Part of a series of articles titled Teaching Justice.
Article
Teaching Justice: Suffrage Prisoners Banner
Harris and Ewing, photographers. National Woman's Party collection, The Library of Congress
Grade Level
This activity is designed for fifth grade (ages 10-11)
Anti-Bias Objectives
Action
Students will:
- Express empathy when people are excluded or mistreated because of their identities and conern when they themselves experience bias.
- Recognize thir own responsibility to stand up to exclusion, prejudice, and injustice.
- Speak up with courage and respect when they or someone else has been hurt or wronged by bias.
- Make principled decisions about when and how to take a stand against bias and injustice in their everyday lives and will do so despite negative peer or group pressure.
Guiding Question
Have you ever spoken out when you saw someone mistreated?
Beginning in January 1917, the National Woman's Party organized a daily protest at the White House. The protesters, known as "Silent Sentinels" stood outside the gates of the president's house holding banners asking Woodrow Wilson to support an amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit states from denying women the right to vote. After the United States entered World War I, many people were angry that the suffragists continued the protest. The picketers were accused of being unpatriotic because they were criticizing the president during wartime. Police ordered the women to stop picketing. When the women refused, they were arrested and sent to jail. Over 150 women served time in prison for the protest.
Mary Winsor was one of the suffragists who was arrested. She served a 60 day sentence in the Occoquan Workhouse prison for picketing. She also served 10 days for being present at another protest in Lafayette Square, near the White House . While in prison, many women were kept from speaking with their families and lawyers, fed rotten food, and even beaten.The suffragists spoke out about how they were treated. In this photo, Mary Winsor holds a sign arguing that the women should not be arrested for exercising their First Amendment right to protest.
picket: standing outside of a location to protest or try to convince others to support a cause
sentinel: a guard whose job is to stand and keep watch
suffrage: the right to vote
suffragist: a person who works for the right to vote, especially for women
Mary Winsor was one of the suffragists who was arrested. She served a 60 day sentence in the Occoquan Workhouse prison for picketing. She also served 10 days for being present at another protest in Lafayette Square, near the White House . While in prison, many women were kept from speaking with their families and lawyers, fed rotten food, and even beaten.The suffragists spoke out about how they were treated. In this photo, Mary Winsor holds a sign arguing that the women should not be arrested for exercising their First Amendment right to protest.
Vocabulary
amendment: a change, especially to a document like the Constitutionpicket: standing outside of a location to protest or try to convince others to support a cause
sentinel: a guard whose job is to stand and keep watch
suffrage: the right to vote
suffragist: a person who works for the right to vote, especially for women
Think About It
- Why do you think the suffragists were arrested?
- How does the message on Mary Winsor's banner make you feel?
- When have you been treated unfairly? How did you respond?
Additional Resources
NPS LinksArticle Series: The Suffrage "Prison Special" Tour
National Woman's Party Protests During World War I
Alice Paul's Crusade
Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the Battles for Liberty
Other resources
Bold and Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote by Kirsten Gillibrand. Illustrated by Maira Kalman
She Resisted: Strategies of Suffrage Interactive from PBS's "The Vote"
Last updated: November 2, 2021