Oregonian Gram was among the 41 “Silent Sentinels” arrested while picketing in front of the White House in November, 1917. Betty, a 24-year-old teacher, and her sister Alice, a 22-year-old journalist, were charged with obstructing traffic during their nonviolent protest. They were released by a judge after warning them of the dangers of revolutionary activity. Undeterred, the sisters returned to the picket line that same day. They were again arrested for obstructing traffic, and this time sentenced to serve 30 days at the Occoquan Workhouse.

Once jailed, Alice and Betty joined a hunger strike along with other women arrested in Washington D.C. who were engaging in the struggle for national woman suffrage. The authorities responded by sending in doctors to force-feed the protestors against their will. The sister’s efforts succeeded in the end, and the strikers were freed after two weeks. The torturous methods of feeding these women were widely publicized, however, and their suffering had a profound effect​ on public opinion. The Gram sisters showed the nation what women were willing to endure in order to secure their right to vote, and what the law was willing to do in order to suppress them.​