Emmeline Pankhurst 0749636750, 9780749636753

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by Emma Fischel

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Emmeline Pankhurst

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Biographies offamous people to support the curriculum.

by Emma Fischel Illustrations by Martin Remphry

w FRANKLIN WATTS LONDON•SYDNEY

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WORCESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

9 W&S First published in 2000 by Franl0NA•10N$

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But she soon. learned what lay ahead in life, even for rich girls. Her five younger brothers could grow up to be doctors, or lawyers or do exciting things.

She and her four younger sisters were expected to sit at home and wait for a husband. 5

When Emmeline was 14 she went to a meeting with her mother. It was all ab.o ut something called 'the vote'. People who voted could choose who would lead the country and make the laws. Men could vote but women couldn't. '

POLLING- BOOTH Tt-lOSE Wf-k' CAN \/Te: MEN OVER 2. I. THO.SE WHO

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But when she came home she didn't know what to do next. Then she met Richard Marsden Pankhurst ... SHOULD BRltAIN Go TO WAR WITH

RUSSIA? • ~~~

He tried to get ~ot?'s ' for women when ' - . . I was only 12! / •

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and married him when she was just 21. He was 40. 9

Richard was a fine lawyer but he didn't earn much mone!::J. He spent m·o st of his time helping people who couldn't afford to pa!::J. ''Be a politician," Emmeline said. ''Then !:JOU could change things.''

There is NO 6fod! 6five women the vote TODAY! ) 10

But back then a lot of people found his ideas shocking and the!:J didn't vote for him. Emmeline and her father had a huge quarrel about Richard. The!:] never spoke again.

making you one too!

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B-y now Emmeline and Richard had four children - and a plan. ''We'll move to London and I'll open a shop," she said. ''We'll make lots of mone-y." But no one in that part of London wanted to bu-y the sort of things her shop sold.

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Then Frank, their son, became very ill. In the end he died. ''Dirty streets, bad drains - you're lucky it's just one child dead!'' said the doctor. ''It's always the poor who die young!''

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One bitter winter they moved back to Manchester. Emmeline soon saw how terrible life was for the very poor. Many lived in workhouses. They were filthy, horrible places.

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good food, warm tiothes, titan bedding and thairs for the old. And that'sjust \.. the start ...

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Some people preferred to starve rather ·t han go there. The politicians did nothing to help, so the Pankhursts did.

''The rich have so much," said Emmeline. ''And the poor almost nothing. If only women had the power to change things!'' 15

When Emmeline was 30 she visited her old schoolfriend in France. News came that Richard was ill, so she raced home.

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She was too late - he was dead. 16

Now Emmeline needed to work to feed her famil-y. In her new job she found out even more about how hard life was for the poor. How tan I feed my new baby? I do the same Job as a man, but for less money!

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I'm so hungry

and told.

''I can change nothing without a voice and a vote," said Emmeline. And she knew then what she had to do ... •

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Emmeline formed an organisation, helped by her daughte·r, Christabel. She spoke on street corners, in parks ... anywhere she could.

,( Unite and fight! Votes for women!

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SOCIAL. ANO . POLITICAL

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There were three main groups of politicians. Emmeline needed to get them to change the law.

But the Conservatives made sure he failed. 19

T h e r e was on e more group to t r y . "Will y o u Lib erals give us the vote?" C h r i s t a b e l asked. B ut they w o u l d n ' t even s p e a k t o her. So she tried t o make them answer - and SHE m a d e front p a g e news . •

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Three days later she was freed. That evening's meeting was the biggest yet! W.S. P. U

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''We must be noticed!'' said Emmeline to her followers. ''Shout! Interrupt! Be a nuisance!'' ''Shout? Interrupt? We can't do THAT!'' said lots of them. ''We don't know how.'' So Emmeline showed them. ';.

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Again. And much louder! 22

Before long, no politician was safe ... however important.

you give ~ us the vote?

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Silence for the new Prime Minister!

Not those women again. -=

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But soon the police learned to spot t~e women. ''The!:] throw us out before we can speak," said Emmeline. ''So hide your banners and flags. Hide your faces. Let no one suspect !:JOU. THEN attack!'' ''This is no waH for women to behqve," thundered the politicians . .

''It is the onl!:J waH," said• Emmeline. ''We WILL make people know about us!'' And she carried on planning, . da!:J and night. 24

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''Now for our first march!'' said Emmeline. ''To the Houses of Parliament.'' Four hundred women joined her. But the doors were barred when the-y got there. •

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''The!:J ma!:J bar us," said Emmeline. ''But the!:J won't stop us. The fight goes on!'' And so the demonstrations got bigger and bigger. Almost half a million. Twice what I hoped!

Now Emmeline was 50 and busier than _ever. ''I need help to get ever!:)thing done," she said. ''I know just the people," said Keir Hardie. ''The!:J're important, theH're clever and theH're good at raising moneH!'' { 6mmeline., please meet ";- , Frederick and if /,."\' ~ 6mmeline J..-c\ '- Pethitk-Lawrence;:_ 1 , - ~ Zr ('~) ~

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Times were changing. Women were becoming doctors and they were going to universities - but still politicians did nothing about the vote. Women were running out of patience.

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More and more women joined Emmeline e_verH da!J. ''Tell us what to do," theH begged her. ''You make us feel strong and proud and brave!''

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The women shouted louder and louder. The police got rougher and rougher. And then two women smashed the windows of the Prime Minister's house with stones. A new wa-y of fighting had begun.

w. s. P. u.

VOTES Fof