LEARNING FROM THE BRITTISH

Alice traveled to the UK in 1907 and remained there until 1910. During this time she participated in and learned much about their Womens Rights Movement. From these experiences she brought back new knowledge and ideas for the American Womens Rights Movement. In the UK, Alice met and worked with Emily Pankhurst, the leader of the British Suffrage movement. Pankhurst and her followers used direct confrontational action including chaining themselves to the rails of the houses of Parliament and throwing bags of flour at politicians who voted against womens rights. Many of the women protesting went to prison for their convictions, where some went on hunger strikes and were force fed. This really taught Alice not only different kind of tactics to get their message across, but the passion behind the movement for Womens rights, and the consequences she might face for her protesting. Alice demonstrated with the English Suffragists and even went to jail. In jail Alice met another American in the UK, Lucy Burns. She became a friend of hers and when they returned to the US helped her establish the American campaign, and later founded the NWP with. Women in the UK used the power of the press to swing public and political opinion in the their favor. The press documented the cruelty to women activists on the street and in prisons and made them public. Through all of this Alice learned first hand the importance of press, publicity and rhetoric for their cause, as well as what kind of protests work and what the consequences

could be. This time spent in the UK served as a turning point because it played a massive role in why Alice was such a strong leader. Alice brought back knowledge and experience from the women's movement in the UK with her to America, as well as a newfound determination to make a change. During her activism in the UK she learned from British women who had endured hardships for their cause. She saw also that more confrontational tactics, although controversial, sped up the movement.