Demonstration

Lafayette Park has long served as a place for political and social demonstrations, where people exercise their right of free speech using the park as a stage and the White House as their audience. Demonstrations often take the form of nighttime vigils, marches, picketing, and other peaceful means of public awareness. One of the most historically significant demonstrations occurred during the fight for women's suffrage, when on January 10, 1917, a group of suffragists left the National Woman's Party headquarters at Cameron House on the eastern side of the square to promote their cause and became the first people to picket the White House. Many suffragists were fined and imprisoned for their actions. Women gained the right to vote with the ratification and certification of the Nineteenth Amendment on August 26, 1920. Ever since, people have gathered in Lafayette Park to demonstrate and raise awareness for their cause.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States