HISTORY REVISION

FEMALE SUFFRAGE
POSITION OF WOMEN
In the 1890s women were considered to be accessories to their husbands. They
were expected to look pretty, be obedient, have children, do the house-keeping, be
polite and be sociable. This, however, only really applied to upper and middle class
women as the working class women were expected to help their families by earning
a living.
Women were politically inferior to men as, although they could vote in local elections,
they could not vote in general elections and they earned much less than men for
doing the same jobs (very few were even open to women due to lack of equality in
education but this was improving as some colleges began to accept women though
they still couldnt get degrees). They were also legally inferior especially in the
case of marriage. Wife-battering and marital rape were legal. Women could also not
divorce for adultery (but could for cruelty, desertion and bigamy by 1900) whereas
men could and, if they did divorce, a woman would lose all rights to her children.

SUFFRAGE

NUWSS (National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies) 1897

Millicent Fawcett, peaceful (not very effective ignored), 400 branches
and 100,000 members 1914
WUPS (Womens Social and Political Union) 1903
Emmeline Pankhurst and Christabel and Sylvia, violent/ direct action
(illegal publicised and noticed)
For
Right to which women are entitled
Get rid of other inequalities
Moral guardians of nation
Only others who cant are lunatics and
convicts
Changes in womens roles
Already vote in local elections
Other countries similar to Britain have
enfranchised women
Pay taxes
True democracy

Against
Represented by husbands who better
understand politics
Most do not want vote
Too emotional
Separate spheres for genders
System of government works
Do not fight for country
Already vote in local elections
Do not understand finance

TACTICS
Tactic
Propaganda

Meetings &
Demonstrations

WSPU: newspaper with circulation of

40,000, slogan Votes for Women and
colours, merchandise, posters &
leaflets e.g. force-feeding
Huge meetings with over 20,000
usual,
thought
unladylike,
demonstrations
great
spectacles,

Effective?
Yes, publicity without damaging
reputation and helped educate people
about votes for women.
Yes, although seen as unladylike,
publicity and kept in papers (esp. WP
in 1913 very good publicity because

Pressure on
Parliament

Civil
Disobedience
Attacking
Property

Attacking
People

Hunger Strikes

notable places
NUWSS: Womens Pilgrimage 1913
Petitions for Parliament e.g. 1910
Conciliation Bill with over 250,000
signatures, met with MPs to persuade,
helped those in favour with campaigns
No taxation without representation so
refused to pay tax, boycotted 1911
census
Smash windows e.g. government and
newspaper, gentlemens clubs and
shops, 1913 bombed Lloyd Georges
house, vandalism e.g. destroy post
with acid, attack art, cut telegraph
wires, burnt messages into golf
courses
Singled out individuals e.g. doctors
who did not denounce force-feeding,
C. Pankhurst spat at and hit police
officer, axe thrown at PM, heckled
MPs and disrupted meetings
1909, seen as political prisoners not
criminals, sympathy e.g. Votes for
Women stories, posters over country

peaceful).
Yes, although didnt really affect public
opinion, kept at forefront of MPs
minds
Yes, attention of government (esp. if
the women were rich).
Yes, it got great publicity but most was
bad and women seen as too crazy to
get vote. Also made government more
aggressive towards and see them as
terrorists so couldnt give in.

Yes, it got great publicity but most was

bad and women seen as too crazy to
get vote. Also made government more
aggressive towards and see them as
terrorists so couldnt give in.
Yes, great publicity and sympathy
while showing how serious they were.

Reaction of authorities: Liberal Government no clear position but most

probably for, Lloyd George for Asquith against, dealt with protesters harshly
even before violence, banned from Liberal meetings, Black Friday 1910
sexually assaulted by police
Force-feeding: humiliate them, treat as ordinary criminals e.g. not allowed to
speak and called by number instead of name, chores e.g. scrub floors and
clean tin bowls, could only have a bath once a week, retaliated to hunger
strikes by spraying them with cold water then force-feeding
Cat and Mouse Act: hunger strikers got ill and made government look bad if
died (uncivilised), 1913 Prisoners Temporary Discharge for Health Act a.k.a.
Cat and Mouse Act (released until better, then re-arrested to serve rest of
sentence), a few MPs did speak out as women punished several times over
but passed 296: 43
Reaction of press: some totally against e.g. The Times but most probably
supported, biased reporting, condemn violent methods but support peaceful,
much reporting of Black Friday
Reaction of public: majority of men not won over but some supported and
joined NUWSS, some violence against

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WAR

NUWSS
Millicent Fawcett supported war effort
Women your country needs you
Opposed conscription and giving out
white feathers
Employment register 1915 for women to
replace men at the front
Training schools e.g. Notting Hill welding

WSPU
Encourage women to work
Funds and organisation to help
Womens Right to Serve march 1915
Suffragette leaders extremely patriotic
Renamed paper Brittania and WSPU
Womens Party
Demanded conscription, white feathers

Hospital units on the front lines doctors,

nurses and ambulance drivers
Still held meetings and petitions signed to
keep pressure on Parliament
Some women left the NUWSS to devote
their time to winning the vote

(cowardice) to men not in uniform

Not all agreed e.g. Sylvia Pankhurst
formed new organisation concentrating
on social work and criticising the war
Suspended campaign for good of country
wins some people over

WINNING THE VOTE

On the 6th February 1918, the Conciliation Bill was passed. It:
Gave women over 20 the vote (8 million out of 21 million)
Allowed women over 30 to become MPs
Gave all men over 21 the vote
Although they did get the vote, this was not what the suffragettes and suffragists
wanted. They wanted equality between men and women voters but the government
did not do this because:
There would be more women than men voters because many died in the war
Young women were too flighty and irresponsible to have the vote

WHY DID THEY WIN THE VOTE?

Women were seen as more responsible after the war

A reward for their efforts during war
The law said anyone out of Britain for over a year lost the right to vote
Men sent to war lost this right so in 1916 preparations for reform began
The NUWSS heard about this and began to put pressure on the
government to consider votes for women
In 1917 a Conference on Electoral Reform suggested giving women
the vote to replace the lost male voters, 385 were for and 55 against
This enabled the government to give in without being seen as giving into terrorism.