WSPU

The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a British organization formed in 1903 to advocate for women's suffrage. It was founded by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia as a more militant wing of the broader suffrage movement, arising from dissatisfaction with the slower pace of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). The WSPU adopted the motto Deeds not Words and used purple, white, and green as its colors to symbolize dignity, purity, and hope.

The WSPU pursued a strategy of direct action, organizing large demonstrations and escalating acts of civil disobedience, including window smashing and other property damage. Its tactics aimed to attract public attention and pressure the government, but they provoked strong opposition and led to mass arrests. Suffragettes endured imprisonment, hunger strikes, and forced feeding; the movement developed the Cat and Mouse Act (the Prisoners Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) in 1913 as a response to hunger strikes. In 1908–1910 the campaign intensified, culminating in episodes such as Black Friday in 1910.

During World War I, most militant activities were suspended in support of the war effort, and political campaigning shifted. Following the war, the 1918 Representation of the People Act extended some voting rights to women over 30; the 1928 act granted equal voting rights to women and men. The WSPU declined as a mass movement, with many members leaving or forming splinter groups, including Sylvia Pankhurst's East London Federation of Suffragettes.

The WSPU is remembered for its pivotal role in bringing attention to women's suffrage, as well as for controversy over its militant tactics. Its legacy continues in studies of social movements, gender, and political reform.