women and the vote Flashcards
Votes for Women – Context
During the 19th century many laws were passed which made
Britain more democratic by enfranchising men, but women
were never given the right to vote in elections
• Many people believed women were physically, mentally,
emotionally and morally inferior to men. It was felt that
women could not be trusted to vote rationally.
• A woman’s place was believed to be at home in the role of
wife and mother. Men and women were seen as operating in
separate ‘spheres’ or worlds; men in politics and women in
motherhood.
• Women wanted the vote as it gave them a voice nationally
and they needed it to force greater change for women in
Britain
Changing attitudes towards
women- knowledge
Towards the late 19th century attitudes towards women
were changing. This can be seen in improvements in
terms of the law & their opportunities.
• In 1882 & 1893, Women’s Property Acts gave women
full legal control of all property they owned at marriage
or that they had inherited or earned whilst married.
• From 1894, women could vote in local elections if they
paid taxes and could stand as a candidate for elections.
• Educational opportunities were slowly opening up to
women: University, medical school, etc.
• Professions had opened up to women: Law, Medical
profession, teaching
changing attitudes towards women - analysis
• This was important because it shows that the
status of women in society was improving as
they gained more rights, became more
educated and participated in local politics.
changing attitudes towards women - analysis+
However, even though women were making some
progress they were still expected to leave their jobs
when they were married (the marriage bar), women
were not awarded degrees by universities and the
numbers of women serving on local councils was very
small – 24 out of 11,140 in 1912.
the suffragists - knowledge
The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies
(NUWSS) was founded in 1897 under the leadership of
Millicent Fawcett and campaigned for women’s
suffrage.
• They believed in moderate, peaceful tactics or
‘peaceful persuasion’ to win the vote for middle class
women and were nicknamed ‘The Suffragists’.
• They used a campaign of meetings, pamphlets,
petitions and parliamentary bills which were
introduced by sympathetic backbench MPs.
• Their membership was around 53,000 by 1914 and
they reached agreements of mutual support with some
male Trade Unions and the new Labour Party
the suffragists - analysis
The suffragists helped gain women the vote
because they impressed many British people,
including thousands of men, and showed that
they were intelligent and trustworthy women
capable of organising a successful nationwide
campaign.
the suffragists - analysis+
However, many historians have claimed that the
suffragist campaign was tedious and slow moving
and was easily ignored by politicians. Therefore,
their importance in the cause of votes for women
was limited as they were never able to achieve
the publicity of the Suffragettes.
the suffragettes - knowledge
The Suffragettes were formed by Emmeline Pankhurst
in 1903 as the Women’s Social and Political Union
(WSPU).
• They had the motto ‘deeds not words’ and wanted to
use more militant tactics to breathe new life into the
campaign. For example, disrupting meetings, heckling
MPs, poured acid in post boxes, smashing windows and
attacking public buildings.
• Many were arrested and imprisoned – began hunger
strikes. Led to force feeding, then ‘Cat and Mouse’ Act.
• In June 1913, Suffragette Emily Davison died after
running out in front of the King’s Horse at the Epsom
Derby
the suffragettes - analysis
The Suffragettes helped women achieve the vote
because they regularly made national headlines,
were talked about in parliament and were almost
unavoidable through their violent methods
the suffragettes- analysis+
However, many historians have claimed that the
Suffragettes actually held back progress for
women because they reinforced the idea that
women were irresponsible and immature.
war work - knowledge
Women were needed to take up the essential jobs left
by men who had gone to war.
• They worked as conductors on trams and trains, as
typists and secretaries and in government
departments.
• Over 700,000 women worked in munitions where
explosions were commonplace and TNT poisoning
caused women to be nicknamed ‘canaries’ (around 400
women died from TNT poisoning during WWI)
war work - analysis
This was important because women proved
themselves to be the equal of men in all areas of
employment. In addition women’s contribution
was crucial to the war effort and final victory.
• Historians have put forward the ‘reward theory’ -
that women were given the vote as a reward for
their hard work in the war and the fact that
women were awarded the vote in 1918 supports
this.
war work - analysis+
However, it could be argued that war work did
not help women achieve the vote because the
vote was only awarded to property owning
women over 30, not the young working-class
women who had carried out most of the
dangerous war work. This undermines the
‘reward theory’
the example of other countries- knowledge
By 1913 many states in the USA, in Scandinavia,
Finland [1906] and countries in the British Empire,
such as New Zealand [1893] had given the vote to
women.
• This had not caused the disasters that had been
predicted. In fact, most countries believed giving
women the vote had helped them
the example of other countries- analysis
It could be argued that this positive step in other
countries encouraged Britain to give women the vote
especially as Britain took pride in being highly
democratic.
