Alice Paul's Determination in Women's Suffrage

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It was January 11, 1885 and in Moorestown, New Jersey what I would call a rook in the chess game of women’s suffrage, was born. It’s hard to believe that such an overwhelming infatuation in equality could be so deeply immersed in a woman only twenty-seven years of age. However, when you know that this person is none other than Alice Paul, believing gets easier. It was the defiance caged up inside this fire-cracker of a woman that led her steadily through the great battle of woman's suffrage. Growing up in a Quaker home with supportive parents encouraged Paul from an early age to challenge others’ beliefs when they differed from her own. An emphasis was also placed on acting with integrity. Paul never hesitated to do so and she followed her heart with a blind eye, wherever it would lead her. These were the building blocks that shaped a woman who shaped women’s suffrage. Paul traveled to England on a political apprenticeship. It was in England where she befriended a group of radicals, and there couldn’t have been a better time or place for such a friendship to take place. England was currently absorbed in its own battle with women’s suffrage, and this set off a spark in Paul that grew to ignite a fire when she vowed to herself to bring confrontational feminism to the United States. If anything were to set Paul aside from her fellow suffragists, it would be her strategies. The sheer audacity behind them! It’s as if her PhD. in Sociology gave her a key into the minds of her adversaries that allowed her to manipulate the movement through their unavoidable weaknesses. For instance, it is one thing to stage a picket, but Paul can twist and engineer one to substantially emphasize its effect. The day... ... middle of paper ... ...ter place. Her legacy may present this as a daunting task, but it really isn't so. Our morals and values can't speak for themselves, and it is through us that they must be passed on and weaved through humanity. Contradicting a racial slur or even smiling at a stranger are simple ways we can address this obligation. Opportunities are everywhere; I know I'll take the next one. Works Cited Schnell, J. Christopher. "Paul, Alice (1885-1977)." DISCovering U.S. History. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Junior. Gale. Poudre High School. 18 Feb. 2011 . Keenan, Sheila. Scholastic Encyclopedia of Women in the United States. New York: Scholastic Reference, 2002. Print.

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