Night of Terror (event)

National Woman's Party members, called the Silent Sentinels, picketing the White House in 1917

The Night of Terror occurred on November 14, 1917 at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia. A group of 33 female protesters, members of the Silent Sentinels who picketed the White House daily to ask for voting rights for women, were brutally tortured and beaten by the workhouse guards and the superintendent, W.H. Whittaker.^[1] These women were mostly members of the National Woman's Party (NWP), an organization led by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns that fought for women’s suffrage.

In 1917 the Silent Sentinels became the first organization to picket the White House, asking for women’s rights. They held banners denouncing President Woodrow Wilson and burned copies of his speeches, because they considered him to be an enemy of the women’s rights movement. The unrelenting suffragists, who began protesting in January when Wilson took office, were prompted by the chief of police to stop picketing. The women did not stop, and arrests for "obstructing traffic" began in June. The women were imprisoned in the Occoquan Workhouse. After three days the women were released and they went back to the White House to continue protesting.^[2]

By November arrests began again, and on November 14, superintendent of the workhouse, W.H. Whittaker welcomed the 33 returning prisoners by brutally torturing and beating the women. This brutal greeting is known as the "Night of Terror", but it was not the only time the women were mistreated during their imprisonment. There was continued mistreatment in the form of harsh living conditions, rancid food, being denied medical care when many of the women were ill and some very old, being denied visitors, and "punishment cells".^[1] Many women went on a hunger strike, sparked by the co-founder of the NWP, Alice Paul. These women were placed in solitary confinement and subject to force-feeding.

After about two weeks, a court-ordered hearing for charges against the women suffragists took place. The decision of the hearing declared that every one of the 218 suffragists had been illegally arrested, illegally convicted and illegally imprisoned.^[2] The Night of Terror was not addressed in the hearing. The women who were illegally imprisoned and tortured for picketing were aiming to promote women’s rights, and they were backed by the National Woman’s Party. However, when the Nineteenth Amendment for women's rights was passed in 1920, very little credit was given to the NWP.

National Woman’s Party

Founded by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns in 1913, the National Woman’s Party (NWP) fought for women's suffrage. It was originally called the Congressional Union for Woman’s Suffrage (CU), until 1916 when it developed a new name, the NWP. The party broke off from a larger one, the National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), which was mainly in Washington. The NWP broke off from NAWSA because they wanted the woman suffrage work to be focused on the federal level, rather than only the state and local levels. They opposed President Wilson, all Democrats, as well as World War I, oftentimes finding themselves at odds with other suffragists. The NWP was an aggressive party, with goals of direct action and confrontation to send their message, rather than more the passive tactics that had been practiced in the past. The NWP conducted marches, acts of civil disobedience, and they became the first group to picket the White House.^[3]

Reason for imprisonment

The National Woman’s Party (NWP) began picketing and protesting at the White House in January, when President Wilson took office. NWP members and supporters, young and old, were in front of the White House gates holding banners denouncing President Wilson and the Democratic Party, as well as burning copies of Wilson's speeches. They opposed Wilson because he was perceived to be an enemy of the Women’s Rights Movement. The motives of these suffragists was to promote women’s rights, their main focus being their right to vote. The pickets continued day-in and day-out, and in June they were warned by the chief of police, Major Pullman, that if the protesting continued, there would be arrests.^[2] The women were unrelenting, and just as the chief of police warned, arrests and imprisonment for "obstructing traffic" begun.^[1] The first arrests were only three day sentences, then after continued protests many women were sentenced to a 60-day imprisonment. Shortly after many women finished their 60-day sentence, 33 more returning prisoners experienced an event known as the "Night of Terror".^[2]

Example banners

A few examples of the banners they carried:

• "Democracy Should Begin at Home"
• "The time has come to conquer or submit, for us there can be but one choice. We have made it." (quotation from Wilson)
• "Mr. President, what will you do for woman suffrage?"
• "Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?"
• "We shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts--for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments."
• "Kaiser Wilson, have you forgotten your sympathy with the poor Germans because they were not self-governed? 20,000,000 American women are not self-governed. Take the beam out of your own eye." (comparing Wilson to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany).

Nature of imprisonment

Aside from the fact that the women were illegally arrested for practicing their constitutional right to protest, their human rights were violated continuously throughout their imprisonments. There was continued mistreatment in the form of harsh living conditions, food infested with worms, being denied visitors, "punishment cells" and denied medical care when many of the women were ill and some very old. The women were beaten and brutally tortured.^[1] Many women went on a hunger strike, sparked by the co-founder of the NWP and initiator of the Silent Sentinels, Alice Paul. These women were placed in solitary confinement and subject to force-feeding.

Night of Terror

On the Night of Terror, November 14, 1917, a group of 33 returning prisoners, including at least one 73-year-old woman, were greeted by W.H. Whittaker and many prison guards wielding clubs.^[1] W.H. Whittaker ordered the nearly forty guards to brutalize the suffragists. They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head, then left her there for the night. They threw Dora Lewis into a dark cell and smashed her head against an iron bed, which knocked her out. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, who believed Lewis to be dead, suffered a heart attack. According to affidavits, guards grabbed, dragged, beat, choked, pinched, and kicked other women.

Newspapers carried stories about how the protesters were being treated.^[4] The stories angered some Americans and subsequently created more support for the suffrage amendment. On November 27 and 28, all the protesters were released, including Alice Paul after spending five weeks in prison. Later, in March 1918, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals declared that all the suffrage arrests, trials, and punishments had been unconstitutional. Lucy Burns, co-founder of the NWP, had only just finished her previous 60 day sentence, and was identified by Whittaker as the ringleader of the group. She was then manacled to her cell bars, hands above her head, and remained that way until morning; later, her clothing was removed and she was left with only a blanket. Co-founder Alice Paul remained strong despite the brutality. She went on to start a hunger strike, until she was put in solitary confinement in the psychiatric ward, and force-fed raw eggs through a tube down her throat.

Repercussions

After about two weeks, a court ordered hearing for the charges against these women took place, with no mention of the Night of Terror. The case was heard by the Court of Appeals on January 8, 1918, and the decision was made in favor of the defendants on March 4, 1918. This decision was unanimous between all three judges, one of whom was appointed by President Wilson, a second by President Roosevelt and the third by President Taft. The decision declared that every one of the women suffragists who picketed the White House was illegally arrested, illegally convicted, and illegally imprisoned. The women could have filed suits for damages, false arrest and imprisonment at once, however they did not.^[2] The women who protested, were imprisoned and involved in the Night of Terror were aiming to promote women’s rights and were backed by the National Woman’s Party. However, when the Nineteenth Amendment for women's rights was passed in 1920, very little credit was given to the NWP.

References