The suffragette movement began in the late 19th and 20th centuries because men in the United Kingdom had the right to vote but not the women. From this inequality was born two groups, the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies and the Women’s Social and Political Union. The term suffragette comes from the word suffrage, which means the right to vote in political elections and was actually created by newspapers to mock these women.
There were both men and women who didn’t support the idea of women voting, but they campaigned on with peaceful protests, banners, and badges. In 1900 the Suffragists’ had gained enough momentum that several bills in support of women’s suffrage won support in Parliament but not enough to pass. Following this defeat, the movement evolved and would employ more extreme protest tactics from hunger strikes to stepping out in front of the King’s racehorse. Through their work women finally gained the right to vote in 1928.