Suffragists and a Courtroom Decision in Alexandria (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Suffragists and a Courtroom Decision in Alexandria
Alexandria Heritage Trail
— City of Alexandria, est. 1749 —

The Alexandria Custom House stood here in 1917. Built in 1858, the third floor of the three-story granite building housed the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. On November 27, 1917, a hearing in that courtroom would play a role in achieving the ratification of the 19th Amendment to to the United States Constitution on August 18, 1920 — guaranteeing a woman's right to vote.

That November, American women suffragists had been arrested for the "offense" of allegedly "blocking traffic" on the wide Pennsylvania Avenue sidewalk in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. They were picketing to demand enfranchisement for women. Calling themselves the Silent Sentinels, these women were there nearly everyday rain or shine. They wore distinctive white, gold, and purple sashes and held banners asking, "Mr. President How Long Must Women Wait for Liberty?" When the demonstrators were arrested, the 32 prisoners — many past the age of 60 — were sent to the District of Columbia Workhouse at Occoquan, Virginia, 18 miles south of Alexandria. Suffragists often faced arrest but the experiences of these women at Occoquan would galvanize the call for change.

"The responsibility for an agitation like ours against injustice rests with those who deny justice, not those who demand it."
— Occoquan Prisoner, Suffragist Eunice Brannan, 1917

[Sidebar:]
"Night of Terror" and a Writ of Habeas Corpus
Some of the Silent Sentinel prisoners, including Lucy Burns and Dora Lewis, refused to eat the workhouse's worm-laden food. On day seven of their confinement, they were force fed by prison officials. Lewis wrote that five people seized her, held her down and the doctor forced a tube down her throat, "(was) gasping and suffocating with the agony of it."

The cruelty included the infamous "Night of Terror" on November 14, 1917. Several women prisoners were threatened, beaten, and hurled against walls and floors. Suffragist Lucy Burns was forced to stand all night with her arms shackled to the ceiling of her cell. News of the "Night of Terror" sparked protests across the country.

On November 17, Judge Edmund Waddill, Jr., in the U.S. District Court at Richmond, Virginia, ordered a writ of habeas corpus seeking the release of the suffragists undergoing the harsh treatment at Occoquan. Judge Waddill set the hearing for November 27 in Alexandria. As the suffragists filed into the Alexandria courtroom, spectators were shocked at their condition. Many of the women were so weak they had to lie on the courtroom benches. The judge ruled in favor of the suffragists, saying they could be paroled pending appeal.

Most of the Silent Sentinels insisted on serving out the remainder of their sentences in the Washington District Jail. Six of the suffragists appealed and were vindicated in March 1918 when their conviction was reversed by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

[Captions:]
Lucy Burns in her Occoquan cell, November 1917

National Women's Party (NWP) activist Dora Lewis (wrapped in a blanket) is shown after her release from the Occoquan Workhouse. The NWP, founded by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns in 1916, organized the Silent Sentinels protests outside the White House, 1917-1919. It joined earlier organizations, such as the National Woman Suffrage Association and American Woman Suffrage Association, both found in 1869, to advocate for change. African American activists, barred from these groups, began organizing on their own in the 1880s. The National Association of Colored Women created the motto, "Lifting as We Climb," advocating for women's rights as "uplifting" and improving the status of all African Americans.

The Custom House in Alexandria, Virginia, circa 1919. It was designed by Ammi B. Young, built in 1858, and enlarged around 1903. It was demolished circa 1930.

The Silent Sentinels picket the White House. The term "Suffragist" was used in the United States to describe mostly peaceful advocates of women's enfranchisement. "Suffragette" usually referred to sometimes more militant protesters in Great Britain.

NWP activist Kate Heffelfinger following release from the Occoquan Workhouse. The 19th Amendment, ratified August 18, 1920, enfranchised nearly 26 million American women in time for the 1920 U.S. Presidential election on November 2. In Alexandria, "fully three-fourths of the …[women] qualified took part in the eletion," according to the Alexandria Gazette. Although Virginia women gained the right to vote when the 19th Amendment became law, it was 32 years (February 21, 1952) before the Virginia General Assembly ratified the Amendment.

Erected by the City of Alexandria; marker sponsored by Alexandria Celebrates Women.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Clio Foundation website about this historical marker as written by Ben M.:

Introduction:
This historical marker commemorates an important event in the history of women's suffrage in the United States. It is located where the U.S. District Courthouse for the Eastern District, which was built in 1858, once stood. Here, on November 27, 1917, U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Waddill ruled that the suffragists who were imprisoned at the Occoquan Workhouse in Lorton, Virginia could be paroled pending appeal. They had been arrested for protesting at the White House and were accused of blocking traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue. The ruling occurred after the harsh treatment the women suffered at Occoquan became public, particularly the "Night of Terror" of November 14, 1917 during which many of the prisoners were beaten and thrown against the walls. The political fallout of the women's experience at Occoquan was enormous and a significant event that led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920, which grants any citizen the right to vote regardless of gender.

Backstory and Context:
The road to the 19th amendment was a long one, beginning in the mid-1800s when western states began to grant women the right to vote. Other states followed suit and many suffragists began to call for an amendment to enshrine the right in the Constitution. When Woodrow Wilson was elected president in 1913, women had high hopes he would support their demand for an amendment. This is not surprising given that during his campaign Wilson stated "...freedom cannot come until women as well as men are given the right to vote." He declined to work toward this goal, however, during his first term (he, in fact, privately opposed it).

On January 9, 1917, before Wilson's second inauguration in March, suffragist leaders gathered in Washington D.C. and devised a plan to silently protest at the White House every day. The first protest occurred the next day when a group of about a dozen "Silent Sentinels" marched to the White House wearing warm clothes and donning purple, white, and gold sashes. They held signs saying "Mr. President, what will you do for women's suffrage" and "How long must women wait for liberty?" President Wilson saw the women but ignored them as his car entered the White House grounds. This was the first time a protest of this kind had occurred at the White House. Not all suffragists supported the Silent Sentinels, arguing that protesting this way was too brazen. Nevertheless, the Silent Sentinels continued in all types of weather.

The U.S. entrance into World War I in April changed the dynamic between the Silent Sentinels and the public and law enforcement. Some considered any protest as a sign of disloyalty to the country. People came to watch the protesters; some took and destroyed their banners, and others physically attacked the women. Police began to arrest them on charges including unlawful assembly, blocking traffic, and disorderly conduct. The jail time and fines they faced became harsher as time went on, and some chose jail sentences over paying fines. The women were taken to the Washington District Jail at first but eventually were sent to Occoquan. By September, 24 women were imprisoned at Occoquan and more would be taken there in November including suffragist leader Alice Paul.

They were treated harshly and Paul began a hunger strike shortly after she arrived. After refusing food for three days, she was strapped down and force fed milk and raw eggs. Another suffragist sent to Occoquan around this time was Lucy Burns, who had been arrested previously on a number of occasions but was sentenced to six months at Occoquan (she spent the most time in jail out of all the suffragists). On the evening of November 14, the "Night of Terror," Burns was forced to stand all night with her hands shackled to the ceiling after she refused to stop a roll call to check on the other prisoners. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, suffered a heart attack and threw up all night. The guards struck, dragged, and kicked the women as well. The next day, 16 other women began hunger strikes in protest.

On the 17, Judge Waddill ordered a writ of habeas corpus to release the women and set the hearing for the 27. They attended the hearing but many had become so weak that they had to lie on the courtroom benches. Waddill ruled in their favor and most were released that day or the next; however, some requested they finish their sentences at the Washington District Jail. Six of the women appealed their sentences and in March the next year, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals overturned their convictions.

The treatment of the women had been widely discussed in the press for months and Night of Terror angered many and galvanized support for women's suffrage. President Wilson, recognizing that his anti-suffrage views might cost him seats in Congress, had softened his stance on the issue. It appears that the news of the Night of Terror changed his opinion entirely and made him a supporter of the suffrage movement. In December during an annual address to Congress, he argued for the women's right to vote saying “the least tribute we can pay them is to make them the equals of men in political rights as they have proved themselves their equals in every field of practical work they have entered, whether for themselves or for their country.” The next day, Wilson voiced his support for a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote.

It would take until 1919, however, for Congress to pass the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, as it was called. Suffragists continued to protest and pressure states to ratify it (three-fourths of the states are required to ratify a constitutional amendment). On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, which was officially certified on August 26. Virginia did not ratify the amendment until 1952.