Suffragettes and Suffragists By Thomas Porter

Suffragettes and their Origins; Term for women who advocated for the right to vote in public elections to be extended to women. They were considered militant for their aggressive style of protest, which included arson, vandalism and domestic terrorism. They would participate in hunger strikes and other extreme forms of protest which led to a police crackdown, with the inclusion of imprisonment and force feeding. The campaign for voting rights became bitter and oppressive until it was banned outright in 1914 with the start of WW1.

Notable Actions by the Suffragettes; Gained the right to vote for all women over 30 with certain property qualifications in 1918. In 1928 this was extended to all women over the age of 21 regardless of social status.

Famous Suffragettes The Pankhurst sisters, Christabel and Emmeline and Sylvia. Notorious for their militant action in advocacy of their right to vote. Joan Beauchamp - e was one of the founders and a lifelong member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and an associate of suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst. She was regarded as one of the suffragette movement most militant members.

In 1897, various local women's suffrage societies formed the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, under the leadership of Millicent Fawcett. The leadership of the suffragists was exclusively middle class but some of the more radical members recognised early on that the movement needed the support of working class women. Suffragists;

Suffragists Continued: The term ‘suffragists’ referred to the advocacy for the extension of women's suffrage. The Suffragist party was essentially a predecessor to the WSPU, which split off from the suffragists and became notoriously known as the suffragettes for their high profile tactics. This is arguably why many don’t acknowledge the difference between the two, and have even less of an idea about the suffragists.

Did the suffragettes achieve what they set out to do? It is argued that the suffragettes did succeed in furthering women's suffrage, even if the methods they resorted to received mixed reactions from all. However without their drastic action they may not have been able to achieve what they intended to; or the outcome could have been different entirely.

Why is it relevant today? The movement is still very relevant today as it serves as a foothold in the push for both equality and equity by feminists past and present. The movement gained notoriety internationally in countries across the British Empire and the world, such as India, Australia and New Zealand and the USA.