Jailed For Freedom by Doris Stevens- 100th Anniversary edition 
A first-person account of the Militant Fight for Women's Rights by Doris Stevens
with Introduction by Angela P. Dodson

Jailed for Freedom is a book by Doris Stevens. Originally published in 1920, it was reissued by New Sage Press in 1995 in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[1] The commemorative edition was edited by Carol O'Hare to update the language for a modern audience.[2] Jailed for Freedom was reissued in 2020 by Black Dog & Leventhal in a 100th-anniversary edition.

The Historical Journal of Massachusetts characterizes the book as "a lengthy and sympathetic account of these events".[4] Johanna Neumann in the Wall Street Journal ranked Jailed for Freedom number one of books on the fight for women's suffrage.[5] Jailed for Freedom is extensively quoted in Encyclopedia Britannica's Annals of American History in the essay "Suffragettes Criminals or Political Prisoners?

Doris Stevens was born in 1888 in Omaha, Nebraska to a pastor father and an immigrant mother from Holland [7]. She attended Omaha High School and later Oberlin College. At Oberlin College, she became involved in women's suffrage and became actively involved in advocating for women's legal rights. After graduating, she moved to Washington D.C., and joined NAWSA as a regional organizer.

She wrote Jailed for Freedom, which was a firsthand account of her involvement with the more militant National Woman's Party and their fight for suffrage, published in 1920.[9] It follows the story of women's suffrage and the repercussions of fighting for one's rights. Jailed for Freedom discusses how women picketing the White House were jailed and depicts the political and social tensions of that time. Stevens shares accounts of beatings, police brutality, and cruelty faced by women protesters, as well as the injustice faced by women in prison for standing up for their rights.  Stevens was an organizer and a devout participant in the Silent Sentinels, protests which began in January 1917 outside of the White House, urging President Woodrow Wilson to pass the 19th Amendment. It was during these peaceful protests that Stevens and other suffragist women were arrested and jailed for their involvement.[10]

Stevens dedicated Jailed For Freedom to Alice Paul, another leader of the National Woman's Party who was jailed alongside Stevens during the Silent Sentinels. The book has three parts. Part 1 is titled "Leadership" and illustrates the work of Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul. Part 2 is titled "Political Action" and talks about women organizing to protest the capital and President Woodrow Wilson to gain the right of suffrage. Part 3 is titled "Militancy" and talks about the violent, cruel backlash these women faced from authorities and in jail. It highlights the fight the women gave the capitol and how they finally succeeded in passing the 19th Amendment.

The impact of Doris Steven's novel has been long-lasting, and it was the basis for the 2004 film, Iron Jawed Angels. Jailed For Freedom, to this day, is the one definitive record of women who went to prison for the suffrage cause.

Today, one can learn more on the topic of the Silent Sentinels and women who have been jailed for freedom at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington DC. One of the items on display is a pin called the "Jailed for Freedom" pin which was presented to the women who endured the Occoquan Workhouse by the National Women's Party. It resembled a jail cell with a heart-shaped lock on it designed by Nina Allender
hardcover, 296 pages