Fight for Rights Flashcards
Voting Rights
- In 1800, nobody under 21 could vote. Fewer than 2.5% of the population had this political right (400,000).
- Most of the new cities and towns had no MP to represent them. Others had 2 MPs.
- Some areas had MPs voted for by one landlord or family, these were known as Rotten Boroughs.
- Voting was open. There was no secret ballot, so it was possible to pay a voter to vote.
Peterloo Massacre
In 1819 around 60,000 peaceful protestors listened to speeches about reforms to parliament, including abolishing rotten boroughs and expanding the vote.
The local cavalry was sent in and 600 people were injured and 15 killed.
Birmingham Political Union
A non-violent group with 80,000 members that sent a petition to parliament for giving more men the vote.
They put pressure on the government to pass the Great Reform Act of 1832.
Chartists
A movement to get all men the right to vote as well as other political reforms.
They handed in petitions to the government, published newspapers and organised marches.
Who was the Suffragists Leader?
Millicent Fawcett.
What was the Suffragists name?
National Union for Women’s Suffrage Society (NUWSS).
What was the Suffragists tactics?
Moderate group who used peaceful methods – public meetings, petitions, posters, leaflets and newspapers.
1913 ‘Pilgrimage for Women’s suffrage’, where they marched to London from towns like Bournemouth.
Who was the Suffragettes leader?
Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters, Sylvia and Christabel.
What was the Suffragettes name?
Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).
What were the Suffragettes tactics?
Militant and used radical tactics – chained themselves to railings, disrupted public meetings, went on hunger strike and damaged public property.
Motto was “Deeds not words”.
Government
The government passed the law, that gave women the vote first in 1818 to women over the age of 30 and then in 1828 to all women over the age of 21.
Though parliament had voted against female suffrage in 1910, 12 and 13.
War
Both the NUWSS and WSPU stopped their campaigning during WW1 and supported the war effort.
Women worked in factories, on farms and many trained as nurses, which showed women were just as capable as men.
Individuals
- Emily Davison: A member of the WSPU who died while protesting at the 1913 Derby.
- Edith Garrud: A member of the WSPU who taught their members martial arts to defend themselves.
- Sophia Duleep Singh: An Indian princess who joined the WSPU and funded their campaign, she refused to pay taxes until she could vote.
- Keir Hardie: A labour MP who supported women’s suffrage and spoke about it in Parliament.
Communication
The WSPU used their first newspaper, “Votes for women” to spread their message. It had 30,000 readers at its peak. This was followed up by their paper the Suffragette.
The NUWSS newspaper was “the Common Cause”.
