What’s in a (Danish) Name?

When I give programs about The Legacy or The Claim, I frequently receive questions about why so many Danes have last names ending in ‘–sen’ even though most of my Danish characters do not. I posted this blog several years ago, but I’m reposting it today because it answers these questions. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

    Have you ever wondered why so many Danish surnames end in “sen?” Unless you have Danish ancestors, probably not. But the reason lies in a naming tradition that is not exclusive to Denmark.

    In the very-olden days, when the population was small and no official records were kept, most people had only one name such as Hans or Jens. As the population grew, many people were given the same names. To distinguish between the many who were named Hans, they added a descriptor such as Hans the baker as opposed the Hans the crook. These descriptors applied only to the individual, not to that person’s family.

     Surnames were initially used only by nobility and wealthy land owners, and they were usually based on where they lived, what they did for a living, a personal characteristic, or a parent’s (usually the father’s) name. This last option, known as Patronymics, became popular especially in the rural areas, which encompassed much of Denmark.

     The way Patronymic surnames work is to combine a person’s fathers’ first name and the word for son, sen, or the word for daughter, datter. So if you are a girl, your name is Inga, and your father’s first name is Jens, your full name would be Inga Jensdatter. If you are male, your name is Erik, and your father’s first name is Thor, your full name would be Erik Thorsen. Up until the mid 1800’s, patronymics were the most common type of surnames.

     As the population continued to grow, this naming scheme became problematic. Only one generation had the same the same surname, which made determination of familial lines in government records impossible. In 1828, a decree was issued, declaring that all families should have a permanent surname. However, especially in rural areas, it took many years to abolish the custom of patronymic surnames.

     In the 1850’s, people living in cities began taking permanent surnames that were not patronymics. Elsewhere, it was common for families to adopt a patronymic as a permanent surname.

     In 1904. a law was passed to allow people to change their patronymic family name to a more individual name. However, names ending in “sen’ are still predominant in Denmark.

     I am half-Danish. My mother’s family history inspired THE LEGACY. Neither of her grandfathers had a patronymic surname, but my married surname is Knudsen (Son of Knud). When I began writing, I knew I was going to choose a pen name that was easier to spell and easier to pronounce. My name is frequently misspelled as Knudson, Knutson, Knutsen, Kuntson, and so on. And then there is the dilemma, do you or don’t you pronounce the ‘K’? We do. Most people don’t. Why would they? Probably the most common English word beginning with ‘kn’ is ‘know.’ In Denmark, the ‘K’ is pronounced, but the ‘d’ is silent.

    When it came to choosing my pseudonym, I wanted something family-related, easy to spell, and easy to pronounce. I also wanted something that would reflect the women in my family. So I chose ‘Ann,’ the first 3 letters of my mother’s first name, ‘Mar,’ the first 3 letters of my first name, and ‘Kim,’ the first 3 letters of my daughter’s first name. All together it is Ann Markim. 

Do you know the derivation and meaning of your name? 

What kind of problems, if any, does your name cause you?

Ann Markim

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How Homesteaders Shaped the West

    With a stroke of his pen, on May 20, 1862 Abraham Lincoln opened millions of federally owned lands in the American west for settlement. On that day, he signed the Homestead Act into law. Carl Sandburg referred to this statute as offering "a farm free to any man who wanted to put a plow into unbroken sod."  Consistent with the prevailing philosophy of eminent domain, the Homestead Act had two main goals: to give the government a way to sell off its land to ordinary citizens, and to assure that the land would be used in an economically efficient manner.

Homestead Act - National Archives

      Citizens and immigrants who had applied for citizenship were eligible to file a claim to 160 acres of surveyed federal land as long as they had never borne arms against the United States government. Additionally, applicants had to be a “head of family” or, if single, at least 21 years of age. Thus, the Act was egalitarian in that it allowed Blacks, former slaves, immigrants, and some women a chance to find success in the western lands. Women who were single, widowed, divorced, or deserted were eligible, but those who were married were discriminated against for claiming land in their own name unless they could prove that they were the heads of their households.

Homestead Application - National Archives

     Once the government designated territory as available, homesteaders found a plot of land and filed their claims at the regional land office. They paid a filing fee of $18, which consisted of $10 to make a temporary claim on the land, $2 for commission to the land agent, and a $6 payment to receive an official title. To earn this final title, settlers had to live for five continuous years on the land. Union soldiers could reduce this residency requirement by an amount of time equal to their time of service in the Civil War. Settlers also had to build a house, at least twelve by fourteen feet, on the land and cultivate at least ten acres. Two neighbors or friends had to attest to the government that these requirements had been fulfilled. Land titles could also be purchased from the government for $1.25 per acre following six months of proven residency.

     Thousands of women claimed free land in the Great Plains. The majority of female homesteaders were young and single, looking for adventure and/or independence, and seeking personal financial gain.  

Woman's Claim in Broken Bow, NE - Library of Congress

     Several years ago, I researched women in nontraditional roles in the late nineteenth century for a novel I was writing. Since then, this topic has intrigued me and I have included it in two of my stories. The main character in my current work-in-progress is a woman who homesteads in South Dakota. In a previous novel, one of my secondary female characters claimed title to a homestead in Wyoming.

     Between 1862 and 1916, a series of laws were passed to provide incentives for people to move west. Collectively, these laws are referred to as the Homestead Acts.

      In the 1870s, racism in the Reconstruction South spurred many former slaves to move north and west, taking advantage of the Homestead Act. Before the Civil War, Kansas had a reputation of supporting abolition, making it an attractive destination for many southern blacks who expected to find freedom and justice there.  Former slaves who settled in Kansas were called “exodusters,” and the migration was referred to as the “Great Exodus.” Blacks considered their movement to be similar to the Hebrews’ journey across the desert from slavery to freedom in the Book of Exodus.

"Exodusters" - Library of Congress

     Both black and white leaders in the South encouraged this migration. In the decade from 1869 to 1879, 27,000 blacks moved to Kansas and several exclusively black settlements emerged. An article in an 1879 issue of the Topeka Colored Citizen declared, “Our advice…to the people of the South, Come West, Come to Kansas…in order that you may be free from the persecution of the rebels. If blacks come here and starve, all well. It is better to starve to death in Kansas than to be shot and killed in the South.”

      In 1887, the Dawes Severalty Act was passed. The aim of this law was to break up Indian reservation holdings as well as the tribes themselves by inducing them to integrate into the general society.  Under the provisions of this statute, tribal lands were broken up into 160-acre allotments, and any individual who agreed to claim a plot and leave reservation lands would become an American citizen. Congressman Henry Dawes believed this act had a “civilizing effect on Indians because it forced them to cultivate land, live in European-inspired houses, ride in Studebaker wagons…(and) own property.” 

Native Americans were Pressured to Assimilate - National Park Service

       This law was stacked against the Native Americans. As a result, they lost land holdings and the bargaining power of tribes was diminished. Additionally, many individuals who had taken homestead plots lacked funds to buy the tools and supplies they needed for farming start-up so they went into debt and eventually lost their claims to speculators.

     Life on a homestead was difficult, no matter the claimant’s race, gender or background. Many settlers had little previous farming experience, and homesteaders had to supply their own farming tools, which could involve considerable expense. Prairie fires, strong winds, harsh weather extremes, plagues of grasshoppers and prolonged droughts could destroy an entire year’s worth of crops. On the open grasslands, first homes often had to be built out of sod due to a lack of trees and the cost of shipping in lumber. Failures were common, with many homesteaders declaring bankruptcy or simply abandoning the land claim.

       Homesteading declined significantly in 1934 with the passage of the Taylor Grazing Act, which regulated grazing on federal public lands. By then, approximately 270 million acres were claimed and farmed under the Homestead Act. 

     In his 1962 message to Congress on conservation, President John F. Kennedy stated, "One hundred years ago the Congress passed the Homestead Act, probably the single greatest stimulus to national development ever enacted."

     The Homestead Act and its impact on the United States is celebrated at the Homestead National Historical Park in Beatrice, Nebraska. More information can be found on their website: https://www.nps.gov/home/index.htm

Ann Markim

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Crusader for Justice: Ida B. Wells

     Ida B. Wells-Barnett’s name came up over and over as I researched the history of the women’s suffrage movement and the history of late 19^th and early 20^th century America. Although I haven’t included her as an actual character in a novel, I have referred to her in many of my writings. In these waning days of 2021’s Black History Month, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to one of the African American women I most admire.

     Ida Bell Wells was born into slavery on July 16, 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi, as the Civil War was raging. She was one of eight children. After the war, her parents became active in Reconstruction Era politics. They recognized the importance of education and enrolled young Ida in Shaw College (later Rust College) in Holly Springs, but she was expelled after starting a dispute with the college president.

     When Ida was sixteen, both of her parents and her infant brother died in the 1878 yellow fever epidemic. She convinced a nearby school administrator that she was 18 in order to win a job as a teacher in a Black elementary school. With the help of friends and other family members, she and her paternal grandmother were able to keep the rest of her siblings together.

     In 1882, after her grandmother had a stroke and one of her sisters died, Ida’s brothers found work as carpentry apprentices. She and her remaining sisters moved to Memphis, Tennessee to live with their aunt. There, Ida worked as a teacher and attended Fisk University, Lemoyne-Owen College and graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1884

     After college, she continued to teach school in Memphis and began writing articles attacking Jim Crow policies under the pen name, “Iola.” A local newspaper, the Free Speech and Headlight, invited her to write articles for them in 1889. She refused unless she was made an equal partner with the two male owners. They agreed and she bought a one-third interest in the enterprise. There she wrote about racial and political issues while continuing to teach at the elementary school. She was fired from her teaching job in1891 for being an outspoken critic of the conditions in the segregated schools.

     The 1892 lynching of a friend and his two business associates prompted Ida to investigate and collect information on similar cases. She traveled around the United States and in Britain, giving lectures on the horrific practice, especially in the South, of lynching Black men.  During this time, she also published articles and pamphlets condemning lynchings.  One of her editorials about the circumstances of her friend’s case enraged local whites, who mobbed her office and burned down her press. Luckily, she was in New York at the time or she might not have survived. Subsequently, she stayed in the north due to unrelenting death threats, and a few months later she moved to Chicago.

     There she met Ferdinand Barnett, an attorney and journalist who had founded Chicago’s first Black newspaper, The Conservator. He was also an established activist in their shared passion for civil rights. They married in 1895. Ida was one of the first American women to keep her maiden name. 

     In addition to Ferdinand’s two children from a previous marriage, the couple had four together. Throughout her life, Ida balanced her career in social activism with her family. She established the first kindergarten in Chicago in her local church, prioritizing Black children for admission.

     In addition to her crusade for racial equality, she worked tirelessly for the women’s rights movement. She organized the first civic club for African American women in Chicago and participated in the meeting that founded the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs.

                                                                

      Ida was strongly committed to the campaign for women’s suffrage. She believed that women should be enfranchised, but she also saw the vote as a way for Black women to elect African Americans, regardless of gender, to influential political offices. A long-time member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Ida attended the 1913 woman’s suffrage parade in Washington, D.C. Fearing that many white Southern women would refuse to march with Black women, the organizers decided that the African American women should march in the back.

      Refusing to follow this directive, Ida stood on the sidelines of the parade route. When the unit from Illinois approached, she stepped into the street and marched with the women of her state’s suffrage delegation.

     The U.S. government labeled her a dangerous “race agitator” and placed her under surveillance during World War I. Despite the risk, she continued traveling the country and writing articles in pursuit of civil rights. Throughout the 1920s, she pursued Urban reform in Chicago and participated in Republican party politics. However, she was disappointed by the Hoover administration’s support of segregation. In 1930, she ran as an independent for the Illinois Senate but was defeated.

     Ida began writing her autobiography in 1928 but was unable to finish it before she passed away on March 25, 1931. Her autobiography was edited by her daughter and published posthumously in 1970 as Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells.

 Ann Markim

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Favorite Danish Christmas Traditions

 

     Christmas is a magical holiday, especially for children. When I was young, I always looked forward to celebrating with my maternal grandparents, who incorporated traditions from their Danish heritage into our festivities. The Christmases in my novel, The Legacy, were inspired by these childhood experiences.

   

       My most vivid memories are of “dancing” around the Christmas tree and phonetically singing a song in Danish, "Nu har vi jul igen." At the time I had no comprehension of the words and little understanding of the meaning of the lyrics, but we laughed joyfully as we skipped and trotted around and around the decorated tree. Since I've begun studying Danish, I know the translation is “Now we have Christmas again.” And now, in 2020, we have Christmas (jul) again, and I am still fascinated with Danish holiday customs. 

     Winter brings long nights with many hours of darkness to the Nordic countries. Before the birth of Christ and the Christianization of the people centuries later, Danes had winter celebrations filled with feasts and superstitions. Many aspects of these pagan rituals found their way into subsequent Christmas traditions. One of these is the folklore surrounding  the Nisser. Nisser are similar to gnomes, short with long gray beards. They wear homespun clothes and bright caps, usually red. They are clever about getting around without being seen, but they do not leave gifts.

     A nisse (singular of nisser) expects a snack, usually of porridge on Christmas Eve. If not fed, he becomes cranky. Failure to leave a snack risks insulting a nisse.  A nisse is mischievous, but not evil. Some people believe a nisse is the spirit of an ancestor who comes around during Jul to see that the ancestral home is being properly cared for. The legends of the nisser vary by the source.

 

     Another tradition that carried over from pagan celebrations is the generous use of candles to light the darkness and bring warmth to the long winter.  In the Middle Ages, candles, food and money were given to poor people as charity. Today, Danes still refer to Christmas as the feast of the candles. An advent wreath of evergreens with four tall red or white candles is often hung above or set in the center of the dining room table. The first candle is lit the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Each week, an additional candle is lit until all are lit the last Sunday before Christmas.

    A very old Danish custom is to give farm animals and birds special attention during the Christmas season. The barnyard and stables are thoroughly cleaned. A sheaf of grain is hung out for the birds and livestock are given extra rations on Christmas Eve. A farmer who neglects his animals at Christmas will have bad luck in the new year. (I fill my birdfeeders on Christmas Eve. Does that count?)

     One of my favorite Danish traditions is sharing holiday cheer with family, friends and neighbors. Keeping homemade goodies, cookies, cakes and pastries on hand for visitors and delivering plates of them to neighbors is part of the fun.

    The traditional Christmas feast is usually enjoyed on Christmas Eve. The meal is followed by a dessert of Ris a l’Amande, a cold, creamy rice pudding made with vanilla and almond slivers. One (or more) whole blanched almond is mixed into the pudding. Traditionally, it is made the day before or in the morning and set out during the day to prevent nisser from playing pranks. When ready to serve, hot cherry sauce is poured over the top. If cherries aren’t available, raspberries may be used. The person who finds the almond gets a prize. Everyone must keep eating the pudding until someone finds the almond.

    These Danish customs found their way into The Legacy as they are some of my favorites.

     Do you have favorite Christmas traditions or memories?

Ann Markim

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The Tide Turns

 

     Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and members of the National Woman’s Party (NWP) continued to pursue suffrage, despite U.S. entry into World War I. They maintained their peaceful picketing of the White House and the U.S. Capitol, but the rhetoric denouncing Wilson’s behavior grew harsher. At the same time, the public sentiment was less tolerant of government criticism during wartime.

     On June 20, 1917, NWP members met Russian envoys with a banner proclaiming the United States was a democracy in name only. An angry mob tore the banner to pieces. The women continued to stand in silent protest. Two days later Lucy Burns and Katherine Morey were arrested for picketing, but were never brought to trial.

     Over the following days and weeks, more protesters were arrested. Because peaceful picketing was not against the law, they were charged with “obstructing traffic” even though they stood quietly near the White House fence and it was the crowd of onlookers who were actually obstructing sidewalk traffic. On June 27, six women were sentenced to three days in District jail after refusing to pay $25 fines for obstructing traffic. They were the first of 168 suffragists to serve prison time for picketing.

      The demonstrators carried a new banner on August 14, referring to the President as “Kaiser Wilson,” comparing him to German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II and accusing Wilson of being a despot over women who lacked a voice in government. An outraged crowd destroyed the banners, attacked the protesters and fired a gunshot at NWP headquarters. The police did little to intervene.

     After three days of brutal attacks by mobs and the police, six women were arrested and sentenced to 60 days in the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia. Other NWP members continued their demonstrations and more were arrested.

     In mid-September, Senator Andrieus Aristieus Jones, chair of the Senate Woman Suffrage Committee, visited the Occoquan Workhouse and verified reports of improper treatment of the suffrage prisoners. The next day, his committee reported out the suffrage bill that had been languishing for six months. On September 24, the House of Representatives created a separate Woman Suffrage Committee

     Imprisoned picketer Lucy Burns, led an effort demanding suffragists be treated as political prisoners rather than criminals. She threatened a hunger strike if this demand was not met. A petition was secretly circulated among inmates. They smuggled it out and the demand presented to commissioners of District of Columbia. Every woman who signed the petition was put in solitary confinement.

     On October 20, Alice Paul was arrested. Two days later she was sentenced to seven months in Occoquan Workhouse. This was the longest sentence handed down.

     Paul and Rose Winslow began a hunger strike on November 5, after demands for political prisoner status were rejected. A week later, they were subjected to force-feeding three times a day for next three weeks. Paul was separated from other suffrage prisoners and transferred to psychiatric ward at District jail for “evaluation” in an effort to intimidate and discredit her. William Alanson White, the superintendent of St. Elizabeths (psychiatric) Hospital, interviewed her in a vain attempt to have her committed. White found Paul to be sane and “perfectly calm, yet determined.”

     New York women won the right to vote on November 6, 1917. The state was the first in the East to grant women’s suffrage.

     A large demonstration was held on November 10 to protest the treatment of Paul and the other suffrage prisoners. Thirty-one pickets were arrested, including Burns, who had just been released from prison. The women were sentenced to varying terms in the District Jail. Five days later they were transferred to Occoquan where the superintendent had just returned from a White House meeting of district commissioners.

     He summarily dismissed the suffragists’ demands for political prisoner status. Moments later, guards burst into the holding area. They carried, pushed, threw and beat the women into their cells and told them to remain silent. Lucy Burns started to call role in order to assure that all of the women were alive and conscious. Guards demanded she stop. When she continued, they handcuffed her to the bars of her cell all night with her arms above her head. This became known as the “Night of Terror.” The next day, 16 women went on a hunger strike. Nearly a week later, Occoquan officials begin force-feeding Lucy Burns and Dora Lewis followed later by Elizabeth McShane, as they were considered leaders in the women’s resistance.   

Lucy Burns

     On November 23, Burns and her fellow prisoners were taken to a small Alexandria, Virginia courtroom. The press and public were shocked by the bruised and sickly appearance of the women. Attorneys for the suffragists successfully argued for returning the women to the District Jail. A few days after their return to Washington, D.C., government authorities unconditionally released Paul, Burns, and the rest of the suffragists in response to increasing public pressure and the likelihood that their convictions would be overturned on appeal. In March, 2018, the U.S. federal appeals court declared the arrests and detainment of all White House suffrage pickets was unconstitutional.

     A vote on the suffrage amendment was scheduled in the House of Representatives for January 10, 1918. Under tremendous political pressure, Wilson publicly declared his support for the amendment the night before the vote.  The House passed the measure with 274 ‘yeas’ to 136 “nays.”                               

     Over the next six months, the NWP embarked on a number of efforts to win the vote.  Many former prisoners participated in a speaking tour called the ‘Prison Special,’ while others intensely lobbied the Senate for passage of the amendment. The national committees of both the Democratic and Republican parties endorsed the amendment.

     The Senate scheduled a vote on the suffrage bill for May 10, but opponents forced a postponement to June 27. The opposition threatened a filibuster, again delaying the vote.      

     On August 6, the NWP held a meeting in Lafayette Park, Washington, D.C. Approximately 100 suffragists demonstrated in protest to the Senate’s inaction on suffrage amendment. Forty-eight women were arrested and released on bail, including Paul and Burns. Subsequent demonstrations led to more arrests. The women were tried, convicted and sentenced to the old District workhouse. Again denied political prisoner status, the women began hunger strikes. After a few days, the women were released before completing their sentences.

     Fall brought campaigns for the mid-term elections. The NWP opposed election of all Democratic senators, especially those in New Hampshire and New Jersey, where anti-suffrage candidates were running.

     New Mexico’s Senator Jones again introduced federal woman suffrage amendment in the Senate on September 26. After several days of debate, President Wilson addressed Senate asking for passage of the federal woman suffrage amendment as a war measure.

     On October 1, the Senate defeated the amendment, failing to achieve the required two-thirds majority by two votes. Supporters quickly added it to the Senate calendar for reconsideration.                   

     The NWP began picketing with banners in front of the U.S. Capitol and Senate Office Building on October 7. Demonstrators were arrested daily and released without charges.  Although harassed by unruly crowds, as well as antagonistic police, the pickets continued throughout October and November.

     World War I ended on November 11, 1918. On December 2, President Wilson urged passage of the federal woman suffrage amendment in his annual address to Congress, while police arrested NWP protesters outside.

     On February 10, 1919, the Senate again defeated the federal suffrage amendment, this time by one vote. NWP members met President Wilson in Boston upon his return from Europe on February 24. They carried banners reminding him of his pledge to support the suffrage amendment and lobbied him to pressure the Senate to pass the amendment before the March recess. The Senate failed to do so.

     The House of Representatives again passed the federal woman suffrage amendment on May 21, this time by a vote of 304 yeas to 89 nays, 42 more than the required two-thirds majority.

     On June 4, the Senate finally passed the federal suffrage amendment (19th Amendment) by vote of 56 yeas to 25 nays.

     The NWP launched a campaign to obtain ratification by 36 state legislatures–the required three-fourths majority at that time. With the war now over, the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) also worked for the ratification of the 19^th Amendment. Throughout the rest of 1919 and early 1920, 35 states ratified the amendment. But then months passed with no additional ratifications.                                 

     On August 9, 1920, Tennessee Governor William Roberts convened a special session of the state legislature to consider ratification. For the next 10 days, suffragists and antisuffragists waged intense lobbying efforts and public relations campaigns. On August 18 Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment. Antisuffragists tried to overturn the vote, but after six days of legal wrangling, the governor signed the certificate of ratification.

     On August 26, the 19^th Amendment was signed into law—in time for the 1920 election.

     Millions of women across many generations fought for suffrage. To honor their sacrifices, we must make our voices heard. One hundred years later, the battle for the right to vote continues. Please cast your ballot in the 2020 election.

Ann Markim

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Gathering Steam

     The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) continued its quiet state-by-state campaign for the right to vote. Meanwhile, the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage (CU), led by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, was determined to keep the cause in front of the public.

     In March 1914, the Senate voted on a federal woman suffrage amendment for first time since 1887. The bill was defeated. It was reintroduced the next day.

Chicago's Parade

     That same year, Paul organized May Day parades in cities across the country, garnering local and national publicity for the movement. Additionally, the National Federation of Women’s Clubs, with more than two million members throughout the U.S., formally endorsed the suffrage campaign. In November, women won full suffrage in Montana and Nevada.

     The House of Representatives voted for first time on a federal woman suffrage amendment in January 1915.  The measure was defeated.

     That same month, the CU opened a "freedom booth" at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, where they displayed exhibits in support of expanding full women’s suffrage beyond the eleven states that already had it. Helen Keller, a famous supporter of the cause, spoke at the booth. The CU representatives collected 500,000 signatures on their suffrage petition at the exposition. Suffrage envoys left California in September, carrying the petition by automobile across the country to Congress and President Wilson.

Suffrage Envoys

    Carrie Chapman Catt again assumed leadership of the NAWSA in 1915. She continued the state-by-state efforts to win suffrage. Attempts to reconcile with the CU failed. Despite NAWSA objections, the CU restructured as a national organization and sent organizers to all states to plan conventions and establish state branches. In September, the CU held the first Woman Voters Convention with delegates from states where women had full voting rights.

     In December 1915, the CU held its first national convention in Washington, D.C. The event coincided with the opening of the 64^th Congress and the arrival of the suffrage envoys carrying the petition. On December 7, a federal woman suffrage amendment was introduced in the Senate. On the 16th, CU members testified in favor of the amendment before the House Judiciary Committee. The next day, a final attempt at reconciliation with the NAWSA failed.

      To keep the cause before the public, 23 CU members left Washington, D.C. in April 1916 on "The Suffrage Special," a five-week train tour to garner support for the federal woman suffrage amendment among women voters in the West. Subsequently, Alice Paul organized the National Woman’s Party, which was made up of women who already had full suffrage. They supported the efforts of their disenfranchised sisters, who were still represented by the CU. The two complementary organizations coexisted until they merged into the National Woman’s Party (NWP) in 1917.

                                                    

NWP  Flag

      The NWP met in Colorado Springs in 1916 to discuss the upcoming election. They chose not to endorse either candidate during the presidential campaigns.  Instead, they decided to oppose all Democratic congressional candidates in order to hold the party in power responsible for failure to pass the suffrage amendment.

      On October 20, a mob attacked NWP members who were demonstrating against Woodrow Wilson outside a Chicago auditorium. Three days later, Inez Milholland Boissevain, leader of the 1913 parade in Washington, D.C. and an NWP organizer, collapsed from exhaustion on the stage while giving speech against President Wilson and the Democratic Party in Los Angeles. She died of pernicious anemia on November 25 at the age of 30, becoming widely regarded as the first martyr of the women’s suffrage movement.

     In the November election, Jeanette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the House of Representatives. Woodrow Wilson was re-elected President.

     NWP members silently demonstrated at Wilson’s annual address to Congress on December 5. They held a banner that read: “Mr. President, What Will You Do For Woman Suffrage?” A memorial service for Boissevain was held on Christmas Day in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. Attendees drafted suffrage resolutions for presentation to the President.

     After two weeks of stonewalling, Wilson finally met with a delegation of 300 women on January 9, 1917. They presented him with the resolutions drafted during the memorial service and asked him to use his influence to promote a federal woman suffrage amendment. Wilson angrily refused and walked out on the women.

Silent Sentinels

     In response to Wilson’s rejection of their request for his support a federal amendment, NWP members began picketing the White House. These “Silent Sentinels” stood outside the fence day after day, despite rain, snow or whatever weather they encountered. They held banners with pro-suffrage messages and other banners of purple, white, and gold, the colors of the NWP.

 

Grand Picket

     On March 4, the eve of Wilson’s second inauguration, more than 1000 women staged a “Grand Picket.” They marched around the perimeter of the White House, where all gates to the grounds were locked, in driving icy rain, waiting to present him with resolutions from their national convention. After several hours, Wilson and his wife left the White House, driving past the picket line.

     In April, federal women’s suffrage amendments were introduced in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. Additionally, the United States entered World War I. Carrie Chapman Catt promised President Wilson that the NAWSA would cease efforts on behalf of winning the vote in support of the war effort. Meanwhile, the “Silent Sentinels” continued their daily pickets.

      The battle had risen to a new level.

Ann Markim

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