Ironed Jawed Angels Movie Watching Materials
One way to mark our history is to host a viewing of the HBO film, Iron Jawed Angels, which
chronicles “the struggle of suffragists who fought for the passage of the 19th Amendment.”
Leagues may want to partner with an allied organization in the community that will help to reach
members of the League’s target audience. Available on DVD through retailers or your public
library, the screening could be held in a living room or a local theater. An important element of
this visibility opportunity is to ensure the presence of potential new members to recruit into your
League.
Reasons your League might want to host a LWV Movie Watching Party for the film Iron Jawed
Angels:
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You and your guests are going to have a good time because this is a wonderful film.
This is an excellent way to get women excited about voting AND celebrate the League of
Women Voters’ contribution to our democracy.
It offers an opportunity to educate people about the struggle for the right to vote and to
recruit new members to the League.
It offers an opportunity to create visibility for your League if you do a media advisory,
press release, and/or Op Ed relating the movie to current voter participation or League
efforts in your community.
It offers an opportunity to talk about your League’s current activities, connecting the past
and the present.
Not only does this film have a high entertainment value, it is also extremely inspiring.
Following the film, Leagues may host a discussion about the power of the women’s vote,
especially as it relates to recent elections. The League president could facilitate the discussion in
partnership with the allied organization’s president and/or spokesperson. Leagues should also be
sure to incorporate messages about the value of League membership and issue an invitation to
join the League.
When the film originally aired, LWVUS created the following viewing materials (which have
been slightly updated) including a brief history, some pointers on hosting a viewing party,
sample discussion questions, and a sample media advisory, which are included.
Overview - The League of Women Voters and Ironed Jawed Angels
HBO’s Iron Jawed Angels recounts for a modern audience a key chapter in U.S. history: the
story of suffragists who fought for the right to vote. The movie focuses on two young women,
Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, and their fight to build on the previous work of the National
American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA).
In 1900, Carrie Chapman Catt, founder of the League of Women Voters, succeeded Susan B.
Anthony as the NAWSA president. Anthony saw in Catt the passion and strength needed to keep
the women’s suffrage movement on track. As president, Catt created a highly organized
movement by enhancing the organization and educating people about the movement. Catt sought
to reach out to all women, regardless of party, to help win equal voting rights.
One of the many women inspired by Catt’s enthusiasm and passion for women’s suffrage was
Alice Paul. Paul felt that the fight for women’s rights was one that required passion. She
advocated tactics that were more radical and attention grabbing. The position that Catt and
NAWSA held in the fight for women’s suffrage allowed Paul to branch off and create the
National Women’s Party. Although the two groups were separate, they were unified by their
common goal.
For Catt, suffragist’s strategy was to galvanize support from within the states for the introduction
of an amendment to Congress. This state-by-state support would then guarantee the
amendment’s passage and ratification. The involvement had to be at all levels to be effective; she
stated, “we must do both and do them together.” Her plan was to introduce women’s suffrage
legislation at the beginning of the state legislative sessions, thereby taking the opposition by
surprise and not allowing them to establish the resources to create an opposing campaign.
The United States’ involvement in World War I did not diminish the women’s suffrage
movement; in fact it helped put a positive spin on it. With all the help and support women gave
to the war effort, people looked admirably at them and responded positively to their cause. The
women’s national war efforts proved their patriotism, and supporters felt that they had earned the
right to vote.
The effort by the NAWSA and Catt influenced and inspired many women to join the cause,
which was further advanced with a million-dollar donation by these supporters. Catt used the
money to establish the Leslie Woman Suffrage Commission and combined various suffrage
publications to create the Women’s Journal. Ultimately, this publication became the official
journal of the League of Women Voters. This commission and various publications made it
possible for the NAWSA to intensify its suffrage campaign and expand its outreach and
education of voters.
Catt proposed the idea for a League of Women Voters to enable others to “finish the fight” that
was begun with the passage of the 19th Amendment. There was a call from Catt to clean up the
uneducated and illiterate voter and establish an “intelligent and clean” American electorate. She
believed that to become effective voters, women needed to understand the rudiments of voting:
how and where to register, how to vote, and what to expect at the voting booths. These newly
enfranchised women also needed to understand the issues. Certain issues such as education,
social services and women’s rights, represented the bonding of the sentiments of women.
Catt dedicated the League of Women Voters to those women who were the forerunners. The
League would continue their mission. She focused on encouraging women to give back to their
community and children by helping them learn and understand their political freedoms. Catt
hoped to create an organization that would continue the enfranchisement of women in our
country and in any country where women still struggled. She hoped for a group that would
continue to remove the legal discriminations against women, so that other women wouldn’t have
to surmount these roadblocks. She wanted to make this democracy great and safe for the
generations to come.
Today’s League of Women Voters continues the proud tradition and remains a nonpartisan
political organization that encourages the informed and active participation in government. The
League works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public
policy through education and advocacy. Established in February of 1920, the League of Women
Voters is the instrument for political education and involvement of women originally envisioned
by Carrie Chapman Catt.
Pointers for Party Hosts for Iron Jawed Angels
The League of Women Voters partnered with HBO prior to the 2004 elections to publicize Iron
Jawed Angels. As its content is still relevant today, we encourage Leagues to take advantage of
Iron Jawed Angels to educate people on the history of women’s suffrage and encourage them to
get involved and participate in our democracy.
This film provides a wonderful opportunity to get your community, friends and neighbors talking
about voting rights, women’s history, elections and politics. Daughters and granddaughters,
members of neighborhood associations, people you volunteer with, co-workers, and book club
participants would all make great participants.
Depending on the audience you would like to attract to your event, there are a variety of
watching party types to consider. As a host it will be important to decide whether or not you
think your group will be up for a discussion after the film is over.
Following are some general party points and ideas for different types of parties that you might
want to host.
General Party Points:
1. You must have a copy of “Iron Jawed Angles”. LWVUS does not have copies for
Leagues. You can obtain one from retailers like Amazon.com or from your public
library.
2. Consider hosting it at someone’s home, a local university, a local restaurant, bar or club.
Invite your guests to come at least a half-hour before the start of the film.
3. Encourage your guests to bring beverages and snacks (that way you won’t be solely
responsible and others will feel more ownership for the party).
4. Have a specific RSVP date and time (this helps you anticipate your party size, and makes
your attendees accountable for showing up).
5. Invite more potential guests than you can accommodate, and then do follow-up calls
and/or e-mails.
6. Use the sign-in sheet provided to keep track of who attended your party.
7. Give your guests directions to the party location. It’s always helpful to include a map of
the area (check out Map Quest at www.mapquest.com).
8. Keep in touch with everyone who attends your event, especially anyone who is not
currently a League member. This is an excellent opportunity to recruit and retain new
members and engage new members. Invite participants to attend other League functions,
such as an upcoming candidate forum.
9. Ask non-League members to join the League to continue the work of strengthening
women’s roles in our democracy and in our communities.
10. Get creative! Keep it fun! Enjoy the movie as much as your guests!
Party Points for Post-Movie Discussions:
1. Encourage your participants to draw parallels between the situation of the women in the
time frame of the film to women and other under-represented groups today.
2. It will be up to you as the host (or someone you designate) to get a discussion going after
the film. Use the discussion ideas provided as a tool or reference if that is helpful for
you, but let your discussion be open. Please note that these discussion ideas were
created for the original release for the film when LWVUS partnered with HBO prior to
the 2004 election. Your League may want to add more current topics to the discussion
such as the political success of women today (i.e. Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi), the
historic 2008 election, or the continuing disenfranchisement of DC residents.
3. This film is sure to get your group riled up. Take advantage of that energy! If you are
gathering as a group who supports a specific cause, discuss what you can do to create
solidarity surrounding your issue. This is the time to make things happen, and it should
be clear after watching the struggles of the suffragists that it is up to each generation to
fight for what matters.
Party Points for Pre-Movie Discussions:
If you anticipate your group leaving directly after the movie, give yourself enough time to have a
discussion before the film begins.
1. Invite people over an hour or more beforehand. Make it into a potluck dinner and movie
party!
2. Do your best to keep your discussion related to the film. Inevitably people will want to
discuss other things, which is fine, but as the host it will be your responsibility to bring it
back to task every so often.
3. Because you will be discussing something you may not have seen, the most powerful tool
for your group will be planting seeds of thought. Ask the group to think about a few
points while watching the movie.
4. Use the suggested discussion ideas below to spark the discussion, or come up with your
own. For instance, think of voting rights for women, and how they have affected our lives
today. Think of parallels between other administrations, including the current one, and
that of Woodrow Wilson’s. World War I is a central point of the film. Encourage your
guests to look at how the war affected Alice Paul and the other suffragists, and how that
relates to activists in other wars (Vietnam, the current Iraq War, etc.).
Suggested Discussion Ideas for Iron Jawed Angels
*Please note that these discussion ideas were created for the original release for the film when LWVUS
partnered with HBO prior to the 2004 election. Your League may want to add more current topics to the
discussion such as the political success of women today (i.e. Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi), the historic
2008 election, or the continuing disenfranchisement of DC residents. (Materials about this last topic are
available in the DC Voting Rights project section of www.lwv.org.)*
Was there something particular to the 1920s that made the population and governors open to this
constitutional change at that moment? If so, what might those conditions be? How does today’s
political climate compare?
What actions did Alice Paul take that contributed to the success of the suffrage movement? How
can those actions be translated into actions for the 21st century?
What differences existed among the different segments of the suffragist movement in this
film? Do you see similar debates in today’s women’s movement? How do you feel that affects
women’s efforts to be politically effective?
Do the arguments used by the suffragists to persuade the nation that women should vote still
apply today? How has our nation’s political system been affected by extending the right to vote
to women? Do you think women have seen a change in how the political system works for
them?
Does the fact that the women’s suffrage movement was so recent have an impact on the type of
issues that the women’s movement tends to be associated with (e.g. health care, education)? Do
you agree with this perception?
How can women work together to impart the urgency of using our right to vote throughout our
communities? How does LWV, as a grassroots organization, support efforts in this regard?
You could discuss parallels between the other administrations, including the current one, to that
of Woodrow Wilson. Does the group think today’s elected officials would have given women
the vote?
What are the kinds of injustices done to people under other administrations? How did war affect
both of our times? Who are today’s disenfranchised people?