This article currently only deals with the Women's Suffrage Campaign in Great Britain, from the early 1800s to 1928.

Votes For Women

Before this time although there were some suggestions of feminism (although the term 'feminism' was not coined until 1890), women had very few rights in the United Kingdom. Women were not formally prohibited from voting until the 1832 Reform Act and the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act. It was in 1832 that reinstating became on some level a political topic, although it would not be until 1872 that it would become a national movement with the formation of the National Society of Women's Suffrage and later the more influential National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. Little victory was achieved in this constitutional campaign in its earlier years up to around 1905. It was at this point that the militant campaign began with the formation of the Women's Social and Political Union. The outbreak of the First World War lead to a halting of almost all campaigning, but some argue that it was the competence of women war workers that led to the extension of the franchise to single women over the age of 30 in 1918. Universal suffrage for all adults over 21 years of age was not achieved until 1928. Feminism is a diverse collection of social theories, political movements and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerned with the experiences of women. ... The British Reform Act of 1832 (2 & 3 Will. ... The National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the Suffragists (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation of womens suffrage societies in the United Kingdom. ... The Womens Social and Political Union (WSPU) was the leading militant organisation campaigning for womens suffrage in the United Kingdom. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

Timeline

1832 - Suffrage Reform Act - women expressly forbidden from voting 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

1865 – John Stuart Mill elected as an MP showing direct support for women’s suffrage 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... John Stuart Mill (May 20, 1806 – May 8, 1873), an English philosopher and political economist, was an influential liberal and socialist thinker of the 19th century. ...

1867 – Reform Act - Male franchise extended 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

1882 - Married Women's Property Act passed, allowing women to own property on their own terms 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ...

1886 - Suffrage Reform Act - More working class men enfranchised 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ...

1883 – Conservative Primrose League formed 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Primrose League badges The Primrose League was an organization for spreading Conservative principles amongst the British democracy, founded in 1883 and active until the mid 1990s, being finally wound up about 2003. ...

1893 – Independent Labour Party formed 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a former political party in the United Kingdom. ...

1894 – Local Government Act (women could vote in local elections, become Poor Law Guardians, act on School Boards) 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

1897 – NUWSS formed (led by Millicent Fawcett) 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the Suffragists (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation of womens suffrage societies in the United Kingdom. ... Millicent Fawcett Dame Millicent Fawcett DBE (June 11, 1847 – August 5, 1929) was a British suffragist (as opposed to a suffragette, who were usually militantly violent) and an early feminist. ...

October 1903 – First meeting of WSPU (led by Emmeline Pankhurst) 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Womens Social and Political Union (WSPU) was the leading militant organisation campaigning for womens suffrage in the United Kingdom. ... Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament, Westminster. ...

1905 – Militancy began (Christabel Pankhurst interrupted a Liberal Party meeting and spat at a policeman) 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Christabel Pankhurst Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst DBE (September 22, 1880 – February 13, 1958) was a suffragette born in Manchester, England. ...

February 1907 – NUWSS “Mud March” – largest open air demonstration ever held (at that point) 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

1908 – Herbert Asquith became Prime Minister (personally opposed to votes for women) 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The name Herbert Asquith normally refers to: Herbert Henry Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1908–1916), but may also refer to his son: Herbert Asquith, a poet. ...

1907, 1912, 1914 – major splits in WSPU 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Womens Social and Political Union (WSPU) was the leading militant organisation campaigning for womens suffrage in the United Kingdom. ...

1905, 1908, 1913 – 3 phases of WSPU militancy (Civil Disobedience – Destruction of Public Property – Arson/Bombings) 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Womens Social and Political Union (WSPU) was the leading militant organisation campaigning for womens suffrage in the United Kingdom. ...

5th July 1909 – Marion Wallace Dunlop went on the first hunger strike – was released after 91 hours of fasting 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The First Suffragette Hunger Strike in Britain 5th July 1909 Marion Wallace Dunlop was the first female suffragette to go on hunger-strike, after being arrested in July 1909 for militancy. ...

September 1909 – Force Feeding introduced in prisons 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

1910 – Lady Constance Lytton disguised herself as a working class criminal, Jane Wharton, and was arrested and endured force feeding to prove prejudice in prisons against working class women. Lady Lytton was instrumental in reforming conditions in prisons. The force feeding shortened her life considerably 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

February 1910 – Cross-Party Conciliation Committee (54 MPs). Conciliation Bill (that would enfranchise women) passed its 2nd reading by a majority of 109 but Asquith refused to give it more parliamentary time 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

November 1910 – Asquith changed Bill to enfranchise more men instead of women 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

18th November 1910 – Black Friday 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... In history there have been a number of events that happened on a Friday and are thus known as Black Friday: Black Friday (1869) - a financial crisis in the United States Black Friday (1910) - WSPU took militant action when the Conciliation Bill failed. ...

February 1913 – David Lloyd George’s house burned down by WSPU (had previously supported the movement – after this he publicly opposed it) 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor, OM, PC (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was a British statesman and the last member of the Liberal Party to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... The Womens Social and Political Union (WSPU) was the leading militant organisation campaigning for womens suffrage in the United Kingdom. ...

April 1913 – Cat and Mouse Act passed, allowing hunger-striking prisoners to be released when their health was threatened and then re-arrested when they had recovered 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Cat and Mouse Act (officially, the Prisoners Temporary Discharge of Ill Health Act) was passed in Britain by Herbert Henry Asquiths Liberal government in 1913. ...

4th June 1913 – Emily Davison threw herself under the King’s Horse at the Epsom Derby 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Emily Davison Emily Wilding Davison (October 11, 1872 Blackheath – June 8, 1913 Epsom) is remembered as the woman who died by throwing herself under the hoofs of Anmer, King George Vs horse on June 4, 1913 at the Epsom Derby in support of the British suffragette movement. ... Epsom Derby, Théodore Géricault, 1821. ...

13th March 1914 – Mary Richardson slashed the Velasquez in the National Gallery with an axe, protesting that she was maiming a beautiful woman just as the government was maiming Emmeline Pankhurst with force feeding 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... National Gallery is a common name for a countrys major public art gallery. ... Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament, Westminster. ...

4th August 1914 – First World War declared in Britain. WSPU activity immediately ceased. 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... The Womens Social and Political Union (WSPU) was the leading militant organisation campaigning for womens suffrage in the United Kingdom. ...

1918 - Representation of the People Act enfranchised all women over the age of 30. This was probably so that women would not outnumber men in the voting process 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Representation of the People Act can refer to the following acts: Representation of the People Act 1884 Representation of the People Act 1918 Representation of the People Act 1928 Representation of the People Act 1948 Representation of the People Act 1969 Representation of the People Act 1983 Representation of the...

1928 - Women received the vote on equal terms as men (over the age of 21) 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The seeds of political feminism

Early political movement

Although the vast majority of women did not have the vote in 1832 (most regions at this time required some sort of land ownership), it was the Reform Act of the same year that explicitly banned women from participating in local and national elections. After the bill was passed, MP Henry Hunt argued that any woman who was single, a tax payer and had sufficient property should be allowed to vote. One such wealthy woman, Mary Smith, was used in this speech as an example. Henry Orator Hunt (1773- February 15, 1835), sometimes known as Orator Hunt, was a British radical speaker and agitator. ...

The Chartist Movement, which began in the 1830s, has also been suggested to have included supporters of female suffrage. There is some evidence to suggest William Lovett, one of the authors of the People's Charter wished to include female suffrage as one of the campaign's demands but chose not to on the grounds that this would delay the implementation of the charter. Although there were female Chartists, they largely worked towards universal manhood suffrage. It must be noted that at this time most women did not have aspirations to gain the vote. Chartism is also an alternative term for technical analysis A movement for social and political reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, Chartism gains its name from the Peoples Charter of 1838, which set out the main aims of the movement. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Chartism was a movement for social and political reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century. ...

Outside pressure for women's suffrage was at this time diluted by feminist issues in general. Women's rights were becoming increasingly prominent in the 1850s as some women in higher social spheres refused to obey the sex roles dictated to them. Feminist campaigns at this time included the right to sue an ex-husband after divorce (achieved in 1857) and the right for married women to own property (fully achieved in 1882 after some concession by the government in 1870).

The issue of parliamentary reform declined along with the Chartists after 1848 and only reemerged with the election of John Stuart Mill in 1865. He ran for office showing direct support for female suffrage and was an MP in the run up to the second Reform Act. John Stuart Mill (May 20, 1806 – May 8, 1873), an English philosopher and political economist, was an influential liberal and socialist thinker of the 19th century. ...

Early suffragist societies

In the same year that John Stuart Mill was elected, the first Ladies Discussion Society was formed, debating whether women should be involved in public affairs. Although a society for suffrage was proposed, this was turned down on the grounds that it may be taken over by extremists. John Stuart Mill (May 20, 1806 – May 8, 1873), an English philosopher and political economist, was an influential liberal and socialist thinker of the 19th century. ...

However, later that year Leigh Smith Bodichon formed the first Women's Suffrage Committee and within a fortnight collected 1,500 signatures in favour of female suffrage in advance to the second Reform Bill. Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (8 April 1827 - 11 June 1891) was an English educationalist, artist, and activist for womens rights. ...

The Manchester Suffrage Committee was founded in February 1867. The secretary, Lydia Becker wrote letters both to Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli and to The Spectator. She was also involved with the London group and organised the collection of more signatures. Lydia Ernestine Becker (1827-1890) was an active leader in the early British suffrage movement and an aspiring amateur scientist. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the head of Her Majestys Government and so exercises many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (December 21, 1804 - April 24, British Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and author. ... This article is about the British weekly magazine: there are articles on several other magazines called The Spectator such as Addison and Steeles influential literary magazine, The Spectator (1711), and the others can be found at The Spectator (disambiguation). ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. ...

However in June the London group split, partly a result of party alliegence and tactical issues. Conservative members wished to move slowly to avoid alarming public opinion, while Liberals generally opposed this apparent dilution of political conviction. As a result, Helen Taylor founded the London National Society for Women's Suffrage which set up strong links with Manchester and Edinburgh. This article deals with conservatism as a political philosophy. ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ... The City of Manchester is a major city and metropolitan borough in the North of England, historically notable for its central role in the Industrial Revolution. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Although these early splits left the movement divided and often leaderless, it allowed Lydia Becker to have a stronger influence.

The formation of a national movement

Women's political groups

Although women's political party groups were not formed with the aim to achieve women's suffrage, they did have two key effects. Firstly, they showed women who were members to be competent in the political arena and as this became clear it secondly made the concept of female suffrage one that seems less absurd than current views generally held.

The Primrose League

The Primrose League was set up to promote Conservative values through social events and supporting the community. As women were able to join, this gave females of all classes the ability to mix with local and national political figures. Many also had important roles such as bringing voters to the polls. This removed segregation and promoted political literacy amongst women. Primrose League badges The Primrose League was an organization for spreading Conservative principles amongst the British democracy, founded in 1883 and active until the mid 1990s, being finally wound up about 2003. ...

The Women's Liberal Associations

Although there is evidence to suggest that they were originally formed to promote female franchise (the first being in Bristol in 1881), WLAs often did not hold such an agenda. They did, however, operate independently from the male groups. They became more active when the came under the control of the Women's Liberal Federation, and canvassed all classes for support of women's suffrage. Bristol (IPA: ) is a city, unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, 115 miles (185 km) west of London and located at With a population of 400,000, and metropolitan area of 550,000, it is Englands sixth, and the United Kingdoms ninth, most populous city... The Womens Liberal Federation was a organisation which was part of the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom during the 1880s. ...

External groups

The campaign first developed into a national movement in the 1870s. At this point, all campaigners were suffragists, not suffragettes. The term suffragette is only used to describe those who used violent protest, although the term is widely misused to describe all campaigners. Up until 1903, all campaigning took the constitutional approach. It was after the defeat of the first Women's Suffrage Bill That the Manchester and London committees joined together to gain wider support. The main methods of doing so at this time involved lobbying MPs to put forward Private Member's Bills. However such bills rarely pass and so this was an ineffective way of actually achieving the vote.

In 1868, local groups amalgamated to form a series of close-knit groups with the founding of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (NSWS). This is notable as the first attempt to create a unified front to propose women's suffrage, but had little effect due to several splits, once again weakening the campaign.

Up until 1897, the campaign stayed at this relatively ineffective level. Campaigners came predominantly from the landed classes and joined together on a small scale only. However, 1897 saw the foundation of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) by Millicent Fawcett. This society linked smaller groups together and also put pressure on non supportive MPs using various peaceful methods. The National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the Suffragists (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation of womens suffrage societies in the United Kingdom. ... Millicent Fawcett Dame Millicent Fawcett DBE (June 11, 1847 – August 5, 1929) was a British suffragist (as opposed to a suffragette, who were usually militantly violent) and an early feminist. ...