Votes For Women Flashcards
(32 cards)
WSPU starts its campaign of noisily opposing MPs at by-elections
October 1906
NUWSS organises a huge procession in London - nicked ‘Mud March’ after bad weather.
February 1907
Herbert Asquith becomes Prime Minister. He is against votes for women
1908
Both the Suffragists and Suffragettes organise massive processions in London. Asquith does nothing. Suffragettes start smashing windows in frustration.
June 1908
Split between the NUWSS and WSPU starts
Late 1908
More WSPU members sent to prison; hunger strikes begin
1909
Black Friday begins after Asquith stalls on the Concilliation Bill
1910
Conciliation bill is dropped; instead more votes are given to men
1911
Furious WSPU restart their campaign of violence after electoral reform only helps men
1911
Christabel Pankhurt flees to Paris
1912
Mass hunger strikes in prison for political status. The authorities respond with force-feeding
1912
The government introduces the ‘Cat and Mouse Act’ - women on hunger strike are released until they regain strength and then they are arrested again.
1913
Emily Davison kills herself by running out in front of the King’s horse.
June 1913
Women’s Pilgrimage - women walk to London from all over Britain, raising thousands of pounds on the way.
June 1913
First World War begins. Both the WSPU and NUWSS suspend their activities and help the war effort
1914
Majority vote that some women should have the vote
1917
Women over the age of 30 now allowed to vote
1918
Liberal landslide victory
1906
What was the traditional view of men towards women in the 19th century?
They saw women as inferior to men. Their role in life was to be a wife and a mother. This view was backed by scientists and even Queen Victoria.
What new employment opportunities for middle-class women became available towards the end of the 19th century?
Teaching (but you had to be single), nursing (they had to resign when married) and clerical work. By 1900 women could become doctors and architects but many professions like law and finance were closed to them.
Why were women in an inferior position in their marriage?
When they married their property passed to their husbands; in fact THEY became the property of their husbands. Husbands could rape and batter their wives and it was virtually impossible for a woman to instigate a divorce.
Who were the two main organisations set up to campaign for votes for women
The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)
Name 5 reasons why many believed women should not have the vote
1) They are irrational and cannot be trusted with the vote
2) They should be protected from the grubby world of politics
3) They will neglect their family duties
4) Women don’t fight in wars so should not have a say in the country going to war
5) If women get the vote all male riff raff will demand it too
What strategies did the NUWSS (Suffragists) use to campaign for the vote?
They organised petitions, wrote letters and gave lectures and speeches. They favoured a peaceful approach.
