Prisoners

In the summer of 1917, a group of women from all over the United States was arrested for demonstrating in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. They were charged with unlawful assembly and were given a choice between being charged a $25 fine or serving sixty days in prison. All of the women accepted imprisonment. Their attorney, Dudley Field Malone, resigned his position in the Collectorship of Customs to dedicate himself to helping them and their cause.

The women were assigned to serve their sentence in a workhouse, where some of them were made to pick berries, attend to the lawn and garden, and work in the sewing room. They were fed three meals a day and received treatment equal to other female inmates. Outside prison, other members of different female organizations campaigned and petitioned for their imprisoned comrades. Hundreds of women sent telegrams to President Woodrow Wilson, hoping that he would help the suffragist’s sentences shortened.

A few days into their imprisonment on July 20^th, 1917, the women were freed through the influence of a pardon from Wilson. Several of the women, ever adamant about bringing their cause to success, announced they would not accept the pardon unless the President put a suffrage amendment through Congress. With their fierce determination, the suffragists had a great influence on the women’s movement and ultimately the 19th amendment.

Two years later in 1919, women who had been arrested, some several times, for demonstrating the way the suffragists had in front of the White House, gathered to tour the country and work for the final push the nation needed to create the 19^th amendment. 25 women, many of whom had been in front of the White House, continued to inspire Americans, wearing prison garb and shouting riveting speeches to anyone who would listen. A year later, they met with success when the 19^th amendment was passed.