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How did women cycle to suffrage?“I think the bicycle has done more to emancipate women than any one thing in the world. I rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a bike. It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammelled womanhood” Susan B Anthony, American Civil Rights leader, writing in 1896The new mobility The invention of the safety bicycle in the 1800s transformed cycling into a popular form of mass leisure. During the 1890s craze, women accounted for a third of bicycle riders. They would play a significant role in the journey of women’s rights into the 20th century, both socially and politically. The bicycle gave women a new freedom of movement. Through simple mobility, the bicycle helped accelerate many women’s rights and transform their way of life. Women campaigning for the right to vote used bikes to give them independence of movement without men. Some women found themselves able, for the first time, to travel freely to meet and talk and campaign. Cycling contributed to the increase of women socialising together, sharing ideas and therefore becoming more aware of the social and political climate around them. 3175013970The political cartoon to the left was published in 1895. The caption underneath says: “My dear Jennie, what on earth is that bicycling suit for? – Why, to wear of course! – But, you haven’t got a bicycle! – No, but I’ve got a sewing machine!”THINK!How does the content and tone of this caption inform us that some people mocked the idea of women cycling and suggest that it was not widely accepted a normal thing for a women to do?Cycling to suffrage: Alice Hawkins “Woman is riding to suffrage on a bicycle” Elizabeth Cady StantonAlice Hawkins was born into a working-class family in Stafford in 1863. She was interested in the labour movement and equal franchise. She was also a keen cyclist and was a member of the Clarion Cycling Club, a group that combined leisure with supporting socialist ideas of equality and the rights of working people. In February 1907 Alice attended a suffrage meeting (a meeting for women campaigning for the right to vote in national elections) in Hyde Park in London. She heard the Pankhursts speak for the first time and was surrounded by other like-minded women. Alice returned home to Leicester and joined the Leicester Women’s Social and Political Union (the WSPU, also known as the Suffragettes). The group’s first priority was to recruit supporters. This is where the bike came in handy. Alice and her fellow suffragettes used their bikes in and around Leicester to travel to nearby villages and towns. In 1909, Alice led a bicycle drive to increase membership of the Leicester WSPU. It was so successful that a new branch of the group was formed in the town of Loughborough. In the summer of 1910, Alice and her co-members set out every Sunday morning to rural villages around Leicester. Once there they held open air meetings, greeted supporters, handed out WSPU pamphlets. The ‘New Woman’At this time, cycling was not considered to be suitable for women. It caused great moral and medical debate: ranging from the physical dangers of riding, to the social consequences of women’s mobility. Many men feared women would now cycle away from their domestic sphere and abandon their husbands and children. At this time, respectable women were expected to stay at home and aspire to domesticity and motherhood. The image of the ‘new woman’ began to emerge as women in the later 19th century campaigned for freedoms, including the vote. The ‘new woman’ was free-spirited, independent, less interested in marriage and children and disregarded the social norms of their mothers and grandmothers. Cycling contributed to this ‘new woman’ image. For example, cycling women could travel without a chaperone. Chaperones were older women or male members of the woman’s family. No respectable Victorian women could travel in public on a train without one.More than just political freedom - fashion freedomCycling helped to release women from the bondage of traditional female dress. Corsets were too restricting for activity and dresses with petticoats were too heavy and dangerous. A New Yorker, Amelia Jenks Bloomer, invented a new comfortable clothing garment, inspired by trousers worn by women in the Middle East. It was very controversial. In fact, in 1902, in a local newspaper report Alice Hawkins was accused of “outraging public decency” by riding in bloomers. THINK!What sort of women would have been able to take advantage of cycling to freedom? OVER TO YOU!Do some internet research to find out about other cycling suffragettes. Or, connect history to geography by finding out how bikes are still transforming women’s lives, including reducing the risk of sexual violence, for example in villages in Zambia. Teacher notes: ‘How did women cycle to suffrage?’What is a slot-in?A slot-in is a short story from the past that is rich in historical concepts. You can use a slot-in as part of a longer sequence, or as cover work, or in those moments where you need something short. They are also useful for building connection and coherence across the history curriculum.The concept focus of this enquiryThe enquiry question here is: ‘How did women cycle to suffrage?’ The story the students will read is written to connect a technological change with social and political change. It also describes some key concepts, such as suffrage. It will help students to understand that women campaigning for the vote were also part of a fast-changing world and that the vote was not their only focus. Curriculum linksWe have a duty to reflect the past of diverse people in our history curriculum. We also have such a restricted amount of curriculum time to teach a large amount of past. This story could be slotted-in to your curriculum as part of a sequence on:Women’s suffrage,Britain on the eve of the First World War,Life for women in Britain 1850 to present day.Activity suggestionsYou might just want students to read this story to support the development of their wider knowledge of the period, to make a connection to a wider topic and move on. You could set them the story to read for homework, or as an extension task, or as a small part of a lesson. You could reduce the text to suit your students. However, you might decide to use this material for a whole lesson with activities. You could:Use the political cartoon first, asking students what they can see and read, then drawing out the satire in the caption to develop the knowledge that cycling was still new and risqué for women in Britain in 1895. Give students more of the story of Alice Hawkins and then contextualise each part of her story to build up their understanding of the concepts and period. For example, starting with her story at: , you could use maps to show where she lived, text to explain the Clarion movement and socialist ideas, trace her suffragette story, perhaps this could then lead to an enquiry such as: ‘How typical was Alice Hawkins of campaigners for women’s suffrage?’ Starting enquiries with a personal story is a good way to keep the personal in students’ mind, to engage their interest and to keep the complexity and diversity of history to the fore – all suffragettes were not the same! The part of the story about her cycling could be used to build coherence between the topics of 19th century industrial change and the campaign for political rights. The ‘over to you’ section of this slot-in offers the possibility to bring in some cross-curricular thinking. The availability of a bicycle continues to contribute to female emancipation in the 21st century. Misconceptions to dispelIt is very hard to build coherence between topics for students. Personal stories and particular examples, such as this slot-in provides, are a light-touch way to remind and revisit and reinforce knowledge. For example, in this case, the idea that bikes were also part of the technological and transport revolution of the 19th century, that technology has a long history of changing the way that humans can live and develop and connect, and that the campaign for women’s rights is not segmented into campaigners for the vote, employment in the professions etc, nor was it just about the famous leaders. Extra background for teachersIn your teacher talk you might want to draw out the links that women had to women beyond Britain. There were active connections between female campaigners across Europe, across the British Empire and with the USA. The Clarion Clubs were not just about cycling. There was a popular tradition of combining leisure with political action for men and women. The Clarion Clubs were a socialist example. A Conservative Party example is the Primrose League, named after Conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli’s favourite flower. The freedoms that we associate with women in the First World War had started, at least for some women, before 1914. The role of wartime in accelerating these (but in some cases for the duration of the war only?) can be drawn out for students. Where to link toA good book to read that starts with the life of a woman, rather than with a cause, would be ‘Death in Ten Minutes’ by Fern Riddell. The Clarion Cycle Club still exists and there is a short history on its website: It could provide a vehicle (sorry about that pun!) for stitching together the story of Britain in the 20th century from the perspective of people in the working classes, who can often be overlooked in our narratives. ................
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