On International Archives Day (9th June) I went to The National Archives and visited Suffragettes vs. the State, an exhibition which explores the militant side of the twentieth-century women’s suffrage movement.
An introduction to the exhibition
The exhibition is laid out in an open room,centered around a set of desks strewn with paperwork in an office style layout, which symbolises the State.
On the walls are informative case files on some of the Suffragettes, including Kitty Mason, the Pankhursts, and Emily Davison, and information about the activities of the Suffragettes, such as the ‘Great Protest Meeting’, which was the planned attacks involving the smashing of shop windows.
The exhibition contains a huge range of original archival material, including letters, official documents, photographs, and newspapers.
One of the most exciting things in the exhibition is a display cabinet containing the 1918 Representation of the People Act and the 1928 Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act. The 1918 Act gave some women the right to vote, but the Act of 1928 gave women and men equal voting rights, adding 5 million more women to the electoral role. This year, 2018, marks 100 years since some women were given the right to vote, and it is really thrilling to see these documents in the flesh.
The Representation of the People Act, 1918 (left), and the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act, 1928 (right)
Suffragettes vs. the State is on in The National Archives’ Keeper’s Gallery until Friday 26th October 2018. Entry to the exhibition is free, and it comes highly recommended, but if you visit, please make a donation to enable The National Archives to continue providing great exhibitions into the future.
Votes for Women planters in the gardens of The National Archives
Contact: sophiearchives@gmail.com
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