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Deeds, not Words* - Part 2 - Page 2© Marthe Arends
The violence by police against the suffragettes came to a head on a date known as Black Friday, in November 1910. Determined to bring their cause to the attention of the public during that election year, the suffragettes organized a deputation in order to petition the Prime Minister, Asquith. As the peaceful group of women approached the House of Commons, they ran into a "gauntlet of organized gangs of policemen in plain clothes, dressed like roughs, who nearly squeezed the breath out of our bodies, the policemen in official clothes helping them . . . Women were thrown from policemen in uniform to policemen in plain clothes, literally till they fainted. A lady told me a policeman had told her he would kick her when he got her down - and he did." [Evelyn Sharp, 1926] Emmeline Pankhurst added that "Our women were thrown about, tripped up, their arms and fingers twisted, their bodies doubled under, and then forcibly thrown, if indeed they did not drop stunned to the ground." Three women died, and more than one hundred were sent to prison, where they were released a little more than a month later.
My mind boggles at how many women died, and how many others suffered inconceivable horrors to achieve a goal that lesser people would have claimed was not worth the sacrifices. Researching this novel served as an eye-opening experience that will remain with me always, and serve to remind me not to take any of our fundamental rights for granted. *"Deeds, not words" was the motto of the Women's Social and Political Union. * * * * About our Guest Writer: Marthe Arends lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, three Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and four computers. In addition to The Lion's Shadow, she is the author of Genealogy Software Guide, Genealogy on CD-ROM, and Instant Information on the Internet! A Genealogist's No-Frills Guide to Research Basics. An interest in genealogy spawned a fascination with the Victorian era; Marthe can be found most days elbow deep in a stack of nineteenth century references as she researches her next historical suspense book, or on the Internet, tracking down an elusive bit of Victorian gossip. Her book "The Lion's Shadow" - published by Avid Press, October 1999 (ISBN 1-929613-05-9)- in which she highlights many of the situations and problems that those women involved in the Suffragette Movement encountered is currently on sale, and is a finalist in the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence for Mystery/Suspense contest. A review of this book, which complements this article, will be in the new issue of the Women's History at Suite101 Newsletter. A second book in this series is will be available soon, and Marthe is already working on a third.
The copyright of the article Deeds, not Words* - Part 2 - Page 2 in Women's History is owned by Marthe Arends. Permission to republish Deeds, not Words* - Part 2 - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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