WSPU Vs NUWSS

Throughout the 19th Century there was a 'gradual overall improvement detectable in women's rights' (Dench,1998, p.220).The movement campaigned for many rights for women centered around issues such as marriage and education. Many women, however, felt the issue of gaining the right to vote was the main aim of the campaign. The movement to gain votes for women had two wings, the suffragists (NUWSS) and the suffragettes (WSPU), (BBC, 2014). The suffragists had their origins in the mid nineteenth century, while the suffragettes came into being in 1903 (BBC, 2014).


The NUWSS was formed in 1897 by Millicent Fawcett.

The group was made up 

Millicent Fawcett addressing a rally

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/britain/votesforwomenrev_print.shtml#top

of mainly middle-class women and 'campaigned peacefully through petitions,pamphlets and posters' (Dixon, 2002, p.74).The organisation built up supporters in Parliament, but private members' bills to give women the vote all failed. Whilst the NUWSS gained respect they lacked progress which led to some individuals breaking off and demanding a more drastic approach and the WSPU was formed by Emmeline Pankhurst with their members known as the Suffragettes (Kidd & Rees, 2003, p.72).

WSPU shop in Reading which opened in the summer of 1910
http://www.chrisgeorgecards.com/node/100

The WSPU was formed in 1903 and led by Emmeline Pankhurst, a militant organisation with the motto 'deeds not words' they fought a more aggressive fight, they smashed windows, heckled speakers and were arrested and spent time in prison after refusing to pay the fines (Kidd & Rees, 2003, p.46).



The Suffragettes were looked upon with distaste with some arguing that the militant action overshadowed and detracted attention from the main objective - universal suffrage. Arthur Conan Doyle condemned their actions as 'malicious monkey trick' and stated 'there was only one thing to add to their mean actions, and that was to blow up a blind man and his dog' (Wilson, 1998, p.118).

Comparison of NUWSS & WSPU

You can see from the table above that NUWSS and WSPU were two very separate groups, However, they were in danger of being judged in the same manner. The militant tactics of WSPU arguably hindered the NUWSS campaign as it made Parliament more reluctant to give women the vote The Morning Post newspaper evidenced this in 1912 'nothing could indicate more plainly their lack of fitness to be entrusted with the exercise of political power' (Ellis, 2014, p.89). Arguably though, the militancy of the Suffragettes did bring attention back to the issue of womens suffrage that had become all but motionless in society. Millicent Fawcett herself recognised this as she said 'they have done more during the last 12 months than we have been able to accomplish in the last 12 years' (Ellis, 2014, p.89).