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Lesson: Writing the history of Alice Paul and the
NWP
Activity One: Write the biography of Alice Paul
Divide the class into small groups. Assign each group
one aspect of Paul’s life and work to research
for the biography:
a. birth through her departure to England
b. work with the suffragists in England
c. NAWSA and the Congressional Union
d. the Congressional Union and the NWP
e. Equal Rights Amendment
f. historical context of Paul’s life and work
When considering how to write the biography of Alice
Paul, students should think about:
a. the importance of the era in which Paul lived
b. the impact of the major events of the first half
of the twentieth century on the women’s movement
c. the extent to which Paul’s work for women
and the institutions with which she was associated
(NAWSA, the Congressional Union – the NAWSA
subcommittee that Paul helped to lead before she formed
the NWP-- and the NWP itself) defined her life
The following websites provide biographical and other
useful information:
http://www.alicepaul.org/alicepaul.htm
http://pbskids.org/wayback/civilrights/features_suffrage.html
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/suffrage1900/
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/
(Browse for Alice Paul, her associates, the NWP, and
other relevant topics.)
http://www.hbo.com/films/ironjawedangels/cast/characters/alicepaul.html
(This website for the HBO movie, Iron Jawed Angels,
about the struggle of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns to secure
the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, includes a
transcript of the movie.)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/aw01e/aw01e.html
(campaign)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awmss5/suffrage_orgs.html
(a general website on American women with links to other
sources)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awmss5/final_push.html
(a website focusing on the last stages of the suffrage
campaign with links to other sources)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mcchtml/womhm.html
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/vfwhtml/vfwhome.html
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/naw/nawstime.html
(timeline that gives an overview of the women’s
suffrage movement)
Students should look at the close associates of Alice
Paul: the Pankhursts (from England), Lucy Burns, Chrystal
Eastman, Inez Milholland (Boisevain), and the leaders
of NAWSA.
Books: Eleanor Flexner. Century of Struggle
Aileen Kraditor. The Ideas of the Woman Suffrage
Movement
Christine Lunardini. From Equal Suffrage to Equal
Rights
Activity Two:
Rewrite the chapter or section of the classroom textbook
on the women’s suffrage movement to include Alice
Paul and the NWP, or to expand on the information provided
about them:
1. Using the same groups and group-research approach,
have the class select the appropriate information
for this expanded coverage of the campaign for woman’s
suffrage.
2. Include visual representations--photographs and
posters.
Activity Three:
Alice Paul was arrested for obstructing traffic while
picketing the White House. Write diary entries describing
her time in jail.
Activity Four: Divide the class into
four groups. Assign each group one of the following
topics:
1. NAWSA’s support of Woodrow Wilson
2. NAWSA’s “Winning Plan”
3. NWP’s focus solely on a federal amendment
for women’s suffrage
4. NWP’s decision to picket the White House
Have each group share its research on the assigned
topic with the class.
Extension Activity:
Essay
1. To what extent was the strategy of the NWP successful
in bringing about the ratification of the Nineteenth
Amendment?
2. To what extent did the United States’ entry
into World War I affect the women’s suffrage movement?
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