Important Protests and Riots That Changed the World Forever

26. Women’s Suffrage Parade, 1913

In 1913, led by women’s rights activists and suffragists Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, the first-ever suffragist parade took place in Washington, D.C. Joined by varyingly reported numbers – from 5,000 to 10,000 – the parade rallied on March 3rd, 1913, one day before President Woodrow Wilson was to be inaugurated.

Despite heckling from onlookers, this suffragist movement gained support and popularity, helping Paul to focus on the importance of women’s rights to vote in elections.

She even asked participants to openly write about the harassment they faced while parading, using it to garner momentum in the press. This landmark event forced President Wilson’s hand, and subsequently that of the congress, to allow women to vote.