The issue of female emancipation 1886-1914 Flashcards
Suffragist movement
Dated back to the 1890s and pushed for peaceful reform
Suffragette movement
Formed in 1903 and took a militant approach
Who controlled the suffragettes
The Pankhursts
Membership of the suffragists
100,000
Gladstone’s stance on female franchise
He did not support it
He openly criticised the 1884 reform bill which was defeated
What did the liberals do to improve women’s suffrage
Gave single women the vote in local government elections
Allowed women to join school boards
Primrose league
A conservative organisation that supported women’s rights
What did the liberal suffragists split over
Home Rule in the 1880s and split whether to stick to a non party approach
What did the restructuring of the NSWS in 1888 do
It allowed groups affiliated with political parties to join
What groups did the NWSW split into
Parliament Street Society
Great College Street Society
Women’s franchise league
Why was the WSPU set up
Emmeline Pankhurst set it up because she was dissatisfied with the earlier campaigns
What tactics did the suffragettes use
Breaking windows, including Lloyd George’s country house
Hunger strikes
Death of Emily Davison by the King’s horse
Political action by suffragettes
Confronting parliament and ministers
Campaigning in by-elections
From May 1906 to June 1908
Protests used in phase 2 by the suffragettes
Windows breaking
Deliberate arrests
Hunger strikes
All throughout June 1908 to January 1910
Violent action taken in phase 3
Large scale window breaking Mass hunger strikes Arson attacks Attacks on property Throughout Nov 1911 - Aug 1914
Who campaigned against women’s suffrage
Anti-suffrage league
Included men and women
How many members did the Anti Suffrage League have
By April 1912 it had over 10,000 members and 235 branches
Who did support female suffrage
Only the Labour Party
What did the ASL argue
Women didn’t want the vote
Women were too emotional and less rational
They should remain in the domestic sphere and men in public sphere
Which newspaper supported the ASL
The Times
Cat and Mouse Act 1913
Allowed the early release of prisoners who were too weakened by hunger striking that they risked death, and they were then recalled back when their health improved
WSPU action in Ireland
July 1914, Dorothy Evans and Lillian Metge bombed Lisburn cathedral
Ulster Union Council
An organisation which backed down on their promise to support women’s suffrage which then provoked WSPU attacks on Unionist owned buildings
Did militancy help the cause for women’s suffrage
It tarnished their reputation
Historians such as Martin Pugh says, “militancy clearly damaged the cause”
