Over one hundred years later after women achieved the right to vote in 1920, we have almost forgotten the struggle and sacrifice involved in the battle for a privilege that is too often taken for granted today. In this interactive program, Carol Spacht portrays Dora Lewis, National Woman’s Party Ratification Chair, to share more about this important moment in women’s history.

For decades, the primary strategy to win the vote for women focused on passing laws state-by-state. The suffragist movement gained momentum when Alice Paul, a young Quaker intellectual, formed the National Woman’s Party, pushing for a federal amendment to the United States Constitution.

Dora Lewis, a Philadelphia reformer and suffragist, became Alice Paul’s closest confidant and indefatigable supporter. Twenty-three years older than Miss Paul, Dora Lewis dedicated her efforts and social position to political action, pressuring the government to pass the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Mrs. Lewis was arrested while carrying protest banners in front of the White House as a “Silent Sentinel.” She served as the spokeswoman during the infamous “Night of Terror” at the Occoquan Workhouse, and endured being forcibly fed after hunger-striking. Nothing stopped Mrs. Lewis’ commitment to a woman’s right to vote. Her protest banner quoted President Wilson’s words, “Conquer or Submit.” Dora Lewis would not submit.