Hailey Smith

3/26/17
Poli 368 Film Reflection 2: Iron Jawed Angels (Option 2)

If I were running an interest group that was trying to produce a major social and legal

change like extending the right to vote to half of the adult population, I would favor more

aggressive tactics. Considering the right to vote is absolutely fundamental in a democracy, I feel

the strategies more likely to get the fastest result are best, regardless of potential negative

consequences. In the movie Iron Jawed Angels, the National Womans Party opted for more

aggressive tactics and were ultimately the reason why President Wilson ended up supporting the

movement. That said, although protesting a war-time president was considered treason and Alice

Paul and Lucy Burns were sent to prison for their actions, their radical hunger strike and

connection with the outside world were the final blow to the anti-suffragette movement.

Additionally, while the National Womens Partys constant fight to win over politicians

was often brutal, it seemed to get the job done. For example, when Paul and Burns attended a

congressional meeting with a huge banner asking the president his thoughts on the suffragette

movement, it was surely outspoken for the time but it forced congress to address the issue. At the

end of the movie, one of the leaders of NAWSA stood to allow Alice Paul to sit down thereby

supporting my opinion that aggressive tactics, while perhaps harsh in the moment, are favorable

for everyone, even those initially opposed, in the end.

There is no telling how long the suffragette movement might have had to fight without

Paul and Burns forceful strategies; President Wilson could have continued to ignore the

movement and continued to tell women to be patient. The truth of the matter is that an issue so

fundamental to our democracy cannot be ignored, and due to its impact on the American people,

more aggressive tactics must be implemented.