Activities
Activity 1: Emily Davison
The following ‘profile of Emily Davison appears in the programme.
Daily Mail
5 June 1913
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WHAT THE DERBY SUFFRAGETTE HAS DONE
Miss Davison is the hottest of all Suffragette 'Hot-Bloods' ... and joined the militants in around 1900. Since then she has ...
- Hidden herself three times in the House of Commons, once in a hot air shaft.
- Been imprisoned nine times.
- Started a fire in the General Post Office.
- Gained her freedom from prison by hunger-striking three times.
- Barricaded herself in a prison cell and had the fire hose played upon her.
- Set fire to pillar-boxes.
- Attempted to commit suicide by throwing herself downstairs in prison as a protest against forcible feeding.
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This profile is not wrong – all of the information is correct. However, it is a selective view. The Mail has chosen certain facts in order to create an impression of Emily Davison. Go to the following web site and read about Emily Davison there:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Wdavison.htm
Use the information on this page to write a new profile for Emily Davison. Your aim is to create a more balanced picture of Emily Davison than the one presented here. You are NOT trying to present a version which is equally selective in favour of Emily Davison.
Activity 2: Society and the Suffragettes
Work in pairs or small groups. Use the programme and the quotations to decide how far you agree with the following statements.
- Society was totally opposed to the idea of votes for women.
- The Press was totally opposed to the idea of votes for women.
- The Press did not take the Suffragettes seriously
- Emily Davison’s death changed the attitudes of society and the Press.
Place each statement on a scale of 1-5. 1 means you think that the statement is totally correct, and 5 means you think it is totally wrong.
Activity 3: Suffragists, Suffragettes and Chartists
Use this programme and the programme on the Chartists to compare the treatment of political protest movements by the Press. You could divide the class, with half looking at the Chartists and the other half looking at the Suffragettes. This activity would work best as a discussion. Each group should prepare points about how the press treated their movement. Here are some areas to help students structure their thoughts.
- Examples of Press hostility to the movement – what methods were used to belittle the movement?
- Were there any conflicting views expressed in the Press?
- Did the Press change their views at any point?
- What reasons explain changing Press attitudes?
- Why do the Suffragettes have a reputation as extreme but heroic protesters, when the Chartists have a reputation as badly organised and hopeless?
