Alice Paul was an American suffragist who was one of the leaders of the movement for women's rights in the United States. She was also the first woman to pass a resolution through Congress.
Paul was born on June 7, 1885 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was among the first generation of women to go to college and pursue careers in science, medicine, law, and other fields. She received her bachelor's degree at Vassar College in 1904 and her master's degree at Columbia University in 1907
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Paul taught school for six years before becoming involved with the cause of women's suffrage.
Paul worked as a volunteer organizer for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) for 10 months leading up to 1913, when she became an officer. She helped organize demonstrations at the White House and other political events; she also spoke publicly about her beliefs that women should be given more rights.
In 1912, Paul attended the International Council of Women (ICW), where she met Alice Paulos (later known as Alice Paul), an executive secretary for the ICW who had been active in promoting voting rights for women since 1907.
Shortly after becoming involved with NAWSA, Paul was elected president of its New Jersey chapter. The next year she was elected president of the national organization.
During this time she expanded NAWSA's membership and worked to make it more effective politically.
In 1913 NAWSA moved its headquarters from Boston to Washington D.C., where it did much of its organizing work through Congressional hearings and lobbying for legislation that would give women more voting rights.
Paul made several trips to Washington during this time, testifying before Congressional committees about why suffrage was necessary and how it would benefit society. When World War I began she helped organize the Women's Patriotic Committee, which raised $300 million for war relief funds by selling Liberty Bonds at auction every day from November 6–10, 1917—the week before women received the right to vote nationally on November 8, 1917.
She also helped bring together 30 other national organizations to create the Woman's Peace Party in 1917; that same year she ran unsuccessfully as a Republican candidate for Congress against James Whelpley (D-Illinois).
Paul continued her work while working full-time as an executive secretary at NAWSA until 1921 when she resigned to devote herself full-time to suffrage activities while continuing her work with NAWSA part-time until 1923 when she became