Peaceful Protests

From time to time people of this great nation have felt oppressed and stood up against opposing forces. The colonists who were tired of taxation from the British, women who wanted the right to vote like their counterparts, and African Americans who wanted equal rights. All of these were achieved with peaceful protests-where the oppressed remained  peaceful even when they were attacked or harassed. With recent events in Ferguson I thought it would be interesting  too compare a true peaceful protest held by Alice Paul compared to the "peaceful protests" being held in Missouri. 

Photo from History.com

Alice Paul fought for woman's suffrage not only in Britain but in the United States as well. She organized her first political protest outside the gates of the White House in January 1917. Along with other women they held banners demanding the right to vote. The women continued to protest throughout the year by holding up different banners even while the country went into World War I. Paul and the other women were not met kindly while peacefully protesting. Young men would beat up and harass the women with the police never intervening, police would arrest the men who tried to help defend the women. The women were arrested and pardoned once by Wilson. They were sent to Occoquan  Workhouse in VA and given no special treatment. The lived in dreadful facilities with infested food and poor sanitation. Paul went on a hunger strike protesting these conditions and she was force feed raw eggs. All of this put pressure on Woodrow Wilson and he finally announced in January 1918 that  suffrage was needed urgently as a war measure. For the next two years the House and Senate would vote  on women's suffrage finally passing the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920. 

Women stood up with signs merely asking for their voice to be heard and were mistreated by others in the process. 

Picture taken from Flickr

In Ferguson, MI however they did not protest all that peaceful. People were protesting after an African American teen was shot in the street. (This post is not about getting into who did what, who is or isn't innocent, or any of that.) Days after the shooting people were out in protest. They could of taken note from any peaceful protests... the Boston Tea Party, Alice Paul, or the March on Washington for Civil Rights just to name a few. However, they choose to get in police face's taunting them not to shoot. There was also acts of looting, breaking into stores, or damaging property. The "peaceful protests" shut down the city preventing some people from going to work, children to go to school, and curfews set in the city by the Governor. Explain to me how looting or breaking into a store is going to change the way Ferguson or even America views racism? 

Comparing the two protests you can see a difference. One lead to women getting the right to vote and the second hasn't lead to anything, in my opinion. People are so quick to judge, but they don't take the time to look at the details. 

That is all.

Arlington National Cemetery-Arlington, VA

If you're ever in Virginia or Washington D.C. you should definitely visit the Arlington National Cemetery.The cemetery was established 150 years ago on June 15, 1864. It was created out of necessity for the soldiers lost during the Civil War. Today it is a shrine to the numerous men and women who have survived during times of war and peace for our beloved country. 

This is from our trip in 2011.

Now I've been to the Houston National Cemetery to visit my Grandpa and Uncle's grave, but being at Arlington it is a once in a lifetime experience. To see that many graves in one place puts things into perspective. This is a place to visit and show your respects. 

There are two things you must see while there: the eternal flame and the changing of the guard. The eternal flame is at the grave site of John F. Kennedy and was put in at the request of his wife, Jackie.
The flame has only been extinguished a few times once when holy water was spilled on it and once by a heavy rain. Both times the flame was relit by hand.

At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier it has been guarded since July 2, 1937 continuously. Inclement weather, terrorist attacks, and other events do not cause the watch to cease. The Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Regiment "The Old Guard" protect the tomb day and night. The soldiers who walk the mat do not wear rank, so they won't outrank the "Unknowns."

The soldiers duty is not only ceremonial but they will confront anyone trying to cross the barriers or people who are disrespectful/loud.

Arlington National Cemetery is open 365 days a year in April-Sept from 8am-7pm, Oct-March 8am-5pm. There is a charge for parking and there may be a charge to get in but that can be found on their site!

National Museum of American History-Washington, D.C.

Where do I even begin to write about the National Museum of American History?  This place is amazing! We drove up to meet friends in Georgetown for lunch (which if you are in the area, you must eat at Filomena Ristorante the food is to die for!) and make it over to the museum.

Caroline Scott Harrison's dress

We only got to see about 1/4 or a 1/3 of the museum. It is so large, and there is so many things to see. I had the biggest smile on my face the entire time I was there. It was like taking a kid into a candy store instead this was taking a mid 20's woman with a B.A. in history to the ultimate American history archive! 

As we walked in the first display was the The Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired the National Anthem. The flag is over 200 years old and is quite a site to see. I wanted to take a picture of it sooooooo bad, but photography is not permitted.  I understand why they can't let pictures to be taken to preserve the flag, but they are nice enough to share pictures on their flickr page. Ok, ok we must move on to some other things now. 

Other things we got to see were the First Ladies dresses, pieces of the White House, debris from the Twin Towers after the 9/11 attacks, a piece of the Berlin Wall plus a few other things. I really wanna spend a full day or two walking around and seeing EVERYTHING! 

If you make it out to D.C. to see the museum plan on spending a few hours. There is so much to see and read, plus they have a pretty nifty gift shop. I plan to go back, hopefully soon while the cherry blossoms are in bloom.

This is my Civil Era type photo.

Admission to the museum is free and they are open 364 days a year (closed on Christmas Day) from 10am-730pm.