The Women's Social and Political Union 1903 - 1914 Flashcards
(37 cards)
Why was the late 19th century a disappointing time for women’s activists?
- the 1884 Reform Act had given the vote to women to many working-class men, and although 40% of men remained unenfranchised, it was feared women had missed their chance to secure the vote.
- an amendment to the Reform Act in 1884 to enfranchise 100,000 propertied women had been wrecked by Prime Minister William Gladstone, who had persuaded 104 Liberal MPs to reject the measure. This was a severe blow to women’s hopes.
- fears abounded that the age of reform was over and the opportunity gone.
- between 1886 and 1892, women’s suffrage was not discussed once within the House of Commons.
- NUWSS spearheaded the campaign for women’s suffrage, but their tame tactics and limited ideas produced little success. Avoided outdoor meetings, public appeals and by-election interfering - the very tactics that had secured anti-Contagious Diseases Acts protesters influence in parliament.
What reasons were there for the growing consensus that that female suffrage would eventually be achieved?
- Britain in the early 1900s witnessed increasingly radical and often violent forms of political protest, inspiring many female activists e.g rise of the ILP provided a socialist voice to the nation’s industrial workers.
- the Irish Home Rule movement completely divided parliament, with the Liberal Party seeing many of its members cooperate with the conservatives in opposing Irish self-governance.
Seeing that increased militancy within both the labour movement and Irish home rule campaign was putting pressure on parliament to introduce fundamental reforms, many women grew impatient and were inspired by this militancy.
Even before the WSPU split from Labour, why did many in Labour fear women having the vote?
Feared they would vote Conservative or Liberal, while their admission to the workplace would drive wages down.
Relations between the WSPU and Labour were always…
strained, with w/c men disliking middle and upper class women interfering in their movement.
To many, how did the Pankhursts appear?
Overly dramatic and privileged. However, one notable exception was Labour leader Keir Hardie, who was a personal friend of the Pankhursts before 1906.
By 1907, what had the Labour Party conference done?
Rejected women’s suffrage, preferring instead to link it with the campaign for extended male suffrage.
When was the WSPU founded?
1903
Where was the WSPU founded?
Manchester
Who were the founding members of the WSPU?
Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel.
How was the leadership of the WSPU different to that pf the NUWSS?
Whereas the NUWSS was an alliance of groups, the WSPU was very focused around the leadership of the Pankhursts and two of her daughters, Sylvia and Christabel. The leadership style was very autocratic and the Pankhursts demanded complete obedience. They had no constitution, no annual meetings and no accounts, unlike most political groups.
From 1905, where were the WSPU now based?
In London to have more political involvement.
How did the WSPU popularise the cause of female suffrage?
Emmeline and Christabel were always wage to stress that their movement was not socially elite. They appealed to all women as sisters in their campaign for suffrage. This was a persuasive rallying cry.
Yet questions always remained as to whether it was preferable to work for universal suffrage, which would be hard to achieve, or aim for limited property-based suffrage, which, though hardly aiding working-class women, would establish the principle of votes for women.
Which union was formed in 1897 to campaign for women’s suffrage and why did they not have much success?
Millicent Fawcett’s National Union of Women’s Suffrage (NUWSS). Their tame tactics and limited ideas produced little success. Avoided outdoor meetings, public appeals and by-election interfering - the very tactics that had secured anti-Contagious Diseases Acts protesters influence in parliament.
Give factors which helped the cause of female suffrage in the early 1900s.
- Increasingly radical and violent forms of protest
- rise of the ILP secured electoral significance in the 1906 election, providing a socialist voice to the nation’s industrial workers
- IHR movement dividing parliament.
Why did some women (e.g WSPU) turn to militancy?
- saw the suffragist’s campaign as ineffective and slow
- wanted to being greater publicity to the movement
- inspired by Parnell and IHR
- Liberal government repression
The WSPU sought suffrage for which groups of women?
They did not seek votes for all women but votes on an equal status to men. In effect, since only 30% of males could vote, this meant that 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲.
What did one critic say about the the WSPU and their campaign for female suffrage.
That they did not want votes for women, but votes for ladies.
Why did the Pankhursts put pressure on the ILP and how did their campaign divide support within the Labour Party?
- Pankhursts were concerned that the Independent Labour Party was not working with enough focus on female suffrage. They felt that the male-dominated ILP was not sufficiently prioritising the campaign.
- Their focus on suffrage, which was based upon social status rather than simply universal female suffrage, divided support within the Labour Party. Keir Hardie did support WSPU’s policies but many ILP members wanted to see more equal suffrage.
Why was campaigning of the WSPU mainly by women?
Christabel saw the campaign for the vote as a part of a wider issue of freeing women from an enslaved social role where they had insufficient rights.
Therefore, the campaigning of the WSPU was generally done by women, as opposed to other groups like the NUWSS, which were represented by men as well as women. Pankhurst once said “𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻, 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀.”
So what were the WSPU’s aims?
- to achieve female suffrage
- to pressure the ILP
- the free women from “slavery”
By 1906, what was the WSPU’s leadership organised into?
An unelected central committee, consisting of Sylvia Pankhurst as secretary, Annie Kenney as paid organiser, and Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence as treasurer. Overall leadership remained with Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst.
What was the unelected central committee assisted by?
A sub committee made up mainly of friends and family of the Pankhursts.
Where was central leadership based?
Lincoln’s Inn Field, London
What did the central committee do?
Controlled all WSPU publications, finances and paid appointments.
