"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." 19th Amendment

The road to passage of the 19th Amendment was long and difficult, as attendees learned at the New Jersey State Bar Association's (NJSBA) celebration of the amendment's centennial last week. And New Jersey native Alice Paul, a leading strategist in the women's suffrage movement, was among the scores of women who were taunted, beaten and imprisoned for leading protests in front of the White House.

Panelist Lucienne Beard, executive director of the Alice Paul Institute, housed in Paul's childhood home in Mount Laurel, discussed Paul's life, which was guided by the Quaker principles of equality between men and women, social justice and nonviolence. Paul, who earned numerous degrees, including a doctorate in economics and a law degree, co-founded the National Woman's Party. Following passage of the 19th Amendment, she immediately turned her attention to passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which she co-wrote.