View source for Emmeline Pankhurst

{{Short description|British suffragette (1858–1928)}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name               = Emmeline Pankhurst
| image              = Emmeline Pankhurst, seated (1913).jpg
| caption            = Pankhurst, {{circa|1913}}
| alt                = Monochrome photo of a lady sitting in a chair
| office             = Leader of the [[Women's Social and Political Union]]
| term_start         = 1903
| term_end           = 1917
| predecessor        = ''Position established''
| successor          = ''Position dissolved''
| birth_name         = Emmeline Goulden
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1858|07|15|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Moss Side, Manchester]], England
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1928|06|14|1858|07|15|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Hampstead, London]], England
| module             = {{Infobox person
| embed              = yes
| monuments          = {{ubli|[[Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst]]|[[Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst Memorial]]}}
| movement           = [[Women's Social and Political Union]]
| occupation         = Political activist and suffragette
| party              = {{ubli|[[Independent Labour Party]] (1890s)|[[Women's Party (UK)|Women's Party]] (1917–1919)|[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] (1926–1928)}}
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Richard Pankhurst (politician)|Richard Pankhurst]]|18 December 1879|5 July 1898|end=died}}
| children           = 5, including [[Christabel Pankhurst|Christabel]], [[Sylvia Pankhurst|Sylvia]], and [[Adela Pankhurst|Adela]]
| father             = Robert Golden
| mother             = [[Sophia Goulden]]
| relatives          = {{ubli|[[Mary Jane Clarke]] (sister)|[[Richard Pankhurst (academic)|Richard Pankhurst]] (grandson)|[[Helen Pankhurst]] (great-granddaughter)|[[Alula Pankhurst]] (great-grandson)}}
}}
}}

'''Emmeline Pankhurst''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|æ|ŋ|k|h|ɜr|s|t}};<ref>{{Cite Collins Dictionary|Pankhurst}}</ref> {{née}} '''Goulden'''; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bl.uk/votes-for-women/articles/suffragettes-violence-and-militancy |title=Suffragettes, violence and militancy |first=Fern |last=Riddell |date=6 February 2018 |website=[[British Library]] |access-date=15 September 2021 |archive-date=10 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910203912/https://www.bl.uk/votes-for-women/articles/suffragettes-violence-and-militancy |url-status=live }}</ref> who organised the British [[suffragette]] movement and helped women to win in 1918 the [[women's suffrage|right to vote]] in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain and Ireland]]. In 1999, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' named her as one of the [[Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century|100 Most Important People of the 20th Century]], stating that "she shaped an idea of objects for our time" and "shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Emmeline Pankhurst – Time 100 People of the Century|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991250,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306060513/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991250,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 March 2008|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |first=Marina |last=Warner |date=14 June 1999}}</ref> She was widely criticised for her militant tactics, and historians disagree about their effectiveness, but her work is recognised as a crucial element in achieving [[women's suffrage in the United Kingdom]].<ref name="legacy02"/><ref name="legacy01"/>

Born in the [[Moss Side]] district of [[Manchester]] to politically active parents, Pankhurst was 16 when she was introduced to the women's suffrage movement. She founded and became involved with the [[Women's Franchise League]], which advocated suffrage for both married and unmarried women. When that organisation broke apart, she tried to join the left-leaning [[Independent Labour Party]] through her friendship with socialist [[Keir Hardie]] but was initially refused membership by the local branch on account of her sex. While working as a [[Poor Law Guardian]], she was shocked at the harsh conditions she encountered in Manchester's [[workhouse]]s.

In 1903, Pankhurst founded the [[Women's Social and Political Union]] (WSPU), an all-women suffrage advocacy organisation dedicated to "deeds, not words".<ref name="multiref1">E. Pankhurst 1914, p. 38.</ref> The group identified as independent from&nbsp;– and often in opposition to&nbsp;– political parties. It became known for physical confrontations: its members smashed windows and assaulted police officers. Pankhurst, her daughters, and other WSPU activists received repeated prison sentences, where they staged [[hunger strike]]s to secure better conditions, and were often [[force feeding|force-fed]]. As Pankhurst's eldest daughter [[Christabel Pankhurst|Christabel]] took leadership of the WSPU, antagonism between the group and the government grew. Eventually, the group [[Suffragette bombing and arson campaign|adopted bombings and arson as a tactic]], and more moderate organisations spoke out against the Pankhurst family. In 1913, several prominent individuals left the WSPU, among them Pankhurst's younger daughters, [[Adela Pankhurst|Adela]] and [[Sylvia Pankhurst|Sylvia]]. Emmeline was so furious that she "gave [Adela] a ticket, £20, and a letter of introduction to a suffragette in Australia, and firmly insisted that she emigrate".<ref>Hochschild, Adam (2011). ''To End All Wars'', p. 71. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston; {{ISBN|978-0-618-75828-9}}.</ref> Adela complied and the family rift was never healed. Sylvia became a socialist.

With the advent of the [[First World War]], Emmeline and Christabel called an immediate halt to the militant terrorism in support of the [[Her Majesty's Government|British government]]'s stand against the "German Peril".<ref name="Quoted">Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 270.</ref> Emmeline organised and led a massive procession called the [[Women's Right to Serve demonstration]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Illustrated First World War|publisher=The Illustrated London News|isbn=9780992709419|location=London|pages=66}}</ref> to illustrate women's contribution to the war effort. Emmeline and Christabel urged women to aid industrial production and encouraged young men to fight.

In 1918, the [[Representation of the People Act 1918|Representation of the People Act]] granted votes to all men over the age of 21 and women over the age of 30. This discrepancy was intended to ensure that men did not become minority voters as a consequence of the huge number of deaths suffered during the First World War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/parliamentary-collectionsdelete/representation-of-the-people-act-1918|title=Representation of the People Act 1918|access-date=24 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113052/http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/parliamentary-collectionsdelete/representation-of-the-people-act-1918|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

She transformed the WSPU machinery into the [[Women's Party (UK)|Women's Party]], which was dedicated to promoting women's equality in public life. In her later years, she became concerned with what she perceived as the menace posed by [[Bolshevism]] and joined the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]. She was selected as the Conservative candidate for [[Whitechapel and St Georges (UK Parliament constituency)|Whitechapel and St Georges]] in 1927.<ref>Purvis 2002, p. 248.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alistairlexden.org.uk/news/lord-lexden-reminds-conservatives-mrs-pankhurst-joined-their-party-1920s|title=Lord Lexden reminds Conservatives that Mrs Pankhurst joined their Party in the 1920s|website=Lord Lexden OBE|date=8 August 2012 |access-date=7 August 2019|archive-date=11 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711191255/https://www.alistairlexden.org.uk/news/lord-lexden-reminds-conservatives-mrs-pankhurst-joined-their-party-1920s|url-status=live}}</ref> She died on 14 June 1928, only weeks before the Conservative government's [[Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928]] extended the vote to all women over 21 years of age on 2 July 1928. She was commemorated two years later with a statue in [[Victoria Tower Gardens]], next to the [[Houses of Parliament]].

==Early life==
[[File:Lydia Becker 1873.jpg|thumb|right|[[Lydia Becker]] was an early influence on Pankhurst and may have been enamoured of Pankhurst's father]]

Emmeline Goulden was born on Sloan Street in the [[Moss Side]] district of [[Manchester]] on 15 July 1858.<ref name=birthplace>{{cite web |title=Emmeline Pankhurst's Birthplace: Alexandra Park Estate |url=http://www.mancky.co.uk/?p=8833 |website=Mancky |access-date=12 May 2019 |archive-date=12 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712161801/http://www.mancky.co.uk/?p=8833 |url-status=live }}</ref> Although her [[birth certificate]] says otherwise, she believed and later claimed her birthday was a day earlier, on [[Bastille Day]] (14 July). Most biographies, including those written by her daughters, repeat this claim. Feeling a kinship with the female revolutionaries who [[Storming of the Bastille|stormed the Bastille]], she said in 1908: "I have always thought that the fact that I was born on that day had some kind of influence over my life."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 9; Bartley, pp. 15–16. Purvis suggests several possible reasons for the confusion. She notes that the name is spelled "Emiline" on the certificate.</ref> The family into which she was born had been steeped in political agitation for generations; her mother, [[Sophia Goulden|Sophia]], was a Manx woman from the [[Isle of Man]] who was descended from men who were charged with social unrest and slander.<ref name="bart16">Bartley, p. 16; Liddington and Norris, p. 74.</ref>

In 1881, the Isle of Man became the first place in the British Isles to grant women the right to vote in Manx national elections (the Isle does not return members to the UK Parliament).<ref>
[http://www.gov.im/lib/news/mnh/125thanniversary.xml "125th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage on the Isle of Man"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081104124541/http://www.gov.im/lib/news/mnh/125thanniversary.xml |date=4 November 2008 }}. 10 October 2006. [[Isle of Man Government]]; retrieved 5 August 2008.</ref><ref>Bartley, pp. 16–18.</ref> Her father, Robert Goulden, was a self-made man{{snd}}working his way from errand boy to manufacturer{{snd}}from a humble Manchester family with its own background of political activity. Robert's mother, a [[fustian]] cutter, worked with the [[Anti-Corn Law League]], and his father was [[impressment|press-ganged]] into the [[Royal Navy]] and present at the [[Peterloo massacre]], when cavalry charged and broke up a crowd demanding parliamentary reform.<ref>Bartley, pp. 18–19; Purvis 2002, p. 9; Phillips, p. 145.</ref>

The Gouldens' first son died at the age of three, but they had 10 other children; Emmeline was the eldest of five daughters. Soon after her birth, the family moved to [[Seedley]], where her father had co-founded a small business. He was also active in local politics, serving for several years on the [[Salford]] town council. He was an enthusiastic supporter of dramatic organisations including the Manchester Athenaeum and the Dramatic Reading Society. He owned a theatre in Salford for several years, where he played the leads in several [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] plays. Goulden absorbed an appreciation of drama and theatrics from her father, which she used later in social activism.<ref>Bartley, pp. 20–21; Pugh, p. 7.</ref> The Gouldens included their children in social activism. As part of the movement to end U.S. slavery, Robert welcomed American abolitionist [[Henry Ward Beecher]] when he visited Manchester. Sophia used the novel ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'', written by Beecher's sister [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]], as a regular source of bedtime stories for her sons and daughters. In her 1914 autobiography ''My Own Story'', Goulden recalls visiting a [[bazaar]] at a young age to collect money for newly freed slaves in the U.S.<ref>E. Pankhurst 1914, pp. 1–2; Bartley, pp. 18–19, 20–21; Purvis 2002, p. 10.</ref>

Emmeline began to read books when she was very young, with one source claiming that she was reading as early as the age of three.<ref>Purvis 2002, p. 9. In her autobiography, Pankhurst wrote on p. 3: "I do not remember a time when I could not read."</ref> She read the ''[[Odyssey]]'' at the age of nine and enjoyed the works of [[John Bunyan]], especially his 1678 story ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress]]''.<ref name="pank14p3">E. Pankhurst 1914, p. 3.</ref> Another of her favourite books was [[Thomas Carlyle]]'s three-volume treatise ''[[The French Revolution: A History]]'', and she later said the work "remained all [her] life a source of inspiration".<ref name="pank14p3"/> Despite her avid consumption of books, however, she was not given the educational advantages enjoyed by her brothers. Their parents believed that the girls needed most to learn the art of "making home attractive" and other skills desired by potential husbands.<ref name="pank14p6">E. Pankhurst 1914, p. 6. She adds: "It used to puzzle me to understand why I was under such a particular obligation to make home attractive to my brothers. We were on excellent terms of friendship, but it was never suggested to them as a duty that they make home attractive to me."</ref> The Gouldens deliberated carefully about future plans for their sons' education, but they expected their daughters to marry young and avoid paid work.<ref>Purvis 2002, p. 11; Bartley, pp. 22–23.</ref> Although they supported [[women's suffrage]] and the general advancement of women in society, the Gouldens believed their daughters incapable of the goals of their male peers. Feigning sleep one evening as her father came into her bedroom, Goulden heard him pause and say to himself, "What a pity she wasn't born a lad."<ref name="pank14p6"/>

It was through her parents' interest in women's suffrage that Goulden was first introduced to the subject. Her mother received and read the ''[[Women's Suffrage Journal]]'', and Goulden grew fond of its editor [[Lydia Becker]].<ref>Purvis 2002, p. 20.</ref> At the age of 14, she returned home from school one day to find her mother on her way to a public meeting about women's voting rights. After learning that Becker would be speaking, she insisted on attending. Goulden was enthralled by Becker's address and later wrote, "I left the meeting a conscious and confirmed suffragist."<ref>E. Pankhurst 1914, p. 9; Bartley, p. 22; Purvis 2002, p. 12.</ref> A year later, she arrived in [[Paris]] to attend the ''École Normale de Neuilly''. The school provided its female pupils with classes in chemistry and bookkeeping, in addition to traditionally feminine arts such as [[embroidery]]. Her roommate was Noémie, the daughter of [[Victor Henri Rochefort, Marquis de Rochefort-Luçay|Victor Henri Rochefort]], who had been imprisoned in [[New Caledonia]] for his support of the [[Paris Commune]]. The girls shared tales of their parents' political exploits and remained good friends for years.<ref>E. Pankhurst 1914, p. 10; E. S. Pankhurst 1931, pp. 54–55; Bartley, pp. 23–25; Purvis 2002, pp. 12–13.</ref> Goulden was so fond of Noémie and the school that she returned with her sister [[Mary Jane Clarke|Mary Jane]] as a [[parlour boarder]] after graduating. Noémie had married a Swiss painter and quickly found a suitable French husband for her English friend. When Robert refused to provide a [[dowry]] for his daughter, the man withdrew his offer of marriage and Goulden returned, miserable, to Manchester.<ref>Purvis 2002, p. 14; Bartley, p. 25; West, pp. 245–246; C. Pankhurst, pp. 17–18.</ref>

== Marriage and family ==
[[File:RichardPankhurst1879 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Richard Pankhurst (politician)|Richard Pankhurst]] first caught Goulden's eye when she spied his "beautiful hand" opening the door of a taxi as he arrived at a public meeting in 1878<ref>E. S. Pankhurst 1931, p. 55.</ref>]]

In the autumn of 1878, at the age of 20, Goulden met and began a relationship with [[Richard Pankhurst (politician)|Richard Pankhurst]], a barrister who had advocated women's suffrage – and other causes, including [[freedom of speech]] and education reform – for years. Richard, 44 years old when they met, had earlier resolved to remain a [[bachelor]] to better serve the public. Their mutual affection was powerful, but the couple's happiness was diminished by the death of his mother the following year. Sophia Jane Goulden chastised her daughter for "throwing herself" at Richard<ref>E. S. Pankhurst 1931, p. 56.</ref> and advised her without success to exhibit more aloofness. Emmeline suggested to Richard that they avoid the legal formalities of marriage by entering into a [[free union]]; he objected on the grounds that she would be excluded from political life as an unmarried woman. He noted that his colleague [[Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme Elmy|Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy]] had faced social condemnation before she formalised her marriage to Ben Elmy. Emmeline Goulden agreed, and they had their wedding in [[St Luke's Church, Pendleton]] on 18 December 1879.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 15–17; Pugh, pp. 19–24; E. S. Pankhurst 1931, pp. 55–57; C. Pankhurst, pp. 20–22; Bartley, pp. 25–27.</ref>
[[File:St Luke's church, Salford.JPG|left|180px|thumb|St Luke's Church, Pendleton]]
During the 1880s, living at the Goulden cottage with her parents in Seedley, then at 1 Drayton Terrace Chester Rd Old Trafford (1881 census Stretford) opposite Richard's parents' home, Emmeline Pankhurst tended to her husband and children, but still devoted time to political activities. Although she gave birth to five children in ten years, both she and Richard believed that she should not be "a household machine".<ref>E. Pankhurst 1914, p. 13.</ref> Thus a butler was hired to help with the children as Pankhurst involved herself with the Women's Suffrage Society. Their daughter [[Christabel Pankhurst|Christabel]] was born on 22 September 1880, less than a year after the wedding. Pankhurst gave birth to another daughter, [[Sylvia Pankhurst|Estelle Sylvia]], in 1882, and their son Henry Francis Robert, nicknamed Frank, in 1884. Soon afterwards Richard Pankhurst left the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]]. He began expressing more radical socialist views and argued a case in court against several wealthy businessmen. These actions roused Robert Goulden's ire and the mood in the house became tense. In 1885, the Pankhursts moved to [[Chorlton-on-Medlock]], and their daughter [[Adela Pankhurst|Adela]] was born. They moved to London the following year, where Richard ran unsuccessfully for election as a Member of [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] and Pankhurst opened a small fabric shop called Emerson and Company, together with her sister Mary Jane.<ref name="children">Pugh, p. 26; E. S. Pankhurst 1931, pp. 57–58; C. Pankhurst, pp. 24–26; Purvis 2002, pp. 18–25; Bartley, p. 30.</ref><ref name="wsm">{{cite book |author=Crawford, Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Crawford (historian) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a2EK9P7-ZMsC&q=Mary+Clarke+suffragette&pg=PA691 |title=Women's Suffrage Movement |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2013 |isbn=978-1135434021 |pages=114–115}}</ref>

In 1888, Pankhurst's son Frank developed [[diphtheria]]. He died on 11 September. Overwhelmed with grief, Pankhurst commissioned two portraits of the dead boy but was unable to look at them and hid them in a bedroom cupboard. The family concluded that a faulty [[drainage]] system at the back of their house had caused their son's illness. Pankhurst blamed the poor conditions of the neighbourhood, and the family moved to a more affluent middle class district at [[Russell Square]]. She was soon pregnant once more and declared that the child was "Frank coming again".<ref>E. S. Pankhurst 1931, p. 103.</ref> She gave birth to a son on 7 July 1889 and named him Henry Francis in honour of his deceased brother.<ref name="children"/>

Pankhurst made their Russell Square home into a centre for political intellectuals and activists, including, "Socialists, Protesters, Anarchists, Suffragists, Free Thinkers, Radicals and Humanitarians of all schools."<ref name="esp90">E.S. Pankhurst, p. 90.</ref> She took pleasure in decorating the house – especially with furnishings from Asia – and clothing the family in tasteful apparel. Her daughter Sylvia later wrote: "Beauty and appropriateness in her dress and household appointments seemed to her at all times an indispensable setting to public work."<ref name="esp90"/>

The Pankhursts hosted a variety of guests including Indian MP [[Dadabhai Naoroji]], socialist activists [[Herbert Burrows]] and [[Annie Besant]], and French anarchist [[Louise Michel]].<ref name="esp90"/>

== Women's Franchise League ==
[[File:Harriot Stanton Blatch.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch]], daughter of US suffragist [[Elizabeth Cady Stanton]], became friends with Pankhurst through their work in the [[Women's Franchise League]].]]
In 1888, Britain's first nationwide coalition of groups advocating women's right to vote, the [[National Society for Women's Suffrage]] (NSWS), split after a majority of members decided to accept organisations affiliated with political parties. Angry at this decision, some of the group's leaders, including [[Lydia Becker]] and [[Millicent Fawcett]], stormed out of the meeting and created an alternative organisation committed to the "old rules," called the Great College Street Society after the location of its headquarters. Pankhurst aligned herself with the "new rules" group, which became known as the [[Whitehall|Parliament Street]] Society (PSS). Some members of the PSS favoured a piecemeal approach to gaining the vote. Because it was often assumed that married women did not need the vote since their husbands "voted for them," some PSS members felt that the vote for single women and widows was a practical step along the path to full suffrage. When the reluctance within the PSS to advocate on behalf of married women became clear, Pankhurst and her husband helped organise another new group dedicated to voting rights for all women – married and unmarried.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 29–30; Bartley, pp. 38–39; Pugh, pp. 53–54; E. S. Pankhurst 1931, pp. 94–95.</ref>

The inaugural meeting of the [[Women's Franchise League]] (WFL) was held on 25 July 1889, at the Pankhurst home in Russell Square. Early members of the WFL included [[Josephine Butler]], leader of the [[Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts]]; the Pankhursts' friend [[Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme-Elmy]]; and [[Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch]], daughter of US suffragist [[Elizabeth Cady Stanton]].<ref>Purvis 2002, p. 33; Pugh, pp. 53–54; Bartley, pp. 38–39; E. S. Pankhurst 1931, p. 95; Phillips, p. 151.</ref>

The WFL was considered a radical organisation, since in addition to women's suffrage it supported [[Social equality|equal rights]] for women in the areas of divorce and [[inheritance]]. It also advocated [[trade unionism]] and sought alliances with socialist organisations. The more conservative group that emerged from the NSWS split spoke out against what they called the "extreme left" wing of the movement.<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 29.</ref> The WFL reacted by ridiculing the "Spinster Suffrage party"<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 31; Phillips, p. 151.</ref> and insisting that a wider assault on social inequity was required. The group's [[Extremism|radicalism]] caused some members to leave; both Blatch and Elmy resigned from the WFL. The group fell apart one year later.<ref>Phillips, pp. 150–151; Bartley, pp. 38–41; Purvis 2002, pp. 30–37; Pugh, pp. 51–55.</ref>

== Independent Labour Party ==
Pankhurst's shop never succeeded and he had trouble attracting business in London. With the family's finances in jeopardy, Richard travelled regularly to [[northwest England]], where most of his clients were. In 1893 the Pankhursts closed the store and returned to Manchester. They stayed for several months in the seaside town of [[Southport]], then moved briefly to the village of [[Disley]] and finally settled into a house in Manchester's [[Victoria Park, Manchester|Victoria Park]]. The girls were enrolled in Manchester Girls' High School, where they felt confined by the large student population and strictly regimented schedule.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 39–40; Pugh, pp. 57–60; E.S. Pankhurst, pp. 113–116.</ref>

[[File:Keir Hardie crop.jpg|thumb|right|[[Keir Hardie]] worked with the Pankhursts on a variety of political issues and later became a very close friend of Sylvia's.]]

Pankhurst began to work with several political organisations, distinguishing herself for the first time as an activist in her own right and gaining respect in the community. One biographer describes this period as her "emergence from Richard's shadow."<ref>Pugh, p. 61.</ref> In addition to her work on behalf of women's suffrage, she became active with the [[Women's Liberal Federation]] (WLF), an auxiliary of the Liberal Party. She quickly grew disenchanted with the group's moderate positions, however, especially its unwillingness to support [[Irish Home Rule bills|Irish Home Rule]] and the aristocratic leadership of [[Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery|Archibald Primrose]].<ref name="ilp01">Bartley, pp. 42–43; Purvis 2002, pp. 40–42; Pugh, pp. 60–61.</ref>

In 1888 Pankhurst had met and befriended [[Keir Hardie]], a socialist from Scotland. He was elected to parliament in 1891 and two years later helped to create the [[Independent Labour Party]] (ILP). Excited about the range of issues which the ILP pledged to confront, Pankhurst resigned from the WFL and applied to join the ILP. The local branch refused her admission on the grounds of her sex, but she eventually joined the ILP nationally. Christabel later wrote of her mother's enthusiasm for the party and its organising efforts: "In this movement she hoped there might be the means of righting every political and social wrong."<ref name="ilp01"/><ref>C. Pankhurst, p. 32.</ref>

One of her first activities with the ILP found Pankhurst distributing food to poor men and women through the Committee for the Relief of the Unemployed. In December 1894 she was elected to the position of [[Board of Guardians|Poor Law Guardian]] in [[Chorlton-on-Medlock]]. She was appalled by the conditions she witnessed first-hand in the Manchester [[workhouse]]:

{{Blockquote|text=The first time I went into the place I was horrified to see little girls seven and eight years old on their knees scrubbing the cold stones of the long corridors&nbsp;... bronchitis was epidemic among them most of the time&nbsp;... I found that there were pregnant women in that workhouse, scrubbing floors, doing the hardest kind of work, almost until their babies came into the world&nbsp;... Of course the babies are very badly protected&nbsp;... These poor, unprotected mothers and their babies I am sure were potent factors in my education as a militant.<ref>E. Pankhurst 1914, pp. 25–28.</ref>}}Pankhurst immediately began to change these conditions, and established herself as a successful voice of reform on the Board of Guardians. Her chief opponent was a passionate man named Mainwaring, known for his rudeness. Recognising that his loud anger was hurting his chances of persuading those aligned with Pankhurst, he kept a note nearby during meetings: "Keep your temper!"<ref>E. S. Pankhurst 1931, p. 132.</ref>

After helping her husband with another unsuccessful parliamentary campaign, Pankhurst faced legal troubles in 1896 when she and two men violated a [[court order]] against ILP meetings at [[Boggart Hole Clough]]. With Richard's volunteering his time as [[Lawyer|legal counsel]], they refused to pay fines, and the two men spent a month in prison. The punishment was never ordered for Pankhurst, however, possibly because the magistrate feared public backlash against the imprisonment of a woman so respected in the community. Asked by an ILP reporter if she were prepared to spend time in prison, Pankhurst replied: "Oh, yes, quite. It wouldn't be so very dreadful, you know, and it would be a valuable experience."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 47.</ref> Although ILP meetings were eventually permitted, the episode was a strain on Pankhurst's health and caused loss of income for their family.<ref name="clough">Purvis 2002, pp. 46–49; Bartley, pp. 57–59; Pugh, pp. 72–75.</ref>

=== Richard's death ===
[[File: Christabel Pankhurst.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Christabel Pankhurst]], often called the favourite child, spent almost 15 years working by her mother's side for women's suffrage.]]

During the struggle at Boggart Hole Clough, Richard Pankhurst began to experience severe [[Abdominal pain|stomach pains]]. He had developed a [[gastric ulcer]], and his health deteriorated in 1897. The family moved briefly to [[Mobberley]], with the hope that country air would help his condition. He soon felt well again, and the family returned to Manchester in the autumn. In the summer of 1898, he suffered a sudden relapse. Emmeline Pankhurst had taken their oldest daughter Christabel to [[Corsier]], Switzerland, to visit her old friend Noémie. A telegram arrived from Richard, reading: "I am not well. Please come home, my love."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 52.</ref> Leaving Christabel with Noémie, Pankhurst returned immediately to England. On 5 July, while on a train from London to Manchester, she noticed a newspaper announcing the death of Richard Pankhurst.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 51–52; Bartley, pp. 59–60; Pugh, pp. 75–77.</ref>

The loss of her husband left Pankhurst with new responsibilities and a significant amount of debt. She moved the family to a smaller house at 62 Nelson Street, resigned from the Board of Guardians, and was given a paid position as Registrar of Births and Deaths in Chorlton. This work gave her more insight into the conditions of women in the region. She wrote in her autobiography: "They used to tell me their stories, dreadful stories some of them, and all of them pathetic with that patient and uncomplaining pathos of poverty."<ref name="epank3234">E. Pankhurst 1914, p. 32–34.</ref> Her observations of the differences between the lives of men and women, for example in relation to [[illegitimacy]], reinforced her conviction that women needed the right to vote before their conditions could improve. In 1900 she was elected to the Manchester School Board and saw new examples of women suffering unequal treatment and limited opportunities. During this time she also re-opened her store, with the hope that it would provide additional income for the family.<ref name="epank3234"/><ref>Bartley, pp. 61–64; Purvis 2002, pp. 57–58; Pugh, p. 86.</ref>

The individual identities of the Pankhurst children began to emerge around the time of their father's death. Before long they were all involved in the struggle for women's suffrage. Christabel enjoyed a privileged status among the daughters, as Sylvia noted in 1931: "She was our mother's favourite; we all knew it, and I, for one, never resented the fact."<ref>E. S. Pankhurst 1931, p. 99.</ref> Christabel did not share her mother's fervour for political work, however, until she befriended the suffrage activists [[Esther Roper]] and [[Eva Gore-Booth]]. She soon became involved with the suffrage movement and joined her mother at speaking events.<ref>, Pugh, pp. 92–93; E. S. Pankhurst 1931, pp. 164–165.</ref> Sylvia took lessons from a respected local artist and soon received a scholarship to the [[Manchester Metropolitan University|Manchester School of Art]]. She went on to study art in Florence and Venice.<ref>E. S. Pankhurst 1931, pp. 162–163; Pugh, pp. 96–98.</ref> The younger children, Adela and Harry, had difficulty finding a path for their studies. Adela was sent to a local [[boarding school]], where she was cut off from her friends and contracted [[Pediculosis|head lice]]. Harry also had difficulty at school; he suffered from [[measles]] and vision problems.<ref>Pugh, pp. 82–83; Purvis 2002, p. 56.</ref>

==Women's Social and Political Union/WSPU==
[[File:Pankhurst Centre 1.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Women's Social and Political Union|WSPU]]. It was founded at Pankhurst's home at 62 Nelson Street, Manchester in 1903. The Grade II* Victoria Villa is now home to the [[Pankhurst Centre]].]]
[[File:Suffragettes, England, 1908.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Women's Social and Political Union]] became known for its militant activity. Pankhurst once said: "The condition of our sex is so deplorable that it is our duty to break the law in order to call attention to the reasons why we do."<ref>Quoted in Bartley, p. 98.</ref>]]

By 1903, Pankhurst believed that years of moderate speeches and promises about women's suffrage from members of parliament (MPs) had yielded no progress. Although suffrage bills in 1870, 1886, and 1897 had shown promise, each was defeated. She doubted that political parties, with their many agenda items, would ever make women's suffrage a priority. She even broke with the [[Independent Labour Party|ILP]] when it refused to focus on [[Votes for Women]]. It was necessary to abandon the patient tactics of existing advocacy groups, she believed, in favour of more militant actions. Thus on 10 October 1903 Pankhurst and several colleagues founded the [[Women's Social and Political Union]] (WSPU), an organisation open only to women and focused on [[direct action]] to win the vote.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp.65–67; Bartley, pp. 71–82; Pugh, pp. 104–108.</ref> "Deeds," she wrote later, "not words, was to be our permanent motto."<ref name="multiref1"/> The WSPU confined its membership to women – men could not become members.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|year=2012|last=Hostettler|title=Dissenters, Radicals, Heretics and Blasphemers: The Flame of Revolt that Shines Through English History|publisher=Waterside Press|page=223|isbn=978-1904380825}}</ref>

The group's early militancy took [[Nonviolence|non-violent]] forms. In addition to making speeches and gathering petition signatures, the WSPU organised rallies and published a newsletter called ''Votes for Women.'' The group also convened a series of "Women's Parliaments" for example, in [[Caxton Hall]], to coincide with official government sessions. When a bill for women's suffrage was filibustered on 12 May 1905, Pankhurst and other WSPU members began a loud protest outside the Parliament building. Police immediately forced them away from the building, where they regrouped and demanded passage of the bill. Although the bill was never resurrected, Pankhurst considered it a successful demonstration of militancy's power to capture attention.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 70–73; Bartley, p. 78; Pugh, pp. 124–125.</ref> Pankhurst declared in 1906: "We are at last recognized as a political party; we are now in the swim of politics, and are a political force."<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 87–88.</ref>

Before long, all three of her daughters became active with the WSPU. Christabel was arrested after spitting at a policeman during a meeting of the Liberal Party in October 1905;<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 74–75; Bartley, pp. 78–79; E. Pankhurst 1914, p. 48.</ref> Adela and Sylvia were arrested a year later during a protest outside Parliament.<ref>Purvis 2002, p. 88; Bartley, p. 84</ref> Pankhurst was arrested for the first time in February 1908, when she tried to enter Parliament to deliver a protest resolution to Prime Minister [[H. H. Asquith]]. She was charged with obstruction and sentenced to six weeks in prison. She spoke out against the conditions of her confinement, including vermin, meagre food, and the "civilised torture of [[solitary confinement]] and absolute silence" to which she and others were ordered.<ref name="Quoted in Bartley, p. 103">Quoted in Bartley, p. 103.</ref> Pankhurst saw imprisonment as a means to publicise the urgency of women's suffrage; in June 1909 she struck a police officer twice in the face to ensure she would be arrested. Pankhurst was arrested seven times before women's suffrage was approved. During her trial on 21 October 1908 she told the court: "We are here not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers."<ref>[[June Purvis]], Sandra Stanley Holton (eds.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=rHlnOq2DqJ8C&dq= ''Votes For Women''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716173352/https://books.google.com/books?id=rHlnOq2DqJ8C&dq= |date=16 July 2019 }}, Routledge, 2000, p. 120.</ref><ref>Quoted in Bartley, pp. 98–103 [100]; Purvis 2002, pp. 129–130.</ref>

[[File:Emmeline Pankhurst in prison.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Pankhurst (wearing prison clothes) described her first incarceration as: "like a human being in the process of being turned into a wild beast."<ref name="Quoted in Bartley, p. 103"/>]]

The exclusive focus of the WSPU on votes for women was another hallmark of its militancy. While other organisations agreed to work with individual political parties, the WSPU insisted on separating itself from – and in many cases opposing – parties which did not make women's suffrage a priority. The group protested against all candidates belonging to the party of the ruling government since it refused to pass women's suffrage legislation. This brought them into immediate conflict with Liberal Party organisers, particularly since many Liberal candidates supported women's suffrage. (One early target of WSPU opposition was future Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]]; his opponent attributed Churchill's defeat in part to "those ladies who are sometimes laughed at.")<ref>Bartley, p. 106.</ref>

Members of the WSPU were sometimes heckled and derided for spoiling elections for Liberal candidates. On 18 January 1908, Pankhurst and her associate [[Nellie Martel]] were attacked by an all-male crowd of Liberal supporters who blamed the WSPU for costing them a recent by-election to the Conservative candidate. The men threw clay, rotten eggs, and stones packed in snow; the women were beaten and Pankhurst's ankle was severely bruised.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 101–102; Bartley, p. 104–105.</ref> Similar tensions later formed with Labour. Until party leaders made the vote for women a priority, however, the WSPU vowed to continue its militant activism. Pankhurst and others in the union saw [[Political party|party politics]] as distracting to the goal of women's suffrage and criticised other organisations for putting party loyalty ahead of women's votes.<ref>Bartley, pp. 85–88; Purvis 2002, pp. 86–87.</ref>

As the WSPU gained recognition and notoriety for its actions, Pankhurst resisted efforts to democratise the organisation itself. In 1907 a small group of members led by [[Teresa Billington-Greig]] called for more involvement from the rank-and-file suffragettes at the union's annual meetings. In response, Pankhurst announced at a WSPU meeting that elements of the organisation's constitution relating to decision-making were void and cancelled the annual meetings. She also insisted that a small committee chosen by the members in attendance be allowed to co-ordinate WSPU activities. Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel were chosen (along with [[Mabel Tuke]] and [[Emmeline Pethick Lawrence]]) as members of the new committee. Frustrated, several members including Billington-Greig and [[Charlotte Despard]] quit to form their own organisation, the [[Women's Freedom League]].<ref>Bartley, pp. 91–93; Purvis 2002, pp. 96–99; Pugh, pp. 165–168.</ref> In her 1914 autobiography Pankhurst dismissed criticism of the WSPU's leadership structure:

<blockquote>if at any time a member, or a group of members, loses faith in our policy; if any one begins to suggest that some other policy ought to be substituted, or if she tries to confuse the issue by adding other policies, she ceases at once to be a member. Autocratic? Quite so. But, you may object, a suffrage organisation ought to be democratic. Well the members of the W.S.P.U. do not agree with you. We do not believe in the effectiveness of the ordinary suffrage organisation. The W.S.P.U. is not hampered by a complexity of rules. We have no constitution and [[Bylaw|by-laws]]; nothing to be amended or tinkered with or quarrelled over at an annual meeting&nbsp;... The W.S.P.U. is simply a suffrage army in the field.<ref>E. Pankhurst 1914, p. 59.</ref></blockquote>

=== Tactical intensification ===
On 21 June 1908, 500,000 activists rallied in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] to demand votes for women. This day is the beginning of "Women' s Sunday". It was organised by the WSPN, the massive demonstration for women's suffrage saw thousands march in seven processions all over London, gathering for a day of peaceful protest.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historyrevealed.com/eras/modern/emmeline-pankhurst-mother-of-the-vote/|title=Emmeline Pankhurst, mother of the vote|website=historyrevealed.com|access-date=13 April 2023|archive-date=29 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529145006/https://www.historyrevealed.com/eras/modern/emmeline-pankhurst-mother-of-the-vote/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Asquith and leading MPs responded with indifference. Angered by this intransigence and abusive police activity, some WSPU members increased the severity of their actions. Soon after the rally, twelve women gathered in [[Parliament Square]] and tried to deliver speeches for women's suffrage. Police officers seized several of the speakers and pushed them into a crowd of opponents who had gathered nearby. Frustrated, two WSPU members – [[Edith New]] and [[Mary Leigh]] – went to [[10 Downing Street]] and hurled rocks at the windows of the Prime Minister's home. They insisted their act was independent of the WSPU command, but Pankhurst expressed her approval of the action. When a magistrate sentenced New and Leigh to two months' imprisonment, Pankhurst reminded the court of how various male political agitators had broken windows to win legal and [[civil rights]] throughout Britain's history.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 108–109; Bartley, pp. 96–97.</ref>

[[Image: Portrait Badge of Emmeline Pankhurst - c1909 - Museum of London.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait badge of Emmeline Pankhurst – c. 1909 – Sold in large numbers by the WSPU to raise funds for its cause – Museum of London]]

In 1909 the [[hunger strike]] was added to the WSPU's repertoire of resistance. On 24 June [[Marion Wallace Dunlop]] was arrested for writing an excerpt from the [[Bill of Rights 1689|Bill of Rights (1688 or 1689)]] on a wall in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]. Angered by the conditions of the jail, Dunlop went on a hunger strike. When it proved effective, fourteen women imprisoned for smashing windows began to fast. WSPU members soon became known around the country for holding prolonged hunger strikes to protest their incarceration. Prison authorities frequently force-fed the women, using tubes inserted through the nose or mouth. The painful techniques (which, in the case of mouth-feeding, required the use of steel gags to force the mouth open) brought condemnation from suffragists and medical professionals.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 129–135; Bartley, pp. 113–114.</ref>

These tactics caused some tension between the WSPU and more moderate organisations, which had coalesced into the [[National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies]] (NUWSS). That group's leader, [[Millicent Fawcett]], originally hailed WSPU members for their courage and dedication to the cause. By 1912, however, she declared that hunger strikes were mere publicity stunts and that militant activists were "the chief obstacles in the way of the success of the suffrage movement in the House of Commons."<ref name="p194">Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 194.</ref> The NUWSS refused to join a march of women's suffrage groups after demanding without success that the WSPU end its support of property destruction. Fawcett's sister [[Elizabeth Garrett Anderson]] later resigned from the WSPU for similar reasons.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 147, 181.</ref>

[[File: Emmeline Pankhurst addresses crowd.jpg|thumb|right|After selling her home, Pankhurst travelled constantly, giving speeches throughout Britain and the United States. One of her most famous speeches, "[[s: Freedom or death|Freedom or death]]", was delivered in Connecticut in 1913.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Commons Librarian |date=8 July 2024 |title=Watch Inspiring Activist and Protest Speeches : Emmeline Pankhurst, Freedom or Death, 1913 [Women's suffrage] |url=https://commonslibrary.org/watch-inspiring-activist-and-protest-speeches/#Emmeline_Pankhurst_Freedom_or_Death_1913_Womens_suffrage |access-date=10 August 2024 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref>]]
[[File:Pankhurst boys' grave.jpg|thumb|Grave of Emmeline Pankhurst's sons in Highgate Cemetery]]

Press coverage was mixed; many journalists noted that crowds of women responded positively to speeches by Pankhurst, while others condemned her radical approach to the issue. ''[[The Daily News (UK)|The Daily News]]'' urged her to endorse a more moderate approach, and other press outlets condemned the breaking of windows by WSPU members. In 1906 ''[[Daily Mail]]'' journalist Charles Hands referred to militant women using the diminutive term "[[suffragette]]" (rather than the standard "[[suffragist]]"). Pankhurst and her allies seized the term as their own and used it to differentiate themselves from moderate groups.<ref>Holton 1996, p. 253; Purvis 2002, pp. 135–138.</ref>

The last half of the century's first decade was a time of sorrow, loneliness, and constant work for Pankhurst. In 1907 she sold her home in Manchester and began an itinerant lifestyle, moving from place to place as she spoke and marched for women's suffrage. She stayed with friends and in hotels, carrying her few possessions in suitcases. Although she was energized by the struggle—and found joy in giving energy to others—her constant travelling meant separation from her children, especially Christabel, who had become the national coordinator of the WSPU. In 1909, as Pankhurst planned a speaking tour of the United States, Henry was paralyzed after his [[spinal cord]] became inflamed. She hesitated to leave the country while he was ill, but she needed money to pay for his treatment and the tour promised to be lucrative. On her return from a successful tour, she sat by Henry's bedside as he died on 5 January 1910. Five days later she buried him beside his brother Frank in Highgate Cemetery,<ref>Oakley 2021, pp. 12–13</ref> then spoke before 5,000 people in Manchester. Liberal Party supporters who had come to heckle her remained quiet as she addressed the crowd.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 98–99, 142–153; Bartley, p. 88.</ref>

=== Conciliation, force-feeding attempt, and arson ===
{{See also|Suffragette bombing and arson campaign}}

After the Liberal losses in the 1910 elections, ILP member and journalist [[Henry Brailsford]] helped organise a Conciliation Committee for Women's Suffrage, which gathered 54 MPs from various parties. The group's [[Conciliation Bills|Conciliation Bill]] looked to be a narrowly defined but still significant possibility to achieve the vote for some women. Thus, the WSPU agreed to suspend its support for window-breaking and hunger strikes while it was being negotiated. When it became clear that the bill would not pass, Pankhurst declared: "If the Bill, in spite of our efforts, is killed by the Government, then&nbsp;... I have to say there is an end to the truce."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 150.</ref> When it was defeated, Pankhurst led a [[Demonstration (people)|protest march]] of 300 women to Parliament Square on 18 November. They were met with aggressive police response, directed by [[Home Secretary]] Winston Churchill: officers punched the marchers, twisted arms, and pulled on women's breasts.<ref name="bf"/> Although Pankhurst was allowed to enter Parliament, Prime Minister Asquith refused to meet her. The incident became known as [[Black Friday (1910)|Black Friday]].<ref name="bf">Purvis 2002, pp. 143–151.</ref> Her sister Mary Jane, who had attended the protest, too, was arrested for the third time, a few days later. She was sentenced to a month of imprisonment. On Christmas Day she died at the home of their brother Herbert Goulden, two days after her release.<ref name="wsm"/>

[[File:Forcefeeding.jpg|thumb|upright|Pankhurst was horrified by the screams of women being [[Force-feeding|force-fed]] during hunger strikes. In her autobiography, she wrote: "I shall never while I live forget the suffering I experienced during the days when those cries were ringing in my ears."<ref>E. Pankhurst 1915, p. 252.</ref>]]
[[File:Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst, Leader of the Women's Suffragette movement, is arrested outside Buckingham Palace while trying to present a petition to King George V in May 1914. Q81486.jpg|thumbnail|right|Pankhurst is arrested by police outside [[Buckingham Palace]] while trying to present a petition to George V in May 1914]]

As subsequent Conciliation Bills were introduced, WSPU leaders advocated a halt to militant tactics. [[Aileen Preston]] was appointed as Pankhurst's driver in April 1911, to drive her around the country to help spread the suffrage message.<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 March 2021|title=Suffrage Stories: Aileen Preston: Mrs Pankhurst's first 'lady chauffeuse'|url=https://womanandhersphere.com/2021/03/16/suffrage-stories-aileen-preston-mrs-pankhursts-first-lady-chauffeuse/|access-date=16 March 2021|website=Woman and her Sphere|language=en|archive-date=16 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316114039/https://womanandhersphere.com/2021/03/16/suffrage-stories-aileen-preston-mrs-pankhursts-first-lady-chauffeuse/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Woman's Hour – Aileen Graham-Jones – BBC Sounds|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p01ngy65|access-date=16 March 2021|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=en-GB}}</ref>

In March 1912, the second bill was in jeopardy and Pankhurst joined a fresh outbreak of window-smashing. Extensive property damage led police to raid the WSPU offices. Pankhurst and Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence were tried at the [[Old Bailey]] and convicted of conspiracy to commit [[property damage]]. Christabel, who by 1912 was the chief coordinator for the organisation, was also wanted by police. She fled to Paris, where she directed WSPU strategy in exile. Inside [[Holloway (HM Prison)|Holloway Prison]], Emmeline Pankhurst staged her first hunger strike to improve conditions for other suffragettes in nearby cells; she was quickly joined by Pethick-Lawrence and other WSPU members. She described in her autobiography the trauma caused by [[force-feeding]] during the strike: "Holloway became a place of horror and torment. Sickening scenes of violence took place almost every hour of the day, as the doctors went from cell to cell performing their hideous office."<ref>E. Pankhurst, pp. 251–252.</ref> When prison officials tried to enter her cell, Pankhurst raised a clay jug over her head and announced: "If any of you dares so much as to take one step inside this cell I shall defend myself."<ref>E. Pankhurst 1914, p. 255; Purvis 2002, pp. 179–189, 128–132.</ref>

Pankhurst was spared further force-feeding attempts after this incident, but she continued to violate the law and – when imprisoned – starve herself in protest. During the following two years she was arrested numerous times but was frequently released after several days because of her [[Disease|ill health]]. Later, the Asquith government enacted the [[Cat and Mouse Act]], which allowed similar releases for other suffragettes facing ill-health due to hunger strikes. Prison officials recognised the potential [[public relations]] disaster that would erupt if the popular WSPU leader were force-fed or allowed to suffer extensively in jail. Still, police officers arrested her during talks and as she marched. She tried to evade police harassment by wearing disguises and eventually the WSPU established a [[jujutsu]]-trained female bodyguard squad to physically protect her against the police. She and other escorts were targeted by police, resulting in violent scuffles as officers tried to detain Pankhurst.<ref>Bartley, pp. 152–156.</ref>

In 1912, WSPU members [[Suffragette bombing and arson campaign|adopted arson as another tactic to win the vote]]. After Prime Minister Asquith had visited the [[Theatre Royal, Dublin|Theatre Royal]] in Dublin, suffragette activists Gladys Evans, Lizzie Baker, [[Mary Leigh]], and [[Mabel Capper]] [[Suffragette bombing and arson campaign#The campaign|attempted to cause an explosion using gunpowder and benzine]], which resulted in minimal damage. During the same evening, Mary Leigh threw an axe at the carriage containing [[John Redmond]] (leader of the [[Irish Parliamentary Party]]), the Lord Mayor, and Asquith.<ref>Manchester Guardian 20 July 1912, "The Dublin Outrages by Women"</ref>

Over the next two years women set fire to a refreshments building in [[Regent's Park]], an orchid house at [[Kew Gardens]], [[pillar box]]es, and a [[Railroad car|railway carriage]]. [[Emily Davison]] threw herself under [[George V|the King]]'s horse [[Anmer]] at the [[Epsom Derby]] in 1913. Her funeral drew 55,000 attendees along the streets and at the funeral. This gave significant publicity to the movement. Although Pankhurst confirmed that these women had not been commanded by her or Christabel, they both assured the public that they supported the arsonist suffragettes. There were similar incidents around the country. One WSPU member, for example, put a small [[hatchet]] into the Prime Minister's carriage inscribed with the words: "Votes for Women,"<ref>Purvis 2002, p. 193.</ref> and other suffragettes used acid to burn the same slogan into [[Golf|golf courses]] used by MPs.<ref>E. Pankhurst 1914, pp. 270–271; Purvis 2002, p. 209; Bartley, p. 146.</ref> In 1914, [[Mary Richardson]] slashed the [[Diego Velázquez|Velasquez]] painting ''[[Rokeby Venus]]'' to protest against Pankhurst's imprisonment.<ref>Davies, Christie. "Velazquez in London." ''New Criterion.'' Volume: 25. Issue: 5, January 2007. p. 53.</ref>

=== Defection and dismissal ===
[[File:Britain Before the First World War Q81490.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Emmeline Pankhurst (left) and Christabel (centre) and [[Sylvia Pankhurst|Sylvia]] at Waterloo Station, London on 4 October 1911.]]

The WSPU's approval of property destruction led to the departure of several important members. The first were Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence and her husband [[Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence|Frederick]]. They had long been integral members of the group's leadership but found themselves in conflict with Christabel about the wisdom of such volatile tactics. After returning from a vacation in Canada they found that Pankhurst had expelled them from the WSPU. The pair found the decision appalling, but to avoid a [[Schism (organizational)|schism]] in the movement they continued to praise Pankhurst and the organisation in public. Around the same time, Emmeline's daughter Adela left the group. She disapproved of WSPU endorsement of property destruction and felt that a heavier emphasis on socialism was necessary. Adela's relationship with her family – especially Christabel – was also strained as a result.<ref>Pugh, pp. 225–226; Purvis 2002, pp. 190–196.</ref>

The deepest rift in the Pankhurst family came in November 1913 when Sylvia spoke at a meeting of socialists and trade unionists in support of trade union organiser [[Jim Larkin]]. She had been working with the [[Workers Socialist Federation|East London Federation of Suffragettes]] (ELFS), a local branch of the WSPU which had a close relationship with socialists and [[Labour movement|organised labour]]. The close connection to labour groups and Sylvia's appearance on stage with Frederick Pethick-Lawrence – who also addressed the crowd – convinced Christabel that her sister was organising a group that might challenge the WSPU in the suffrage movement. The dispute became public, and members of groups including the WSPU, ILP, and ELFS braced themselves for a showdown.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 237–238; Bartley, p. 158.</ref> After being dismissed from the WSPU, Sylvia felt "bruised, as one does, when fighting the foe without, one is struck by the friend within."<ref>E. S. Pankhurst 1931, p. 518.</ref>

In January Sylvia was summoned to Paris, where Emmeline and Christabel were waiting. Their mother had just returned from another tour of the US, and Sylvia had just been released from prison. All three women were exhausted and stressed, which added considerably to the tension. In her 1931 book ''The Suffrage Movement'' Sylvia describes Christabel as an unreasonable figure, haranguing her for refusing to toe the WSPU line:

<blockquote>She turned to me. "You have your own ideas. We do not want that; we want all our women to take their instructions and walk in step like an army!" Too tired, too ill to argue, I made no reply. I was oppressed by a sense of tragedy, grieved by her ruthlessness. Her glorification of autocracy seemed to me remote indeed from the struggle we were waging, the grim fight even now proceeding in the cells. I thought of many others who had been thrust aside for some minor difference.<ref>E. S. Pankhurst 1931, p. 517.</ref></blockquote>

With their mother's blessing, Christabel ordered Sylvia's group to dissociate from the WSPU. Pankhurst tried to persuade the ELFS to remove the word "suffragettes" from its name, since it was inextricably linked to the WSPU. When Sylvia refused, her mother switched to fierce anger in a letter:

<blockquote>You are unreasonable, always have been &amp; I fear always will be. I suppose you were made so!&nbsp;... Had you chosen a name which we could approve we could have done much to launch you &amp; advertise your society by name. Now you must take your own way of doing so. I am sorry but you make your own difficulties by an incapacity to look at situations from other people's point of view as well as your own. Perhaps in time you will learn the lessons that we all have to learn in life.<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 248.</ref></blockquote>

Adela, unemployed and unsure of her future, had become a worry for Pankhurst as well. She decided that Adela should move to Australia, and paid for her relocation. They never saw one another again.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 248–249; Pugh, pp. 287–288.</ref>

===The Women's Party===
In November 1917 the WSPU's weekly newspaper announced that the WSPU was to become the [[Women's Party (UK)|Women's Party]]. Twelve months later on Tuesday 19 November at the [[Queen's Hall]] in London Emmeline Pankhurst said that her daughter Christabel would be their candidate at the forthcoming [[1918 United Kingdom general election|General Election]], the first at which women could stand as candidates. They didn't say which constituency they would fight but a few days later [[Westbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Westbury]] in Wiltshire was identified. Emmeline lobbied Prime Minister [[David Lloyd George]] to ensure Christabel would have coalition backing. However, as these discussions were taking place the Pankhurst's switched their attention to [[Smethwick (UK Parliament constituency)|Smethwick]] in Staffordshire. The Coalition had already settled on a local candidate, Major Samuel Nock Thompson, but [[Bonar Law]], the Conservative leader, was persuaded to ask Thompson to withdraw. Significantly, Christabel was not issued with a formal letter of support from the two leaders, the [[Coalition Coupon]]. Christabel then had a straight fight with the Labour candidate [[John Davison (politician)|John Davison]] and lost by 775 votes. The Women's Party fought no other elections and closed soon after.<ref>[http://www.brewinbooks.com/taking_on_the_men Hallam, David J. A. ''Taking on the Men: the first women parliamentary candidates 1918''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629203313/https://www.brewinbooks.com/taking_on_the_men |date=29 June 2019 }}, pp. 18–19, 20, 22, 27</ref>

== First World War ==
{{See also|White Feather Campaign}}
[[File:SUFFRAGETTE WW1.jpg|thumb|left|A female women's rights activist handing out the ''[[The Suffragette (newspaper)|Suffragette]]'' newspaper with the headline "We Will Not Be Prussianised" to British servicemen on 16 April 1915.]]

When the [[First World War]] began in August 1914, Emmeline and Christabel considered that the threat posed by Germany was a danger to all humanity, and that the British government needed the support of all men. They persuaded the WSPU to halt all militant suffrage activities until fighting on the European mainland ended. It was no time for dissent or agitation; Christabel wrote later: "This was national militancy. As Suffragists we could not be pacifists at any price."<ref>C. Pankhurst 1959, p. 288.</ref> A truce with the government was established, all WSPU prisoners were released, and Christabel returned to London. Emmeline and Christabel set the WSPU into motion on behalf of the [[war effort]]. In her first speech after returning to Britain, Christabel warned of the "German Peril". She urged the gathered women to follow the example of their French sisters, who – while the men fought – "are able to keep the country going, to get in the harvest, to carry on the industries".<ref name="Quoted" />

[[File:Scarborough, North Yorkshire - WWI poster.jpg|thumb|upright|Pankhurst believed that the danger posed during the [[First World War]] by what she called the "German Peril" outweighed the need for women's suffrage. "[W]hen the time comes we shall renew that fight," she said, "but for the present we must all do our best to fight a common foe."<ref>Quoted in Pugh, p. 302.</ref>]]

Sylvia and Adela, meanwhile, did not share their mother's enthusiasm for the war. As committed [[pacifism|pacifists]], they rejected the WSPU's support for the government. Sylvia's socialist perspective convinced her that the war was another example of capitalist oligarchs exploiting poor soldiers and workers. Adela, however, spoke against the war in Australia and made public her opposition to [[conscription]]. In a short letter, Emmeline told Sylvia: "I am ashamed to know where you and Adela stand."<ref name="Quoted"/> She had a similar impatience for dissent within the WSPU; when long-time member [[Mary Leigh]] asked a question during a meeting in October 1915, Pankhurst replied: "That woman is a pro German and should leave the hall.&nbsp;... I denounce you as a pro German and wish to forget that such a person ever existed."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 283.</ref> Some WSPU members were outraged by this sudden rigid devotion to the government, the leadership's perceived abandonment of efforts to win the vote for women, and questions about how funds collected on behalf of suffrage were being managed with regard to the organisation's new focus. Two groups split from the WSPU: The Suffragettes of the Women's Social and Political Union (SWSPU) and the [[Independent Women's Social and Political Union]] (IWSPU), each dedicated to maintaining pressure toward women's suffrage.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 282–284; Bartley, pp. 187–188.</ref>

Pankhurst put the same energy and determination she had previously applied to women's suffrage into patriotic advocacy of the war effort. She organised rallies, toured constantly delivering speeches, and lobbied the government to help women enter the work force while men were overseas fighting. Another issue which concerned her greatly at the time was the plight of so-called [[war children|war babies]], children born to [[Single parent|single mothers]] whose fathers were on the front lines. Pankhurst established an adoption home at [[Campden Hill]] designed to employ the [[Montessori method]] of childhood education. Some women criticised Pankhurst for offering relief to parents of children born [[Illegitimacy|out of wedlock]], but she declared indignantly that the welfare of children–whose suffering she had seen firsthand as a Poor Law Guardian–was her only concern. Due to lack of funds, however, the home was soon turned over to [[Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone|Princess Alice]]. Pankhurst herself adopted four children, whom she renamed Kathleen King, Flora Mary Gordon (later Mary Hodgson), Joan Pembridge and Elizabeth Tudor. They lived in London, where–for the first time in many years–she had a permanent home, at [[Holland Park]].<ref>Bartley, pp. 193–195; Purvis 2002, pp. 278–280.</ref> Asked how, at the age of 57 and with no steady income, she could take on the burden of bringing up four more children, Pankhurst replied: "My dear, I wonder I didn't take forty."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 279; Pugh, p. 317.</ref> The historian, [[Brian Harrison (historian)|Brian Harrison]], interviewed Mary Hodgson, about Pankhurst, in July 1976 as part of the Suffrage Interviews project, titled ''Oral evidence on the suffragette and suffragist movements: the Brian Harrison interviews.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=London School of Economics and Political Science |title=The Suffrage Interviews |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/library/collection-highlights/the-suffrage-interviews.aspx |access-date=11 June 2024 |website=London School of Economics and Political Science |language=en-GB}}</ref> She talks about Pankhurst's approach to motherhood and education, their time in Bermuda and Canada, and Pankhurst's death and funeral.

=== Russian delegation ===
[[File:Batallón-muerte-rusia--insiderussianrev00dorrrich.png|thumb|left|[[Maria Bochkareva]] and Pankhurst with women of the [[Women's Battalion of Death]], 1917]]

Pankhurst visited North America in 1916 together with the former Secretary of State for Serbia, [[Čedomilj Mijatović]], whose nation had been at the centre of fighting at the start of the war. They toured the United States and Canada, raising money and urging the [[Federal government of the United States|US government]] to support Britain and its Canadian and other allies. Two years later, after the US entered the war, Pankhurst returned to the United States, encouraging suffragettes there – who had not suspended their militancy – to support the war effort by sidelining activities related to the vote. She also spoke about her fears of communist insurgency, which she considered a grave threat to Russian democracy.<ref>Bartley, pp. 202–206; Purvis 2002, pp. 284–286.</ref>

By June 1917 the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]] had strengthened the [[Bolshevik]]s, who urged an end to the war. Pankhurst's translated autobiography had been read widely in Russia, and she saw an opportunity to put pressure on the [[Russians|Russian people]]. She hoped to convince them not to accept Germany's conditions for peace, which she saw as a potential defeat for Britain and Russia. UK Prime Minister [[David Lloyd George]] agreed to sponsor her trip to Russia, which she took in June. She told one crowd: "I came to Petrograd with a prayer from the English nation to the Russian nation, that you may continue the war on which depends the face of civilisation and freedom."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 295.</ref> Press response was divided between left and right wings; the former depicted her as a tool of capitalism, while the latter praised her devout patriotism.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 292–295; Bartley, pp. 200–201.</ref>

In August she met with [[Alexander Kerensky]], the Russian Prime Minister. Although she had been active with the socialist-leaning ILP in years past, Pankhurst had begun to see leftist politics as disagreeable, an attitude which intensified while she was in Russia. The meeting was uncomfortable for both parties; he felt that she was unable to appreciate the [[class struggle|class-based conflict]] driving Russian policy at the time. He concluded by telling her that English women had nothing to teach women in Russia. She later told the ''New York Times'' that Kerensky was the "biggest fraud of modern times" and that his government could "destroy civilisation."<ref>Quoted in Bartley, p. 201; Purvis 2002, pp. 297–299.</ref>

== Accomplishment of suffrage (1918) ==
When she returned from Russia, Pankhurst was delighted to find that women's right to vote was finally on its way to becoming a reality. The 1918 [[Representation of the People Act 1918|Representation of the People Act]] removed property restrictions on men's suffrage and granted the vote to women over the age of 30 (with several restrictions). As suffragists and suffragettes celebrated and prepared for its imminent passage, a new schism erupted: should women's political organisations join forces with those established by men? Many socialists and moderates supported unity of the sexes in politics, but Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst saw the best hope in remaining separate. They reinvented the WSPU as the [[Women's Party (UK)|Women's Party]], still open only to women. Women, they said, "can best serve the nation by keeping clear of men's party political machinery and traditions, which, by universal consent, leave so much to be desired."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 302.</ref> The party favoured equal marriage laws, [[Equal pay for women|equal pay for equal work]], and equal job opportunities for women. These were matters for the post-war era, however. While the fighting continued the Women's Party demanded no compromise in the defeat of Germany; the removal from government of anyone with family ties to Germany or pacifist attitudes; and shorter work hours to forestall labour strikes. This last plank in the party's platform was meant to discourage potential interest in Bolshevism, about which Pankhurst was increasingly anxious.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 300–303; Bartley, pp. 199–200; Pugh, pp. 340–341.</ref>

== Post-war activities ==
[[File:David Lloyd George 1915.jpg|thumb|British Prime Minister [[David Lloyd George]] praised Pankhurst and the Women's Party: "They have fought the Bolshevist and Pacifist element with great skill, tenacity, and courage."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 313.</ref>]]

In the years after the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|1918 Armistice]], Pankhurst continued to promote her nationalist vision of British unity. She maintained a focus on women's empowerment, but her days of fighting with government officialdom were over. She defended the presence and reach of the [[British Empire]]: "Some talk about the Empire and [[Imperialism]] as if it were something to decry and something to be ashamed of. [I]t is a great thing to be the inheritors of an Empire like ours&nbsp;... great in territory, great in potential wealth.&nbsp;... If we can only realise and use that potential wealth we can destroy thereby poverty, we can remove and destroy ignorance."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 312.</ref> For years she travelled around England and North America, rallying support for the British Empire and warning audiences about the dangers of Bolshevism. After the war she lived in Bermuda and America for a couple of years.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 318–335.</ref>

Emmeline Pankhurst also became active in [[political campaign]]ing again when a bill was passed allowing women to run for the House of Commons. Many Women's Party members urged Pankhurst to stand for election, but she insisted that Christabel was a better choice. She campaigned tirelessly for her daughter, lobbying Prime Minister Lloyd George for his support and at one point delivering a passionate speech in the rain. Christabel lost by a very slim margin to [[Labour Party (UK)|the Labour Party]] candidate, and the recount showed a difference of 775 votes. One biographer called it "the bitterest disappointment of Emmeline's life."<ref>Purvis 2002, p. 314.</ref> The Women's Party withered from existence soon afterward.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 312–314; Bartley, pp. 208–209.</ref>

As a result of her many trips to North America, Pankhurst became fond of Canada, stating in an interview that "there seems to be more equality between men and women [there] than in any other country I know."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 331.</ref> In 1922 she applied for [[Canadian nationality law|Canadian "permission to land"]] (a prerequisite to status as a "British Subject with Canadian Domicile") and rented a house in Toronto, where she moved with her four adopted children. She became active with the Canadian National Council for Combating [[Sexually transmitted disease|Venereal Diseases]] (CNCCVD), which worked against the sexual double standard which Pankhurst considered particularly harmful to women. In many of her public lectures across Canada, she also promoted [[Eugenic feminism|eugenic feminist]] notions of "race betterment"<ref>Bartley p. 216</ref> and often gave speeches together with [[Emily Murphy]], a prominent proponent of [[compulsory sterilization]] for the "feeble-minded."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Carter |first=Sarah |title=Finding Directions West: Readings that Locate and Dislocate Western Canada's Past |publisher=University of Calgary Press |year=2017 |editor-last=Colpitts |editor-first=George |location=Calgary |pages=134 |chapter="Develop a Great Imperial Race": Emmeline Pankhurst, Emily Murphy, and Their Promotion of "Race Betterment" in Western Canada in the 1920s |editor-last2=Devine |editor-first2=Heather}}</ref> During a tour of [[Bathurst, New Brunswick|Bathurst]], the mayor showed her a new building which would become the Home for Fallen Women. Pankhurst replied: "Ah! Where is your Home for Fallen Men?"<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 332.</ref> Before long, however, she grew tired of long Canadian winters, and she ran out of money. She returned to England in late 1925.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 337–338; Bartley, pp. 212–220.</ref>

Back in London Emmeline was visited by Sylvia, who had not seen her mother in years. Their politics were by now very different, and Sylvia was living, unmarried, with an Italian anarchist. Sylvia described a moment of familial affection when they met, followed by a sad distance between them. Emmeline's adopted daughter Mary, however, remembered the meeting differently. According to her version, Emmeline set her teacup down and walked silently out of the room, leaving Sylvia in tears.<ref>Purvis 2002, p. 339. Bartley, p. 220.</ref> Christabel, meanwhile, had become a convert to [[Adventism]] and devoted much of her time to the church. The British press sometimes made light of the varied paths followed by the once indivisible family.<ref>Purvis 2002, p. 344.</ref>

In 1926 Pankhurst joined the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] and two years later ran as a candidate for Parliament in [[Whitechapel and St Georges (UK Parliament constituency)|Whitechapel and St George's]]. Her transformation from a fiery supporter of the ILP and window-smashing radical to an official Conservative Party member surprised many people. She replied succinctly: "My war experience and my experience on the other side of the Atlantic have changed my views considerably."<ref>Quoted in Bartley, p. 221.</ref> Her biographers insist that the move was more complex; she was devoted to a programme of women's empowerment and [[anti-communism]]. Both the Liberal and Labour parties bore grudges for her work against them in the WSPU, and the Conservative Party had a victorious record after the war and a [[1924 United Kingdom general election|significant majority]]. Pankhurst may have joined the Conservative Party as much to secure the vote for women as from ideological affinity.<ref>Bartley, pp. 220–223; Purvis 2002, pp. 340–344.</ref>

== Illness and death ==
Pankhurst's campaign for Parliament was preempted by her ill health and a final scandal involving Sylvia. The years of touring, lectures, imprisonment and hunger strikes had taken their toll; fatigue and illness became a regular part of Pankhurst's life. Even more painful, however, was the news in April 1928 that Sylvia had given birth out of wedlock. She had named the child [[Richard Pankhurst (Ethiopianist)|Richard Keir Pethick Pankhurst]], in memory of her father, her ILP comrade, and her colleagues from the WSPU respectively. Emmeline was further shocked to see a report from a newspaper in the US that declared that "Miss Pankhurst" – a title usually reserved for Christabel – boasted of her child being a triumph of "[[eugenics]]", since both parents were healthy and intelligent. In the article, Sylvia also spoke of her belief that "marriage without legal union" was the most sensible option for liberated women. These offences against the social dignity which Pankhurst had always valued devastated the elderly woman; to make matters worse, many people believed the "Miss Pankhurst" in newspaper headlines referred to Christabel. After hearing the news, Emmeline spent an entire day crying; her campaign for Parliament ended with the scandal.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 349–350.</ref>

As her health deteriorated, Pankhurst moved into a [[nursing home]] in [[Hampstead]]. She requested that she be treated by the doctor who attended to her during her hunger strikes. His use of the [[gastric lavage|stomach pump]] had helped her feel better while in prison; her nurses were sure that the shock of such treatment would severely wound her, but Christabel felt obliged to carry out her mother's request. Before the procedure could be carried out, however, she fell into a critical condition from which none expected her to recover. On Thursday, 14 June 1928, Pankhurst died at the age of 69.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 350–352; Bartley, pp. 227–228.</ref>

She was interred in [[Brompton Cemetery]] in London.<ref name="Bartley, p. 230" /> Her pallbearers were the former WSPU suffragettes [[Georgina Brackenbury|Georgiana Brackenbury]], [[Marie Brackenbury]], [[Marion Wallace Dunlop]], [[Harriet Kerr]], [[Mildred Mansel]], [[Katherine "Kitty" Marshall|Kitty Marshall]], [[Marie Naylor]], [[Ada Wright]] and [[Barbara Wylie]].<ref>Purvis, p. 253.</ref>

<gallery widths=200 heights=200>
File:Emmeline_Pankhurst_grave_Brompton_Cemetery_(3).jpg|Pankhurst's grave in Brompton Cemetery. The gravestone was sculpted by [[Julian Phelps Allan]]<ref name="Bartley, p. 230">Bartley, p. 230.</ref>
File:Emmeline_Pankhurst_grave_Brompton_Cemetery_(1).jpg|Gravestone inscription:<br>''IN LOVING MEMORY OF EMMELINE PANKHURST, WIFE OF R M PANKHURST LLD, AT REST 14 June 1928''
File:Emmeline Pankhurst 50 Clarendon Road blue plaque.jpg|Blue plaque, 50 [[Clarendon Road]], London
</gallery>

== Legacy ==
{{Category see also|Cultural depictions of Emmeline Pankhurst}}
[[File:Westminster emmeline pankhurst statue 1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|[[Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst Memorial|Emmeline Pankhurst's memorial statue]] (1930), by [[Arthur George Walker]], was erected with unusual speed, as noted by ''The New York Times'': "While the transition from martyrdom to sculptured memorials is familiar, the process in Mrs Pankhurst's case has been unusually brief."<ref>Quoted in Pugh, p. 409.</ref>]]
[[File:Statue_Emmeline_Pankhurst_Westminster_(2a).jpg|thumb|upright|Inscription at the statue's base:<br>''THIS STATUE OF EMMELINE PANKHURST WAS ERECTED AS A TRIBUTE TO HER COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP OF THE MOVEMENT FOR THE ENFRANCHISEMENT OF WOMEN'']]
[[File:Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst - December 2018 (4).jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Rise up, Women (Emmeline Pankhurst statue)|Rise up, Women]]'', a statue of Pankhurst in [[St Peter's Square, Manchester|St Peter's Square]] in Manchester, her home town.]]

News of Emmeline Pankhurst's death was announced around the country, and extensively in North America. Her funeral service on 18 June 1928 was filled with her former WSPU colleagues and those who had worked beside her in various capacities. The ''Daily Mail'' described the procession as "like a dead general in the midst of a mourning army".<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 353.</ref> Women wore WSPU sashes and ribbons, and the organisation's flag was carried alongside the [[Union Flag]]. Christabel and Sylvia appeared together at the service, the latter with her child. Adela did not attend.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 352–353; Bartley, pp. 229–230.</ref> Press coverage around the world recognised her tireless work on behalf of women's right to vote – even if they did not agree on the value of her contributions. The ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'' called her "the most remarkable political and social agitator of the early part of the twentieth century and the supreme protagonist of the campaign for the electoral enfranchisement of women."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 354.</ref>

Shortly after the funeral, one of Pankhurst's bodyguards from her WSPU days, [[Catherine Marshall (suffragist)|Catherine Marshall]], began raising funds for a memorial statue. In spring 1930 her efforts bore fruit, and on 6 March [[Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst Memorial|her statue]] in [[Victoria Tower Gardens]], next to and gesturing towards the [[Houses of Parliament]], was unveiled. A crowd of radicals, former suffragettes, and national dignitaries gathered as former Prime Minister [[Stanley Baldwin]] presented the memorial to the public. In his address, Baldwin declared: "I say with no fear of contradiction, that whatever view posterity may take, Mrs. Pankhurst has won for herself a niche in the Temple of Fame which will last for all time."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 357.</ref> Sylvia was the only Pankhurst daughter in attendance; Christabel, touring North America, sent a telegram which was read aloud. While planning the agenda for the day, Marshall had intentionally excluded Sylvia, who in her opinion had hastened Pankhurst's death.<ref>Bartley, pp. 230–231; Purvis 2002, pp. 355–357; Pugh, pp. 409–411. Pugh gives the date as 6 April, while Bartley and Purvis indicate March as the date of the statue's unveiling.</ref> Historic England listed the statue as Grade II on 5 February 1970.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1357336|desc=STATUE OF MRS EMMELINE PANKHURST, City of Westminster |access-date=17 September 2018}}</ref>

A proposal to move the statue of Pankhurst away from the Houses of Parliament to the private Regent's University London in Regent's Park was submitted to Westminster City Council planning department in July 2018 by former Conservative MP Sir [[Neil Thorne]]. This proposal was withdrawn in September 2018 after widespread anger and a public campaign against it.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://womanandhersphere.com/2018/08/15/suffrage-stories-save-mrs-pankhursts-statue/|title=Suffrage Stories: Save Mrs Pankhurst's Statue: UPDATED 15 SEPTEMBER 2018|date=15 August 2018|work=Woman and her Sphere|access-date=17 September 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=18 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918012127/https://womanandhersphere.com/2018/08/15/suffrage-stories-save-mrs-pankhursts-statue/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/17/emmeline-pankhurst-proposal-move-statue-parliament-withdrawn|title=Emmeline Pankhurst will stand her ground outside parliament|last=Mohdin|first=Aamna|date=17 September 2018|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=17 September 2018|archive-date=8 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308055635/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/17/emmeline-pankhurst-proposal-move-statue-parliament-withdrawn|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/16/emmeline-pankhurst-statue-will-remain-near-parliament-plan-move/|title=Emmeline Pankhurst statue will remain near Parliament after plan to move it is abandoned|last=Adams|first=Joel|date=16 September 2018|work=The Telegraph|access-date=17 September 2018|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235|archive-date=17 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917161934/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/16/emmeline-pankhurst-statue-will-remain-near-parliament-plan-move/|url-status=live}}</ref> The planning application received 896 comments, 887 of them objections.<ref>{{Cite web|website=idoxpa.westminster.gov.uk|url=https://idoxpa.westminster.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=neighbourComments&keyVal=PBLU35RPJD200|title=18/05778/FULL {{!}} Planning – Application Comments: Removal/dismantling of the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst at Victoria Tower gardens and making good the ground on which it stands. [Linked to 18/04572/LBC] {{!}} The Victoria Tower Gardens Millbank London SW1P 3YB|access-date=28 February 2020|archive-date=21 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221020328/https://idoxpa.westminster.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=neighbourComments&keyVal=PBLU35RPJD200|url-status=live}}</ref> A 38 Degrees petition against the removal of the statue attracted 180,839 signatures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-suffragette-statue-being-removed-from-parliament|title=Stop Suffragette statue being removed from Parliament|website=Campaigns by You|language=en-GB|access-date=17 September 2018|archive-date=18 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918012507/https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-suffragette-statue-being-removed-from-parliament|url-status=live}}</ref> The Curator's Office at the Palace of Westminster commissioned a report into the plan to remove the statue. Published on 22 August 2018, it concluded 'The Memorial to Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst is of high significance, which is not fully recognised through its listing at Grade II. An application has been made to Historic England to upgrade the memorial to Grade II*. This is based on it having 'more than special interest', in terms of its unique history, its artistic quality and the importance of its setting next to the Houses of Parliament. This proposal to move the memorial from Victoria Tower Gardens to Regent's Park would cause substantial harm to the significance of the memorial, as well has harm to the Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square Conservation Area...The proposal to move the memorial, therefore, should not be granted planning permission or listed building consent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/works-of-art/Reports%20etc/Donald-Insall-Planning-Report-on-Memorial-to-Emmeline-and-Christabel-Pankhurst-2018.pdf|title=Donald Insall Associates {{!}} Memorial to Emmeline Pankhurst and Christabel Pankhurst, Victoria Tower Gardens page 37|date=22 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918012105/https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/works-of-art/Reports%20etc/Donald-Insall-Planning-Report-on-Memorial-to-Emmeline-and-Christabel-Pankhurst-2018.pdf|archive-date=18 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the twentieth century Emmeline Pankhurst's value to the movement for women's suffrage was debated passionately, and no consensus was achieved. Her daughters Sylvia and Christabel weighed in with books, scornful and laudatory respectively, about their time in the struggle. Sylvia's 1931 book ''The Suffrage Movement'' describes her mother's political shift at the start of the First World War as the beginning of a betrayal of her family (especially her father) and the movement. It set the tone for much of the socialist and activist history written about the WSPU and particularly solidified Emmeline Pankhurst's reputation as an unreasonable autocrat. Christabel's ''"Unshackled: The Story of How We Won the Vote,"'' released in 1959, paints her mother as generous and selfless to a fault, offering herself completely to the most noble causes. It provided a sympathetic counterpart to Sylvia's attacks and continued the polarised discussion; detached and objective assessment has rarely been a part of Pankhurst scholarship.<ref name="legacy02">Bartley, pp. 4–12; Purvis 2002, pp. 1–8.</ref>

Recent biographies show that historians differ about whether Emmeline Pankhurst's militancy helped or hurt the movement;<ref name="legacy02"/><ref name="legacy01"/> however, there is general agreement that the WSPU raised public awareness of the movement in ways that proved essential. Baldwin compared her to [[Martin Luther]] and [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]: individuals who were not the sum total of the movements in which they took part, but who nevertheless played crucial roles in struggles of social and political reform. In the case of Pankhurst, this reform took place in both intentional and unintentional ways. By defying the roles of wife and mother as the docile companion, Pankhurst helped to pave the way for many future feminists, though some would later decry her support for empire and endorsement of the idea of "race betterment."<ref name="legacy01">Bartley, pp. 240–241; Purvis 2002, pp. 361–363.</ref><ref name=":0" />

In 1987 one of her homes in Manchester was opened as the [[Pankhurst Centre]], an [[women-only space|all-women gathering space]] and museum.<ref>Bartley, pp. 240–241.</ref> In 2002, Pankhurst was placed at number 27 in the BBC's poll of the [[100 Greatest Britons]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/aug/22/britishidentityandsociety.television|title=The 100 greatest Britons: lots of pop, not so much circumstance|date=22 August 2002|website=The Guardian|access-date=3 June 2021|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517221959/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/aug/22/britishidentityandsociety.television|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006, a [[blue plaque]] for Pankhurst and her daughter, Christabel was placed by English Heritage at 50 [[Clarendon Road]], Notting Hill, London W11 3AD, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where they had lived.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/pankhurst-dame-christabel-1880-1958 |title=Pankhurst, Emmeline (1858–1928) & Pankhurst, Dame Christabel (1880–1958) |publisher=English Heritage |date=21 December 1908 |access-date=26 April 2018 |archive-date=26 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426213220/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/pankhurst-dame-christabel-1880-1958 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2016, following a public vote, it was announced that ''[[Rise up, Women (Emmeline Pankhurst statue)|Rise up, Women]]'', a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst by [[Hazel Reeves]], would be unveiled in Manchester in 2019, making her the first woman to be honoured with a statue in the city since [[Queen Victoria]] more than 100 years ago.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-35360244|title=Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst to get Manchester statue|work=BBC News|date=20 January 2016|access-date=20 January 2016|archive-date=22 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122142849/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-35360244|url-status=live}}</ref> The statue was unveiled on 14 December 2018, one hundred years after British women were first able to vote in the [[1918 United Kingdom general election]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Britton |first1=Paul |title=Hundreds expected to join march as statue of suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst unveiled in Manchester |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/emmeline-pankhurst-statue-manchester-unveiling-15550061 |access-date=14 December 2018 |work=Manchester Evening News |date=14 December 2018 |archive-date=14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214155930/https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/emmeline-pankhurst-statue-manchester-unveiling-15550061 |url-status=live }}</ref> Her name and image and those of 58 other women's suffrage supporters including her daughters are etched on the [[plinth]] of the [[statue of Millicent Fawcett]] in [[Parliament Square]], London that was unveiled in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/women/millicent-fawcett-statue-parliament-square-london-caroline-criado-perez/ |title=Millicent Fawcett statue unveiling: the women and men whose names will be on the plinth |date=24 April 2018 |publisher=iNews |access-date=25 April 2018 |archive-date=29 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629073720/https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/women/millicent-fawcett-statue-parliament-square-london-caroline-criado-perez/ |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the '[[House system|houses]]' at [[Wellacre Academy]] in Manchester is named after her.<ref>{{cite web |title=House System |url=http://www.wellacre.org/parents-carers-and-students/house-system/ |website=Wellacre Academy |access-date=21 October 2019 |archive-date=19 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019052601/http://www.wellacre.org/parents-carers-and-students/house-system/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Helen Pankhurst]], the great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst and the granddaughter of [[Sylvia Pankhurst]], works for women's rights. Along with her daughter, she founded Olympic Suffragettes, which campaigns on a number of women's rights issues.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/aug/19/olympic-suffragettes-rights-march-parliament|title=Olympic suffragettes regroup for women's rights march on parliament|last=Topping|first=Alexandra|date=19 August 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|access-date=8 December 2016|archive-date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221052558/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/aug/19/olympic-suffragettes-rights-march-parliament|url-status=live}}</ref>

Pankhurst has appeared in several works of popular culture. In the 1974 BBC television miniseries ''[[Shoulder to Shoulder]]'', Pankhurst is played by [[Siân Phillips]]. In the 2015 film ''[[Suffragette (film)|Suffragette]]'', Pankhurst is played by [[Meryl Streep]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-meryl-streep-to-play-british-suffragette-emmeline-pankhurst-20140220,0,1712555.story | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Oliver | last=Gettell | title=Meryl Streep to play British suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst | date=20 February 2014 | access-date=22 May 2016 | archive-date=29 April 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429220400/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-meryl-streep-to-play-british-suffragette-emmeline-pankhurst-20140220,0,1712555.story | url-status=live }}</ref> Pankhurst is commemorated in the song "Emily" in the [[Manic Street Preachers]] album ''[[Lifeblood (album)|Lifeblood]]'' (2004).

==Works==
* {{Cite Q|Q107130938)}}<!-- [[s:The Case for Women's Suffrage/The Present Position of the Women's Suffrage Movement]] -->

== See also ==
* [[History of feminism]]
* [[List of civil rights leaders]]
* [[List of suffragists and suffragettes]]
* [[List of women's rights activists]]
* [[Suffragette bombing and arson campaign]]
* [[Timeline of women's suffrage]]
* [[White Feather Campaign]]
* [[List of suffragists and suffragettes#Major suffrage organizations|Women's suffrage organisations]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* Bartley, Paula. ''Emmeline Pankhurst''. London: [[Routledge]], 2002. {{ISBN|0-415-20651-0}}.
* Brendon, Piers. ''Eminent Edwardians'' (Secker & Warburg, 1979) {{ISBN|978-0436068102}}
* Carter, Sarah. [https://prism.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/handle/1880/51827/9781552388815_chapter06.pdf;jsessionid=4396EB20D6D31640B428C95882D8FBD7?sequence=9 {{"'}}Develop a Great Imperial Race': Emmeline Pankhurst, Emily Murphy, and Their Promotion of 'Race Betterment' in Western Canada in the 1920s"]. In ''Finding Directions West: Readings that Locate and Dislocate Western Canada's Past'', eds. George Colpitts and Heather Devine, 133–50. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2017. {{ISBN|978-1-55238-881-5}}.
* Fulford, Roger. ''Votes for Women: The Story of a Struggle''. London: [[Faber and Faber]] Ltd, 1957. {{OCLC|191255}}
* Hallam, David J. A. Chapter 2 "Christabel Pankhurst in Smethwick". ''[http://www.brewinbooks.com/taking_on_the_men Taking on the Men: The First Women Parliamentary Candidates 1918] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328042826/http://www.brewinbooks.com/taking_on_the_men |date=28 March 2019 }}''. Studley, 2018. {{ISBN|978-1-85858-592-5}}.
* Holton, Sandra Stanley. ''Suffrage Days: Stories from the Women's Suffrage Movement''. London: Routledge, 1996. {{ISBN|0-415-10942-6}}.
* Kamm, Josephine. ''The Story of Mrs Pankhurst''. London: Methuen, 1961. {{OCLC|5627746}}.
* Liddington, Jill and Jill Norris. ''One Hand Tied Behind Us: The Rise of the Women's Suffrage Movement''. London: Virago Limited, 1978. {{ISBN|0-86068-007-X}}.
* Marcus, Jane, ed. ''Suffrage and the Pankhursts''. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987. {{ISBN|0-7102-0903-7}}.
* Oakley, Robin (August 2021). [https://highgatecemetery.org/uploads/August_newsletter_%28web%29.pdf "The Forgotten Pankhurst Boys"]. ''Highgate Cemetery Newsletter''.
* [[Christabel Pankhurst|Pankhurst, Christabel]]. ''Unshackled: The Story of How We Won the Vote''. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1959. {{OCLC|2161124}}.
* Pankhurst, Emmeline. ''My Own Story''. 1914. London: Virago Limited, 1979. {{ISBN|0-86068-057-6}}.
* [[Sylvia Pankhurst|Pankhurst, E. Sylvia]]. ''The Suffragette Movement''. 1931. New York: Kraus Reprint Co., 1971. {{OCLC|82655317}}.
* Phillips, Melanie. ''The Ascent of Woman: A History of the Suffragette Movement and the Ideas Behind It''. London: Abacus, 2004. {{ISBN|0-349-11660-1}}.
* [[Martin Pugh (author)|Pugh, Martin]]. ''The Pankhursts''. London: [[Penguin Books]], 2001. {{ISBN|0-14-029038-9}}.
* Purvis, June and Sandra Stanley Holton, eds. ''Votes for Women''. London: Routledge, 2000. {{ISBN|0-415-21459-9}}.
* Purvis, June. ''Emmeline Pankhurst: A Biography''. London: Routledge, 2002. {{ISBN|0-415-23978-8}}.
* [[Rebecca West|West, Rebecca]]. "A Reed of Steel". Jane Marcus, ed. ''The Young Rebecca: Writings of Rebecca West 1911–17''. New York: The Viking Press, 1982. {{ISBN|0-670-79458-9}}.

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=37282| name=Emmeline Pankhurst}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Emmeline Pankhurst}}
* {{Librivox author |id=9896}}
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/tags/emmelinepankhurst/ Emmeline Pankhurst] at [[Flickr Commons]]
* {{IMDb name|id=|name=Emmeline Pankhurst}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000521123237/http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/pankhurst01.html Emmeline Pankhurst] at [[Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century|''Time'' 100: The Most Important People of the Century]]
* {{cite web |url=http://www.llanellich.org.uk/Files/14-suffragettes.html |title=Llanelli Community Heritage: Emmeline Pankhurst in Llanelli |work=Leading suffragette |date=1 January 2001 |access-date=24 March 2015 |archive-date=15 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115095313/https://www.llanellich.org.uk/Files/14-suffragettes.html |url-status=dead }}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/013192}}

{{Emmeline Pankhurst}}
{{Suffrage|state=collapsed}}
{{Eagle House}}
{{Authority control}}

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