Paragraph four - Impact of the war Flashcards
What did womens suffrage groups do at the start of the war?
At the start of WW1 the NUWSS and the WSPU suspended their political campaigning for the vote. Furthermore, women ‘doing their bit’ during the war meant that they gained respect and made up for the negative reputation the WSPU caused.
What did the WSPU’s pro-war propaganda campaign encourage?
The WSPU’s pro-war propaganda campaign encouraged men to joining the armed forces and women to demand the ‘right to serve’, they also called off their militancy campaign during the war.
What did PM Asquith claim in regards to women getting the vote after the war?
What does this show?
PM Asquith that the 1918 Representation of the People Act was a reward for their effort, claiming that women proved their work that they deserved the vote equally with men.
Which shows, their war effort succeeded where the suffragette campaign had failed. The war allowed women more freedom due to the fact that they had more control over their country and home life when the men were at war
Whats the general view of historians in regards to the war as a reason for some women getting the vote?
most historians don’t see war as an important reason as to why some women achieved the vote and even argue it as ‘too simplistic’ and view the fact that women only achieved the vote as a ‘reward’ for their hardship during the war as condescending.
What does Paula Bartley think?
Paula Bartley claims that it would be naive to believe that women received the vote solely for their war effort by highlighting that by restricting; to over 30 or married property owning women, the 1918 RPA denied the vote to young women who had actually carried out the war work.
This led to Bartley claiming that the real importance of the war was that it allowed a “convenient mask” by which the government and the WSPU could change tactics and compromise over reform without losing face.
What does Martin Pugh point out?
Martin Pugh points out that the French women carried out equally valuable war work, they did not win the vote for women in 1918, Pugh suggests that this is because French women did not have a pre-war campaign.
What is the obvious evaluation between the 1918 Representation of the People act and the concilliation bills of 1910?
The 1918 Representation of the people act is a mirror copy of the concilliation bills of 1910.
