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Emmeline Pankhurst Facts & Worksheets

Emmeline Pankhurst was a British political activist who founded the Women’s Social and Political Union whose members were known as suffragettes.

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Emmeline Pankhurst was a British political activist who founded the Women’s Social and Political Union whose members were known as suffragettes. She is best remembered for helping women win the right to vote in the United Kingdom.

See the fact file below for more information on the Emmeline Pankhurst or alternatively, you can download our 19-page Emmeline Pankhurst worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

INTRODUCTION

  • Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903, which applied militant tactics to agitate for women’s suffrage.
  • Pankhurst was imprisoned many times and she supported the war effort after World War I broke out.
  • In 1918, Parliament allowed British women limited suffrage.
  • Shortly before women were given full rights of voting, Pankhurst died in 1928.

EARLY LIFE

  • Emmeline Goulden was born in Manchester, England on either July 14 or 15 in 1858. Emmeline’s birth certificate stated July 15, but the document was not filed until 4 months after her birth, and she always stated that she was born on July 14.
  • Goulden was the eldest daughter of 10 children.
  • She grew up in a politically active family. Her parents were both abolitionists and advocates of female suffrage; Goulden was 14 when her mother took her to her first meeting for women’s suffrage. Yet, Goulden chafed for knowing the fact that her parents prioritized her brother’s education and advancement over hers.

MARRIAGE AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM

  • Goulden returned to Manchester after studying in Paris. There, she met Dr. Richard Pankhurst in 1878. Richard was a lawyer who supported a number of radical causes, a well as women’s suffrage. Though Richard was 24 years older than Goulden, the two got married in December 1879, and Goulden became Emmeline Pankhurst.
  • Over the next decade, Pankhurst gave birth to five children: three daughters named Christabel, Sylvia and Adela, and two sons named Frank (who died in childhood) and Harry.
  • In spite of her children and other household responsibilities, Pankhurst continued to be involved in politics, campaigning for her husband during his unsuccessful runs for Parliament and hosting political gatherings at their home.
  • Emmeline and her husband Richard founded the Women’s Franchise League (WFL) in 1889, which desired to enfranchise all women, married and unmarried alike, to vote in the local elections. At the time, some groups only asked for the vote for single women and widows.
  • However, the League was not a success and it broke apart in 1893. Having failed to achieve their goals in London and with some money problems, the Pankhursts went back to Manchester in 1892.
  • Richard encouraged Emmeline in these endeavors until his death in 1898.
  • She joined the newly-formed Labor Party in 1894, where she worked with the Party to help feed the poor including the unemployed people in Manchester. But she was initially refused membership by the local branch on account of her sex.

THE POOR LAW GUARDIAN

  • Emmeline was elected a “poor law guardian” in 1894, whose job was to supervise the local workhouse. Emmeline was shocked by the horrifying conditions in the workhouse, where the residents were badly fed and badly clothed. Additionally, young children were forced to scrub the floors. Emmeline helped to improve conditions immediately; within a span of five years, she had even established a school in the workhouse.

THE SUFFRAGETTES

  • On October 10, 1903, Emmeline decided to create a new group open only to women that focused solely on voting rights, the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).
  • The membership a well as the policies of this Union were tightly controlled by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia (although Sylvia was eventually expelled). The Union’s members were named the ‘suffragettes’ and “Deeds Not Words” was the slogan.

THE WAR

  • The WSPU actively worked in opposition to the politicians who did not want women to vote. The suffragettes challenged in public those politicians and heckled them.
  • The government announced that any voting bills would be not be considered during that session of Parliament in early 1913. This provoked Pankhurst, and the WSPU turned to extreme measures to the extent that they broke windows, cut telephone wires, and set fires.
  • Like the other suffragettes, Emmeline was arrested several times over the next few years and even went on a hunger strike.
  • The Representation of the People Act became law in 1918 which gave many women, but not all women, the right to vote.
  • When she returned from a visit to Russia in 1918, Pankhurst was delighted to find that the right of all women to vote was finally on its way to becoming a reality.
  • The Representation of the People Act of 1928 granted equal suffrage to men and women. On July 2, 1928, it became law, several weeks after Pankhurst’s death in London on June 14.

Emmeline Pankhurst Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Emmeline Pankhurst across 19 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Emmeline Pankhurst worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Emmeline Pankhurst who was a British political activist who founded the Women’s Social and Political Union whose members were known as suffragettes. She is best remembered for helping women win the right to vote in the United Kingdom.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Emmeline Pankhurst Facts
  • Pankhurst Quick Facts
  • Pankhurst’s Biography
  • Important Events
  • WSPU
  • Famous Suffragettes
  • Sylvia Pankhurst
  • Women’s Suffrage Importance
  • Social Media Card
  • Important People
  • Empowered Women

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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