Rise Up, Women!

Rise Up, Women! Plot Summary

Introduction

In the fog-shrouded streets of Edwardian London, a revolution was brewing. While men in top hats debated politics in Parliament, women across Britain were taking increasingly radical action to secure their right to vote. These were not merely polite petitioners but militant activists willing to risk imprisonment, force-feeding, and public condemnation for their cause. The struggle for women's suffrage in early 20th-century Britain represents one of the most dramatic political movements in modern history, transforming genteel ladies into stone-throwing, window-smashing militants who challenged the very foundations of the British establishment. This historical narrative explores how the suffrage movement evolved from peaceful protest to direct action between 1903 and 1918, examining the complex motivations that drove women to militancy. Readers will discover how class divisions influenced the movement, why some women embraced violence while others rejected it, and how the government's harsh response to protests—including brutal force-feeding—only strengthened the suffragettes' resolve. The account provides valuable insights for anyone interested in social movements, political resistance, and the often overlooked role of women in shaping modern democracy. Through vivid portraits of key figures like Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters, alongside lesser-known working-class activists, we witness how ordinary women became extraordinary agents of historical change.

Chapter 1: Origins of Militancy: The WSPU's Formation (1903-1905)

In October 1903, a pivotal moment in women's political history occurred in a modest home at 62 Nelson Street, Manchester. There, Emmeline Pankhurst, a 45-year-old widow and mother of four, founded the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) with her daughters Christabel and Sylvia. Unlike previous suffrage organizations that had pursued constitutional methods for decades with little success, the WSPU adopted the provocative slogan "Deeds Not Words," signaling their intention to take more direct action to achieve women's voting rights. The WSPU's early membership reflected a diverse coalition of women from different social backgrounds. Annie Kenney, a cotton mill worker who had lost a finger in a factory accident, became one of the organization's most effective speakers and recruiters. Other early members included Teresa Billington, a schoolteacher who had refused to teach religious education; Flora Drummond, nicknamed "the General" for her organizational skills; and Hannah Mitchell, a self-educated dressmaker. This cross-class alliance was unusual for the time and gave the movement broader appeal than previous middle-class dominated suffrage campaigns. The movement's first militant act occurred on October 13, 1905, when Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney disrupted a Liberal Party meeting at Manchester's Free Trade Hall. When they unfurled a banner asking "Will You Give Votes for Women?" and received no answer from the speakers, they were ejected from the meeting. In a calculated move, Christabel deliberately committed a "technical assault" on a policeman to ensure their arrest. Both women chose imprisonment rather than paying fines, generating newspaper headlines across the country and bringing unprecedented attention to their cause. This incident demonstrated the effectiveness of confrontation over petition and marked the beginning of a new militant strategy. The spectacle of respectable women willing to face imprisonment shocked Edwardian society and attracted new recruits to the movement. By 1905, the WSPU had begun to expand beyond Manchester, establishing branches in industrial towns and eventually moving its headquarters to London to bring their campaign to the heart of political power. The early WSPU developed effective propaganda techniques that would characterize their campaign for years to come. They disrupted political meetings, challenged politicians directly, and created dramatic public spectacles that newspapers couldn't ignore. Their willingness to face arrest and imprisonment marked a radical departure from previous suffrage tactics and forced the issue of women's suffrage onto the political agenda in a way that decades of petitioning and lobbying had failed to do. By 1905, though still small in numbers, the suffragettes had demonstrated that women would no longer quietly accept their disenfranchisement. As Annie Kenney later reflected on her first imprisonment: "I felt nervous when I saw the great hall full of earnest, excited faces. I knew the change had come in my life. The old life had gone, a new life had come." The stage was set for an escalating campaign that would challenge the foundations of Edwardian society and ultimately transform British politics forever.

Chapter 2: From Protest to Direct Action: Early Tactics (1906-1909)

Between 1906 and 1909, the suffragette movement underwent a dramatic transformation in tactics and scale. The WSPU established headquarters at Clement's Inn in London, gaining crucial support from Emmeline and Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, a wealthy couple who provided financial backing and eventually produced the WSPU's newspaper, Votes for Women. This period saw the development of a sophisticated political organization with paid organizers, branch offices throughout the country, and innovative fundraising methods that generated substantial resources for the campaign. The movement's visual identity took shape during these years with the introduction of the WSPU's tricolor scheme of purple, white, and green in 1908. Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence explained the symbolism: "Purple is the royal color... white stands for purity in private and public life... green is the color of hope and the emblem of spring." These colors appeared on banners, badges, sashes, and even specially designed tea sets and bicycles, creating a powerful brand identity that made the movement instantly recognizable and helped spread its message through everyday objects. Public demonstrations grew increasingly spectacular. In June 1908, "Women's Sunday" filled Hyde Park with an estimated half-million people. Seven processions converged on the park, where twenty platforms featured speakers including pioneers of the women's movement. Thirty brass bands played, and seven hundred banners were carried by women dressed in white with purple and green accessories. These carefully choreographed events demonstrated the movement's growing popular support and organizational capabilities, though they still failed to produce political results. A crucial escalation occurred in June 1909 when Marion Wallace-Dunlop became the first suffragette to use hunger strike as a political weapon. Imprisoned for stamping a message on a wall in Parliament, she refused food to protest being classified as a common criminal rather than a political prisoner. After ninety-one hours without food, authorities released her, fearing she might die in custody. This tactic was quickly adopted by other imprisoned suffragettes, creating a powerful new form of protest that forced authorities to either release hunger strikers or face the possibility of creating martyrs for the cause. The government's response—force-feeding hunger strikers through tubes forced down their throats or nostrils—marked a turning point in the conflict. This brutal procedure, normally reserved for patients in insane asylums, was condemned by medical professionals and generated public outrage. Mary Leigh described the sensation: "The drums of the ears seem to be bursting, a horrible pain in the throat and the breast... I had to lie on the bed pinned down by wardresses, one doctor stands up on a chair holding the funnel at arm's length." The physical and psychological trauma of force-feeding became a powerful propaganda weapon for the movement. By late 1909, the suffragettes had transformed from a small protest group into a highly organized movement capable of mounting sustained pressure on the government. Their escalating militancy had forced the issue of women's suffrage to the forefront of British politics, but it had also hardened opposition within the government. As Prime Minister Herbert Asquith continued to resist their demands, the suffragettes prepared for even more dramatic actions in the years ahead, setting the stage for the most intense phase of the campaign.

Chapter 3: Prison Resistance: Hunger Strikes and Force-Feeding (1909-1911)

By 1909, the suffragette movement had entered its most physically challenging phase as imprisonment became a routine experience for activists. The hunger strike, initially an improvised tactic, evolved into a systematic form of resistance that fundamentally altered the dynamics of the campaign. When imprisoned, suffragettes immediately refused food, forcing authorities to either release them or resort to force-feeding. This strategy effectively undermined the government's ability to impose sentences, as many women were released after just days or weeks of their terms. The government's response—force-feeding—became increasingly systematic and brutal. Doctors used rubber tubes inserted through the nose or mouth, sometimes holding women down with the help of multiple wardresses. The procedure was performed up to three times daily, often causing vomiting, bleeding, and lasting damage to the digestive system. Lady Constance Lytton, who had been released early from prison when authorities discovered her aristocratic identity, disguised herself as a working-class seamstress named "Jane Warton" to prove class bias in the treatment of prisoners. The harsh force-feeding she endured contributed to heart problems that eventually led to a stroke, leaving her partially paralyzed for the remainder of her life. The physical toll of this resistance was severe. Many women suffered permanent health damage from repeated force-feedings. Kitty Marion, a professional actress, endured some of the most prolonged force-feeding, later describing how doctors "kept catching my eye and showing me queer missiles to be thrown at us—hidden under their coats or in pockets." Emily Wilding Davison, perhaps the most determined militant, twice threw herself over prison banisters in protest, explaining: "I realized there was only one chance left and that was to hurl myself with the greatest force I could summon from the netting onto the staircase ten feet below." The suffragettes skillfully transformed their suffering into political capital. Detailed accounts of force-feeding appeared in the WSPU newspaper Votes for Women, generating public sympathy and outrage. By December 1909, the WSPU was awarding "For Valour" medals—the suffragettes' Victoria Cross—to women who had endured hunger strikes and force-feeding. Recipients wore them proudly at public meetings, often with silver bars added to mark subsequent imprisonments. Released prisoners, often emaciated and ill, were displayed at public meetings, creating powerful visual evidence of government brutality. The culmination of this period came on November 18, 1910—known as "Black Friday"—when police violently attacked a demonstration of 300 women outside Parliament following the failure of the Conciliation Bill that would have given limited voting rights to women. Women reported being sexually assaulted, thrown to the ground, and twisted into painful positions. The death of Mary Clarke, Emmeline Pankhurst's sister, shortly after her release from prison following Black Friday, became a powerful symbol of the physical toll of the struggle. This period of intense physical resistance transformed both the movement and public perception. The government's harsh treatment radicalized many suffragettes who might otherwise have preferred more moderate approaches. The cycle of imprisonment, hunger striking, and force-feeding created martyrs whose suffering galvanized supporters and attracted new recruits. However, it also pushed the movement toward increasingly extreme tactics as suffragettes concluded that only more dramatic actions could overcome government intransigence.

Chapter 4: Escalation: Property Destruction and Arson (1912-1914)

By 1912, the suffragette movement had reached a critical juncture. Following the betrayal of the Conciliation Bill, which would have given limited voting rights to women, the WSPU's tactics underwent a significant transformation. While earlier protests had primarily targeted politicians and Parliament, the movement now began a systematic campaign of property destruction. In March 1912, the WSPU orchestrated its largest window-smashing campaign yet, with hundreds of women simultaneously breaking windows throughout London's West End, causing an estimated £5,000 in damage. The government responded with unprecedented severity. In May 1912, Emmeline Pankhurst and Frederick and Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence were tried for conspiracy at the Old Bailey and sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. During their trial, the prosecution revealed that the WSPU had spent over £2,000 on hammers, stones, and other implements for window-breaking. All were found guilty, with harsh sentences that reflected the establishment's determination to crush the movement. Christabel Pankhurst escaped to Paris to avoid arrest, directing operations from exile until 1914. A crucial organizational shift occurred after the leaders' release from prison. The Pethick-Lawrences, who had given hundreds of thousands of pounds to the movement and endured imprisonment, were abruptly expelled from the WSPU in a shocking purge orchestrated by the Pankhursts. This centralization of power under the Pankhursts coincided with the launch of a new newspaper, The Suffragette, which replaced the Pethick-Lawrences' Votes for Women and openly advocated more extreme tactics with headlines like "Burning Is A Suffrage Argument." Under Christabel's direction from Paris, militancy escalated dramatically. In December 1912, a coordinated campaign of arson and bombing began. Suffragettes set fire to empty houses, churches, railway stations, and sports pavilions. They planted bombs in post boxes and cut telephone wires. In February 1913, they bombed Lloyd George's unoccupied house under construction at Walton Heath. These attacks were carefully planned to avoid human casualties, typically occurring at night in unoccupied buildings, but they represented a significant escalation that alienated many former supporters. The most dramatic individual protest came on June 4, 1913, when Emily Wilding Davison stepped in front of King George V's horse at the Epsom Derby, suffering fatal injuries. Though debate continues about whether she intended suicide, her funeral became a powerful propaganda moment for the WSPU, with thousands lining London streets to watch her coffin pass. Davison's martyrdom seemed to mark a point of no return in the escalation of militant tactics. By early 1914, the movement had become increasingly radical. In March, Mary Richardson slashed Velázquez's Rokeby Venus at the National Gallery, explaining: "I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the Government destroying Mrs. Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history." Public opinion, which had shown some sympathy to the suffragettes in earlier years, largely turned against the movement during this period of extreme militancy, while government officials discussed various solutions to the "suffragette problem," including deportation to remote islands. By summer 1914, both sides were locked in an increasingly desperate struggle with no resolution in sight. The government seemed determined to crush the movement through repression rather than concede voting rights, while the suffragettes showed no signs of abandoning their militant campaign. This deadlock would only be broken by events entirely outside either party's control—the outbreak of World War I.

Chapter 5: War and Victory: The Path to Women's Suffrage (1914-1918)

The outbreak of World War I in August 1914 dramatically transformed the landscape of the women's suffrage movement. Within hours of Britain's declaration of war, Emmeline Pankhurst announced the suspension of all militant activities, calling on suffragettes to direct their energies toward the national war effort. This patriotic pivot was controversial—some members like Sylvia Pankhurst opposed the war on socialist principles, while others felt betrayed by the abrupt abandonment of the suffrage campaign. Nevertheless, the WSPU leadership was resolute, with Christabel Pankhurst declaring: "This is the time for action, not for words." The government responded by releasing all suffragette prisoners and, in an ironic twist, began actively recruiting women for war work in factories, offices, and farms—the same women they had previously dismissed as unfit for public life. The WSPU quickly transformed itself into a pro-war organization. Emmeline Pankhurst organized recruitment drives, encouraging men to enlist and women to take up war work. The Suffragette was renamed Britannia and filled with patriotic content. This cooperation with the government represented a remarkable reversal for a movement that had been engaged in what amounted to domestic terrorism just months earlier. Women's wartime work proved transformative for public perceptions. As men left for the front, women filled essential roles in factories, transportation, agriculture, and administration. By 1918, nearly five million women were employed in jobs previously considered unsuitable for them. Their vital contribution to the war effort made it increasingly difficult for politicians to justify excluding them from the franchise. As one politician noted, "How can we deny the vote to women who have helped to save the nation?" The image of the militant suffragette was gradually replaced by that of the patriotic woman worker, making women's suffrage seem less threatening to the established order. Political developments during the war created new opportunities for suffrage reform. The need to update electoral registers for men serving abroad led to a Speaker's Conference on Electoral Reform in 1916-17. Though initially reluctant to include women's suffrage in its deliberations, the conference eventually recommended limited female enfranchisement. Even former opponents like Prime Minister Herbert Asquith changed their position, acknowledging in March 1917 that women had "deserved well of their country" through their war service. The Representation of the People Act, which became law on February 6, 1918, gave the vote to women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications or were married to men who did. While this fell short of full equality (men could vote at 21 with fewer restrictions), it enfranchised about 8.4 million women—about 40% of the adult female population. The same Act also extended the franchise to millions of working-class men previously excluded, representing the largest democratization of British politics in history. Later that year, the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act allowed women to stand as Members of Parliament. Full equality would come a decade later with the Equal Franchise Act of 1928, which gave women the vote on the same terms as men. Emmeline Pankhurst did not live to see this final victory, dying in June 1928 just weeks before the Act became law. The suffragette campaign had lasted just over a decade, from 1903 to 1914, but its impact was profound and lasting. Through their courage, creativity, and willingness to sacrifice personal freedom, these women permanently altered the political landscape and established new possibilities for female citizenship and political participation.

Chapter 6: Legacy: How Suffragettes Transformed Political Activism

The suffragette movement's impact extended far beyond winning the vote, fundamentally reshaping British politics and society in ways that continue to resonate today. The immediate aftermath of the 1918 Representation of the People Act saw the election of the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat—Lady Nancy Astor, who won a by-election in Plymouth in November 1919. Though Astor had never been a suffragette herself, her election represented the first concrete political outcome of women's enfranchisement and opened the door for future female parliamentarians. The 1920s witnessed a series of important legal reforms that built upon the foundation of women's suffrage. The Sex Disqualification Removal Act of 1919 made it illegal to exclude women from most professions or official positions on the basis of gender, allowing women to become lawyers, magistrates, and civil servants. Universities began offering more degrees to women students. Divorce laws were reformed to allow women to divorce their husbands for adultery on the same terms as men could divorce their wives. These changes demonstrated how political enfranchisement enabled women to address other forms of inequality through the legislative process, just as suffragettes had predicted. Many former suffragettes continued their activism in different spheres after winning the vote. Some, like Sylvia Pankhurst, moved further left politically, embracing socialism and anti-colonialism. Others, like Flora Drummond and Christabel Pankhurst, shifted rightward, founding the Women's Guild of Empire, which opposed strikes and promoted conservative values. Some became involved in the peace movement, women's health initiatives, or campaigns for equal pay. This diversity of paths reflected the movement's complex legacy—united in the fight for suffrage but divided on broader questions of social and economic justice. Perhaps most profoundly, the suffragettes transformed protest tactics and political organizing in ways that influenced subsequent social movements throughout the 20th century. Their sophisticated use of media, visual symbolism, and dramatic public spectacle created a template for modern activism. The hunger strikes, property destruction, and willingness to face imprisonment demonstrated how a marginalized group could seize public attention and force political change through direct action when conventional channels failed. Later movements for civil rights, gay liberation, and environmental protection would draw inspiration from these tactics, adapting them to new contexts and causes. The suffragettes also pioneered modern propaganda techniques that remain relevant today. Their purple, white, and green color scheme created instant brand recognition. They understood the power of martyrdom and suffering as political tools, using hunger strikes and imprisonment to generate sympathy. Their newspapers, posters, and merchandise spread their message through multiple channels. They recognized the importance of spectacle and visual imagery in capturing public imagination—from massive processions to the dramatic funeral of Emily Davison. The suffragette legacy provides both inspiration and practical lessons for continuing struggles for equality. Their story reminds us that rights are rarely granted without struggle, that progress often requires both pragmatic compromise and principled militancy, and that determined collective action can overcome seemingly insurmountable opposition. As Emmeline Pankhurst declared: "We are here not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers."

Summary

The suffragette movement represents one of history's most compelling examples of how marginalized groups can successfully challenge entrenched power structures through strategic activism. At its core, the movement's evolution reveals a fundamental tension between institutional resistance to change and the escalating tactics required to overcome it. Beginning with peaceful petitioning and demonstrations, suffragettes were forced toward increasingly militant actions only when conventional political channels proved ineffective. This progression—from constitutional methods to property destruction—demonstrates how political violence emerges not simply from radical ideology but from the systematic failure of democratic systems to respond to legitimate grievances. The suffragettes' ultimate victory offers enduring lessons for contemporary social movements. First, effective activism requires tactical flexibility—knowing when to escalate and when to compromise based on changing circumstances, as the suffragettes demonstrated by suspending militancy during World War I. Second, symbolic actions that capture public imagination can be more powerful than abstract arguments, as shown by the hunger strikes that transformed public perception. Third, cross-class alliances strengthen movements by combining diverse resources and perspectives, as seen in the WSPU's ability to unite working-class and middle-class women. Finally, the suffragettes remind us that rights are rarely granted without struggle—they must be demanded, often at great personal cost. Their legacy lives on not just in women's right to vote, but in the expanded conception of citizenship and political participation they helped create, challenging us to continue working toward true equality in all spheres of life.

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Diane Atkinson

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