From Equal Suffrage to Equal Rights: Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party, 1910-1928

by Christine A. Lunardini

The woman's movements and work in American history during the second two decades, was dramatic. It dealt with the past, with pageants and politics; with different organizations and with conflict from within. It took on the Democrats, founded a National Woman's Party; it waged a home front war. It dealt with prison, and resolution. It went from equal suffrage to equal rights.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative. Pure detail. This book champions Alice Paul as a dominant figure in the woman's suffrage movement. It also talks a lot about the conflict between the NAWSA (National American Woman Suffrage Association)which was fighting slowly for suffrage on a state by state basis, and the Congressional Union turned National Women's Party that fought for votes for women by passage of a federal amendment. The National Womens' Party was radical at the time and snubbed by a lot of women. They used picketing, protest, went to jail, endured hunger strikes, until their goal was reached. It took ten years of organizing but it would have taken a lot longer to go the polite way. The cooperative way. One thing they did was win over Woodrow Wilson. He sided with the NAWSA and said that suffrage should be a state decision. And then they pitted his words against his worldly democratic actions. How can we fight for democracy abroad, when we don't even have democracy at home? Meaning women being second class citizens. This is what I think about daily. With all these modern wars. When so many people in the US are suffering. It makes no sense to humans. It makes no sense to me.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got into this book because my wife and I really like the movie, Iron Jawed Angels, starring Hillary Swank. It documents the story of Alice Paul and her unflagging leadership in pushing for the federal amendment which led to women voting. We enjoyed the movie so much that we bought this book to get a fuller history. Lunardini does an excellent job in taking the reader step by step through the drama leading up to the amendment and beyond. The book is well-documented and thoroughly researched.

[Tari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be informative, in a garbled way. The timeline of events could have been presented in a more consistent manner. It was difficult to keep track of the events as the author would jump back & forth between years from paragraph to paragraph. The final two chapters were the most cohesive. it was extremely gratifying to see Alice Paul & Lucy Burns, as well as the NWP get the recognition they deserved. I found NAWSA's treatment of them deeply disturbing, from a modern woman's perspective.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book! Alice Paul, an unsung heroine of the suffrage movement, should be commemorated the same as Susan B. Anthony.