Women’s Suffrage

Question 1

When were women able to be elected to school boards ?

Answer 1

From 1870

Question 2

From when could women vote in county council elections + what was the restriction of this?

Answer 2

From 1889, but they could not stand for office

Question 3

When was the NUWSS formed?

Answer 3

1897

Question 4

When was the WSPU formed?

Answer 4

1903

Question 5

When was the WFL formed?

Answer 5

1907

Question 6

When was the conciliation bill introduced?

Answer 6

1910

Question 7

When was the Conciliation Bill defeated?

Answer 7

1911

Question 8

What does the NUWSS stand for?

Answer 8

National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies

Question 9

Who was president of the NUWSS?

Answer 9

Millicent Fawcett

Question 10

What did the NUWSS do?

Answer 10

It was very constitutional in its approach, preferring to hold public meetings and lobby parliament with petitions

Question 11

Who were the NUWSS largely made up of?

Answer 11

Leaders were mostly middle-class women who were related to Liberal politicians, but claimed to be ‘non-party’

Question 12

What does WSPU stand for?

Answer 12

The Women’s Social and Political Union

Question 13

Who led the WSPU?

Answer 13

Emmeline Pankhurst and Christabel Pankhurst

Question 14

What did the WSPU do?

Answer 14

They took a more militant view from the beginning of their campaign and characterised themselves with ‘direct action’.

Question 15

Why did the WSPU take a more militant approach?

Answer 15

They were frustrated with the lack of progress made following the peaceful approach, and adopted the motto ‘deeds not words’.

Question 16

Who did the WSPU form an alliance with?

Answer 16

The ILP (Independent Labour Party), including Kier Hardie

Question 17

What does NSWS stand for?

Answer 17

The National Society for Women’s Suffrage

Question 18

What was significant about the NSWS?

Answer 18

It was the first national group in the UK to campaign for women’s right to vote, becoming one of the most influential.

Question 19

When was the NSWS formed and by who?

Answer 19

It was formed in 1868 by Lydia Becker

Question 20

What happened to the NSWS in 1888?

Answer 20

The group split up as some members wanted to affiliate with the liberal party, but some wanted to be independent of party politics. The NUWSS was the new body that was formed of old NSWS members along with other groups.

Question 21

Was women’s suffrage a new concept spoken about in politics?

Answer 21

In the context of party politics women’s suffrage was one of the most outstanding paradoxes of the late Victorian era; discussions surrounding the topic had been happening since the 18th century.

Question 22

What was Henry Campbell-Bannerman’s attitude towards women’s suffrage?

Answer 22

He recognised arguments against female suffrage had lost their force due to the progressive female involvement in local government. He did not promise reform, but a recognition of the ‘conclusive and irrefutable case’ in favour of reform. Female suffrage was simply not a priority in the Liberal’s crowded agenda.

Question 23

Why was Asquith’s succession to leadership problematic to women’s suffrage?

Answer 23

Asquith’s succession was problematic to the cause as he had held a consistent anti-suffrage stance as he did not want to be forced into action by giving into militancy, particularly from the WSPU.

Question 24

What was the overall liberal belief about female suffrage?

Answer 24

Many Liberals believed they should fight against inequalities created by man, and believed that nature had created this difference between men and women that meant women shouldn’t have been involved in politics. Therefore they decided to focus on these ‘man-made’ inequalities such as poverty.

Question 25

What was the concept of ‘Disabilities of Sex’?

Answer 25

The idea nature had decided women’s place in politics and they were physically incapable.

Question 26

When was the Conciliation Bill introduced?

Answer 26

1910

Question 27

If the conciliation bill was passed, what % of women would get the vote?

Answer 27

8%

Question 28

How did the WSPU feel about the bill?

Answer 28

They welcomed the bill and had hopes that it was the long-awaited breakthrough they had hoped for.

Question 29

How did Asquith feel about the conciliation bill?

Answer 29

He was against it and had been deeply angered by the militancy of recent campaigns. To him, supporting the enfranchisement of women was giving into militancy, and he refused to be forced into action.

Question 30

How did leading liberals feel about the conciliation bill?

Answer 30

They were against the bill as they saw it as enfranchising the most conservative-minded sections of women, which in the long run would have been damaging to the Liberal’s electoral chances.

Question 31

What was the attitude to non-militancy before 1914?

Answer 31

Initially, non-militancy worked as a collective to achieve the national growth of suffragist organisations as well as public interest through local government and school board elections.

Question 32

When did the WSPU become increasingly militant and why?

Answer 32

In 1905, the WSPU became aggressively militant following the heckling and harassment of Liberal speakers such as Sir Edward Grey in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester in the October. This resulted in Christabel Pankhurst and factory worker Annie Kenney being arrested.

Question 33

What did events like the heckling of Sir Edward Grey in 1905 demonstrate?

Answer 33

Events like this demonstrated the urgency of the cause, as exhibitions of popular support turned into threats of public order.

Question 34

What / when was the suffragette march named ‘Women’s Sunday’?

Answer 34

In 1908, 21st June the march named ‘Women’s Sunday’ was held in Hyde Park. Up to 500,000 women and men from all over the country attended the event, with 700 banners, including ones that read “not chivalry but justice”

Question 35

Between 1910-14, how many suffragettes were imprisoned?

Answer 35

Almost 1,000

Question 36

Why did suffragettes carry out ‘hunger strikes’?

Answer 36

Despite the 1000 arrests of suffragettes, authorities refused to consider them as political prisoners. The imprisoned women were angry that they were being treated like criminals for demanding their rights, and carried out hunger-strikes in response to this.

Question 37

How did prisons respond to the suffragettes’ hunger strikes?

Answer 37

They began to force-feed suffragettes. Force-feeding was an extremely unpleasant and humiliating experience for suffragettes.

Question 38

How did the force-feeding of suffragettes aid their campaign?

Answer 38

Due to the harsh and unpleasant nature of the force-feeding, it provided their movement with powerful propaganda against the government.

Question 39

Which MP consistently brought up the issue of force-feeding in Parliament when campaigning for female suffrage?

Answer 39

Kier Hardie

Question 40

What was one of the first prison to use force-feeding?

Answer 40

Winston Green prison in Birmingham

Question 41

What was the Conciliation bill?

Answer 41

Introduced in 1910, the bill was written to extend voting rights to about a million women, mostly wealthy property-owners, however it failed to become law.

Question 42

If the Conciliation Bill was introduced, what % of women would get the vote?

Answer 42

8%

Question 43

What was the WSPU’s view on the bill?

Answer 43

They welcomed the bill and had high hopes it was the long-awaited breakthrough they had hoped for.

Question 44

What was Asquith’s view on the Conciliation bill?

Answer 44

He did not support female suffrage anyway, and was angered by the increasing military of recent campaigns. To him, supporting the enfranchisement of women was giving into militancy, and he refused to be forced into action.

Question 45

What were leading Liberals, such as Lloyd George’s view on the Conciliation Bill?

Answer 45

They were against the bill as they saw it as enfranchising the most conservative-minded sections of women. In the long run this would have been damaging to the Liberal’s electoral chances.

Question 46

Was militancy popular before 1914?

Answer 46

Initially, non-militancy worked as a collective and achieved the national growth of suffragist organisations as well as public interest.

Question 47

What happened in 1913?

Answer 47

The Prisoners Temporary Discharge for Ill- Health Act was passed in parliament. It is often referred to as the Cat and Mouse Act.

Question 48

Why was the Prisoners Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health Act nicknamed the ‘Cat and Mouse’ act?

Answer 48

Due to a cats habit of playing with its prey, allowing it to temporarily escape. Number of times before killing it.

Question 49

What did the Cat and Mouse Act say?

Answer 49

According to the act, any hunger-striking woman prisoner was allowed early release when they were on the brink of death, and re-arrested when recovered.

Question 50

How did the Cat and Mouse Act help suffragettes?

Answer 50

The repeated imprisonment of women had held in distaste by the general public, who were outraged with the Liberal government, who had rushed the act through parliament.

Question 51

Who was Emily Wilding Davidson?

Answer 51

Emily Wilding Davidson was an English suffragette was famous for running out infront of King George V’s horse in what seemed to be an attempt to attach a suffragette ‘votes for women’ scarf for the horse. She died 14 days later after being fatally injured