Rhetoric & Public Affairs

In 1917, National Woman's Party members waged a silent protest outside the White House for woman suffrage. This essay argues that these protesters, the "Silent Sentinels," drew strength from restricting ideological forces to constitute a militant identity. First, the Sentinels enacted early twentieth-century gender ideology and provided political voice to women. Second, the Sentinels appropriated the authority of the rhetorical presidency and constituted themselves and American women as part of the U.S. democratic process. Last, the Sentinels incorporated President Wilson's militaristic doctrine into their militant logic, motivating their fight for woman suffrage as soldiers liberating the oppressed.