Women’s Suffrage Movement in Great Britain

1830-1903 Began with Chartism Little progress because of ineffective tactics Parlor meetings Petitions sent to Parliament Politely questioned candidates

1860-90 John Stuart Mill wrote, Subjection of Women Resolution for woman suffrage presented in House of Commons Isle of Man gave vote to women who owned property

Women’s Organizations 1897—National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) formed by local British societies 1903—Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters First goal—recruit more working class women

1903 New methods Outdoor meetings Interrupted government speakers at public gatherings and demanded their views Campaigned against anti-suffrage candidates

1903 New methods Marched in parades Organized & recorded membership Sought support of working class women

October, 1905 Annie Kenney, an English working class suffragist became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She attracted attention in 1905 when she, and Christabel Pankhurst, were imprisoned for assaulting and heckling a member of Parliament. This incident is credited with inaugurating a new phase in the struggle for women's suffrage in the UK, with the adoption of militant tactics.

June, 1908 WSPU began tactic of breaking windows Broke windows of the Prime Minister’s house at 10 Downing Street 27 women sent to Holloway Prison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ng00ihHDc

October, 1908 WSPU held demonstration and tried to enter House of Commons 24 women arrested, including Emmeline Pankhurst who received 3 months in prison

July, 1909 5 July 1909, the imprisoned suffragette Marion Wallace Dunlop went on hunger strike. Sent to prison for posting quotes from the English Bill of Rights on the wall in the House of Commons. She refused all food as a protest against not being recognized as a political prisoner (As a political prisoner she would be entitled certain privileges) After three and a half days of fasting, she was released. Other women adopted this strategy The Prisoners began to be force-fed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO70ZjZ0wrw

Force Feeding of the Suffragists The most famous account of the force feeding was written by Sylvia Pankhurst: “My gums, when they pried them open, were always sore and bleeding, with bits of loose, jagged flesh... sometimes the tube was coughed up three or four times before they finally got it down. Sometimes, but not often – I was generally too much agitated by then – I felt the tube go right down into the stomach; a sickening, terrifying sensation, especially when it reached the breast. My shoulders were bruised; my back ached during the night... Infinitely worse than the pain was the sense of degradation”

1913 Cat and Mouse Act (Prisoner’s Temporary Discharge of Ill Health Act) Women on hunger strikes When ill, released When recovered, rearrested to complete sentences

July, 1913 Suffragists tried to burn the houses of 2 government officials, including David Lloyd George Burned cricket pavilions, racecourse stands and golf clubhouses Some women quit because of escalating violence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G4fJ9I_wQg

Enters the National Gallery and Slashes the Rokeby Venus March, 1914 Mary Richardson Enters the National Gallery and Slashes the Rokeby Venus

By summer, 1914 Over 1,000 suffragists had been imprisoned for destroying property Leading WSPU members: Arrested Ill In exile

August, 1914 England declared war on Germany NUWSS and WSPU suspended political activity until war ended Helped war effort Government released suffragists from prison Emmeline Pankhurst called on unions to let women work in male-dominated industries

1919 The Representation of the People Act granted women over 30 the right to vote, as long as they were married to or a member of Local Government Register

1928 Equal Franchise Act Voting rights for men and women were equalized

Purple, White, & Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvk1NZDFvZU

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