This blog is primarily concerned with women's suffrage in Britain during the period from 1850 to 1920. The Oxford Dictionary defines suffrage as 'the right to vote in political elections'. As early as 1792 Mary Wollstonecraft had begun arguing for equal rights for women both in Britain and abroad, but by the 1850's this feeling had become more widespread and in some sections of society had begun to find acceptance and support amongst both women themselves and even some of the exclusively male politicians of the day (Scott-Baumann, 2002).
Women would not finally be awarded the vote until 1918, at the end of the first great war. Universal suffrage, that is votes for all was not achieved until the introduction of The Representation of the People Act (Equal Franchise) 1928.
The Suffrage movement encompasses any and all of those people and organisations who worked towards achieving this goal.
