power and the people - chapter 10 Flashcards
(39 cards)
what had women started to do during the industrial revolution
women had started to work in factories and earn even more money than they ever had working from home
what new reforms were there
reforms that improved the working conditions for women in factories and mines
what was life like for middle class women
their world still revolved around the home
what did many people believe the reforms for the working class were actually for
many people believed that the reforms for the working class were actually an attempt to put women back in the home, where they could look after their husbands and children
what act during the 19th century made life better for women
- the Married Women’s Property Act, 1870
- this allowed women to control their own income and property after marriage
- previously, their income had been controlled by their husbands
-> this had meant women were dependent on men, but the new act started to change this
what did many professions expect of women at the start of the 20th century
- them to leave when they got married: their job was now to be a wife and mother
- get paid less than a man for the same job
when did the need to persuade men that women deserved the vote begin
1897
by 1897, what had women been able to vote in
local elections and school board elections
however, for real change, they would need to be able to vote on a national level
what group was formed to fight for women’s rights and who formed it
Millicent Fawcett, wife of the Liberal MP Henry Fawcett, brought all the groups campaigning for women’s suffrage together to form the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)
-> they became known as the Suffragists
what was the NUWSS/Suffragists
a collection of middle-class women who believed in using peaceful methods, such as meetings, speeches, posters and letters, to achieve the vote
what happened as a result of some of the suffragists becoming frustrated with how long change was taking
- in 1903, a member of the Manchester branch of the NUWSS - Emmeline Pankhurst - decided it was time to take more direct action
- Pankhurst and her two daughters, Sylvia and Christabel, formed the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)
what did the WSPU believe in
‘deeds not words’
Pankhurst family:
- middle class
- had a long history of supporting women’s causes
- Emmeline’s husband had been Richard Pankhurst -> he was a lawyer who had written the Married Women’s Property Act
what was the WSPU like by 1907
- had many members who engaged in the militant tactics promoted by the Pankhurst’s and other leaders
- however, there were many who wanted change but did not believe in violent tactics
-> they were mostly pacifists
-> they broke away and created the Women’s Freedom League (WFL)
what did the members of the WSPU who didn’t believe in violent tactics do
- broke away and created the Women’s Freedom League (WFL)
- as well as campaigning for the vote they also campaigned for equal pay for women
what did the NUWSS do for change
- used their political contacts to lobby MPs
- they pledged to support MPs who believed in universal suffrage
- their members were trained to speak publicly, in a persuasive but non-violent way
- they created petitions and pamphlets to persuade the nation and those in government that women deserved the vote
what was the support for the NUWSS like
- many people were persuaded by the campaign, but some members felt that the Suffragists’ actions were too easy to ignore
- despite their placid tactics, the NUWSS did have many supporters throughout the early 20th century
what did the NUWSS do when the gov did not pass an act to give women the vote in 1912
they started a pilgrimage from Carlisle to London
thousands of people joined the march in support of
what tactics did the WSPU members use
used more militant tactics, including:
- heckling members of parliament during their speeches
- stood outside the House of Commons and held demonstrations
- in 1912, they started a stone-throwing campaign
-> hundreds of windows were smashed and over 200 suffragettes were arrested
-> this was all part of their plan: the court cases got them extra publicity
- they took their actions further, making arson attacks and blowing up buildings
- MPs were put on high alert
- they were warned to be suspicious of parcels in case they contained explosives
what were the WSPU referred to as
suffragettes
who did the WSPU have the support of
at the beginning, they had the support of the Liberal Prime Minister, Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who told the women to pester the government and not to show patience
in 1913 parliament made another attempt to give women the vote. did this work?
no it failed
what happened at Derby horse race, 1913
- the kings horse was running round the racecourse when it was brought to the ground by a woman who had deliberately walked onto the racecourse as the horses approached
- this woman was Emily Wilding Davison, and she died of her wounds in the hospital, soon after the incident
-> she was a suffragette, and became the first martyr of the suffrage movement - historians are divided about whether Davison had planned to kill herself that day
- it seems she might have been trying to stick a suffragette rosette on the horse, but she was trampled as the horse was going too fast
- the movement now had evidence of how committed their members were
- they were so serious about getting the vote that they were willing to die for it
what did the suffragettes do in prison
- went on a hunger strike
- this is a tactic used by prisoners as a way to continue their campaign by gaining publicity
- the gov knew they could not have these women dying in prison: these women were middle class, and many had husbands or fathers who help influential jobs
