Womens Suffrage Flashcards
Name 3 events which show the developments in girls education in the late 19th C
1870 - foresters education act providing young children including girls with an education
1870s - Cambridge and London universities admitted girls
1900 - compulsory schooling for boys and girls up to the age of 12
What changing attitudes to family life contributed to the support of women’s suffrage in the late 19th C?
Women gained more independent due to increase of birth control Middle and working class women choose to limit the size of their families
What was the changes in working life for women towards the end of the 19th C?
Decline in traditional “women’s work”
5 million women earn a wage
Increase in number of women entering professions e.g doctors and nurses
Who led the suffragettes?
Emmeline Pankhurst
Who led the suffragists?
Millicent Fawcett
What was the suffragists known as?
National union of women’s suffrage societies (NUWSS)
What was the suffragettes known as?
Women’s social and political union (WSPU)
When and why was the suffragettes formed?
1903
Because of the lack of success by the suffragists - thought their cause had to be made more public by being more radical and militant
What was direct action and when was it?
1908
Suffragettes started their campaign and disrupted political meetings, harassed ministers and chained themselves to railings
What is the argument that the suffragettes did help get women the vote?
A women getting arrested for her cause showed how important it was to her
Processions and petitions were easily ignored, direct action wasn’t
Raised the profile of their cause
Decades of suffragist campaigning achieved nothing but empty promises - in years up to 1900 Parliament received the women’s suffrage bill 15 times and 15 times it failed
What did the suffragettes want to do?
Wanted to show the government women’s suffrage was a serious issue that couldn’t be ignored
Describe the conciliation bill
Acceptable to all parties and gives women the vote
Drafted in June 1910
Abandoned on November 1910 when Asquith calls a general election
Reintroduced in May 1911 but dropped in March 1912 by Asquith (introduced men’s suffrage instead) despite it having a majority vote of 167
What were the reactions to the suffragettes direct action?
Some sympathetic
Some worried
Some scornful
Government became more serious only after militancy began
Put off some MPs who would’ve otherwise supported
MPs couldn’t give into violence
Why was the Cat and Mouse act introduced?
Suffragettes protested in prison by going on hunger strike, the government force fed them which was brutal and degrading and won a lot of public sympathy so the government passed the cat and mouse act
What was the Cat and Mouse act?
Allowed hunger strikers to leave prison, recover, then return to finish their sentence
When was the Cat and Mouse act introduced?
1913
Which party was the only party committed to women’s suffrage?
Labour
What happened to Emily Davison?
Publicity stunt went wrong
Tried to attach the suffragette banner to the Kings horse in the Derby but she was hit and killed
What did Emily Davison become?
A martyr
Her funeral was attended by thousands of suffragettes and was a celebration of her ultimate sacrifice
Major publicity
Describe Emily Davison
Experienced campaigner
Been in prison 9 times as part of the cause
Been on hunger strike
Set fire to post boxes and even a post office for her cause
What happened to the campaign when war broke out?
The campaign for the vote was suspended and all effort thrown into the war effort
What did the suffragists do during the war?
Worked hard to persuade the men to join the army
What did the suffragettes do during the war?
Staged a huge demonstration demanding all women to be allowed to work in munitions factories
What was the Order of the White Feather?
Encouraged women to give a white feather to men not in the armed forces
White feather was a symbol of a coward
What did the women members of the active service league do?
Took an oath to promise to encourage young men to join up
What happened to women’s jobs during the war?
Gained access to a whole range of jobs previously just done by men e.g. Bus conductors Postal workers Farm labourers Coal deliverers Road layers
How many women served in the Women’s Land Army during the war?
260 000
When was the WAAC founded and what was it?
1918
First women army unit
What service did women do during the war?
Women’s volunteer police service
How did women help in the Salvation Army?
Nurses, cooks and helpers went to the front to aid the soldiers and civilians in France
What were the employers attitudes to the women’s war effort?
Reluctant to take on women to fill men’s jobs (manufacturing) - though they weren’t capable of learning the necessary skills and feared the unions
In offices women were quickly employed
What were the unions attitudes to the women’s war effort?
Resisted the employment of women workers - feared women would be paid less threatening men’s wages
Did not accept female members
What did the government do during the war?
Set an example to private industry by employing women exclusively in munition factories
By the end of the war 800 000 women has taken up engineering jobs
What were the attitudes in parliament to women’s suffrage after WW1?
Passed the vote for women
What were the attitudes in parliament to different groups of women after WW1?
Only older married women or women who owned property could vote in 1918
Young, single, working class women couldn’t because they feared their ideas maybe too radical
Women could now stand for parliament - 1919 Nancy Astor first women MP to take seat in Commons
Full voting rights granted in 1928
Name 3 events which show the developing legal and political status of women in the late 19th C
1839 - wife on seperation from husband could legally claim custody of children under 7
1857 - divorce (difficult but possible)
1870 - women allowed to keep money and property after marriage
