The theme of the President General’s Project, Our Legacy in Bloom, calls on all Daughters to honor the good women who came before us and to carry their light proudly into our nation’s 250th anniversary—and beyond.

Alice Stokes Paul stands as a powerful example of a Daughter whose courage and determination helped change the course of American history. Born in New Jersey in 1885, Paul earned degrees from Swarthmore College and pursued advanced studies in sociology, political science, and economics. After studying abroad and witnessing the women’s suffrage movement in England, she returned to the United States determined to secure voting rights for American women.

Joining the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1912, Paul quickly emerged as a bold and effective leader. She organized parades, public demonstrations, and other highly visible campaigns that brought national attention to the cause of women’s suffrage.

A member of the Mary Washington Chapter, Washington, D.C., Paul participated in what may have been the first political protest to picket outside the White House in 1917. Arrested and imprisoned at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia, she endured force-feedings, beatings, and other harsh treatment while leading a hunger strike in support of women’s voting rights. A physician at Occoquan reportedly observed that she possessed “a spirit like Joan of Arc” and predicted that she would never give up.

He was right.

Paul’s perseverance helped build support for the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in 1920. She also helped ensure that future generations would remember the movement’s leaders, famously referring to the amendment as the “Anthony Amendment” in honor of Susan B. Anthony.

Alice Stokes Paul reminds us that lasting change often begins with the courage of one determined individual. To help ensure the legacy of Daughters like Alice Stokes Paul continues to bloom for generations to come, please support the President General’s Project.