The Turning Point Suffragist Memorial and the companion website Suffragist Memorial records the history in detail. For more information and details of the conditions the suffragist encountered while imprisoned, I recommend a visit to the The Lucy Burns Museum in the nearby in the Workhouse Arts Center.
The Turning Point Suffragist Memorial
The Turning Point Suffragist Memorial is located in Occoquan Regional Park, Fairfax County, Virginia, part of the historic prison grounds where the infamous Occoquan Workhouse was located. Scores of Silent Sentinel suffragists aged 19 to 73 were unjustly imprisoned there and were humiliated, kept in inhumane conditions, locked in solitary confinement, and severely beaten. When word leaked out, it was the Turning Point in the battle for suffrage.
Alice Paul's Leadership
Alice Paul and Lucy Burns formed Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage (CU) in 1913. The CU became the National Woman’s Party (NWP) in 1916. In 1917, the NWP began a new tactic that proved to be extremely powerful in changing public sentiment: picketing the White House. For over two years, Alice Paul coordinated an ongoing demonstration in front of the White House gate. Thousands of women from across the country stood quietly in front of the White House, no matter the weather. They held banners for the President and everyone else to see. “Mr. President: How Long Must Women Wait for Liberty?” one pointedly asked. Another read, “Mr. President: What Will You Do for Woman Suffrage?”
The White House Picketing and Turning Point
Beginning in June, 1917 until early 1919, over two hundred women from twenty-six states were arrested on charges such as “obstructing traffic.” Refusing to admit guilt or pay any imposed fines, the women were imprisoned in Occoquan Workhouse in Lorton, Virginia or the District of Columbia Jail. They demanded to be treated as political prisoners. Instead, they were met with violence, forcibly handled by guards, pushed and thrown into cold unsanitary and rat-infested cells. In response to this treatment, Alice Paul led the women in protest, refusing to eat. Hunger strikes became a normal occurrence as more and more women were imprisoned. Not wanting to allow any woman to become a martyr for the cause, prison officials brutally forced food down their throats. Their harsh treatment was reported widely in the papers, raising the public’s awareness of what women they had admired were willing to endure to win the vote.
The Triumph of Suffrage and Push on for Equal Rights
In 1920, the 72-year struggle ended with the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the “Susan B. Anthony” Amendment, granting women the vote. Paul believed that the vote was just the first step in women’s quest for full equality. In 1922, she reorganized the NWP with the goal of eliminating all discrimination against women. In 1923 Paul wrote the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), also known as the Lucretia Mott Amendment, and launched what would be for her a life-long campaign to win full equality for women. The current version of the ERA reads: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States on account of sex.” Congress passed the ERA in 1972. Virginia became the 38th and final state to ratify the amendment in 2020, but it has not yet been formally adopted as part of the Constitution. For over fifty years, the ERA has been introduced in every session of Congress.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. – Nineteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Certified August 26, 1920
Requirements to claim cache:
Please answer the following questions to claim credit for this cache by messaging to my profile. In addition, post a picture of yourself (or some personal item) next to Alice Paul and include it in your log.
- Waypoint 1: The bronze life-size status of Alice Paul greets visitors as they enter the memorial. What two words are on the back of the sign she is carrying?
- Waypoint 2: What are the three colors of the National Women's Party flag?
Content source:
From <https://suffragistmemorial.org/>
From <https://suffragistmemorial.org/suffrage-history/>
From <https://www.workhousearts.org/lucy-burns-museum>
The memorial is maintained by NOVA Parks. For information and tours: www.turningpointsuffragistmemorial.org
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