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Why is Emily Davison remembered today? - Coggle Diagram
Why is Emily Davison remembered today?
Emily Davison is remembered for being the most famous suffragette
Details
This is because she died after being hit by the King’s horse at the Epsom Derby.
On 4 June 1913, at the Epsom Derby, the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison was standing by the white rail near Tattenham Corner. A flag in the colours of the WSPU was tied around her body.
As a group of horses fast approached, Davison ducked und
er the railing and tried to grab the reins of the king’s horse, Anmer. Anmer knocked her over and the jockey, Herbert Jones, fell with the horse but managed to free himself and soon recovered from his cuts and bruises.
Emily Davison sustained a fractured skull, severe concussion and internal injuries. She was taken to Epsom Cottage Hospital, where surgeons attempted to relieve pressure on her brain. She never recovered and died four days later.
The race was being televised so people could see the accident and can still see the footage today.
The race was popular and so lots of people saw the act.
Her action has become famous as people try to work out if she did it on purpose or it was a tragic accident.
Davison is remembered for being a political martyr
Davison is remembered for being a political martyr
Whether Davison meant to kill herself or not, the WSPU made her into a political martyr. Someone who was willing to die for her beliefs.
Emmeline Pankhurst described her as “one of our bravest soldiers” who has “gladly laid down her life for women’s freedom”.
Emily was given a ceremonial funeral for her ‘noble sacrifice’ and the dues of ‘a fallen warrior’, ‘a brave comrade’ and ‘crusader’.
Five thousand women marched alongside Davison’s funeral procession in London on 14 June, making it the last of the great suffragette spectacles.
The front cover of the 13 June 1913 issue of The Suffragette contained a drawing of a female angel, wings unfurled and arms raised, standing in front of white railings. She died for women,” ran the caption. “Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
Davison is remembered for other violent acts as a member of the WSPU and helping to get women the right to vote.
Davison is remembered for other violent acts as a member of the WSPU and helping to get women the right to vote.
She was imprisoned eight times, went on hunger strike seven times, and was forcibly fed forty-nine times.
In March 1909 she was sent to prison for blocking a road, and in September 1909 for stone throwing. She spent one month in prison for breaking windows in November 1910 and six months for setting fire to postboxes in January 1912. She was put in prison for 10 days in November 1912 for assaulting a vica who she mistook for an MP.
In 1910 and 1911, Davison tried to hide in the House of Commons – once in the hot-air shaft, and twice in the crypt. One of these
Davison came to believe that only a death of a woman would stop the British government torturing women with force-feeding. Davison was subject to force-feeding in prison as she went on hunger strike. She was so upset by this that she tried to kill herself in prison by throwing herself twice over railings. The second time she lost consciousness, badly injured her head and cracked two vertebrae. Despite her injuries, she was force-fed again.
Women became 'seen'. Suffragettes, including Davison brought women's rights to the public attention. For the first time, women had become prominent and noticeable in society. Whilst the Suffragettes sometimes got them noticed for the wrong reasons - such as violence and hunger strikes – they at least got them noticed.
Davison is remembered as women eventually gained the right to vote in 1918.
Davison is remembered as women eventually gained the right to vote in 1918.
Davison’s death didn’t immediately get women the right to vote.
This started to change after the First World War. During the war women contributed greatly to the war effort and kept the country going while the men were away. In 1918, the government passed the Representation of the People Act giving the vote to all men over the age of 21 and women over the age of 30 who were householders or married to a householder.
The campaign for women's suffrage finally succeeded in 1928, when women were granted exactly the same voting rights as men.
However, there is still not equal representation in Parliament in the UK today. Parliament has set an aim to increase female MPs to 45% by 2030. Out of 63,621 candidates since 1918 only 8,780 have been women.
In popular culture, women are still fighting for their rights in certain areas. It was not until 2007 that female Wimbledon tennis champions were awarded the same prize money as male Wimbledon champions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Emily Davison is remembered for a number of reasons but the most important is (choose one of the reasons above and explain why!)
Intro
Introduce who Emily Davison was and why she is remembered today.