“Purple was the color of dignity, white represented purity, and green was the symbol of fertility and hope for the future.”
– Emmeline Pethick Lawrence (on the colors of the WSPU)
Formation of the WSPU
In 1903, the suffrage movement took an important turn when Pankhurst established the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) with the motto "Deeds not Words." The members – suffragettes – took radical militant action, organized large scale protests, and made women's suffrage an undeniable issue.
"We voted to call our new society the Women's Social and Political Union, partly to emphasise its democracy, and partly to define its object as political rather than propagandist. We resolved to limit our Membership exclusively to women, to keep ourselves absolutely free from any party affiliation, and to be satisfied with nothing but action on our question. Deeds, not words, were to be our permanent motto." "The beginning big difference between the suffragettes and the suffragists was: one, the Women's Social and Political Union said that they would not support the party in power unless it introduced the legislation granting votes for women; second, it believed in disruption." |
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WSPU's London headquarters,1912, Suffragettes in Pictures. |
Autocratic Leadership
Pankhurst almost single-handedly led the WSPU, believing if the organization was democratic, decisions wouldn't be made.
"The WSPU is simply a suffrage army in the field. It is purely a volunteer army, and no one is obliged to remain in it. Indeed we don't want anybody to remain in it who does not ardently believe in the policy of the army." |
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Portrait of Emmeline Pankhurst, 1909, Suffragettes in Pictures |
"If at any time a Member... loses faith in our policy; if any one begins to suggest, that some other policy ought to be substituted... she ceases at once to be a Member. |
“The most rebellious spirits grew calm in her presence, and the most obstinate grew amiable. They [the Suffragettes] adored her. There is no other word for it. Her calm, quiet, cultured manner appealed to us all."
– Annie Kenney, Memories of a Militant