# Alice Paul was not married to President Arthur **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 13, 2013, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092 "2013-08-13T00:50:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/1 "2013-08-13T00:50:54Z")
…and some of you are asking, “What the Hell is Nemo talking about?” The United States Mint issued a series of [dollar coins](http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/$1coin/) commemorating the Presidents of the United States. As a follow-up to that, the Mint is now issuing a series of [First Spouse](http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/firstspouse/) coins. Alright, no problem. But they ran into a few issues that needed to be resolved. Not every President was married while he served as President. Buchanan never married and four Presidents were widowers before assuming office. There were also six Presidents who were married more than once (and Wilson was married to two different women while he was President). So the Mint could have decided to honor all of the women who were married to a President, including those who died before their husbands were President. Or the Mint could have chosen to honor the women who filled the ceremonial role of First Lady for the Presidents who were unmarried while in office. Or the Mint could have done both or neither. What the Mint decided to do was try to maintain a pairing by matching each President to his wife if he was married while in office. For those who weren’t, some generic “Liberty” coins were issued. (Wilson, having screwed the whole thing up, got a coin issued for both his wives.) I think this was a poor choice but I wasn’t consulted. It was, if nothing else, at least a consistent system. Except for [Alice Paul](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Paul). (Remember her? She was in the thread title.) Alice Paul was a historical figure - she was a leading figure in the women’s suffrage movement and a noteworthy figure. She was not some abstract personification of Liberty. Nor was she, by any stretch of the imagination, a First Spouse, no matter how loosely you define the term. But apparently back when the Presidential One Dollar Coin Act of 2005 was enacted, somebody decided to pork barrel Paul in. A [special provision](http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/firstspouse/index.cfm?action=2012fs&spouse=AlicePaul) was made that one of the First Spouse coins would honor Paul. Chester Alan Arthur’s was chosen because there was a vacancy (Ellen Arthur having died a year before her husband was elected) and this was “justified” by the fact that Paul was born during Arthur’s term of office. Now I have great admiration for Alice Paul. She did a good job for a good cause and righted a long-existing wrong. If they wanted to issue a series of coins honoring Great Americans, I’d be happy to see her included. But she was simply not a First Spouse and she doesn’t belong in this commemorative series. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/2 "2013-08-13T01:09:31Z")
The Liberty reverse does suck. Jackson’s niece was only as old as a college kid when she had to put up not only with Jackson but also a pack of backstabbing bitches led by John C Calhoun’s wife. Died before she was thirty. Give her the back of a coin for shit sake. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/3 "2013-08-13T01:14:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > …and some of you are asking, “What the Hell is Nemo talking about?” > > Except for [Alice Paul](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Paul). (Remember her? She was in the thread title.) Remember Alice? This song’s about Alice. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/4 "2013-08-13T02:36:41Z")
Thank you. I was also thinking about Alice. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/5 "2013-08-13T02:42:18Z")
This has, I fear, very little to do with the OP’s complaint, but I’m amazed to discover that Alice Paul was alive during my lifetime. It makes you realize how short American history really is. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/6 "2013-08-13T02:58:44Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > This has, I fear, very little to do with the OP’s complaint, but I’m amazed to discover that Alice Paul was alive during my lifetime. It makes you realize how short American history really is. Yes, it’s kind of mind-boggling that somebody who helped get women the vote was still around when I was a high school student. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/7 "2013-08-13T02:59:55Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > Remember Alice? This song’s about Alice. Damn. Now I wish I had made that joke. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/8 "2013-08-13T03:21:05Z")
Chester A. Arthur fall down! ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/9 "2013-08-13T04:51:06Z")
That BITCH! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/10 "2013-08-13T06:19:43Z")
Alice? Who the fuck is Alice? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/11 "2013-08-13T07:41:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Damn. Now I wish I had made that joke. FWIW, I thought you had. (Or did I just get backwards whooshed?) ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/12 "2013-08-13T11:49:24Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > Remember Alice? This song’s about Alice. Tender young Alice they say… ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/13 "2013-08-13T12:30:52Z")
Go ask Alice what she thinks of all this Alas, Alice is not alive. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/14 "2013-08-13T13:07:38Z")
Can you use the coin to get whatever you want at her restaurant? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/15 "2013-08-13T13:46:41Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Can you use the coin to get whatever you want at her restaurant? Anything except for what you’re thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/16 "2013-08-13T14:36:48Z")
When the men on the chessboard get up And tell you where to go And you’ve just had some kind of mushroom And your mind is moving low Go ask Alice, I think she’ll know ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/17 "2013-08-13T14:40:12Z")
Alice doesn’t live here any more. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/18 "2013-08-13T15:37:50Z")
Years ago, I read a book about the American suffragist movement. If I’m remembering correctly, a group of suffragists were imprisoned in a very poorly ventilated cell. Word got out to Alice Paul about their situation. She got herself put in the same cell, and then heaved a volume of poetry by Elizabeth Barrett Browning through a small window, increasing the airflow. Another anecdote: A young woman introduced herself to Alice Paul, stating that she was joining the movement so that women could get the vote. Her response was, “What did you think we were doing before you arrived?” ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/19 "2013-08-13T17:17:13Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Damn. Now I wish I had made that joke. You will, **Little Nemo** , you will. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092/20 "2013-08-13T17:22:51Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > She got herself put in the same cell, and then heaved a volume of poetry by Elizabeth Barrett Browning through a small window I’d heard it was through the looking glass. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alice-paul-was-not-married-to-president-arthur/666092.md?page=2)