Suffrage in 60 Seconds: Forward Into Light

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In 1922 Alice Paul penned the article in the Washington Times "Women Will Be Real Equals In 2023,"

so there's still time. In this article Alice wrote, "My hope for women 100 years from now is that they no longer will be subject to men in law or custom, that they no longer will be regarded or regard themselves as inferiors. Before 2023 women will comprise half of the membership of Congress. If women use their opportunity, the world a hundred years from now will be as if a new creation has been achieved." It was Alice Paul's dream for Americans in the future to live in a truly equal society where every vote counts. 100 years later are we equal?

What work still needs to be accomplished today? And if you could write a letter to the future just as Alice Paul did, what would you say? What are your hopes and dreams for them? Let us know in the comments or send us an email to bepa underscore info at nps.gov. We'd love to hear what you have to say and your letter to the future just might be featured in an upcoming video. As we commemorate the ratification of the 19th amendment, it has been an incredible journey learning about the lives of women who sacrificed everything so that women today could vote.

We hope that their sacrifices help us consider those who march before us and those who still march today. May we always work together to move forward into light. Thank you.

Duration:

2 minutes

If you could write a letter to the women of the future, what would you say? After winning the fight for the 19th Amendment, Alice Paul did just that when she published the article "Women Will be Real Equals in 2023." Read the text below.

A section of the article "Women Will Be Real Equals in 2020" by Alice Paul from The Washington Times newspaper

December 28, 1922, LATE FINANCIAL, Page 24, Image 24. The Library of Congress

Women Will Be Real Equals in 2023

Alice Paul Predicts Bright Future for Sex Through Feminist Revolt
What effect will modern feminism have on the course of history for the next 100 years? The Washington Times has asked an eminent feminist, Alice Paul, to contribute to the series by prominent men and women on the world in 2023. At least one effect of feminism will be to make a woman president of the United States, says Miss Paul.

by ALICE PAUL
Directing Head, National Woman's Party

It will not require one hundred years to elect a woman President of the United States. Before 2023 we will see a woman in the White House as chief executive of the nation and women will comprise half of the membership of Congress.
Throughout the ages, the oppression of women, as a sex, has existed. Once having freed themselves from the restrictions to which they have so long submitted and that have made them subject creatures since the beginning of history, women will have the opportunity to revolutionize the world. If they use their opportunity, the world a hundred years from now will be as if a new creation had been achieved.

Real Equals Soon

My hope for women one hundred years from now is that they no longer will be subject to men in law or custom, that they no longer will be regarded or regard themselves as inferiors, that they no longer will be the governed half of society, but will participate equally with men in the direction of life.
My hope is that one hundred years from now the world will no longer be a man's world, but a woman's and man's world with each sex participating equally in the control of government, of family, and of industry.

Changes in Morals

Legislation by sex will then be considered as undemocratic as legislation by creed or color. There will be a single moral standard. There will be no sex in work, but every occupation open to women and restrictions upon the hours, conditions, and remuneration of labor will apply alike to both sexes. Women will be able to enter the priesthood, the ministry and any position of authority in the church on an equal basis with men. Women as well as men will represent our country abroad in the diplomatic service.
The great changes in marriage that will take place within a hundred years will, I believe, establish a woman as a separate identity after marriage, able to contract with her husband regarding the marriage relationship. She will no longer be treated in law as dependent upon her husband for support, but the mutual contribution of husband and wife to the family maintenance will be recognized.

For more about the ongoing struggle for women's equality, read "Beyond 1920: The Legacies of Woman Suffrage" by Liette Gidlow.