Alice Paul was involved in the NAWSA organization and later formed the National Women's Party. Paul picketed and protested greatly, showing clear dedication to her goal of women's suffrage. In fact, she helped get support for an amendment for women's suffrage (19 th Amendment), Paul even tried to get the Equal Rights Amendment passed (ERA).

NAWSA and NWP

In 1914, Alice Paul was chair of the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA), which was a major congressional committee. The NAWSA president was Carrie Chapman Catt. Even though Paul and Catt both had the same goal of widespread suffrage, they concentrated on different topics.   NAWSA focused on state campaigns, as Paul wanted to work on getting a national amendment for suffrage. While NAWSA endorsed President Wilson and found the Democratic Party as partners, Paul held Wilson responsible for women's disenfranchisement (not allowing women to vote).   

      A year later in 1915, in her mid-twenties Paul withdrew from NAWSA to form the Congressional Union for Women Suffrage. This later became the National Woman's Party (NWP) in 1917.

The Nineteenth Amendment

On January 9, 1918, President Wilson agreed to support woman's suffrage. He did this to answer the public protest against the prison abuse. The House and the Senate passed the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919, which gave suffrage to all women . It got ratified on August 18, 1920 and Tennessee was the 36 th state, needed to ratify. Alice Paul called it the Susan B. Anthony Amendment.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA):

After the victory for the 19 th Amendment, Alice Paul first proposed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923. She called it the "Lucretia Mott Amendment". The amendment stated "Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction." Basically no one could discriminate against women in anything. The ERA was finally passed in 1972 and it went to the states for ratification, it would have been the 27 th Amendment.   But unfortunately the amendment was short of ratification by three states. This Amendment has not gotten added to the constitution but today people are still trying to get it.