Iron Jawed Angels US History
1. What is suffrage?
2. Why did American society resist women's suffrage so strongly for so many decades?
3. . The movie begins in 1912. What was the status of the suffrage movement at that time?
4. When and why did Alice Paul and Lucy Burns break away from NAWSA and form the NWP?
5. How was the death of Inez Mulholland a turning point in the crusade for universal suffrage?
6. What role did African American women play in the struggle?
7. What statement does Ida B. Wells make to Alice Paul? How does Alice Paul Respond?
8. How does the declaration of war in 1917 affect suffragists on the picket line?
9. Were the militant suffragists led by Alice Paul traitors to their country by continuing their protests after the nation went to war? Should they have put their efforts at suffrage on hold during the war emergency as a matter of patriotism?
10. Alice Paul is given a lot of credit for organizing a nonviolent campaign to change American politics and society. However, it could be argued that she had no choice. Miss Paul would have lost the support of American women if she had asked them to turn violent in support of suffrage. Does this argument take anything away from the importance of Miss Paul's commitment to nonviolence? Explain your reasons.
11. What was the importance of nonviolence in the NWP's campaign for a federal suffrage amendment?
12. Where did Alice Paul find the philosophical inspiration for her nonviolent philosophy?
13. People call politicians names all the time and politicians and their supporters just take it in stride. Why did equating President Wilson to the German Kaiser in the "Kaiser Wilson" poster enrage the President and the crowds that assaulted the suffragists?
15. After the suffragists were jailed, how did they protest?
14. A political prisoner is someone who is incarcerated not for criminal activity, but because of his or her political beliefs or activities. The concept was developed in Europe in the 1800s to protect opponents of despotic regimes in Europe. Political prisoners, being different from common criminals, were supposed to be housed in better conditions than existed in most jails. The Wilson administration carefully considered giving the suffragists political prisoner status but ultimately decided that to do so would cause a revolution in American law. Why can't American law tolerate the concept of political prisoners?