The Repeal of the CDA Flashcards

1
Q

As time passed, opposition to the CDA….., stimulated partly by the clamour for their…….

A
  • grew
  • extension
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2
Q

Describe some of the new criticisms to the CDA as time progressed
-more people contracting VD

A
  • medical evidence that in some areas incidence of VD was rising again
  • A study produced by Doctor Charles Routh & Prof. Henry Lee,
  • which connected increased incidence to men feeling it was safer to visit prostitutes after compulsory check were introduced
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3
Q

Describe some of the new criticisms to the CDA as time progressed
-legal objections

A
  • More legal & principled objections as time progressed, the law contravened:
  • Habeas Corpus
  • & basic rights freedom from arbitary arrest; requirements for evidence; right to privacy; & presumption of innocense
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4
Q

Describe some of the new criticisms to the CDA as time progressed
-religion

A
  • some religious group expressed concerns about the inequality between men & women, fearing it legitimised immoral male behaviour
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5
Q

During the 1870s a series of ………. both or and against the Acts were submitted to Parliament

A

petitions

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6
Q

Describe the efforts in the 1870s to submit petitions opposing the CDAs

A
  • Initial Action came from the National Association in 1869 was to present a petition to the Home Secretary with the signatures of 50 medical professionals
  • Despite supporters of the acts outnumbering them with another petition, the balance shifted over the 1870s with over 10,000 petitions containing over 2 million signatures
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7
Q

Describe the efforts in the 1870s to sumbit petitions in favour of the CDAs

A
  • Supporters of the Acts responded to the NA’s 1869 initial petition with a petition signed by over 1000 doctors.
  • Over the 1870s, only 45 petitions with fewer than 4000 signatures were submitted in favour
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8
Q

……………. of the Acts have a far greater influence & better connections than their …………

A
  • suporters
  • opponents
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9
Q

Why did the supporters of the Acts have a far greater influence & better connections than their opponents

A
  • Key sources of influence such as the Lancet remained in favour and this swayed newspapers, such as the Times,
  • who did not take a balanced view for many years.
  • This helps explain why the debate continued for more than 15 years.
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10
Q

What was set up by opponents of the acts in 1869

A

The National Association for Repeal of Contagious Diseases

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11
Q

Who were members of the National Association for Repeal of Contagious Diseases

A
  • Members included businessmen, lawyers, clergy, academics and several MPs
  • These included Liberals William Fowler and James Stansfeld
  • John Stuart Mill, who also supported female suffrage, was also a vocal supporter
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12
Q

Which demographic was the National Association directed on

A

It was a middle-class movement - initially women were not even allowed to join

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13
Q

Describe how the focus on the National Association developed

A
  • Initially the focus was against the extension of the Acts in the North of England,
  • but later they extended to campaign for the laws to be repealed
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14
Q

When was the formation of the Ladies’ National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act

A
  • Formed a few weeks after the ‘National Association’
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15
Q

Who instigated the formation of the Ladies’ National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act

A

Elizabeth Wolstenholme

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16
Q

What was released by the Ladies’ National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act on 31st December 1869

A
  • Released their Women’s Manifesto
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17
Q

How did the Ladies’ National Association achieve wide readership of their Women’s manifesto

A
  • It was published by the Daily News, thereby reaching a large number of readers,
  • as its circulation of the Daily News was over 150,000
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18
Q

Why was it so risky for the leaders of the LNA, to promote the interests of prostitutes

A
  • It was vital its leadership maintained impeccable morality
  • Because for a group of Victorian women to speak ouy publicly in society against government policy was radical,
  • but for the subject of protest to be prostitutiion would open female protestors up to charges of impropriety
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19
Q

Explain why Elizabeth Wolstenholme decided not to lead the LNA?

A

Her radical reputation (e.g a vocal opponent of marriage) made her unsuitable to play a leading role

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20
Q

What were the qualities of the 33 leaders of the LNA which ensured they avoided any scandalous behaviour, to avoid attempts to discredit them

A
  • 12 were single
  • 6 widowed
  • Over 20 were childless
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21
Q

Summarise the qualities that made Butler a suitable leader in the campaign to repeal the CDAs

A
  • Mother
  • Devout Christian
  • Married
  • Charismatic
  • Strong-willed
  • Fashionable & beautiful
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22
Q

Explain the qualities that made Butler a suitable leader in the campaign

Mother

A
  • her daughter tragically died when falling down the stairs, which ensured a mternal approach with her leadership
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23
Q

Explain the qualities that made Butler a suitable leader in the campaign

Devout Christian

A
  • Devout Christian, with strong Evangelical convictions, which made her credible & proper in society
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24
Q

Explain the qualities that made Butler a suitable leader in the campaign

Married

A

Married a church minister, adding to her credibility &
could avoid allegations of prostitution herself

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25
Q

Explain the qualities that made Butler a suitable leader in the campaign

Charismatic, Strong-willed, Fashionable & beautiful

A
  • made her a very likeable candidate, who had undoubtable morality
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26
Q

Explain the factors that motivated Josephine Butler to campaign for women’s rights
-Family

A
  • She was born into a family that supported social reform
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27
Q

Explain the factors that motivated Josephine Butler to campaign for women’s rights
-Religion

A
  • She was devoutly religious & felt it was her vocation to protect women in a worse state than herself, & bringing the salvation
28
Q

Give evidence suggesting how Butler’s leadership was flawed
-1871

A
  • At the 1871 Royal Comission, Butler’s condemnation of the effects of the Acts in Portsmouth & Devonport
  • appeared underwhelming, when she confessed to having
  • no first-hand knowldeg of prostitution in these respected areas, with her testimony based on hearsay & allegations of police misconduct
29
Q

Give evidence suggesting how Butler’s leadership was flawed
-1881

A
  • At a select committee inquiry, she revealed that she had not been to protected district since Canterbury in 1873
30
Q

James Stansfeld reshaped the movement into…

A
  • a more effective political pressure group
31
Q

How did James Stansfeld reshape the movement into a more effective political pressure group

A
  • to cultivate popular support he:
  • adopted new strategies
  • looked to devlop scientific arguments against the Acts based on facts
32
Q

Ultimately, James Stansfled trasnfomed the movement from………..to……..

A

a moral venture to a pragmatic one

33
Q

What did James Stansfeld encourage the formation of

A
  • The National Medical Association in 1875
34
Q

What did the The National Medical Association do

A
  • enlisted medical professionals to campaign against the acts
35
Q

How did the contribution of James Stansfeld’s political pressure pay off in 1879

A
  • the Conservative government agreed to establish a committee of inquiry into the acts
  • this continued to gather information until 1882
  • When the liberals returned to power in 1880, Stansfled was appointed to this enquiry
36
Q

Explain the positive role of Henry Wilson within the campaign to repeal the CDAs

A
  • he was a very effective organiser
  • & cultivated the support for the repal of the CDAs in the liberal party
37
Q

What did Henry Wilson do when he became an MP & joined the Liberal Party in 1875

A
  • He helped to create a committee of Liberal MPs to push for the repeal of the Acts in parliament
38
Q

Describe James Stansfeld’s role in politics from 1874

A

Stansfeld worked in Gladstone’s cabinet until the Liberal election defeat in 1874, when he then took a dominant role in leading the National Movement

39
Q

Describe James Stansfled’s role in politics before 1874

A
  • Before 1874, Stansfeld was constrained from campaigning due to his responsibilities in Galdstone’s cabinet
  • Prior to joining the liberal party Stansfeld had been a leading radical MP, expressing sympathies with Chartism and associating with leading European radicals such as Mazzini and Garibaldi.
40
Q

Explain the negative role of James Stansfeld & Henry Wilson within the campaign to repeal the CDAs

A
  • Their dominance created tension with many middle class women within the LDA
  • Butler & many others felt threatened by their presence in the movement,
  • & she resented his belief that the CDAs were not especially a problem for women, but for all society
41
Q

Name 3 forms of protest & polictal influence the LNA used

A
  • Interferring in elections
  • Drawing attention to women mistaken for prostitutes
  • Co-operation with prostitutes
42
Q

Describe how the LNA interfered in elections

A
  • manipulated public sympathy, & organised demonstrations,
  • against the election or re-election of specific MP candidates
43
Q

Give an example of how the LNA interfered in re-election campaigns

A
  • In 1872, the MP Childers sought re-election
  • He was the First Lord of the Admiralty, and because the navy avidly supported the CDAs,
  • the LNA organised demonstrations against his re-election,
  • these were met with local hostility and violence, as he was a popular figure.
  • Childers was returned to parliament, but with a greatly reduced majority
44
Q

Give an example of how the LNA interfered in election campaigns

A
  • 1870 candidacy of Storks for Newark.
  • Storks had been the governor of Malta & had vigourously enforced the CDAs there
  • Repeal campaigners placed so much pressure that he withdrew his candidacy on the day of the election
45
Q

Describe the limitations of the LNA’s protests against Stork’s election campaign

A
  • A new Liberal candidate was elected who opposed the Acts.
  • This was a huge coup for the LNA and showed the extent of its support.
46
Q

Give an example of how the LNA interfered in election campaigns

A
  • Storks stood again in 1870 for Colchester.
  • When protesters entered their own pro-repeal candidate,
  • it split the Liberal vote and handed the Conservatives victory.
47
Q

How could it be argued the strategy of interferring in elections was effective

A
  • This practice of manipulating public sympathy and influencing the electing of MPs was a powerful way for the LNA to campaign,
  • as shown in the case of Childer’s election campaign
48
Q

Explain the fragility of the LNA’s strategy of interferring in campaigns

A
  • Protesters were almost entirely dependent on Liberal candidates and were unable to exert influence over Conservative MPs.
  • This position was made clear when Benjamin Disraeli’s Conservative Party won the 1874 general election.
  • The LNA lost the Liberal MPs who were sympathetic to its cause.
49
Q

While popular protest through the influencing of Liberal MPs could be ……………, it risked….

A
  • sensational
  • weakening the Liberal Party and allowing the Conservatives to increase their power
50
Q

Describe how the LNA drew attention to women mistaken for prostitutes

A
  • The most dramatic & notable case,
  • Mrs Percy, committed suicide ater her career was runined after bring incorrectly identfied as a prostitute
  • Butler appreciated the publicty value of such a story,
  • and this case fuelled public fear that the CDAs risked the dignity of innocent women
51
Q

How effective was the LNA’s tactic of drawing attention to women mistaken for prostitutes

A
  • other claims of mistaken identity held little weight,
  • however it was a significant driver of public fear against the CDAs
52
Q

What was one noticable failure of the LNA

A

its innability to mobilise working-class women against the Acts

53
Q

By 1882, it was apparent that the campaign had failed to…

A

sway public opinion in the subjected ports and towns

54
Q

Give an example of effective co-operation with prostitutes in the 1870s by the LNA

A
  • 1870s - Plymouth, campaigners succeeded in persuading prostitutes to resist the legal requirements of the Acts
  • through public meetings and pamphleteering
  • which agitated prostitutes to such an extent that they refused to co-operate with the police and doctors.
55
Q

What was it called when campaigners worked with prostitutes in resisting medical examinations

A

‘Siege of Devonport’

56
Q

How did the LNA assist women who refused examination in courts

A
  • campaigners provided legal and financial support throughout trials
  • Several women were able to argue that they were no longer prostitutes and so should avoid examination.
57
Q

In what ways was the ‘Seige of Devonport’ limited in its effectiveness

A
  • By 1871, this expensive campaign had run out of steam,
  • and prostitutes in the area were compliant with the laws by 1872.
58
Q

The campaign against the CDAs had …….. impact

A

immediate

59
Q

In what ways did the LNAs popular pressure show that the government took their campaign seriously from the start

A
  • The 1871 Royal Commission into the effects of the legislation, was an early sign that parliament took seriously the demands of protesters.
  • Occurring just over a year after the LNAs formation, the report emanating from this inquiry made clear that it had been a response to popular pressure.
60
Q

Did the LNA’s achieve their main goals

A

The LNA’s campaign was ultimately successful.
In 1883, the Contagious Diseases Acts were suspended, and in 1886, they were repealed.

61
Q

Summarise the effectiveness of the LNA’s strategies in acheiving success

A
  • Influencing election results and raising fears over wrongful identification were useful tactics,
  • very difficult for politicians to deal with,
  • but what put the most influence on parliament,
  • was its success in convincing large elements of society that the CDAs were immoral.
62
Q

Is there a direct correlation between the repeal of the CDAs & the LNA

A
  • The direct relationship between the LNA and the repeal of the Acts is hard to specify
  • While the campaign encouraged a political climate in which the CDAs appeared as shocking evidence of society’s sexual double standard,
  • Butler could not claim complete credit for their repeal
63
Q

What was Gladstone’s view on a repeal of the CDAs from 1883 to 1886

A
  • While Gladstone supported a repeal, from 1883 to 1886 the Acts remained law,
  • with the Liberal Party distracted by the question of Irish Home Rule,
  • repealing the Acts was not a priority.
64
Q

What is the argument of a politician & campaigner catalysing the repeal of the CDAs

A
  • The laws were only eventually repealed when James Stansfeld demanded Gladstone repeal the Acts in exchange for support for irish Home Rule
  • Facing a divided government over the Irish question, Gladstone agreed to repeal the Acts
65
Q

What was the medical professions increasing view of the CDAs repeal

A
  • The medical profession was less enthusiastic about the continuation of the Acts,
  • as they did not seem so suffice in preventing the contaction of VD
66
Q

How did the medical profession contribute to the repeal of the CDAs

understanding of disease

A
  • New understandings of the long-term consequences of gonorrhoea and syphilis, such as infertity persuaded many that regulation was no longer a viable option
67
Q

How did the medical profession contribute to the repeal of the CDAs

undermining of science

A
  • the belief that science could cure venereal disease was undermined, with many losing confidence in treatment being possible
  • Instead of regulation, the medical profession was moving towards prevention, such as chastity and precaution.