Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait?

Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the Fight for the Right to Vote

By: Tina Cassidy

Narrated by: Amanda Carlin

Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

An eye-opening, inspiring, and timely account of the complex relationship between notable suffragist Alice Paul and President Woodrow Wilson in her fight for women’s equality.

Woodrow Wilson lands in Washington, DC, in March of 1913, a day before he is set to take the presidential oath of office. Expecting a throng of onlookers, he is instead met with minimal interest as the crowd and media alike watch a 25-year-old Alice Paul organize 8,000 suffragists in a first-of-its-kind protest led by a woman riding a white horse just a few blocks away from the Washington platform. The next day, the New York Times calls the procession “one of the most impressively beautiful spectacles ever staged in this country”.

Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait? weaves together two storylines: Paul’s and Wilson’s, two seemingly complete opposites who had more in common than either one could imagine. Paul’s procession led her to be granted a one-on-one meeting with President Woodrow Wilson, one that would lead to many meetings and much discussion, though little progress. With no equality in sight and patience wearing thin, Paul organized the first group to ever picket on the White House lawn - night and day, through sweltering summer mornings and frigid fall nights.

From solitary confinement, hunger strikes, and mental institutions to sitting right across from President Woodrow Wilson, Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait? reveals the inspiring near-death journey it took, spearheaded in no small part by Paul's leadership, to grant women the right to vote in America. A rousing portrait of a little-known feminist heroine and an inspirational exploration of a crucial moment in American history - one century before the Women’s March - this is a perfect audiobook for fans of Hidden Figures.

©2019 Tina Cassidy (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

Everyone should hear this story

I am in awe of what women sacrificed so we can have the vote. This story is so engaging I finished the book in two days. If you need to be reminded that committed people can change the world listen to this book.

Worthy Read

Having studied World War I so extensively in the last few years, I found that this book added a depth and breadth to that era. Alice Paul is a familiar hero of US women’s history, but this presentation of her life contrasted against that of Woodrow Wilson provides a great way to better understand both. For me, the choices made by Alice Paul and her colleagues were brave, bold, and perhaps a bit uncomfortable. But a protest that makes an impact, makes a statement, makes a difference - maybe really has to make people uncomfortable in order to do those things. Peaceful and pressing boundaries, we feel this in the efforts to impact change to this day. Overall it was a great and insightful reading providing an interesting set of subjects and an opportunity for education on important topics. I highly recommend.

Every American of voting age should read this book.

The book reads like a suspense novel. It tells an incredible story of perseverance. We all owe the women documented in the book and all the others who campaigned locally a huge debt of gratitude. It is a story everyone should know.

How two people changed America

From the time he arrived in Washington following his election until the 19th amendment passed the Senate six and a half years later, Alice Paul hounded Woodrow Wilson to push for the right to vote for women. Her strategy and tactics shocked Americans at the time but became a model for future fights to expand civil rights.
Cassidy focuses narrowly on this period. While Wilson pushed for the “progressive” agenda and Allied victory in WWI, Paul’s only objective was the passage of the amendment.
Using Wilson’s own words against him, on banners which women picketers carried to the White House gate, Paul was fearless in her attacks. Facing down misogynists and charges of being unpatriotic, she continued to argue that America would not be a democracy if half of its population did not have a say in their government.
Splitting from less radical women’s organizations, Paul deserves much of the credit for the final passage of a federal amendment.

Robotic Reading Hurts Story

Fascinating history is diminished by narrator that sounds like a computer. She makes the most interesting scenes sound boring. I suggest getting the book rather than listening.