Iron Jawed Angels Facts

The following facts (word for word) were taken from 50 Facts on Iron Jawed Angels, which was written by the Alice Paul Institute.  They state that their mission is to "educate the public about her life, preserve historic Paulsdale (Alice Paul's birthplace and family home in Mount Laurel), develop future leaders, and work towards achieving women's equality."

1. The suffrage amendment was passed on August 26, 1920 - today known as Women's Equality Day.

2. Alice Paul was an avid athlete playing tennis, field hockey, and basketball while in high school and college.

3. Alice Paul met Lucy Burns at a London police station while waiting to be booked.  Burns was wearing an American flag pun on her lapel and the two struck up a conversation.

4. In the movie, Paul is shown at a bar with Inez Milholland.  In reality, she was a Quaker, and likely did not drink alcohol.

5. Marchers in the suffrage parades wore white with purple, white and gold sashes.  College graduates were encouraged to wear their graduation gowns.

6. Inez Milholland, became known as the "Woman on a Horse," and her image became the logo of the NWP after her death in 1914. She was also the first woman to be given a memorial service in the U.S. Capitol which was attended by over 10,000 mourners.

7. Following the parade, Congress held hearings into the failure of the police to protect the marchers.  The Washington Chief of Police, Richard Sylvester, was dismissed as a result.

8. The American suffrage colors of purple, white and gold could be seen on suffrage banners, clothing, sashes and posters.  Purple stood for loyalty or dignity, white for purity, and gold for enlightenment.

9. The largest anti-suffrage support often came from liquor companies as women, particularly suffragists, were most involved with the temperance movement to outlaw drinking.

10. Many of the suffragists arrested for picketing gave the name "Jane Doe" when booked at the jail.

11. Suffrage prisoners held daily contests of counting worms in their food in an effort to keep up morale among the group.

12. To avoid the nauseating stench within their cells, prisoners, weak from hunger strike, moved their straw sleeping mats to the common area outside of their cells, against the orders of the guards.

13. Prison officials cooked fried chicken outside their cells to break the hunger strikers' spirit.

14. Lucy Burns was arrested and sent to prison six times and spent more time in jail than any other suffragist in America or England.

15. Congressmen wore a yellow rose on their lapels to symbolize support for suffrage, while a red rose symbolized a vote against suffrage.

16. Amelia Earhart was a member of the NWP as was Georgia O' Keefe and Mary McLeod Bethune.

17. The wine glass Alice Paul raised in the picture seen of her toasting in front of the suffrage banner, held grape juice.  Quaker values prohibit alcohol drinking.