But Women Died For Our Vote...
We are all familiar with the cause of Women's Suffrage. The stories of the Pankhursts and Emily Davison (who died in the name of the cause), but what few people know, is how men have fought and suffered for their right to vote. In fact, The Reform Act of 1918, which introduced votes for women also introduced votes for the remaining 40% of working class men, who until then had been unable to vote. Way back in the 18th Century, less than 3% of the adult population were entitled to vote. On 16th August 1819, groups of people from towns all over Manchester and South Lancashire, comprising 60,000 or more, marched to St Peter's Field in Manchester. The well-known speaker Henry Hunt was to call for parliamentary reform and an MP for Manchester (many areas of the country were still unrepresented). On observing Hunt's enthusiastic reception, William Hulton, Chairman of Magistrates, called for Hunt's immediate arrest. Cavalry pushed towards the speaker's sta...