relationships with other suffrage organizations, and brought the significant media attention Alice Paul understood would help advance the 19th Amendment toward ratification.
Following the viewing, API's Executive Director Lucienne Beard will host Author Mary Walton for a discussion.