The Picketers Attract Attention
As public interest in the movement increased, so did interest in the picketers at the White House. Many came to see the spectacle with both positive and negatives opinions of the women. Many visitors to the White House, including former president Teddy Roosevelt, smiled approvingly at the suffragists as they passed through the gates and some even changed their views of the movement upon seeing the women's fortitude and perseverance. As the war intensified, however, so did the public's disapproval of the women. They were seen as creating an embarrassment for the President during a time of war and international negotiations. The NWP's main focus was to speak out against the President, who they saw as denying them their rights through inaction, therefore, they frequently used their banners to call attention to Wilson's hypocritical speeches promoting democracy. When a delegation of Russian diplomats arrived, having been told of America's universal and equal suffrage, the women held a banner that read "tell our government it must liberate its people before it can claim free Russia as an ally" (Clift, 2003). Wilson had been shamed in front of foreign diplomats who would make a difference in the war effort; this humiliation pushed him take action against the picketers. Throughout the summer of 1917, picketers were arrested regularly. Phony charges of "obstructing traffic" were filed and the women were given the choice of a $25 fine or three days in jail. Contrary to Wilson's hope, the arrests did nothing to discourage the protesters. As more and more women were arrested, the public became involved as well. Protests became violent when onlookers ripped the banners from the women's hands but every day the picketers returned with fresh banners and more enthusiasm. One group of women was sentenced to sixty days in the workhouse for "obstructing traffic," when they paraded in front of the White House on Bastille Day carrying a banner that had the French national motto on it. The media, with help from Alice Paul, immediately began running stories that described life in the workhouse and shocked the upper-class Americans who recognized themselves in the women that had been arrested. As the media backlash increased Wilson knew he must back down and eventually pardoned all of the women in the workhouse (Clift, 2003).
Occoquan Workhouse
The first trip to the workhouse was a preview of what was to come for many women of the NWP. After the pardon by President Wilson, things did not improve for the picketers. Protests became more violent, with onlookers attacking the women who, in turn, received no help from the police. Women had their clothes torn; banners ripped to shreds, and were thrown to the pavement, but with every violent riot came another wave of protesters (Stevens, 1976). Finally, on October 20, 1917, Alice Paul, along with other members of the NWP, was arrested and sent to the Occoquan Workhouse. Conditions in the workhouse were extremely bad. Most of the guards did not hide their contempt for the suffragists and they were not gentle in their handling of them. The women were given little to no privacy and the food was barely edible, often raw salt pork, coffee, and a crust of bread (Clift, 2003). The women in the workhouse, led by Alice Paul, demanded to be given the status of “political prisoners,” this would have entitled them to lawyers, books, writing materials, and better food, however, their requests to speak to a lawyer or to send a message to the authorities were denied by the prison superintendent, Mr. Whitaker. At this, the women conspired to start a hunger strike, deciding that this was the only form of protest they would be able to carry out (Ford).
Removing the Leader
Led by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, the suffragists refused food for several weeks. Lucy Burns was said to have gone without food for three weeks. Finally, believing Alice Paul to be the leader, prison authorities removed her to a psychiatric ward and began force feeding her, and the other women three times a day (Weatherford, 1998). Paul was moved to the psychiatric ward to attempt to discredit her in the eyes of the American people and to intimidate her. She was subjected to violent force feedings and was treated as less than human. In her account of the events Paul recounts a time that she protested having a blood sample taken and the doctor told her “you know you’re not mentally competent to decide such things.” She recalls being woken up every few minutes throughout the night by a harsh light in her face to “observe” her and being made to feel that she was meant to be there. She stated, “everything possible was done to make me feel that I too was a ‘mental patient’” (Stevens, 1976, p. 223). The prison officials tactics for silencing Alice Paul and her supporters did not pay off, outside the prison suffragists echoed Paul's demands: that she, and the other imprisoned women, be treated as political prisoners and given the same rights afforded to them. It seemed that, instead of being frightened by the imprisonment of the women, many suffragists on the outside were infuriated and newly energized. The Washington police continued their policy of arresting picketers and eventually the jails and workhouses were overflowing with imprisoned suffragists (Clift, 2003).
*Suffragist Mary Winsor holding a banner that reads "to ask freedom for women is not a crime, suffrage prisoners should not be treated as criminals" (Harris & Ewing, 1917).
*Suffragist Mary Winsor holding a banner that reads "to ask freedom for women is not a crime, suffrage prisoners should not be treated as criminals" (Harris & Ewing, 1917).
"Night of Terror"
With Alice Paul gone Lucy Burns and Mrs. Lawrence Lewis took up positions of leadership among those left at Occoquan, continuing to argue for their right to be treated as political prisoners and maintaining that their hunger strike would continue until their demands were met. Their treatment by the guards, who were given free reign over the women, became more and more brutal, finally, in a night known as “The Night of Terror,” the women were woken and forcibly removed from their cells, they were violently shoved down a narrow set of stairs into a dark, stone basement; each woman was thrown into a dirty, stone cell. Many were bruised and bloodied and none were given any information about what was going on. Mrs. Lewis recalled a quote from a guard as he jerked her into her cell, “Damned Suffrager! My mother ain’t no Suffrager! I will put you through hell!” (Stevens, 1976, p. 197). She was knocked unconscious as her head hit the iron bed she was thrown onto, another woman suffered a heart attack when she was thrown into her cell. The women pleaded for medical attention but were ignored and told they would be put in straightjackets if they were not quiet. Finally, Lucy Burns, the loudest of the protesters, was handcuffed to the bars of her cell with her arms above her head. The other women assumed the same position out of support for Burns' suffering, she, and the other women were left in the dark, with no food or water for the entire night (Clift, 2003). The "Night of Terror," is just one incident that shows how much the prison authorities feared the suffragists. Throughout their imprisonment authorities made every attempt to discredit them and dissuade them from their convictions. They were separated from each other and then each was told that the others had given up their strike (Stevens, 1976); when this did not work, the guards switched to a tactic of fear and intimidation. The Occoquan Workhouse incident was proof that the suffrage movement was gaining traction. The only reason for the guards terrorism toward the women was their own fear that the movement might be successful.
Release
The women remained in prison, in this nightmarish scenario for weeks, until information began to leak out about the terrible acts of torture being practiced there. The superintendent, Mr. Whitaker, feared the retributions if the public were to see the state of the suffragists. He would not allow any visitors to them, eventually, a lawyer for the National Women's Party forced his way in and was appalled at what he saw; afterwards, he immediately began working on plans to get the women out of prison. Finally, he was able to force the government, through a writ of habeas corpus, to bring the women to trial and show evidence for why they were arrested. When the trial commenced everyone in the courtroom was shocked by the condition of the women. They had not eaten in weeks and most were too weak to stand unaided, many still had bruises and scars from “The Night of Terror,” and it was obvious that all had been victims of terrible treatment. Upon seeing their states the judge took almost no time to rule that their sentences were illegal. He sent them to the district jail where they resumed their hunger strike until the government finally acknowledged defeat and, on November 27, released all the suffragists (Clift, 2003).
*Suffragist Kate Heffelfinger being helped to walk after her release from Occoquan Workhouse (Library of Congress, 1917).
*Suffragist Kate Heffelfinger being helped to walk after her release from Occoquan Workhouse (Library of Congress, 1917).