The Suffragettes

1. The Suffragettes

2. Who were the Suffragettes? • At the beginning of the 20th century only men were allowed to vote in elections for Members of Parliament. • Many women thoughtthis was unfair and started to demand that women should be allowed to vote. • These women were called SUFFRAGETTES. • They were called this because the word ‘suffrage’ means the right to vote.

3. The Leaders • The leader of the Suffragettes was a lawyers wife called Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst. • In 1903 Mrs Pankhurst started a society called the W.S.P.U (Women’s Social and Political Union). • This was the organisation theSuffragettes belonged to.

4. WSPU leaders Annie Kenney (left) and Christabel Pankhurst

5. The W.S.P.U. • The W.S.P.U. had headquarters in Manchester and London but soon branches formed all over Britain. • It was mainly a middle class movement but got some support from the working class. • Its motto ‘Deeds, not words’ attracted many younger women. • Its aim was to persuade the Liberal government to give women the vote but the Prime Minister Herbert Asquith was against this. • The W.S.P.U. began a peaceful campaign which included – marches, distributing leaflets and posters, sending letters and articles to newspapers.

8. The Militant Campaign • As peaceful methods seemed to gain little, the W.S.P.U. began to break the law to gain publicity and support. • They disrupted political meetings of leading Liberal politicians and harassed MP’s. • They began a campaign of vandalism – smashing shop windows, painted slogans on buildings, cut telephone wires and slashed paintings in art galleries. • They chained themselves to railings near Parliament in London. • They set fire to letter boxes and empty public buildings.

9. Militancy Results in Death • On 4th of June 1913 the famous Derby horse race was run at Epsom Racecourse. • King George V and Queen Mary were there as the King’s horse, Amner, was running in the race. • During the race as a group of leading horses reached the bend called Tottenham Corner a suffragette named Emily Davidson ducked under the rails and rushed on to the racecourse. • The first horse missed her but she ran right into the track of the King’s horse. • The women was hurled into the air by the force of the collision and died later in hospital. • The horse fell, rose again and then galloped away dragging the jockey who had caught his foot in the stirrup. He survived.

10. I M P R I S O N M E N T • Many women were imprisoned for breaking the law. • Whilst in prison some women went on hunger strike to draw attention to their campaign. • The prison authorities force fed these women though this was dangerous to their health. • In one eighteen month period, Emmeline Pankhurst, who was 50 years old, endured 10 of these hunger strikes.

11. A drawing from the WSPU newspaper in 1909

12. The Cat and Mouse Act 1913 • Many people were horrified at the cruelty of force feeding by prison authorities. • In reaction to this and after a general election in which the Liberals had lost a lot of support the government passed the Temporary Discharge of Prisoners Act (1913). • Hunger strikers who were very weak were released from prison but were then admitted back to prison once they were healthy. • However it proved difficult to re-arrest those released from prison. • This was known to the Suffragettes as The Cat and Mouse Act.

14. Reaction to Militancy • The suffragettes did gain publicity for their cause. • Some suffragists left the WSPU and joined the Women’s Freedom League which used less militant tactics. • Some members of the public believed that the extreme actions of the militants were proof that women did not deserve the right to vote. • Some ministers like Lloyd George and Winston Churchill were sympathetic to the women’s cause but others were very much against them. • After the more militant actions of 1910 the government was determined not to give into force in case it encouraged other groups.