Essay Plans Flashcards
How accurate is it to say that the main reason for the failure of the WSPU was its leadership? - Intro
Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters set up the WSPU in 1903 with the main objective of achieving female suffrage - for the WSPU to be successful the leadership would need to ensure effective tactics to gain support for the cause, and an overall strategy on how to ultimately achieve some form of women’s suffrage - due to the WSPU’s failure in achieving women’s suffrage, it could be argued that the leadership’s tactics and strategy were the main reason for this - however, it is also important to examine the political obstacles of the time, specifically the Liberal leadership in gov - despite this, this essay will argue that, while the political obstacles of the time were undoubtedly significant in the failure of the WSPU, the tactics and strategy employed by the leadership, and therefore the leadership itself, was the main reason for the failure of the WSPU
How accurate is it to say that the main reason for the failure of the WSPU was its leadership? - Detailed outline of points
Para 1 - Tactics - Authoritarianism of WSPU leadership led to unwavering adoption of militant tactics from 1905-1914 - anyone who disagreed either left or was expelled - EG Adele P banished to Aus - these militant tactics forced by the leadership alienated supporters and sympathisers - EG by 1914 WSPU membership down to 2000 and NUWSS membership up to 50,000 - other groups were also set up by those leaving the WSPU EG the Women’s Freedom League in 1907 and the United Suffragists in 1912 - shows militant tactics forced by the leadership led to a loss in support for the movement - leadership by extension was the main reason for the failure of the WSPU was its leadership
Para 2 - Strategy - Lack of effective overall strategy to achieve women’s suffrage a failure of the leadership - the WSPU targeted solely the middle class through their campaigning efforts - indeed Emmeline Pankhurst was middle class herself, and key allies such as Emily Davison had gone to Oxford - critics argued that this middle-class centric campaigning was evidence of the group not wanting votes for women, but votes for ladies - this was a big flaw of the overall strategy of the WSPU leadership, as they majorly missed out appealing to working class women - had the leadership focused on votes for all classes of women, it is likely that the group and cause would have had far more support from working class women - this would have allowed the group to put more pressure on the gov to pass a women’s suffrage bill - as it was working class women were simply uninterested in the movement - the leadership’s targeting of middle class women had political ramifications which we will discuss next - overall however, this evidence points towards the fact that leadership was the main reason for the failure of the WSPU
Para 3 - Political obstacles key reason for failure - could also be argued political obstacles such as Liberal party leadership of the day were the key reason behind the failure of the WSPU - the Liberal leadership knew that if they granted the vote to middle class women, as was being demanded by the WSPU leadership, it is likely they would vote for the Cons and they would therefore lose their parliamentary power - therefore the gov blocked both of the first two conciliation bills in 1910 and 1911 despite them being passed by parliament - at first glance this would appear to show that the liberal leadership was the key reason behind the WSPU’s failure to achieve women’s suffrage, but the Liberal leadership was simply wary of losing its majority by granting the vote to only middle class women, as was the overall strategy of the WSPU leadership as mentioned above - this suggests that the political opposition in the Liberal leadership was brought about by the strategy of the WSPU leadership, and that therefore it was the WSPU leadership that was the main reason for the failure of the WSPU by 1914 - furthermore a third conciliation bill presented to Parliament in 1912 that was essentially the same as the second conciliation bill that passed a year earlier, failed to receive a majority in the commons - this is largely attributed to politicians not wanting to be seen condoning the increasingly violent tactics of the WSPU that were being heavily pushed by the WSPU leadership - this suggests that, while there was certainly political opposition to the WSPU, this opposition largely came about due to the tactics and strategy of the WSPU leadership, and therefore suggests that leadership was the main reason for the failure of the WSPU
How accurate is it to say that the WSPU had achieved significant successes by 1914? - Intro
Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters set up the WSPU in 1903 with the main objective of achieving female suffrage - from 1905 to 1914 they had varying levels of success in this regard - from 1905 to 1908 the group and the movement as a whole was gaining a lot of publicity and was able to effectively spread the word for the cause of women’s suffrage, arguably a success for the movement - however, after 1908 the more violent turn of the WSPU’s direct action began alienating supporters and members of the public who may have previously been sympathetic to their cause - furthermore violent action also damaged the movement’s chances of a women’s suffrage bill passing in parliament as MPs could no longer support a bill backed by violent acts, and ultimately there was no women’s suffrage bill passed by 1914 - therefore, it is for these reasons that this essay will argue that the WSPU had not achieved significant successes by 1914
How accurate is it to say that the WSPU had achieved significant successes by 1914? - Brief outline of points
Para 1 - WSPU did achieve successes initially - moderate militant tactics from 1905-1908 did attract publicity for the WSPU which helped further the cause for women’s suffrage - EG march on Parliament in 1906 which led to 10 arrests including those of high class women - this shocked the public and led to even more publicity - this peaked in 1908 when Asquith called for a display of public support for the women’s movement - led to a 250,000-500,000 march in Hyde Park - this shows that the WSPU did initially achieve some successes
Para 2 - WSPU did not achieve significant success as after 1908 they began alienating their supports - publicity in the press didn’t necessarily translate to public support for the movement - more violent tactics such as window-smashing, arson and destroying art were employed - EG 1909 WSPU organises a march on Parliament smashing windows - 27 arrested for throwing stones at 10 Downing Street - these tactics led to supporters and sympathisers being turned off from the movement - EG the setting up of other groups that didn’t agree with the WSPU violence such as the WFL and United Suffragists - also evident in the downturn of support for the violent WSPU and upturn of support for the passive NUWSS by 1914 - WSPU had 2000 members while NUWSS had 50,000 members - shows that by 1914 the WSPU had surrendered what little success they had achieved beforehand and had not achieved any form of significant success
Para 3 - WSPU did not achieve legislative success either - 1910 and 1911 saw the first two conciliation bills passed in the commons but denied by the Liberal gov - suggests the movement was having an impact - however the third conciliation bill in 1912 (essentially the same as the second that passed a year earlier by 167 votes) didn’t pass the commons by 14 votes - this shows that the violent tactics of the WSPU were having a negative effect on women’s suffrage legislation in Parliament as MPs were unable to show support for such action by supporting a suffrage bill - ultimately by 1914 there was no suffrage bill passed through parliament - shows WSPU did not have significant success
“The Contagious Diseases Acts were passed principally to enable Britain’s armed forces to operate more efficiently”. How far do you agree with this statement? - Intro
“The Contagious Diseases Acts were passed principally to enable Britain’s armed forces to operate more efficiently”. How far do you agree with this statement? - Brief outline of points
Para 1 - At a glance it would appear that the first CDA of 1864 was introduced for the benefit of the armed forces - the scope of the first CDA was only encompassing 11 specific port of garrison towns, but was still very harsh on women - if a women was found to have a venereal disease she could be detained in a lock hospital for up to 3 months and failure to submit to examination would result in imprisonment - however this overlooks the 1862 Committee of Inquiry set up to investigate venereal disease in the military and propose a solution - two solutions were proposed - 1: a liberal solution proposed by medical experts such as Florence Nightingale that addressed the issue from a health standpoint and included rules for men as well as women including better hospital care for diseased men and women, improved sanitation conditions in the barracks, and penalties for men who had evidence of being diseased - 2: proposed by Sir John Liddell, director-general of the navy medical department - more regulation of prostitutes using the military modal from British colonies such as Hong Kong and India where prostitutes near military bases were put on a register - solution number two was ultimately picked by the Committee of Inquiry - this shows that the CDAs were not centred around benefiting the health of the army, but were instead focused on the regulation of prostitution
Para 2 - The second CDA continued to focus more upon clamping down on prostitution then improving the health of the army - gov introduced compulsory examinations for suspected prostitutes every 3 months and prostitutes could now be identified on the evidence of a single policeman before a magistrate - not only does this break the Habeas Corpus provision of the Magna Carta that states that the gov can only arrest someone based on sound evidence, but it also further shows that the main target of the CDAs was clamping down on prostitution rather than improving the health of the army - critics may argue that controlling prostitution was improving the health of the army, but this policy by itself without improving the sanitary conditions in the barracks or the conditions of sick hospitals for soldiers, both of which were not done despite medical experts calling for this, betrays these acts true intentions - therefore this shows that the CDAs were not introduced to improve the health of Britain’s armed forces
Para 3 - Finally, if any thought that the third CDA might rectify this issue, they would be very mistaken - the third CDA passed in 1869 extended the regulation to all port and garrison towns as well as land within a 15 mile radius of these 18 protected areas - prostitutes could now be held for 5 days before examination without trial - this Act also made it legal for prostitutes to be detained in a lock hospital for up to 1 year and subject to fortnightly inspections - this again shows that the Acts were principally introduced to curb prostitution rather than improve the health of the army - indeed, the Victorian society of the day by and large viewed prostitution as morally unacceptable, but also considered it a necessary evil for men in society - this further proves that the CDAs were not introduced to improve the health of the army
JB QUOTE - “The only connection with the military is the districts to which they apply. But in these districts, they do not apply to soldiers and sailors but to the civil population only. Where in any of the Acts does the word soldier or sailor occur ?”
How accurate is it to say that Josephine Butler was responsible for the success of the campaign to repeal the Contagious Diseases Acts by 1886? - Intro
Butler made head of the LNA five years after the passing of the first CDA in 1864 - over the next 15 years their until their successful, Butler played a key role in the campaign - but inaccurate to suggest she was solely responsible for the repeal of the CDAs - actions of other key players EG Wolstenholme in originating the movement and Stansfield’s inter-P pressure were as important if not more so for the - overall while key players such as Wolstenholme and Butler were undoubtedly influential figures in the campaign to repeal the CDAs, Stansfeld arguably had a more influential role in repealing the acts through his influence within parliament
How accurate is it to say that Josephine Butler was responsible for the success of the campaign to repeal the Contagious Diseases Acts by 1886? - Brief overview of points
Para 1 - Butler - Head of LNA - Undoubted moral figure which was very important to Victorian society - very charismatic and a good orator - under her leadership the LNA adopted tactics such a protests, petitions, speeches to the public and interfering in elections - extra P pressure ineffective as women couldn’t be MPs at the time - Butler also was unwavering her wanting the complete removal of the CDAs rather than compromise first - EG John Stuart Mill proposed a system of voluntary examinations for prostitutes at the 1871 Royal Commission - completely blocked by Butler because it would still place the blame on prostitutes - shows lack of effectiveness
Para 2 - Wolstenholme - Made Butler head of the LNA in 1869 - without this decision Butler could have never been as impactful as she was - Wolstenhome used petitions as her main form of pressure
Arguments that the 1832 Reform Act was a turning point/the most significant - Strengths of the Act
- Great Reform Act enfranchised male householders with property worth £10 per year or more
- Expanded the electorate in England and Wales from 14% to 20%
- Expanded the electorate in Scotland from 1% to 11%
- Extra-P pressure including Swing Riots as a consequence of poor economic conditions and harvests in the late 1820s and the Days of May protests as a result of the HoL blocking initial reform
Arguments that the 1832 Reform Act was a turning point/the most significant - Weaknesses of the Act
- The Act ultimately only enfranchised 8% of the adult pop
- Women were specifically disenfranchised
- New seats created to reflect economic interests rather than pops EG Salford 1497 pop and Reigate 153 pop both returning one MP
- Influence of aristocracy strengthened by adding of more seats - 60 aristocratic controlled boroughs post 1832
- In 1841 1/5 of MPs came from the middle classes and 70% came from the aristocracy
Arguments that the 1867 Reform Act was a turning point/the most significant - Strengths of the Act
- Reform Act nearly doubled electorate from 1.3 million to 2.4 million in Wales and England - roughly 16% of the adult population
- Extended the franchise to industrial workers in urban boroughs
- American Civil War meant that raw cotton was unable to be exported to the cotton mills in Lancashire which caused a cotton famine which caused widespread unemployment and unrest
- This coupled with economic situation was dire as heavy rains had wiped out crops and livestock - overall a lot of extra-P pressure
Arguments that the 1867 Reform Act was a turning point/the most significant - Weaknesses of the Act
- In rural seats, most agricultural labourers were still without the vote - this was a tactical consideration by the Tories to seed the towns as they were already dominated by Liberal voters whilst at the same time reinforcing their position in the countryside
Arguments that the 1884 Reform Act was a turning point/the most significant - Strengths of the Act
- Increased the size of the electorate by 84% to 5.5 million - 2.5 million voters newly enfranchised - far bigger number than in 1832 or 1867
- Introduced a single national qualification granted to all male householders and £10 lodgers
- Spread the franchise to agricultural labourers in the countryside
Arguments that the 1884 Reform Act was a turning point/the most significant - Weaknesses of the Act
- Significant portion of society still disenfranchised - sons of householders, servants, members of the armed forces, residuum, and women
- Recent research has suggested that the 1884 Act excluded about 40% of adult males
- Lack of extra-P pressure could suggest this act was less significant
Arguments that the 1918 Reform Act was a turning point/the most significant - Strengths of the Act
