Votes for Women.

Votes for Women

Introduction

The right to vote, known as suffrage, in general elections, was given to women who were 30 years old and over in 1918. This new law that allowed women of that age to vote, was made by the end of the First World War from 1914-1918. However, many women had campaigned well before the war started for the right to vote. There were 2 types of groups- the suffragists who were formed first; and the suffragettes who were formed afterwards, a little while later. Both groups acted in different ways too. The suffragists campaigned for the right to vote in a peaceful way, whereas the suffragettes mainly used violence in their movement to gain the right to vote.

The suffragettes had eye-catching posters, developed demonstrations and used acts of violence to get their message across. Many went to prison and went on hunger strike, as you will find out later.

However, when war against Germany started in 1914, the suffragettes stopped their campaign in order to help in the war effort. They encouraged men to join up and go to war, and appealed to women to take over the work of the men while they were away fighting in the war. This eventually led up to grant the women over 30 the right to vote as you will see in further depth later on.

The Suffragists

The move for women to have the right to vote had really started in 1897 when Millicent Fawcett founded the ‘National Union of Women’s Suffrage’ or NUWSS. She believed in peaceful protest. She felt that any violence or trouble would persuade men that women could not be trusted to have the right to vote. Her plan was patience and reasonable arguments. This was the beginning of the suffragists. She argued that women could hold responsible posts in the society such as head of schools and sitting on school boards, but could be trusted to vote. Fawcett also argued that if the government made rules and laws and that women had to obey those rules and laws, then women should have the right to be part in the process of making the laws i.e. voting. She also said that women paid taxes just like men, and men had the right to vote. So if they had the right to vote, so should women. One of her most powerful arguments was that wealthy mistresses of large manors and estates employed gardeners, workmen, labourers etc. who were allowed to vote, and yet, the wealthy mistress cannot vote, regardless of her wealth. These were the main reasons as to why Millicent Fawcett started a campaign to appeal for suffrage.

Although she had set up the campaign NUWSS, Fawcett’s progress was very slow. Many members of the parliament did not take much interest in her appeals, as they thought that women would simply not understand the way in which the parliament worked, and therefore should not take part in the electoral process. However, Fawcett was able to convince some of the members of the Labour Representation Party (Labour Party) to support her ideas. Apart from this, many women became very angry due to the statement with women not understanding. Due to this, another committee was formed in 1903. This was known as the ‘Women’s Social and Political Union’ or WSPU. This was the beginning of the suffragettes.

The Suffragettes

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The Suffragettes

The founder and the leader of the suffragettes and WSPU was Emmeline Pankhurst. Emmeline Pankhurst was born in Manchester England during the height of the Industrial Revolution. Her mother and father were activists in reform movements and right from the start, it was known that Emmeline was going to change the world. In 1879 she married Richard Pankhurst. Richard was a member of parliament. He, along with support from his colleague, philosopher, John Stuart Mill, drafted the first bill proposing giving women the vote. Richard and Emmeline had three children Christabel, Sylvia, and Adela. All three children supported their parents' causes and participated in the WSPU. Together Emmeline and Richard moved to London where Richard tried to set up a law practice. All of his efforts were denied because of his radical views. Emmeline was forced to open a fancy goods shop to supplement for their income.

This is a picture of Emmeline and Richard Pankhurst. The couple sought further rights for women in Great Britain.

In Manchester on October 10 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst’s patience finally ran out. Tired of being pleasant to MP’s in order to get them to give women the vote, she called for more aggressive action. ‘Deeds, not words’ was to be the motto of the Women’s Social and Political Union. (WSPU) Emmeline expected a fight but little did she imagine the violent and often savage struggle that was to follow on the basis of that motto. Her movement was restricted to independent women only. They were women of belief and pursued their goal with great passion and determination.

On May 19 1905, a group of ten women went to speak to the Prime Minister. Amongst those women was Emily Davies LL.D., who was seventy-six years old. It was Emily who handed the first women’s suffrage petition to the Prime Minister. In return all they received was some advice about ‘being patient’. This was not the result they wanted. They wanted to be taken seriously. Because of this, some peaceful demonstrations turned into acts of violence.

Her group of suffragettes participated in democratic demonstrations and pubic acts of violence. By 1905 media organizations had lost interest in the women's suffrage movement. To recover the media's and parliaments attention, he WSPU began to take more violent approaches. In 1908 women suffragettes broke the windows of the Prime Minister's house. This act of breaking windows of government building became routine for suffragettes. In the same year a large demonstration took place in London in which WSPU women attempted to enter the House of Commons.

At this event the police arrested many women, including Emmeline. The new idea of violence adopted by many women appalled British citizens, never before had women taken charge and acted this way before. While in prison suffragettes followed the lead of Marion Dunlop, who refused to eat during her prison sentence in 1909. Marion was released because of her actions and prison authorities had to force feed hunger-striking women rather then set them all free. The practice of hunger-strikes became common with women of the WSPU who had been imprisoned. Over an eighteen month period of the women's suffrage movement in Great Britain, Emmeline went on total of ten hunger-strikes. Parliament was forced to pass the Cat and Mouse Act. This allowed hunger-striking women to be released from prison under the condition that they continue their sentence after they regained their strength.

This picture represents the force that the police used against the militant actions of the WSPU. Their actions, which led to many of them being placed in jail, surprised and disgusted many British citizens.

This image is of Emmeline and her daughter, Christabel. The two suffragettes are in their prison clothes. It shows what the women would wear when they were sent to jail for their protests. The women endured great hardships to win the right to vote.

Hunger Strikes

It was Marion Wallace Dunlop who was the first to go on a hunger strike. She had been arrested and convicted of wilful damage, caused by rubber-stamping a Bill of Rights message on a wall at St. Stephen’s Hall.

She was sentenced to one month's imprisonment and decided to go on a hunger strike on July 5 1909. She threw away the food brought to her. The prison authorities threatened to force feed her with milk through her nostrils. As a form of torture, to break her fast, they left food on the table in her cell. After a fast that lasted ninety-one hours the Home Secretary set her free.

The suffragettes decided on multiple, simultaneous attacks and demonstrations to confuse and harass the police, and keep their cause in the newspapers.

One group decided to break windows in Whitehall. To women of culture and sophistication, throwing stones in order to cause damage, required great moral courage. As soon as the stone throwing began, arrests were made. Other teams made their way to the House. On looking crowds watched terrified, as the women stood their ground fearlessly under the harassment of the police horses.

By the evening, one hundred and eight suffragettes had been arrested. They appeared the next day in Bow Street to stand trial charged with obstruction, damage and assaulting the police. The police had difficulty identifying their battered prisoners as to who did what.

At the same court, the group responsible for the stone throwing were tried separately. This group was found guilty and sentenced to seven days close confinement (solitary) in Holloway Prison. Amongst those imprisoned were Gladys Roberts of Leeds, Miss Wright, Kathleen Brown and Mary Allen. They immediately went on a hunger strike and no amount of pleading by the doctors persuaded them to eat. Seven days later, they were released without breaking their fast. No sooner were they out than the suffragettes staged yet another demonstration at a place called Bingley Hall in Birmingham. They were arrested, tried, convicted and imprisoned in Birmingham’s Winston Green Goal. The moment they were in jail they started to protest and went on a hunger strike. The authorities decided to force-feed the fasting women.

News leaked out about the force-feeding and the press was in uproar. In parliament the MP’s just laughed and the Home Secretary, H. Gladstone, was unmoved by the outcries.

Mrs Mary Leigh suffers the indignity of force-feeding

Black Friday

1910 was an election year and the suffragettes were determined to bring their cause to the front of the election and keep it there. They set out peacefully and as they neared the House, they ran into a group of policemen. As the women tried to go forward they were pushed and beaten, thrown to the ground and trampled, had limbs broken and dislocated, some were dragged down side streets and offensive assaults were attempted. Again and again, the women rushed the police, unconcerned now to the violence being done, there was no stopping them. In a part of this violent fight, Ada Wright was thrown to the ground and unknowingly photographed as she lay there in a daze. The next day the photograph appeared on the front page of the Daily Mirror under the headline: BLACK FRIDAY.

The government tried to stop the photograph in the newspaper, but it was too late, copies had already been sold. At the end of the demonstration, over one hundred women had been arrested on various charges.

Many were treated for the injuries sustained in their clash with the police. Sent to prison, they were eventually released two days before Christmas.

The Pankhurst’s held a family party on Christmas day and later on, Emmeline’s sister Mary said she felt tired and was going upstairs to lie down. A little while later Emmeline went up to see her and found her dead. The following week Black Friday claimed another victim, Henria Williams; she had died of heart failure. It was an unfortunate and tragic end for these courageous women who did not live to see the efforts of their struggle being rewarded.

The Beginning of World War I

Several days after the start of the First World War all the suffragettes who were prisoners were released.

Emmeline Pankhurst stopped all demonstrations and acts of violence and called on her followers to help defend the country. Before long women were streaming into the factories to make arms and munitions. There were no important moves by parliament in the next few years. However, the increasing number of women working in the factories began to say something. By seeing that these women were going to be more responsible, the parliament decided to make this the beginning of the end of no votes for women.

In 1916, the war committee demanded a vote for every soldier. To be entitled to vote the existing laws required men to be qualified as householders, and to have occupied their house for at least a year previous to an election, which was a bit difficult if you have been sent to the front and have been there over a year already. The result to many men who were soldiers was, they lost the right to vote! This act affected millions of men who were in the war.

Herbert Asquith, in 1916, began to face up to the fact that women were going to get the vote. With so many women aiding the war effort, he realised that circumstances had changed forever. He couldn’t see how they could prevent them from getting the vote after the war ended. In the House of Commons in June 1917, the women’s suffrage bill was debated. The idea that women were lower to men was squashed and that women really were equal in the social, academic and financial fields.

Also, during the First World War, Emmeline Pankhurst went to other countries to urge the women there to do the same as she done, and fight for the right to vote. Finally, in January 1918, women were for the first time given the right to vote. It had taken them nearly forty years.

They were given the right to vote after more than one thousand suffragettes had been jailed in order for the right to vote. They had suffered hard labour and the humiliation of force-feeding in dirty prisons. They had suffered broken bodies but not broken spirits. Some had paid the ultimate price for the right in life to be free, and to be treated as equals. They were finally given the right to vote.