There are many clich’s that apply to the events that took place in New Jersey concerning women’s suffrage in January 1920, including “politics makes strange bedfellows” and “the best laid plans of ….” But the most fitting is “don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” The goal of Alice Paul and her supporters was to quickly win victories in 36 of the 48 states to secure ratification of the 19th Amendment in time to allow all American women to vote for president in 1920.

In New Jersey, the November 1919 election had left the state with a divided government. Gov.