Emmeline Pankhurst And Suffragette

In this article, we explore the lives and accomplishments of a political activist and suffragette. Emmeline Pankhurst was at the forefront of the movement to fight for women’s suffrage.

Emmeline Panhkurst is remembered in history as the embodiment of a passionate belief in which she believed that women should have the same civil rights as men. Throughout her life, she fought tirelessly for the right to vote for women, and also for the eradication of poverty and illiteracy.

Time magazine considers him one of the most important figures in the 20th century. He was a charismatic leader and a talented speaker. He inspired numerous people to fight for this idea.

How, then, did his struggle go? How did he affect future generations? In what ways did he manage to change his present, which in turn changed the future? In this article, we encourage you to check out the amazing Emmeline Pankhurst.

Early years

Emmeline was born on July 15, 1858. Her father, Robert Goulden, came from a family of political activists. Emminen’s mother, Sophia Crane, was also a political activist from the Isle of Man. When Emmeline was a little girl, both of her parents supported the movement to end slavery.

When she was 20, she fell in love with a lawyer and a political activist who also supported women’s suffrage and reform of the education system. Her name was Richard Pankhurst, and she was 24 years older than Emmeline. They married and had five children together.

Suffragism

By that time, suffragette organizations had begun to embrace the idea of ​​giving only unmarried women and widows the right to vote. However, Emmeline and her husband completely rejected this proposal, and started a new group, the Women’s Voting Rights Movement .

This new movement spoke in favor of the right to vote for all women without exception, as well as equality regarding divorce and inheritance. Shortly after it started, it began to radicalize to the far left, and many of the members rejected the movement.

Emmeline Pankhurst’s political career

After living in London, Emmeline Pankhurst returned to Manchester. There he began to work on political activism for himself. Emmeline was finally allowed to join the Independent Labor Party after her application to join had been rejected several times on the grounds that she was a woman. He later began distributing food to the Unemployment Compensation Committee.

The state of poverty and helplessness he witnessed affected him deeply. These experiences inspired him to take part in the workers ’protection reform movement. After many incidents, Richard fell ill, and eventually died. He left behind a significant debt to Emmelinen and the whole family to take care of.

Pankhurst got a job at City Hall, and she began criticizing the social status of women in the area. At the same time, her adult daughters also began to take part in the suffragette movement. 

Deeds, not words

Disappointed with political parties and suffragette movements that did nothing, he decided to leave all those groups. She then founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). This organization was open only to women, and its motto was “deeds, not words”.

It didn’t take long for the WSPU to begin to radicalize and use violent tactics. Its goal was to get attention and revenge. The movement was known for breaking windows, attacking private spaces and hunger strikes in prisons.

He and other members of the movement were repeatedly attacked by the men and authorities of the Pankhurst party. The government also arrested him on several occasions. During this period he had sold his home in Manchester, and he began to travel around England and the United States, offering conferences concerning his work.

Emmeline Pankhurst and women’s right to vote

During World War I, Emmeline negotiated with Parliament to secure the release of WSPU women. In return, he promised a ceasefire so that he would no longer commit acts of violence. The agreement also included support for women from this organization who supported Britain’s fight against Germany.

This agreement created a conflict within the movement. It was, in fact, so controversial that it made an insurmountable difference between Emmeline and one of her daughters. After the war, he was disappointed in left-wing politics and joined the Conservative Party.

At the time, the Conservative Party was the most popular political party. Pankhurst wanted to use this energy on behalf of the women’s suffragette movement. The years of his dedication and hard work began to bear fruit just a few weeks before his death, at the age of 69 years. Pankhurst, that is, to see how women got the right to vote.

The violent side of the women’s suffragette movement

Pankhurst was a controversial, energetic and radical activist. He attacked some political ideas, and others he supported, never leaving his goal out of sight. People hated him and loved him, equally. Pankhurst was the inspiration for women in all walks of life.

Emmeline Pankhurst represented the radical side of the women’s suffrage movement. Not everyone supported his violent methods, but these traditional “masculine” strategies were the ones that got people’s attention. Pankhurst dared to speak the only language that the patriarchal system seemed to understand: violent protest. Whether you agree with his tactics or not, one thing is for sure: the system listened to him, and that also changed.