suffragettes Flashcards
Define Suffragettes or the Suffragette movement?
The suffrage movement in 1880’s - 1920’s gave Women from America, England, Australia and New Zealand the right to vote in political elections.
What did these women set out to achieve and why?
They set out to achieve equal rights. They wanted to have the same choices, opportunities and rights that men had.
Name some of the Suffragettes (maybe 3) and know some of their achievements.
Caroline Dexter - Very radical (wore wide legged trousers), decided to immigrate to Australia, created the first ever journal for women; 1885 called the Southern Cross, Left her husband and married a rich man half her age.
Mary Lee - Became a letter writer and public speaker, her attacks against men were published in the Adelaide newspapers,
Vida Goldstein - Signed up for Henrietta’s door knocking, they collected over 30,000 signatures for the petition, after the petition was tabled they introduced bill for the right for women to vote
What were some of the arguments AGAINST giving women the right to vote?
Thought they were incapable for understanding politics
They thought their brains were smaller than theirs
Women were represented by their husbands
Because they were child bearers the men thought voting would stop them from having babies
What were some of the arguments FOR giving women the right to vote?
Women were capable of understanding politics
Other countries were giving women the right to vote e.g New Zealand
It would be democratic for women to vote
Women who were taxpayers should have the right to vote in parliament
Were they eventually successful? What rights did they acquire?
They got the right to vote
The right to own a property
To have custody over their kids
To stand for political offers - were allowed to enter parliament/ run for parliament
What can you say about how far women have travelled in terms of equal rights? Have the efforts of the suffragette movement paid off in terms of giving women equality today?
Justify your answer.
The efforts of the suffrage movement have definitely paid off, however women nowadays still get paid less in certain jobs and I still think we aren’t as equal because of the small number of women in politics compared to men. We can see the big improvement but there is still a lot more to be improved on.
