Alice Paul Biography

Alice Paul was an early 20th century women’s rights activist who played a key role in the women’s suffrage movement that led to the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. Born into a Quaker family, she had a comfortable upbringing. Her parents were strong supporters of gender equality and her mother was a member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Growing up, she imbibed her parents’ values, principles and beliefs which were reflected in her life’s work. From a young age she believed that one should do whatever they could for the betterment of the society. She was a very well-educated woman—rare in the early 20th century America—who used her knowledge and intelligence to fight for the rights of women less fortunate than herself. While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, she became a member of the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA). She went on to form the National Woman’s Party (NWP) with Lucy Burns to fight for women’s rights, especially women’s suffrage. The NWP staged protests in a non-violent manner, and Paul went on a hunger strike in an attempt to persuade the government to bring about an amendment in the legislature allowing women to vote. Their efforts eventually resulted in the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.