Millicent Fawcett

Millicent Fawcett

Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (1847-1929) was a prominent British suffragist, political activist, writer, and economist who led the constitutional campaign for women’s suffrage in the United Kingdom. She served as president of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) from 1897 to 1919 and became the first woman honored with a statue in Parliament Square in 2018.​

Background and Early Life

Born on June 11, 1847, in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, Millicent Garrett was the seventh of ten children in a progressive, politically engaged family. Her father, Newson Garrett, was a wealthy merchant and political radical who encouraged intellectual growth among his children. Her elder sister, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, became Britain’s first female doctor and introduced Millicent to the suffrage movement. In 1867, at age 19, Millicent married Henry Fawcett, a blind Liberal MP and professor of political economy at Cambridge, whom she met through John Stuart Mill.​

Major Contributions

Women’s Suffrage Leadership: Fawcett became president of the NUWSS in 1897, leading Britain’s largest women’s rights organization with approximately 50,000 members by 1913 (compared to the militant suffragettes’ 2,000 members). She witnessed partial success in 1918 when the Representation of the People Act granted voting rights to women over 30, and lived to see full equality achieved in 1928, shortly before her death in 1929.​

Higher Education: Fawcett co-founded Newnham College, Cambridge in 1871 (originally Newnham Hall in 1875) with philosopher Henry Sidgwick, providing women access to university education. She also served as governor of Bedford College, London.​Writing and Economics: Her 1870 book Political Economy for Beginners achieved remarkable success, running through ten editions over 41 years and setting a contemporary record as a principles textbook. She was described as “an ardent classical liberal and a great exponent of free trade and classical economics and individualism”.​

Social Reform: Fawcett campaigned for numerous causes including repealing the Contagious Diseases Acts (which reflected sexual double standards regarding prostitution), raising the age of consent, criminalizing incest and child abuse, ending child marriage in India, and opening the legal profession to women.​

Theories and Political Philosophy:

Constitutional and Peaceful Approach to Suffrage

• Law-abiding methods: Advocated achieving women’s suffrage exclusively through peaceful, legal, and constitutional means rather than militancy or violence​

• Rational persuasion: Believed in changing minds through logical argumentation, reasoned debate, and common-sense arguments rather than direct action or coercion​

• Public engagement strategy: Utilized petitions to Parliament, public meetings, speeches, and systematic advocacy to build public support​

• Long-term persistence: Embodied the philosophy “Hold fast, hold firm, hold OUT,” demonstrating that sustained, patient campaigning would ultimately succeed​

• Strategic moderation: Believed militant tactics alienated MPs and soured public opinion, actually harming women’s chances of gaining the vote​

Classical Liberal Economic Philosophy

• Free market principles: Ardent supporter of free trade, classical economics, and economic individualism​

• Opposition to protectionism: As a traditional radical, rejected protective legislation for adult workers, favoring equality through open market access​

• Economic equality through opportunity: Saw the narrow range of occupations open to women as causing their lower pay; fought for professions to be open to female entry rather than artificial wage controls​

• Self-sufficiency through education: Believed women’s economic independence came through education and professional opportunities​

Feminism Rooted in Equality

• Intrinsic equality: Feminism based on the unequivocal assertion that men and women are created equal and should be treated equally under the law​

• Legal equality: Advocated for equal treatment in all legal matters, including divorce law (opposed the 1857 law requiring higher proof standards for wives)​

• Moral equality: Campaigned against sexual double standards in laws regarding prostitution, divorce, and social conduct​

• Representative government principle: Stated, “I cannot say I became a suffragist. I always was one, from the time I was old enough to think at all about the principles of Representative Government”​

Strategic Political Philosophy

• Non-partisan approach: Remained politically neutral regarding major parties, careful not to alienate potential supporters from any political faction​

• Traditional image management: Emphasized her roles as wife and mother to demonstrate that suffrage could advance women’s rights while upholding traditional gender roles, avoiding appearing too radical​

• Wartime continuity: During World War I, continued campaigning for suffrage (unlike militant suffragettes who ceased activities), using women’s war contributions as evidence for their right to vote​

• Separation of causes: Believed feminist campaigns should be kept separate from the suffrage campaign to maintain focus and avoid alienating supporters​

Educational and Intellectual Development

• Broadening access: Championed higher education for women as foundational to achieving equality and independence​

• Intellectual equality: Demonstrated through her successful economic writings that women possessed equal intellectual capabilities​

• Public discourse: Believed women must participate in rational public debate to prove their fitness for political participation​

Her approach contrasted sharply with the militant suffragettes led by Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, whose Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) employed direct action, property damage, and hunger strikes. Despite the suffragettes gaining more publicity, Fawcett’s NUWSS retained majority support and is credited as instrumental in securing voting rights for 6 million British women in 1918.

Notes on Economy