White House Sketches
Suffragists Attacked by a Mob for Their Voting Rights Protest at the White House
June 20, 1917
Suffragette outside the White House gate, 1917. Library of Congress.
Suffragists protesting outside the White House gates during the arrival of Russian diplomats were beset by a mob that tore their banners to shreds. No one was harmed but the unrest created a stir overshadowing the historic visit of the Russian mission during World War I.
The National Woman’s Party established its headquarters on Jackson Place at Lafayette Park in 1916 and staged a series of pickets in front of the White House. President Woodrow Wilson could not escape their calls for voting rights. As a result of the suffragists’ endurance, women in the United States were finally granted the vote in 1920.