Women's Suffrage: A Short History of a Great Movement

"Women's Suffrage: A Short History of a Great Movement" by Millicent Garrett Fawcett is a historical account written in the early 20th century. The book chronicles the evolution of the women's suffrage movement, detailing the struggles and contributions of key figures and events that shaped the campaign for women's political rights, particularly in Britain. Fawcett emphasizes the foundational work of early feminists and reformers, examining the societal attitudes and legal frameworks that obstructed women's right to vote. The opening of the text establishes a foundation for understanding the history of women's suffrage by reflecting on the pioneers of the movement, including Mary Wollstonecraft and Elizabeth Fry. Fawcett highlights their challenges and the criticisms they faced, illustrating how these early efforts sparked a broader agitation for women's political liberties. The initial chapter conveys the importance of women participating in political reform movements, as exemplified by their involvement in events like the Peterloo Massacre. Thus, Fawcett sets the stage for a comprehensive exploration of how women's suffrage became an integral part of the fight for equal rights, demonstrating its significance across generations. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett was an English political activist and writer. She campaigned for women's suffrage by legal change and in 1897–1919 led Britain's largest women's rights association, the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), explaining, "I cannot say I became a suffragist. I always was one, from the time I was old enough to think at all about the principles of Representative Government." She tried to broaden women's chances of higher education, as a governor of Bedford College, London and co-founding Newnham College, Cambridge in 1875. In 2018, a century after the Representation of the People Act, she was the first woman honoured by a statue in Parliament Square.