As April 1919 was drawing to a close, Burlington County’s Alice Paul, the leader of the National Woman’s Party, watched helplessly as hopes for the passage of a constitutional amendment allowing all women to vote for U.S. president in 1920 seemed to be dead. Since former New Jersey Gov. Woodrow Wilson had taken office as president in 1913, she and her supporters had been demonstrating, picketing and demanding action by the Democratic Party in support of the amendment.

In November 1918, the Republicans had won control of both houses of Congress promising passage of the amendment, but…