Elizabeth Crawford on the Women's Suffrage Campaign

Millicent Fawcett's Hyde Park address on 26 July 1913 - LSE Library

In this podcast Elizabeth Crawford, researcher and author of a number of books on the women’s suffrage movement, discusses the suffrage campaign from its beginnings in the 1860s.

The podcast starts by looking at why it's important to remember the women’s suffrage campaign, and at the campaign's slow beginnings in 1866 with the first women's suffrage petition and the peaceful campaigning activities of the 19th-century suffragists. It then outlines the radical change in approach brought about by the WSPU and the emergence of the Suffragettes in the early 20th century, with the new emphasis on militant action and marketing. Elizabeth Crawford also looks at how widespread the campaign for women's suffrage was within the UK, and highlights a few noteworthy but lesser-known individual campaigners. She goes on to explore how interpretations of the suffrage movement have changed over time, particularly with the emergence of new material about militant Suffragette activity. The podcast concludes by examining the effect of World War One on the women's suffrage campaign.

1. Why is it important to remember the women’s suffrage campaign?
2. The early women's suffrage campaign from the 1860s, the 1866 petition and the Suffragists
3. A new approach - the arrival of the Suffragettes
4. How widespread was the campaign?
5. Which campaigners should we remember?
6. Has the movement undergone changing interpretations over time?
7. What was the effect of World War One on the campaign?