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Suffragette Protest Methods Worksheet

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Suffragette Protest Methods Worksheet

Read the historical briefing, then answer the questions using evidence from it and your own reasoning. The word “suffragette” is often used for members of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU); not all campaigners for women’s votes used militant methods.

Historical briefing: campaigning for the vote

In the early twentieth century, women in Britain campaigned for the right to vote in parliamentary elections. The Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), founded by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters in 1903, used the slogan “Deeds, not words”. Its members organised marches and demonstrations, interrupted political meetings, and sometimes chained themselves to railings to attract attention. Some WSPU members also damaged property, including through acts of arson; these actions could be dangerous and were strongly criticised. They were not methods used by every supporter of women’s suffrage. The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), led by Millicent Garrett Fawcett, mainly campaigned through peaceful methods such as petitions, meetings and lobbying politicians. WSPU members imprisoned after protests sometimes went on hunger strike. The authorities force-fed some prisoners, a practice that caused serious suffering. In 1913, the government introduced the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act, nicknamed the “Cat and Mouse Act”: a prisoner weakened by hunger strike could be released to recover and later returned to prison. Women over 30 who met certain property or educational qualifications gained the vote in 1918. Equal voting terms with men followed in 1928.

Understand the methods

Use the briefing to identify who used each approach and why different campaigners might have chosen different methods.

1.Which statement best explains why some WSPU members adopted militant protest methods?

They wanted to make the campaign impossible to notice.
They believed more dramatic action could draw attention to women’s lack of voting rights.
Every suffrage organisation had agreed to use violence.
They were campaigning to remove the right to vote.

2.All campaigners for women’s suffrage used the same protest methods as the WSPU.

TrueFalse

3.Match each protest method with the description that fits it.

Hunger strike
Chaining
Petition
Meeting disruption

Attaching oneself to railings to attract attention
Interrupting a political gathering or speech
Collecting signatures to present a request to those in power
Refusing food in prison as a protest

4.The peaceful suffrage organisation led by Millicent Garrett Fawcett was the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, abbreviated to the .

5.What could happen to a WSPU prisoner who went on hunger strike? Give two details from the briefing.

6.Write one example of a peaceful method and one example of a militant method mentioned in the briefing. Be precise about which group or campaigners used the method.

7.Why did force-feeding hunger-striking prisoners become a serious issue? Use the briefing to support your answer.

8.Compare the WSPU’s militant campaigning with the NUWSS’s peaceful campaigning. Give one example of a method used by each and explain one difference between their approaches.

9.Which approach do you think was more effective in drawing attention to the campaign: peaceful campaigning or militant protest? Give a reason and include one limitation or counterargument. There is no single correct opinion; support your judgement with historical evidence.

10.Number these milestones from earliest to latest: equal voting terms with men; some women gain the vote if they meet certain qualifications; the WSPU is founded in 1903.