History- Women and the Vote 1918-1928 Flashcards
After the First World War there was a different attitude to the suffrage movement. Partly, the war had made the suffragettes violence of 1913 and 1914 seem a bit less serious. But there were other reasons too – especially the work women had done for the war effort.
Women worked as: bus conductors, drivers, postal workers, farm labourers and coal deliverers. All these vital jobs kept the country going. They also worked in the munitions factories, and the engineering workshops. This work was technical, and directly related to the war effort. Women joined women’s branches of the armed forces, and worked as nurses in military hospitals.
Other reasons for giving women the vote…
A shake-up of the voting system was already happening. There was a rule that a man could only vote after living at the same address for one year. This needed to be changed to allow soldiers who were away fighting to vote. If the voting system was going to be changed anyway, it was a chance to include women.
Peoples attitudes towards women had changed – and not just because of the war. A lot of people remember the suffragettes protests and felt it was unfair that women had been denied full political rights.
The suffragettes had called off their campaign at the beginning of the war. Nobody wanted them starting it up again.
Women 30+ got the vote in 1918. The same act got all men over 21 the right to vote.
Women finally got equal voting rights in 1928.
