Question

Use the excerpts and your knowledge of social studies to answer the question. “President Wilson and Envoy Root [American statesman Elihu Root]. . .say ‘We are a democracy. . .’ We women of America tell you that America is not a democracy. Twenty million women are denied the right to vote. . . .Tell our government that it must liberate its people. . . ” —Leaflet written and distributed by Alice Paul outside of the White House 1917 “Everybody counts in applying democracy. And there will never be a true democracy until every responsible and law-abiding adult in it, without regard to race, sex, color or creed, has his or her own inalienable and unpurchasable voice in government.” —Carrie Chapman Catt upon the establishment of the League of Women Voters, 1920... According to Paul, why had the United States failed to be a true democracy? The government refused to give women the right to vote. Only women in a few western states had the right to vote. The government denied the vote to non-white people. President Wilson had taken away the right to vote from some people.

Answer 1

The answer is: The government refused to give women the right to vote.

In the excerpt from the leaflet, suffragist Alice Paul indicates that America is a democracy: a government in which people participate. As a result, she demands that twenty million women are do not have the right to participate with their votes, and claims that they are oppressed by the government.