headed by former President Theodore Roosevelt,
which made woman suffrage one of the principal planks in its platform,
and for the first time it took a place among the other political
issues. The Republican party so long in power was defeated. Woman
suffrage never had received any special assistance from this party
during its long regime but the entire situation had now changed. The
National Association appointed a Congressional Committee of young,
energetic women headed by Miss Alice Paul, a university graduate with
experience in civic work in this country and England. They arranged an
immense suffrage parade in which women from many States participated.
It took place in Washington March 3, 1913, the day before the
inauguration of Woodrow Wilson, and the new administration entered
into office with a broader idea of the strength of the movement than
its predecessor had possessed. An extra session was soon called and
Senate and House Resolution Number One, introduced April 7, was for a
Federal Woman Suffrage Amendment. The chairmanship of the new Senate
Committee on Woman Suffrage, instead of being filled as usual by an
opponent, was given to Senator Charles S. Thomas (Dem.) of Colorado,
always an ardent suffragist, and a friendly committee was
appointed--Robert L. Owen (Okla.); Henry F. Ashurst (Ariz.); Joseph E.
Ransdell (La.); Henry P. Hollis, (N. H.); George Sutherland (Utah);
Wesley L. Jones (Wash.); Moses E. Clapp (Minn.); Thomas B. Catron (N.
M.). There were now eighteen members of the Senate with women
constituents and several million women were eligible to vote, so that
it was possible to bring a pressure which had never before existed.
Many of the large newspapers were declaring that the time had come for
the submission of this amendment to the State Legislatures.

On May 3 a great suffrage procession took place in New York with a
mass meeting in the Metropolitan Opera House addressed by Colonel
Roosevelt, who made a ringing speech in favor of votes for women. On
June 13 the Senate Committee on Woman Suffrage gave a unanimous
favorable report, Senator Catron, the only opponent, not voting. On
July 31 the resolution was discussed on the floor of the Senate,
twenty-two speaking in favor and three in opposition. It had been
referred to the Judiciary Committee in the Lower House, where
resolutions also were introduced for the creation of a Committee on
Woman Suffrage and referred to the Committee on Rules. During Ju