Artifact 4 (Emmeline Pankhurst)

Emmeline Pankhurst, the daughter of Robert Goulden and Sophia Crane, was born in Manchester in 1858. Her father came from a family with radical political beliefs and his father had been at the Peterloo Massacre in 1819. Goulden took part in the campaigns against slavery and the Corn Laws. Emmeline's mother was a passionate feminist and started taking her daughter to women's suffrage meetings in the early 1870s. 

By the time Emmeline was born, Gouldon was the successful owner of a cotton-printing company at Seedley. Over the next few years Sophia had nine more children. Goulden had conventional ideas about education. Emmeline, who was an extremely intelligent child, later recalled that when she was young she overheard him saying, "What a pity she wasn't born a lad."

After a short spell at a local school, Emmeline was sent to École Normale Supérieure, a finishing school in Paris in 1873. "The school was under the direction of Marchef Girard a woman who believed that girls' education should be quite as thorough as the education of boys. She included chemistry and other sciences in the course, and in addition to embroidery she had her girls taught bookkeeping. When I was nineteen I finally returned from school in Paris and took my place in my father's home as a finished young lady."

Soon after her returned to Manchester, she met the lawyer, Richard Pankhurst. A committed socialist, Richard was also a strong advocate of women's suffrage. Richard had been responsible for drafting an amendment to the Municipal Franchise Act of 1869 that had resulted in unmarried women householders being allowed to vote in local elections. Richard had served on the Married Women's Property Committee (1868-1870) and was the main person responsible for the drafting of the women's property bill that was passed by Parliament in 1870.

Richard and Emmeline were immediately attracted to each other and although there was a significant age difference, he was forty-four and she was only twenty, Richard Goulden gave permission for the marriage to take place. Emmeline had four children in the first six years of marriage: Christabel Pankhurst (1880), Sylvia Pankhurst (1882), Frank (1884) and Adela Pankhurst (1885).

In 1886 the family moved to London where their home in Russell Square became a centre for gatherings of socialists and suffragists. They were also both members of the Fabian Society. At a young age, their children were encouraged to attend these meetings. This had a major impact on their political views. As June Purvis has pointed out: "Such experiences had a decisive effect on Christabel. Nothing she learned from the inadequate education offered by governesses or, when the family moved back to the north in 1893, at the high schools she attended - first in Southport and then in Manchester - compared with the political education she received at home."

In 1886 Emmeline became involved in the Matchgirls Strike. She later recalled in her autobiography: "I threw myself into this strike with enthusiasm, working with the girls and with some women of prominence... It was a time of tremendous unrest, of labour agitations, of strikes and lockouts." She became friendly with Annie Besant, the union leader in this dispute and she became a regular visitor to the Pankhurst home. Other visitors included Keir Hardie, William Morris and Eleanor Marx

Emmeline continued her involvement in politics but she grew gradually disillusioned with the existing women's political organizations and in 1903 she joined forces with her three daughters, Christabel Pankhurst, Sylvia Pankhurst and Adela Pankhurst to establish the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). At first Emmeline intended that the main aim of the organisation was to recruit working class women into the struggle for the vote.

1. a) Which main topic does the artifact relate to? In what ways?

 A: Emmeline Pankhurst and her life.

    b) Which other main topics does it also relate to?
A: This topic is not related to others.

2. Why did you choose this artifact, and how much time did you spend creating and/or processing it?
A: I just liked her last name, sounds funny:)

3. What insights and understanding have you gained from the creation and/or processing of this artifact?
A: I understand who she was and what she did.

4. Does this artifact reflect your best work and/or ideas? Why, or why not?

A: Just artifact..

5. Rate this artifact on a scale of -5 to 5(0 is neutral) for the following 4 criterion:
    a) Impact on the quality of your Portfolio 
    b) Impact on your level of happiness/enjoyment
    c) Impact on your learning 
    d) Level of creativity and originality

A: a)3

    b)2

    c)2

    d)-1