Emmeline Pankhurst — Words Not Deeds
Fascinating lesser-known facts
Emmeline Pankhurst 1858–1928 was a British political activist remembered for being a fearless trailblazer in the fight for women’s rights and equality. She was the Women’s Social Political Union (WSPU) founder, which led to a robust following of equally fearless and determined women to win the right to vote. She is revered for her effective methods that brought democracy to Britain. Emmeline Pankhurst is indisputably one of the most important women of the 20th century.
1858 Emmeline Goulden was born in Manchester into a political family. She was the eldest of eleven children. Her birth certificate states that she was born on July 15th 1858, but she claimed the 14th as her birth date. July 14th was Bastille Day.
1872 Emmeline’s mother — Sophia Jane Goulden, took Emmeline, aged fourteen, to her first suffrage meeting. From that day forward, Emmeline became a confirmed Suffragist.
1873 At fifteen, Emmeline was sent to Paris and educated in a finishing school. The school was managed by a woman that insisted that girls were taught the same subjects as boys. Subjects included science, Chemistry and bookkeeping. She returned to England at nineteen years as ’a finished lady’.
Bastille Day commemorates a pivotal moment in French history of militant political uprising. Maybe Emmeline’s education in France influenced her decision to change her birth date and liken herself to political militancy.
1879 At twenty years old, Emmeline married Richard Marsden — a barrister and women’s suffrage supporter. Richard was 24 years older than Emmeline and the same age as her mother, Sophia.
Emmeline and Richard had five children; Christabel Harriette Pankhurst (1880–1958), Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (1882–1960), Henry Francis Pankhurst (1884–1888), Adela Constantia Mary Pankhurst (1885–1961 and Henry Francis Pankhurst (1889–1910).
1886 Emmeline and her sister Mary Jane opened a fabric shop in Hamstead Row, London.
1888 Emmeline’s son Francis (known as Frank), aged four, developed diphtheria and died on September 11th. Emmeline commissioned two portraits of the dead boy as was popular during the Victorian era. Ten months later, her second son was born, and she gave him the same name as the first, claiming that “Frank was coming again”.
1903 Despite more than forty years of petitions and peaceful protests, the House of Commons rejected every request to allow women equal rights to men. Emmeline grew frustrated by the Suffragists quiet, law-abiding approach, trying to achieve equal rights whilst remaining respectable. It was not working.
She declared that “Deeds Not Words” would be a more active approach. Emmeline withdrew from the Suffragists and formed the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). By 1906 the WSPU became known as The Suffragettes, creating a distinct divide between them and the law-abiding respectable suffragists. The Suffragettes motto was ‘Deeds Not Words’.
The Suffragettes became notorious for their militant and fearless behaviours. They stopped at nothing to gain an audience for the cause. Amongst other proactive behaviours, they smashed windows, cut telephone cables, tied themselves to railings, and stormed parliament. They attempted to access number 10 Downing Street on numerous occasions, and they chained themselves to the railings outside Buckingham Palace. They were arrested, beaten, humiliated and sexually assaulted by the metropolitan police, and the women were frequently sent to prison. In prison, they protested by going on a hunger strike. Their determination to die for the cause prompted the government to impose forced-feeding to prevent the women from gaining notoriety for the cause.
The Suffragettes under the leadership of Emmeline Pankhurst were represented by women from all walks of life, from factory workers to aristocratic Ladies. Funded and managed by wealthy ladies from the gentry, they grew in numbers and became a formidable force.
1908 February, Emmeline was arrested and bound over for disorderly conduct and obstructing police.
1908 October, Emmeline was arrested and bound over for disorderly conduct and obstructing police.
1909 July, Emmeline was fined for obstructing police and assault.
1910 November 18th became known as ‘Black Friday’. The women had gathered outside the House of Commons. Prime Minister Asquith had agreed to give some Parliamentary time to the ‘Conciliation Bill’. When it became apparent that Asquith had not given any time to the Conciliation Bill, the women became angry. Riotous behaviour ensued.
Winston Churchill, secretary of state, instructed the Metropolitan Police to ‘rough up the women’.
The police were brutal; they mauled, punched, kicked, used truncheons and sexually assaulted the women in the streets. The Daily Mirror published images of police brutality, which became a worldwide sensation highlighting the women’s plight, thereby gaining global support. The world became well-informed about how the mothers, wives and sisters of Britain were bullied and vilified. The British government was condemned and shamed.
1912 March, Emmeline was sentenced to two months imprisonment for wilful damage.
1912 May, Emmeline was sentenced to nine months imprisonment for conspiracy.
1913 On February 24th, Emmeline, aged 53, was arrested for ‘Feloniously procuring and inciting a person or persons unknown to commit a felony; unlawfully soliciting and inciting persons unknown to commit certain misdemeanours’.
Emmeline was arrested for the deliberate attempt to destroy the newly built home of Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer. It was an unsuccessful attempt, which resulted in an estimated £450 worth of damage.
The evidence produced at the trial consisted of ‘one hatpin, the remains of a candlestick, a golosh (waterproof overshoe), and a tin of shavings’.
At the trial ‘Emmeline Pankhurst, at the Old Bailey, on Thursday 3rd April 1913, pleaded not guilty. She said that the indictment of ‘wickedly and maliciously inciting’ was inaccurate. She claimed that she was neither wicked nor malicious.
Emmeline claimed responsibility for all of her speeches she had made. She also informed the all-male jury that if convicted, she would “join the women in Holloway prison who were already on hunger strike and would come out either dead or alive at the earliest possible moment”.
The verdict was guilty. The sentence was three years of penal servitude.
Christabel Pankhurst, Flora Drummond and Emmeline Pankhurst in the dock.
1914. Emmeline agreed to suspend all militant action with the release of all imprisoned suffragettes to support the government when war with Germany was declared.
1928. June 14th. Emmeline passed away in a nursing home aged sixty-nine. Emmeline left her estate to her eldest daughter Christabel.
Eighteen days following her death, parliament passed the representation of the people act 1928. All women and men were equally given the right to vote from twenty-one years.
1930 A statue of Emmeline was unveiled in London’s Victoria Tower Gardens by Stanley Baldwin, former Prime Minister, who opposed women’s votes.
Resources:
https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/print.jsp?div=t19130401-67
My Own Story, Emmeline Pankhurst, Vintage Books, 2015
https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/emmeline-pankhurst-day-exploring-womens-suffrage-records
The Suffragette Timeline, Suzanne Keyte 2018
