Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragettes
Study note
Emmeline Pankhurst was born in Manchester in 1858 and became the most famous campaigner for women's right to vote. In 1903 she helped to found the Women's Social and Political Union. This was the first group whose members came to be called suffragettes, so connect Pankhurst with the WSPU and with the year 1903.
The suffragettes were known for their willingness to break the law to draw attention to their cause, a tactic called civil disobedience. They chained themselves to railings, smashed windows and went on hunger strike when imprisoned. A true or false question describing these methods should be answered true. Their campaigning helped pave the way for women to win the vote in the years that followed.
Memory tip: Emmeline Pankhurst founded the WSPU (1903); its members, the suffragettes, used civil disobedience.
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Question 1 of 3
Who helped found the Women's Social and Political Union, whose members were called suffragettes?
Show all questions and answers for Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragettes(3 questions with explanations)
Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragettes: questions, answers and explanations
1. Who helped found the Women's Social and Political Union, whose members were called suffragettes?
- Mary Peters
- Queen Victoria
- Florence Nightingale
- Emmeline Pankhurst
Correct answer: Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst helped found the WSPU in 1903.
2. What were members of the Women's Social and Political Union known as?
- Chartists
- Quakers
- Fenians
- Suffragettes
Correct answer: Suffragettes
Members of the WSPU were known as suffragettes.
3. The suffragettes used civil disobedience, such as chaining themselves to railings and going on hunger strike.
- True
- False
Correct answer: True
True. They used forms of civil disobedience to campaign for the vote.
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