Suffragists Picket White House
7/1917
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The original caption for this photograph reads: Suffragists picket White House. Suffragists standing in front of the White House, Washington, District of Columbia, with one of the banners which started a riot.
Frustrated with President Woodrow Wilson’s inaction on woman suffrage, the National Woman’s Party picketed the White House. The protesters used banners like this to convey their message and demonstrated for nearly 30 months until Congress passed a joint resolution proposing a 19th amendment on June 4, 1919.
This banner, which came to be known as the "Russian banner," addresses a Russian delegation scheduled to meet with President Woodrow Wilson and his envoy to Russia, Elihu Root. Wilson and Root were trying to establish an alliance with Russia after the March revolution had ousted Russian Tsar Nicholas II. An angry mob destroyed the banner.
The banner reads:
TO THE RUSSIAN ENVOYS
President Wilson and Envoy Root are deceiving Russia.
They say We are a democracy. Help us win a world war.
so that democracies may survive.
We, the women of America, tell you that American is not a democracy.
Twenty million American Women are denied the right to vote. President Wilson is the chief opponent of their national enfranchisement.
Help us make this nation really free. Tell our government that it must liberate its people before it can claim free Russia as an ally
Frustrated with President Woodrow Wilson’s inaction on woman suffrage, the National Woman’s Party picketed the White House. The protesters used banners like this to convey their message and demonstrated for nearly 30 months until Congress passed a joint resolution proposing a 19th amendment on June 4, 1919.
This banner, which came to be known as the "Russian banner," addresses a Russian delegation scheduled to meet with President Woodrow Wilson and his envoy to Russia, Elihu Root. Wilson and Root were trying to establish an alliance with Russia after the March revolution had ousted Russian Tsar Nicholas II. An angry mob destroyed the banner.
The banner reads:
TO THE RUSSIAN ENVOYS
President Wilson and Envoy Root are deceiving Russia.
They say We are a democracy. Help us win a world war.
so that democracies may survive.
We, the women of America, tell you that American is not a democracy.
Twenty million American Women are denied the right to vote. President Wilson is the chief opponent of their national enfranchisement.
Help us make this nation really free. Tell our government that it must liberate its people before it can claim free Russia as an ally
Transcript
TO THE RUSSIAN ENVOYSPresident Wilson and Envoy Root are deceiving Russia.
They say We are a democracy. Help us win a world war.
so that democracies may survive.
We, the women of America, tell you that American is not a democracy.
Twenty million American Women are denied the right to vote. President Wilson is the chief opponent of their national enfranchisement.
Help us make this nation really free. Tell our government that it must liberate its people before it can claim free Russia as an ally
This primary source comes from the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs.
National Archives Identifier: 533784
Full Citation: Photograph 165-WW-(600A)20; Suffragists Picket White House. Suffragists Standing in Front of the White House, Washington...; 7/1917; American Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs, 1917 - 1918; Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Record Group 165; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/russian-banner, October 13, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
