Seemingly aptly named, the Progressive Era was a time in which unforeseen advances in science, technology, and entertainment were made, yet for all its modern makings, gender and racial inequality alike were still tragically unaddressed, dismissed, and was a testament to the injustice that was blatantly rampant in the ‘home of the free’. The American dream, it seemed, only applied to the few who were fortunate enough have the natural advantages of being societally favored.

Despite the modernization of the times, women were still confined solely to the roles of housewife and homemaker. The defining feminist movement of the era was suffrage, aiming for equality between the sexes, but even within campaigning populations, there was strive. Women had different motives for wanting the right to vote, and often clashed with each other, in spite of their united cause: some advocated that suffrage would ensure prohibition across the nation, others wanted an end to career discrimination, others still proclaimed it would be an end to war and corruption, while only a few had the bold reasoning that it would ensure women would not be wholly dominated by their husbands. …show more content…
Alice Paul, who had allied herself with the British suffragettes, had broken windows in protest and been imprisoned numerous times, and when she came to America, she advocated those same proactive methods. Paul previously worked with Carrie Catt within the National American Woman Suffrage Association, but found their tactics to be too passive and ineffective, and began her own organization, the National Woman’s Party. Paul boldly wanted constitutional ratification; she openly opposed the president, held a public parade, picketed outside of the White House, and went on hunger strikes. Carrie Catt opposed Paul’s controversial methods; rather, Catt allied her organization with the president, and sought to change laws state by