A few days ago we we found out about how the fight for women’s votes began long before the suffragettes appeared. Today I want to tell you about an important moment, the 1866 Women’s Suffrage Petition which we briefly touched on. It was a peaceful campaign, that did not involve breaking windows or any public confrontation, but it required determination and organisation.
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Pamphlet copy of 1866 petition
By the middle of the nineteenth century, Britain was changing. Industrial growth, political reform and debates about rights had started to encourage many people to question the old ideas. Women were still excluded from parliamentary elections and were usually expected to stay in the home, but many were starting to be educated and were becoming much more politically aware. This increased their frustration at their lack of influence.
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Barbara Bodichon
Barbara Bodichon believed that change was possible. She was a determined campaigner for women’s education, employment and legal rights. She became one of the key organisers behind the 1866 petition. She worked with women like Emily Davies, who would go on to help establish higher education opportunities for women. They were influenced by the wider reform movements and also by the growing belief that fairness should not depend on your gender.
The petition was carefully organised. Bodichon and her supporters collected signatures from women all across Britain that wished for female suffrage. This was no small task. Travel could be difficult and women campaigning publicly risked criticism or at times ridicule.
The campaign gained an influential ally. John Stuart Mill, the philosopher and Member of Parliament believed women should have equal political rights. He agreed to present the petition to Parliament. The petition was brought to Parliament by Emily Davies and Elizabeth Garrett. On the 7th of June 1866, Mill formally introduced it in the House of Commons.
The petition carried around 1,500 signatures. That number may not seem very big, but at the time it was remarkable. Each signature was a woman willing to give her name to a controversial cause. Some women may well have been excited or proud, but others may have been anxious. They were very aware that their neighbours or their family might not approve. They were not just signing a piece paper; they were challenging centuries of political restrictions. Restrictions that were in ground.
Parliament did not give women the vote in 1866. This must have been painful. But the petition did achieve something. It showed that women could organise nationally, work together and demand to be heard. This didn’t end the movement, the rejection actually helped to strengthen it.
Without this petition and the courage of those women that signed it, the suffrage campaigns that followed may have looked very different.
Do you think the peaceful campaigners of 1866 receive enough recognition?
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