There are many women in history attributed to the suffrage movement and women’s rights. From generation to generation, women have stood on the shoulders of the women before them fighting for equality. It only makes sense that some of those women make the list of the 100 Greatest Women On Coins as published by Whitman Publishing. Along with author Ron Guth, we will take a closer look at a woman who was influential in gaining presidential support for the 19th Amendment.
#68 - Alice Paul
Born in Moorestown, New Jersey, in 1885, Alice Stokes Paul earned a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Swarthmore College, a Master of Arts in sociology, a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and a law degree from the American University. Highly educated, it was her time spent in England between 1907 and 1910 that brought her to a radical brand of feminism unlike anything she had ever witnessed. Inspired by the Pankhurst sisters, she made her way back to America and in 1913 helped organize a Women’s Suffrage march the day before President-elect Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration. Hundreds of thousands attended the march and national publicity was given as a result of the police breaking it up.
Alice’s efforts resulted in her being arrested several times during her political career, using her treatment in prison as fuel to the fire when gaining public attention and sympathy. Her go-to tactic was to go on a hunger strike which normally ended with her being force fed. She was a relentless leader and her followers followed suit. Finally in 1918, the United States Congress would take up an amendment that gave women the right to vote. By 1920, the 19th Amendment became an official law. She continued to fight for equal rights even after the 19th Amendment was passed and even focused her attention on the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Even though she had no connection to the 21st President of the United States, Chester Arthur, she appeared on the First Spouse coin in 2012 and the connected First Spouse medal. In fact, her only connection to the late President is that she was born the last year of his presidential term. She appears on the obverse with short hair and a steady gaze. The reverse of the coin depicts a suffragette with an American flag over her right shoulder during a march with a sash on reading “Votes for Women.”
Guth says collecting the Alice Paul First Spouse coin is easy and they are readily available.