Women And The Suffragettes

Question 0

Who got killed by a horse?

Answer 0

Emily Davison

Question 1

Why did some women think that women should not get the vote?

Answer 1

They believed that women should bring up the family and that politics was a man’s world.

Question 2

By 1900, were married women legally allowed to own property?

Answer 2

Yes - in 1882 laws were passed to allow women to keep their own incomes and property when they married.

Question 3

Before 1900, was it legal for men to imprison their wives in their own homes?

Answer 3

True - until 1891 a man could do this legally.

Question 4

True or false - the number of women office workers increased by 400% from 1861 to 1911.

Answer 4

True. During the late 1900s more middle- class and some working class women were taking jobs in offices and department stores.

Question 5

Could women vote in council and parish elections before 1928?

Answer 5

Yes, under the 1894 Local Government Act some women could vote in these local actions.

Question 6

What arguments were there in support of women getting the vote?

Answer 6

• women should be equal to men
• GB was behind other countries such as New Zealand and parts do the USA. Women in Germany got the vote in 1928.
• women were becoming more educated and had positions as teachers and doctors
• GB was meant to be democratic

Question 7

What arguments were there against women getting the vote?

Answer 7

• it was said that women would not understand politics
• even some women didn’t want women to get the vote
• there were other social issues for women, such as they way they could be treated by their husbands, getting the vote was not a priority.
• not all men had the vote
• some claimed that the violent tactics of some women’s groups showed that women were too emotional and could not be trusted. Cartoons joked that women would change their minds too much about who to vote for!
• women did not fight in wars to protect Britain like men did

Question 8

Who was the leader of the NUWSS?

Answer 8

Millicent Fawcett

Question 9

What does NUWSS?
A) National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies
B) National Unions of Women’s Socialist Societies
C) North Union Women’s Suffrage Societies

Answer 9

Option A - National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies

Question 10

What sort of tactics did the NUWSS have?

Answer 10

They used peaceful, law-abiding methods and believed that a slow, calm approach would eventually get women the vote.

Question 11

Which women’s political group would have been more likely to send letters to appeal to politicians? The NUWSS or the WSPU?

Answer 11

The NUWSS. The WSPU used violent methods.

Question 12

When was the NUWSS set up?

Answer 12

1897

Question 13

When was the WSPU set up?

Answer 13

1903

Question 14

Who set up the WSPU?

Answer 14

Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel

Question 15

What kind of tactics did the WSPU have?

Answer 15

They used violent methods such as chaining themselves to the railings of high- profile buildings such as Buckingham Palace, smashing windows, arson, assault and even bombings.

Question 16

Why did the WSPU get more violent in 1913?

Answer 16

A bill to consider votes for women in parliament was dropped. They were extremely disappointed as thought they had finally been getting somewhere so they became much more violent.

Question 17

What happened to Emily Davison?

Answer 17

In 1913 at the Derby horse race she stepped out in front of a horse and was killed. There is much debate about whether she meant to die or not. This event was used by the suffragettes to draw attention to their cause. Emily was portrayed as an angelic martyr who died for the cause.

Question 18

How to women respond to being sent to prison for their violent action?

Answer 18

Many went in hunger strike to draw more attention to their cause.

Question 19

What did the government do in response to women hunger-striking in prison?

Answer 19

They let them out of prison, waited for them to recover then re-arrested them.

Question 20

Had women achieved votes for women by WWI?

Answer 20

No, some women gained the vote in 1918. In fact, many women gave up campaigning for the vote during the war to support the government.

Question 21

Were the Suffragettes the NUWSS or the WSPU?

Answer 21

They were the WSPU, the violent campaigners. You can remember them as being forceful like a jet (gette) engine.

Question 22

Were the Suffragettes successful?

Answer 22

Historians debate this. They certainly drew attention but some say their violent methods actually proved that women could not be trusted with the vote.

Question 23

Were women unified in their campaign to get the vote?

Answer 23

No, the suffragists and suffragettes had different approaches and some historians think this had the effect of cancelling each other out. Perhaps if they had been more unified they might have had more of an impact.

Question 24

Do you think that the campaign groups helped women to get the vote?

Answer 24

Most historians think that it was WWI that really changed things for women and the vote. They contributed to the war effort and ‘proved themselves’. It wasn’t until 1928 that all women got the vote however.