Woman Suffrage Procession

Woman Suffrage Procession

Official program for the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C., March 3, 1913
Date	March 3, 1913
Location	Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′42″N 77°01′40″W / 38.89500°N 77.02778°W / 38.89500; -77.02778
Organised by	National American Woman Suffrage Association

The Woman Suffrage Procession on March 3, 1913, was the first suffragist parade in Washington, D.C. It was also the first large, organized march on Washington for political purposes.^{[citation needed]} The procession was organized by the suffragists Alice Paul and Lucy Burns for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Planning for the event began in Washington in December 1912. As stated in its official program, the parade's purpose was to "march in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of society, from which women are excluded."

Participation numbers vary between 5,000 and 10,000 marchers. Suffragists and supporters marched down Pennsylvania Avenue on Monday, March 3, 1913, the day before President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. Paul had selected the venue and date to maximize publicity but met resistance from the D.C. police department. The demonstration consisted of a procession with floats, bands, and various groups representing women at home, in school, and the workplace. At the Treasury Building, a pageant of allegorical tableaux was acted out during the parade. The final act was a rally at the Memorial Continental Hall with prominent speakers, including Anna Howard Shaw and Helen Keller.

Before the event, black participation in the march threatened to cause a rift with delegations from Southern states. Some black people did march with state delegations. A group from Howard University participated in the parade. Some sources allege that Black women were segregated at the back of the parade; however, contemporary sources suggest that they marched with their respective state delegations or professional groups.

During the procession, district police failed to keep the enormous crowd off the street, impeding the marchers' progress. Many participants were subjected to heckling from spectators, though many supporters were present. The marchers were finally assisted by citizens' groups and eventually the cavalry. The police were subjected to a congressional inquiry due to security failures. The event premiered Paul's campaign to refocus the suffrage movement on obtaining a national constitutional amendment for woman's suffrage. This was intended to pressure President Wilson to support an amendment, but he resisted their demands for years afterward.

The procession was featured in the film Iron Jawed Angels in 2004. A new U.S. ten-dollar bill with parade imagery is planned for circulation in 2026.