Over the years, their violence got worse, and was sometimes so destructive that they lost members. They started off with demonstrations and processions, which led to harassing politicians. Herbert Asquith, a non-supporter of women’s suffrage, had his house picketed several times and was interrupted and jeered at when he made speeches. In 1906, eleven suffragettes were arrested for “causing a disturbance” outside the House of Commons. They used propaganda to show that they were ill treated in jail, to win the sympathy of the public.
The violence got worse. The suffragettes chained themselves to railings, and vandalised property by breaking windows. At a meeting in Birmingham, where Asquith was speaking, two suffragettes climbed onto the roof and threw slates through the glass roof of the hall. Lloyd George, who was actually a supporter of women’s suffrage, was also picked on. For example, a suffragette locked herself in his car and gave him a lecture on women’s suffrage. In 1913 suffragettes blew up part of his house. Not only did they hassle the politicians, but they also destroyed houses, churches, and art galleries. They set fire to letterboxes, almost burnt down the Theatre Royal Dublin, and one suffragette tried to blow up a cinema. Another of their methods was to go on hunger strikes so that they had to be force fed, which gave them more attention, and was good propaganda. Their actions can be summed up with their motto – “deeds not words”.
The suffragists, on the other hand, used peaceful and legal methods. They felt the only way to get the vote was to win the respect of the politicians and people, and show that women were respectable and intelligent. One of their methods was to sign petitions, and in 1901 67,000 textile workers signed a petition supporting their cause. They also produced leaflets and posters and organised meetings. In June 1908, they became slightly more active and organised a mass demonstration with approximately 13,000 women. They paraded through the centre of London, dressed as famous women from history, such as Queen Elizabeth. This ended with a meeting at the Royal Albert Hall, and people came from all over the country to listen.
They also met with politicians to argue their case, and as their members included men as well as women, they were listened to and taken more seriously. They used tactics such as supporting candidates who were in favour of women’s suffrage in elections, and in the 1906 elections, they put forward male candidates who supported them. These would compete with the Liberals who opposed giving women the vote. Also, for effectiveness, women were trained to speak at public meetings, so that more people would get involved. Their leader, Millicent Garret-Fawcett compared the NUWSS to a glacier – slow, but unstoppable.
The two groups were very different, and after 1912 they were not able to work jointly. The suffragettes’ methods were violent and militant, whereas the suffragists used peaceful, legal methods. The Women’s Freedom League was a branch of the WSPU, but did not agree with the extreme amount of violence used. I think that both the suffragists and the suffragettes contributed to getting the vote in 1918.
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