• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

 Homepage

100 Years of Votes for Women

  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • About Suffrage100MA
    • Suffrage100MA History
    • Women’s Equality National Monument
  • Suffrage100MA Partners
  • Resources
    • Suffrage Centennial Resources
    • The Suffrage Centennial Display Panel Project
      • Commonwealth Museum Tour
    • Did You Know?
      • The Boston Protest of 1919
      • Featured Suffragists
        • Ida B. Wells
        • Alice Paul
        • Sojourner Truth
        • Jeannette Rankin
        • Elizabeth Cady Stanton
      • Silent Sentinels
      • Suffragist or Suffragette?
      • Women’s Rights Quiz
  • Events
    • Massachusetts Blue Bird Day July 19
    • Women’s Equality Day at the Swan Boats
      • Women’s Equality Day 2019
        • Women’s Equality Day 2019 Invitation
        • Women’s Equality Day 2019 Slideshow
    • Suffrage Centennial Kickoff Celebration
      • Suffrage Centennial Kickoff Invitation
      • Suffrage Centennial Kickoff Celebration Slideshow
      • Suffrage Centennial Kickoff Celebration Video Clips
    • I Want to Go to Jail
    • Film Screenings
      • The Divine Order
      • Hidden Figures
      • Suffragette
      • Iron Jawed Angels
    • Forums and Presentations
      • I Want to Go to Jail
      • The Equal Rights Amendment, Why Now?
      • The Woman Behind the New Deal
      • Women’s Leadership Forum
      • A Woman’s Place Is at the Top
    • Marches and Rallies
      • Suffrage100MA Joins Boston March
  • Vote
    • Vote
    • Vote 2020!
  • News and Media
    • Newsletters and Letters
    • Suffrage100MA in the News
    • Press Releases
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
    • Donation History
      • Donation Confirmation
      • Donation Failed
  • Calendar
You are here: Home / Resources / Did You Know? / Silent Sentinels

Silent Sentinels

November 17, 2017 By Karen Price

Over one hundred years ago, beginning in January 1917, a group of suffragists organized by Alice Paul and the National Woman’s Party became the first group ever to protest in front of the White House. Their goal was to convince President Woodrow Wilson to support publicly an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would guarantee a woman’s right to vote. Efforts to achieve the vote had been ongoing for almost 70 years.

The protesters were called Silent Sentinels, because they protested without speaking a word six days a week, for hours on end. Throughout a two-year vigil, nearly 2,000 women picketed; hundreds were arrested, and many were jailed, beaten, went on hunger strikes, were force-fed and horribly and unjustly treated by local and U.S. authorities.

On February 24, 1919, twenty-two Massachusetts women were arrested and most were imprisoned in Boston’s Charles Street Jail for protesting during President Wilson’s arrival at the Massachusetts State House. President Wilson was visiting Boston upon his return to the U.S. after his trip to the Paris Peace Conference, which formally ended WWI.

Finally, on June 4, 1919, both houses of Congress adopted the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Only 21 days later, on June 25, 1919, Massachusetts was the eighth state to ratify the amendment. Three-quarters of the 48 states were required for ratification; when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify, the 19th Amendment was adopted on August 26, 1920.

The Women’s Suffrage Celebration Coalition of Massachusetts (WSCC) is dedicated to commemorating and celebrating the upcoming 100th anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. The WSCC is planning a variety of commemoration events and activities to take place in Massachusetts in 2019 and 2020.

Read more about Alice Paul and the other Featured Suffragists!

Filed Under: Did You Know?

Footer

Stay in Touch with Suffrage100MA -
Subscribe to Our Mailing List

Support Suffrage100MA

Help Suffrage100MA commemorate the
centennial of the 19th Amendment.

Stay in Touch with Suffrage100MA -
Follow Us!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Contact Us

Copyright © 2021 · Women's Suffrage Celebration Coalition · Site by Tech-Tamer· Log in