suffrage - COMPLETE Flashcards
what’s ropa and when was it passed?
passed on february 6 1918, the representation of the people act allowed certain women to vote
which women were allowed to vote through ropa?
women over 30 who were married to property owners/owned property themselves
how many women were enfranchised by ropa?
8 million
which political parties were involved in the suffrage movement?
tories
liberals
labour
when was labour formed?
1900
why were women treated as second class citizens?
they were believed to be inferior to men both physically and mentally
what were some difficulties women faced in employment?
paid less than men
often did less skilled work
excluded from many professions eg law as it was thought a woman’s place was at home
what did people think would happen if women became involved in politics?
they’d lose their femininity
the home would suffer
why did people believe women should not vote?
they weren’t well educated enough
too emotional to handle the responsibility
didn’t fight for their country so we didn’t deserve the vote
what were the views of the tories?
they were against suffrage for women and were worried women would vote liberal/labour if allowed to vote at all
and the liberals?
many of them were for votes for women
however there was a fear that property owning women would vote tory like their husbands
and labour?
for, but wanted all working class men to get the vote first
when did the votes for women campaign begin to grow?
after 1850
why did this growth occur?
electoral reform
- more men were getting the vote but no women
emergence of a small class of better off, educated women to lead the movement
who was the uk’s first suffrage group and when were they formed?
NUWSS (suffragists) was former in 1897
who supported/join the suffragists?
some men, working class people and women’s suffrage societies from all over britain (NUWSS was a combining of all these societies)
were the suffragists a big organisation?
yes - bigger and regarded as more successful than the suffragettes
how did NUWSS membership grow from 1907-1913?
it increased from 6000 members to 50,000 members
what methods did the suffragists use?
meetings
pamphlets
newspaper articles
marches
what was the suffragists pilgrimage of 1913?
in 1913 the suffragists held a pilgrimage to hyde park to show the government they had support
how many people took part in the pilgrimage?
around 50,000 women
what evidence is there of the success of the suffragists?
gained the support of many MPs
large membership and propaganda meant they had a wide influence across britain - benefits of male membership
impressed people with their dignity and organisation
what evidence is there of the failure of the suffragists?
failed to gain the vote despite no less than 4 attempts to introduce women’s suffrage bills to parliament
peaceful methods easy to ignore - by 1905 the press were virtually ignoring them
lost essential political support from Liberals in 1910
what did historian martin pugh say of the suffragists?
that their quiet persuasion gained the support of many prominent MPs such as lloyd george, however most MPs only gave them lukewarm support
how did the suffragettes originate?
in 1903 emmeline pankhurst broke away from the NUWSS and formed the WSPU - the suffragettes
in what ways did the WSPU differ from the NUWSS?
no male members
only interested in one issue
used violent action
what was the motto of the suffragettes?
“deeds not words”
what methods did the WSPU use from 1905-1908?
they... disrupted political meetings heckled politicians held large parades chalked slogans on streets
what methods did the suffragettes use from 1909-1914?
they…
smashed windows (many of them were arrested for this)
used pepper bombs
set fire to pillar boxes
