DOCSLIB.ORG

6.3 Suffragettes: Government Attempts to Deal with the Protest

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
6.3 Suffragettes: Government Attempts to Deal with the Protest Protest, law and order in the twentieth century Suffragettes 1903–14 (Political protest) However, once details of the methods used had Source B: A 6.3 Suffragettes: government attempts been publicised by the WSPU – for instance, in their suffragette struggling paper Votes for Women – there was a public outcry. with a policeman on ‘Black Friday’, The suffragettes had succeeded in making the to deal with the protest 18 November 1910. prison protests political. 110 Hunger strikes and force-feeding 111 Learning outcomes When the government refused to treat them as Activities By the end of this topic you will be able to: political prisoners, some suffragettes went on Study Source A. fi nd out about the increased militancy hunger strike. This tactic put a lot of pressure on the • 1 What image or impression was the poster trying adopted by the WSPU government. If a woman starved herself to death in to get across about force-feeding? discover how the government tried to cope prison for a political cause, there would have been a • 2 How did the designer of the poster try to get that with the protests. storm of publicity and criticism of the government’s handling of the issue. It would have created a martyr, message across? increasing support for the suffragette cause. The government found it very diffi cult to deal with the suffragette protest without upsetting public opinion So, the prison authorities began to force-feed these Attempts at compromise hunger-striking suffragettes. This meant pushing and encouraging more support for the suffragettes. All protests involve a balance of power. If a tube down the throat and feeding watery gruel by police on women. Twenty-nine women later authorities are powerful enough to squash a into the stomach. When a suffragette resisted, the complained of indecent assault by the police. protest, it gets nowhere. If protesters manage to get Mixed messages prison warders sometimes used wedges to force media opinion on their side, or if a government is The result was that hundreds of suffragettes were The Liberal government didn’t have one clear view their mouth open, or pushed a tube down through afraid to use all the power it has against the protest now prepared to break windows and go to prison. on votes for women. Some of its members supported their nose. Many protesters vomited as soon as because of what public reaction would be, then Emmeline Pankhurst called the WSPU an ‘army’ the cause, others opposed it or weren’t decided. the tube was withdrawn. Occasionally, the gruel protesters can sometimes force change. and the suffragettes ‘warriors’. From 1911, the Several times, the government seemed about to went into the lungs rather than the stomach. suffragettes began a massive window-breaking introduce a reform to extend the vote to some This caused serious health problems. Many WSPU In 1910 Asquith agreed to work with the WSPU campaign, along with the destruction of golfi ng women but, each time, it was withdrawn or altered. prisoners suffered health problems as a result of and the NUWSS to produce a Conciliation Bill, greens – all designed to generate publicity. their treatment in prison. which would extend the right to vote to women. The WSPU agreed to a political truce and called Shutting out peaceful protest Source A: A WSPU poster of 1909, protesting against the off its violent protests. The two sides had reached The ‘Cat and Mouse’ Act Once the WSPU became more militant, however, force-feeding of suffragette prisoners on hunger strike. a compromise and it seemed that progress was In 1913, the government passed the so-called ‘Cat the government decided to take a hard line. When being made. However, the Liberals thought that and Mouse’ Act, which allowed the authorities women disrupted political meetings by heckling or women would vote for the Conservatives and the to release a hunger-striker before they became other forms of peaceful protest, the government Conciliation Bill was abandoned. seriously ill, and then re-arrest them once they responded by banning all women from Liberal had regained strength, in order to complete their meetings. This closed off an important avenue of sentence. This showed the government using its peaceful protest. Activities power to make laws to foil the protest and blunt 3 Using the sources on these pages, consider the hunger-strike weapon. Use of prisons whether you would you agree that the WSPU militants started a new tactic of breaking government’s attitudes to the suffragettes’ Summary windows and refusing to pay fi nes so they could protests only helped the suffragette campaign. be sent to prison. The government refused to treat • The government gave signals that reform was possible, them as political prisoners and, instead, they were but did nothing, infuriating suffrage groups. treated as ordinary criminals. This included not The police and ‘Black Friday’ • The government used the police and prison authorities being allowed to speak and having to empty their The suffragettes were furious and, on Friday, against militant suffragettes who simply intensifi ed chamber pots each morning. The government 18 November 1910, over 300 went to parliament to their tactics. wanted to frighten and humiliate suffragettes so protest. The government had instructed the police • Suffragette publicity meant a lot of media attention, that they would stop this tactic. They did not want to frighten and humiliate the suffragettes so that and a lot of pressure on the government. to encourage other groups looking for reform to try they would stop their protests. There were many the same tactics or to recognise suffragette tactics accusations of violent and even sexual assault as political protest..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Prison Administrators' Authority to Force-Feed Hunger-Striking Inmates
    Washington University Journal of Law & Policy Volume 23 Disabilities January 2007 What They Can Do About It: Prison Administrators' Authority to Force-Feed Hunger-Striking Inmates Tracey M. Ohm Washington University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Tracey M. Ohm, What They Can Do About It: Prison Administrators' Authority to Force-Feed Hunger- Striking Inmates, 23 WASH. U. J. L. & POL’Y 151 (2007), https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol23/iss1/6 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Journal of Law & Policy by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. What They Can Do About It: Prison Administrators’ Authority to Force-Feed Hunger-Striking Inmates * Tracey M. Ohm I. INTRODUCTION Prison inmates throughout history have employed hunger strikes as a means of opposition to authority.1 Inmates engage in hunger strikes for a variety of reasons, often in an attempt to gain leverage against prison officials2 or garner attention for the inmate’s plight or cause.3 Suicide is a motivating factor for some inmates.4 When a * J.D. Candidate (2007), Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. The author wishes to thank Professor Margo Schlanger for her guidance and expertise. 1. This Note examines hunger strikes undertaken by competent prison inmates. Analysis of hunger strikes by incompetent individuals or nonprisoners invokes different considerations.
    [Show full text]
  • Millicent Garrett Fawcett, the Leader of the National Union of Women’S Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), the Largest Women’S Suffrage Organization in Great Britain
    Hollins University Hollins Digital Commons Undergraduate Research Awards Student Scholarship and Creative Works 2012 Millicent Garrett aF wcett: Leader of the Constitutional Women's Suffrage Movement in Great Britain Cecelia Parks Hollins University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/researchawards Part of the European History Commons, Political History Commons, and the Women's History Commons Recommended Citation Parks, Cecelia, "Millicent Garrett aF wcett: Leader of the Constitutional Women's Suffrage Movement in Great Britain" (2012). Undergraduate Research Awards. 11. https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/researchawards/11 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship and Creative Works at Hollins Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Research Awards by an authorized administrator of Hollins Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Cecelia Parks: Essay When given the assignment to research a women’s issue in modern European history, I chose to study Millicent Garrett Fawcett, the leader of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), the largest women’s suffrage organization in Great Britain. I explored her time as head of this organization and the strategies she employed to become enfranchised, concentrating on the latter part of her tenure. My research was primarily based in two pieces of Fawcett’s own writing: a history of the suffrage movement, Women’s Suffrage: A Short History of a Great Movement, published in 1912, and her memoir, What I Remember, published in 1925. Because my research focused so much on Fawcett’s own work, I used that writing as my starting point.
    [Show full text]
  • Process Paper and Bibliography
    ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources Books Kenney, Annie. Memories of a Militant. London: Edward Arnold & Co, 1924. Autobiography of Annie Kenney. Lytton, Constance, and Jane Warton. Prisons & Prisoners. London: William Heinemann, 1914. Personal experiences of Lady Constance Lytton. Pankhurst, Christabel. Unshackled. London: Hutchinson and Co (Publishers) Ltd, 1959. Autobiography of Christabel Pankhurst. Pankhurst, Emmeline. My Own Story. London: Hearst’s International Library Co, 1914. Autobiography of Emmeline Pankhurst. Newspaper Articles "Amazing Scenes in London." Western Daily Mercury (Plymouth), March 5, 1912. Window breaking in March 1912, leading to trials of Mrs. Pankhurst and Mr. & Mrs. Pethick- Lawrence. "The Argument of the Broken Pane." Votes for Women (London), February 23, 1912. The argument of the stone: speech delivered by Mrs Pankhurst on Feb 16, 1912 honoring released prisoners who had served two or three months for window-breaking demonstration in November 1911. "Attempt to Burn Theatre Royal." The Scotsman (Edinburgh), July 19, 1912. PM Asquith's visit hailed by Irish Nationalists, protested by Suffragettes; hatchet thrown into Mr. Asquith's carriage, attempt to burn Theatre Royal. "By the Vanload." Lancashire Daily Post (Preston), February 15, 1907. "Twenty shillings or fourteen days." The women's raid on Parliament on Feb 13, 1907: Christabel Pankhurst gets fourteen days and Sylvia Pankhurst gets 3 weeks in prison. "Coal That Cooks." The Suffragette (London), July 18, 1913. Thirst strikes. Attempts to escape from "Cat and Mouse" encounters. "Churchill Gives Explanation." Dundee Courier (Dundee), July 15, 1910. Winston Churchill's position on the Conciliation Bill. "The Ejection." Morning Post (London), October 24, 1906. 1 The day after the October 23rd Parliament session during which Premier Henry Campbell- Bannerman cold-shouldered WSPU, leading to protest led by Mrs Pankhurst that led to eleven arrests, including that of Mrs Pethick-Lawrence and gave impetus to the movement.
    [Show full text]
  • Dziadok Mikalai 1'St Year Student
    EUROPEAN HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY Program «World Politics and economics» Dziadok Mikalai 1'st year student Essay Written assignment Course «International relations and governances» Course instructor Andrey Stiapanau Vilnius, 2016 The Troubles (Northern Ireland conflict 1969-1998) Plan Introduction 1. General outline of a conflict. 2. Approach, theory, level of analysis (providing framework). Providing the hypothesis 3. Major actors involved, definition of their priorities, preferences and interests. 4. Origins of the conflict (historical perspective), major actions timeline 5. Models of conflicts, explanations of its reasons 6. Proving the hypothesis 7. Conclusion Bibliography Introduction Northern Ireland conflict, called “the Troubles” was the most durable conflict in the Europe since WW2. Before War in Donbass (2014-present), which lead to 9,371 death up to June 3, 20161 it also can be called the bloodiest conflict, but unfortunately The Donbass War snatched from The Troubles “the victory palm” of this dreadful competition. The importance of this issue, however, is still essential and vital because of challenges Europe experience now. Both proxy war on Donbass and recent terrorist attacks had strained significantly the political atmosphere in Europe, showing that Europe is not safe anymore. In this conditions, it is necessary for us to try to assume, how far this insecurity and tensions might go and will the circumstances and the challenges of a international relations ignite the conflict in Northern Ireland again. It also makes sense for us to recognize that the Troubles was also a proxy war to a certain degree 23 Sources, used in this essay are mostly mass-media articles, human rights observers’ and international organizations reports, and surveys made by political scientists on this issue.
    [Show full text]
  • The Battle of Equality Contents 1
    The Battle Of Equality Contents 1. Contents 2. Women’s Rights 3. 10 Famous women who made women’s suffrage happen. 4. Suffragettes 5. Suffragists 6. Who didn’t want women’s suffrage 7. Time Line of The Battle of Equality 8. Horse Derby 9. Pictures Woman’s Rights There were two groups that fought for woman's rights, the WSPU and the NUWSS. The NUWSS was set up by Millicent Fawcett. The WSPU was set up by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters. The WSPU was created because they didn’t want to wait for women’s rights by campaigning and holding petitions. They got bored so they created the WSPU. The WSPU went to the extreme lengths just to be heard. Whilst the NUWSS jus campaigned for women’s rights. 10 Famous women who made women’s suffrage happen. Emmeline Pankhurst (suffragette) - Leader of the suffragettes Christabel Pankhurst (suffragette)- Director of the most dangerous suffragette activities Constance Lytton (suffragette)- Daughter of viceroy Robert Bulwer-Lytton Emily Davison (suffragette)- Killed by kings horse Millicent Fawcett (suffragist)- Leader of the suffragist Edith Garrud (suffragette)- World professional Jiu-Jitsu master Silvia Pankhurst (suffragist)- Focused on campaigning and got expelled from the suffragettes by her sister Ethel Smyth (suffragette)- Conducted the suffragette anthem with a toothbrush Leonora Cohen (suffragette)- Smashed the display case for the Crown Jewels Constance Markievicz (suffragist)- Played a prominent role in ensuring Winston Churchill was defeated in elections Suffragettes The suffragettes were a group of women who wanted to vote. They did dangerous things like setting off bombs. The suffragettes were actually called The Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).
    [Show full text]
  • Congressional Record-Senate. Decemb~R 8
    196 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. DECEMB~R 8, gress hold no session for legislative purposes on Sunday-to the Com­ Mr. II.A.LE presented a petition of the Master Builders' Exchange mittee on the Judiciary. of Philadelphia, Pa., praying for a more careful investigation by the By Mr. O'NEILL, of Pennsylvania: Resolutions of the Tobacco Census Office of the electrical industries; which was referred :to the Trade Association of Philadelphia, requesting Congress to provide by Committee on the Census. legislation for the payment of a rebate of 2 cents per pound on the Ile also presenteda resolution adopted by the ChamberofCommerce stock of tax-paid tobacco and snuff on hand on the 1st of January, of New Haven, Conn., favoring the petition of the National Electric 1891-to the Committee on Ways and Means. Light Association, praying for a more careful investigation by the Cen­ By Mr. PETERS: Petition of Wichita wholesale grocers and numer­ sus Office of the electrical industries; which wus referred to the Com­ ous citizens of Kansa8, for rebate amendment to tariff bill-to the mittee on the Census. Committee on Ways and Means. l\Ir. GORMAN. I present a great number of memorials signed by By Mr. THOMAS: Petition ofW. Grams,W. J. Keller.and 9others, very many residents of the United States, remonstrating against the of La Crosse, ·wis., and B. T. Ilacon and 7 others, of the State of Minne­ passage of the Federal election bill now pending, or any other bill of sota, praying for the passage of an act or rebate amendment to the like purport, wb~ch the memoriali5ts think would tend to destroy the tariff law approved October 1, 1890, allowing certain drawbacks or re­ purity of elections, and would unnecessarily impose heavy burdens bates upon unbroken packages of smoking and manufactured tobacco on the taxpayers, and be revolutionizing the constitutional practices and snuffs-to the Committee on Ways and Means.
    [Show full text]
  • Suffragette City: How Did the 'Votes for Women' Campaign Affect London
    Suffragette City: How did the ‘votes for women’ campaign affect London 1906–1914? The UK campaign for women’s right to vote in parliamentary elections began in the mid-19th century. Campaigners used argument and debate to try to persuade the government. When this did not work by the beginning of the 20th century, new tactics were adopted. In 1903, the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) was set up in Manchester. The WSPU aimed to adopt more militant (strong or more direct) tactics to win the vote. Their members later became known as Suffragettes. When the WSPU moved to London in 1906, the movement’s emphasis altered. From 1906–1914 the fight to win the vote became a public, and sometimes violent struggle that was very visible on the streets of the capital. Why did the campaign move to London in 1906? Moving the campaign to the streets of London made the WSPU more visible. It also meant they could hold major events that attracted lots of people and publicity. This paper napkin is printed with a programme for Women’s Sunday on 21 June 1908. This was the first big event organised by the WSPU. The centre of the napkin shows the route of the seven marches through London meeting in Hyde Park. Around the centre are portraits of the main speakers and the Suffragette leaders. Souvenir paper table napkin Napkins like this were produced for all large public events from Women’s Sunday, 1908 in London from the early- to mid-20th century. They would have been sold for about one penny by street traders lining the route of the event.
    [Show full text]
  • The Unsettling Connection of Women, Property, and the Law in British Novels of the Long Nineteenth Century
    Binghamton University The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB) Graduate Dissertations and Theses Dissertations, Theses and Capstones 2-23-2018 Place and Displacement: The Unsettling Connection of Women, Property, and the Law in British Novels of the Long Nineteenth Century Claudia J. Martin Binghamton University--SUNY, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://orb.binghamton.edu/dissertation_and_theses Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, and the Law Commons Recommended Citation Martin, Claudia J., "Place and Displacement: The Unsettling Connection of Women, Property, and the Law in British Novels of the Long Nineteenth Century" (2018). Graduate Dissertations and Theses. 70. https://orb.binghamton.edu/dissertation_and_theses/70 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations, Theses and Capstones at The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). For more information, please contact [email protected]. PLACE AND DISPLACEMENT: THE UNSETTLING CONNECTION OF WOMEN, PROPERTY, AND THE LAW IN BRITISH NOVELS OF THE LONG NINETEENTH CENTURY BY CLAUDIA J. MARTIN BA, BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY, 1972 JD, UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO, COLLEGE OF LAW, 1976 MA, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, HAYWARD, 2005 DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English in the Graduate School of Binghamton University State University of New York 2018 © Copyright by Claudia J. Martin 2018 All Rights Reserved Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English in the Graduate School of Binghamton University State University of New York February 23, 2018 Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Emmeline Pankhurst
    Emmeline Pankhurst 2018 marks the 100 year anniversary of women in the UK first being able to vote. What do you know about the campaign for votes for women? Maybe you’ve heard of one of the leading campaigners, Emmeline Pankhurst, who was the leader of the Women’s Social and Political Union. Who Was She? Emmeline Goulden was born in Moss Side, Manchester in 1858. Her parents were involved in politics. At the young age of 14, she was introduced to the women’s suffrage movement which supported the right of women to vote. At the age of 21, she married Richard Pankhurst who was 24 years older than her. He was a barrister who supported women’s right to vote and they had four children together. In 1889, Emmeline and Richard started the Women’s Franchise League which campaigned for women to be allowed to vote in local elections. When the organisation broke apart, she tried to join the Independent Labour party but at first was refused as she was a woman. Did You Know? Emmeline worked as a Poor Law Guardian in a workhouse and was shocked at the terrible conditions there. Who Were The Suffragettes? In 1903, five years after the death of her husband, Emmeline Pankhurst started the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Her daughters Christabel, Sylvia and Adela also became part of the group. The WSPU were more aggressive than other groups that supported women’s right to vote. Instead of peaceful marches and public speeches, the WSPU held demonstrations, smashed windows and set buildings on fire.
    [Show full text]
  • Item Captions Teachers Guide
    SUFFRAGE IN A BOX: ITEM CAPTIONS TEACHERS GUIDE 1 1 The Polling Station. (Publisher: Suffrage Atelier). 1 Suffrage campaigners were experts in creating powerful propaganda images which expressed their sense of injustice. This image shows the whole range of women being kept out of the polling station by the law and authority represented by the policeman. These include musicians, clerical workers, mothers, university graduates, nurses, mayors, and artists. The men include gentlemen, manual workers, and agricultural labourers. This hints at the class hierarchies and tensions which were so important in British society at this time, and which also influenced the suffrage movement. All the women are represented as gracious and dignified, in contrast to the men, who are slouching and casual. This image was produced by the Suffrage Atelier, which brought together artists to create pictures which could be quickly and easily reproduced. ©Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford: John Johnson Collection; Postcards 12 (385) Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford John Johnson Collection; Postcards 12 (385) 2 The late Miss E.W. Davison (1913). Emily Wilding Davison is best known as the suffragette who 2 died after being trampled by the King’s horse on Derby Day, but as this photo shows, there was much more to her story. She studied at Royal Holloway College in London and St Hugh’s College Oxford, but left her job as a teacher to become a full- time suffragette. She was one of the most committed militants, who famously hid in a cupboard in the House of Commons on census night, 1911, so that she could give this as her address, and was the first woman to begin setting fire to post boxes.
    [Show full text]
  • Hunger Strikes by Irish Republicans, 1916-1923 Michael Biggs ([email protected]) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    Hunger Strikes by Irish Republicans, 1916-1923 Michael Biggs ([email protected]) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Paper prepared for Workshop on Techniques of Violence in Civil War Centre for the Study of Civil War, Oslo August 2004 “It is not those who can inflict the most, but those who can suffer the most who will conquer.” (Terence MacSwiney, 1920) “The country has not had, as yet, sufficient voluntary sacrifice and suffering[,] and not until suffering fructuates will she get back her real soul.” (Ernie O’Malley, 1923) The hunger strike is a strange technique of civil war. Physical suffering—possibly even death—is inflicted on oneself, rather than on the opponent. The technique can be conceived as a paradoxical inversion of hostage-taking or kidnapping, analyzed by Elster (2004). With kidnapping, A threatens to kill a victim B in order to force concessions from the target C; sometimes the victim is also the target. With a hunger strike, the perpetrator is the victim: A threatens to kill A in order to force concessions.1 Kidnappings staged for publicity, where the victim is released unconditionally, are analogous to hunger strikes where the duration is explicitly 1 This brings to mind a scene in the film Blazing Saddles. A black man, newly appointed sheriff, is surrounded by an angry mob intent on lynching him. He draws his revolver and points it to his head, warning them not to move “or the nigger gets it.” This threat allows him to escape. The scene is funny because of the apparent paradox of threatening to kill oneself, and yet that is exactly what hunger strikers do.
    [Show full text]
  • Hunger Strikes and Force Feedings in the British Women's Suffrage
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Lehigh University: Lehigh Preserve Lehigh University Lehigh Preserve Eckardt Scholars Projects Undergraduate scholarship 5-1-2017 A Woman’s Weapon: Hunger Strikes and Force Feedings in the British Women’s Suffrage Movement, 1903-1917 Gabriele M. Pate Lehigh University Follow this and additional works at: https://preserve.lehigh.edu/undergrad-scholarship-eckardt Part of the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Pate, Gabriele M., "A Woman’s Weapon: Hunger Strikes and Force Feedings in the British Women’s Suffrage Movement, 1903-1917" (2017). Eckardt Scholars Projects. 20. https://preserve.lehigh.edu/undergrad-scholarship-eckardt/20 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate scholarship at Lehigh Preserve. It has been accepted for inclusion in Eckardt Scholars Projects by an authorized administrator of Lehigh Preserve. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 A Woman’s Weapon: Hunger Strikes and Force Feedings in the British Women’s Suffrage Movement, 1903-1917 Gaby Pate Senior Honors Thesis Spring 2017 Amardeep Singh 2 Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Context for the Founding of the WSPU .......................................................................................... 5 The “Suffrage Army” .....................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]