The Development of the Women's Suffrage Movement

This section explains the development of the Women's Suffrage Movement. By the start of the 20th century, many groups in Britain had gained the right to vote in general elections, but women were still excluded. This injustice sparked growing calls for women to be granted the vote, yet there was significant division among campaigners about the best approach. The law-abiding, non-violent tactics of the Suffragists contrasted sharply with the more militant, attention-grabbing methods of the Suffragettes. Both faced deeply entrenched sexist prejudices that were difficult to overcome.

The Women’s Suffrage Groups

Throughout the 19th century, there had been persistent demands for women's suffrage (the right to vote), though progress had been slow.

• Suffrage refers to the right to vote in elections, and this right had been granted to various groups of men, but women were still denied it.
• While some improvements had been made to women's lives in the 1800s, such as the Married Women’s Property Act of 1870, which allowed women to retain control over their property and money after marriage, much of society still viewed women as inferior in political and social matters.
• Women were granted the right to vote in local elections, but these gains did not extend to national politics, and efforts to extend the franchise to women in general elections had been unsuccessful.

In response to these challenges, three key suffrage groups were established.

Key Suffrage Groups

National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)

In 1897, Millicent Fawcett united various women's suffrage organisations to form the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).

Key Features:

• Founded in 1897 by Millicent Fawcett.
• A law-abiding, non-violent organisation, known as the Suffragists.
• Their methods included distributing leaflets, organising rallies and marches, and lobbying MPs across all political parties to argue on their behalf.
• The group sought to counter the stereotype that women were too emotional and irrational to vote by conducting calm and reasoned campaigns.
• The NUWSS gained substantial support and, in 1913, thousands of women joined its ‘pilgrimage’ from Carlisle to London to demand the vote.

However, despite these efforts, progress was slow, leading some suffragists to seek a more radical approach.

Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)

In 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst, along with her daughters Sylvia and Christabel, founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), a more militant organisation.

Key Features:

• Founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters.
• The WSPU adopted the slogan ‘deeds not words’, emphasising direct action.
• The group’s tactics included throwing acid on golf courses, smashing windows, setting fire to postboxes, and chaining themselves to railings.
• Members of the WSPU became known as the Suffragettes, and many were frequently arrested and imprisoned.
• The WSPU’s aggressive tactics, such as the window-smashing campaign of 1912, led to thousands of broken windows and over 200 arrests.

The WSPU's dramatic actions attracted widespread attention, particularly after Emily Wilding Davison, a suffragette, tragically died in 1913 after stepping in front of the King’s horse during the Epsom Derby.

Women’s Freedom League (WFL)

In response to the WSPU’s extreme tactics, a more moderate group called the Women’s Freedom League (WFL) was formed in 1907.

Key Features:

• Founded in 1907 by Teresa Billington-Greig and Charlotte Despard.
• A breakaway group from the WSPU, advocating pacifism and democratic structures.
• Although they supported the idea of ‘deeds not words’, the WFL opposed violent actions against property or people.
• They engaged in protests such as refusing to pay taxes or boycotting the census as acts of civil disobedience.

The WSPU’s Militant Campaigns

While all three suffrage organisations campaigned for women’s voting rights, it was the militant actions of the WSPU that gained the most attention.

• One notable campaign in 1912 involved the smashing of windows in prominent public spaces, resulting in the destruction of thousands of windows and the arrest of over 200 suffragettes.
• However, the most dramatic moment in the suffrage campaign came with the death of Emily Wilding Davison at the 1913 Epsom Derby. As part of her protest, Davison stepped directly in front of the King’s horse during the race. She was fatally injured and died from her wounds. Many saw this as a martyrdom for the suffrage cause. Over 50,000 people attended her funeral, and the words ‘deeds not words’ were carved into her gravestone.

The Cat and Mouse Act

As the suffragettes’ actions became more extreme, the government faced increasing pressure to respond. Many suffragettes went on hunger strikes while in prison to protest their imprisonment. The government was reluctant to allow them to die from starvation, as this would have caused a public relations disaster. To prevent this, authorities decided to force-feed the suffragettes, a practice that was widely condemned as torture.

In response to the public outcry and the hunger strikes, the government passed the Prisoners Temporary Discharge for Ill Health Act in 1913. This law allowed suffragettes to be temporarily released from prison when their health deteriorated due to hunger strikes, only to be re-arrested once they had recovered. The media began to refer to this practice as the ‘Cat and Mouse Act’, likening the government’s treatment of suffragettes to a cat playing with a mouse. The controversial act generated public sympathy for the suffragettes and increased support for their cause.

Opposition to Women’s Suffrage

Despite the growing support for women’s suffrage, there was fierce opposition from various quarters.

• Some prominent figures, including Florence Nightingale and Queen Victoria, were against women gaining the vote.
• Many opponents believed that politics was the domain of men and that a woman's place was in the home.
• The prevailing view was that women were too emotional and irrational to make informed political decisions.
• Herbert Asquith, the Prime Minister at the time, was also strongly opposed to granting women the right to vote.

Despite this opposition, the persistence of the suffragists and suffragettes ultimately led to the eventual success of the women’s suffrage movement, culminating in the partial extension of the vote to women in the Representation of the People Act in 1918.