Why did women get the vote?

Question 1

Why did women want the vote?

Answer 1

It would allow them to improve their legal status and make improvement to their education.

Question 2

What year was John Stuart Mill elected to parliament?

Answer 2

1865

Question 3

Which groups were formed as a result of Mill’s actions in parliament?

Answer 3

Suffragists and Suffragettes

Question 4

What did John Stuart Mill do once elected in Parliament?

Answer 4

Raised the issue of women’s right to vote. He wanted an amendment to a reform act to include women voters.

Question 5

What did John Stuart Mill say (showing how he wanted this amendment)

Answer 5

“…The legal subordination of one sex to the other is wrong, and one of the chief hindrances to human improvement”. This can be taken as the start of the movement of female suffrage.

Question 6

What was the general attitude of the 19th century? (Changing Attitudes)

Answer 6

Women were inferior to men. Pre 1880s, women were not trusted with their own property. They were not allowed the same opportunities in education, employment, or even allowed to vote.

Question 7

What were first + second class women expected to do? (Changing Attitudes)

Answer 7

Stay at home and look after their children, husband and household. They were legally inferior to men.

Question 8

By 1900, what were women allowed to do? (Changing Attitudes)

Answer 8

Vote in elections at school boards. Ie, the first woman to be elected in Scotland was Miss Jane Arthur to Paisley School board in 1873.

Question 9

From 1894 what could women do? (Changing Attitudes)

Answer 9

Vote in local elections if they paid taxes

Question 10

What did the Married Women’s property act do? (Changing Attitudes)

Answer 10

Allowed women to keep all their own money and property, whereas before women had to give all of their possessions to their husbands when married!

Question 11

What was a result of education becoming compulsory from 1870s?

Answer 11

Women became better educated and when universities allowed both sexes to attend, more career opportunities opened up for women.

Question 12

What is a positive analysis of Changing Attitudes?

Answer 12

All of these improvements to women’s status meant that women’s overall lives were improving and they were getting more freedom. It is possible to argue that it was only a matter of time from these improvements to women getting the vote as part of a longer process.

Question 13

What is a negative analysis of Changing Attitudes?

Answer 13

The process of women getting more rights was very slow and gradual. It can be argued that it would have taken many years for women to be granted the right to vote if the Suffrage movement had not started.

Question 14

What is another negative analysis of Changing Attitudes?

Answer 14

There were few women involved in local politics despite being allowed to vote in these elections.

Question 15

In the 19th century, what were more reforms starting to do? (Suffragists)

Answer 15

Grant more and more men the right to vote while excluding women from these movements

Question 16

What was a result of women being left out of the voting improvements? (Suffragists)

Answer 16

Various groups campaigning for female suffrage united to form the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies in 1887, later became known as Suffragists

Question 17

Who led the Suffragists? (Suffragists)

Answer 17

Millicent Fawcett

Question 18

What methods did the Suffragists use? (Suffragists)

Answer 18

-Peaceful Persuasion
-Education
-Writing Leaflets
-Holding meetings
-Trained speakers were sent out

Always worked within the law to get public opinion in favour of women gaining the vote

Question 19

What did Millicent Fawcett believe? (Suffragists)

Answer 19

Suffragists would gain more credibility if they campaigned for other issues too, leading them to campaign for slave trafficking, child labour and factory legislation.

Question 20

In order to try and achieve popularity with lower class women, what was formed? (Suffragists)

Answer 20

A subgroup of radical suffragists led by the Gore-Booth sisters. They worked in the mills of Lancashire to gain support of working class women.

Question 21

Why did mill workers find the Suffragists appealing? (Suffragists)

Answer 21

Because the sexist trade unions were not helping improve their working conditions

Question 22

Who was Emmeline Pankhurst and what did she do? (Suffragists)

Answer 22

-Member of the Manchester Suffragists
-Previously involved in campaigns to seek support for working class women in Cheshire
-Broke from the NUWSS and form a separate society
-Said she grew impatient with the middle class gradualistic tactics of the Suffragists
-Formed new organisation called the WSPU (Women’s Social and Political Union) in 1903.

Question 23

By 1914 what number did the membership for Suffragists stand at? (Suffragists)

Answer 23

53,000 (for comparison, it stood at 6,000 in 1909)

Question 24

Which party agreed for mutual support with the Suffragists? (Suffragists)

Answer 24

The Labour Party

Question 25

How many MP’s were convinced to support the Suffragists cause? (Suffragists)

Answer 25

Over half of the MP’s within the House of Commons were convinced to support the Suffragists cause

Question 26

In 1905 what were MP’s deliberately doing? (Suffragists)

Answer 26

Talking about brake lights so female suffrage would not be discussed

Question 27

Why had the Suffragists gained criticism from the Suffragettes? (Suffragists)

Answer 27

They hadn’t achieved votes for women with their peaceful methods

Question 28

What is a positive analysis of the Suffragists?

Answer 28

The fact that Suffragists had convinced over half of the MP’s in the House of Commons to support their cause on the eve of WW1 makes it plausible to argue that women would have been given the vote had the war not started

Question 29

What is a second positive analysis of the Suffragists?

Answer 29

The Liberal party, who was in government in 1914, may have also been threatened to pass reform to give women the vote because of the agreement of mutual support the Suffragists had with the Labour party. Sandra Holton (leading historian on female suffrage) suggests this would have been the main reason for women gaining the vote. Liberals did not want to risk losing the support from women in the future.

Question 30

What is a negative analysis of the Suffragists?

Answer 30

The main criticism of the Suffragists is that their tactics were too slow moving. In 1914 (27 years after the movement had started!) They had still not achieved the vote for women.

Question 31

What is a second negative analysis of the Suffragists?

Answer 31

The slow movement of the Suffragists led many women to join the Suffragettes out of frustration - weakened the movement.

Question 32

What is a third negative analysis of the Suffragists?

Answer 32

The government was also facing bigger problems than female suffrage, including international tension which led to WW1 and the Troubles in Ireland. The Prime Minister (Herbert Asquith) was also not favourable of women’s suffrage.

Question 33

What year were the Suffragettes formed? (Suffragettes)

Answer 33

1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst

Question 34

What was the official names of the Suffragettes? (Suffragettes)

Answer 34

Women’s Social and Political Union

Question 35

What were Suffragettes willing to do in contrast to the Suffragists? (Suffragettes)

Answer 35

Break the law to achieve suffrage for women, whereas suffragists worked within the law.

Question 36

What methods did Suffragettes use? (Suffragettes)

Answer 36

Militant methods including letter bombs, breaking windows, chaining themselves to railings arson and shouting in parliament.

Question 37

By 1909, what did the WSPU have? (Suffragettes)

Answer 37

Branches all over the country, 75 paid office staff, and a newspaper called the Votes for Women which sold 200,000 copies per week.

Question 38

Despite what the WSPU had, what did the NUWSS continue to do? (Suffragettes)

Answer 38

Oppose the tactics used by the WSPU and were concerned that the militancy used by the Suffragettes were losing them support for the movement from both MPs and the public.

Question 39

What happened on the 18th November 1910? (Suffragettes)

Answer 39

150 Suffragettes got hurt in violence outside of parliament, which became known as Black Friday

Question 40

Who is Emily Wilding Davidson (Suffragettes)

Answer 40

Probably one of the most famous Suffragettes, as she became a martyr for the cause in 1913 after she attended a horse race called the Epsom Derby. She went under the railings and ended up getting knocked over by the Kings Horse, Anmer and died 4 days later due to her injuries.

Question 41

What did Suffragettes do while in prison? (Suffragettes)

Answer 41

Went on hunger strike which led to them being force fed with a tube being shoved down their throat or through their nostril, a very painful process

Question 42

What did the government do about force feeding in 1913? (Suffragettes)

Answer 42

Decided to legislate it. Introduced the Cat and Mouse Act which freed prisoners for a certain period of time before they would be caught and locked up again once their strength was regained. Some women however simply continued with their militant actions when released which reduced the government to force feeding.

Question 43

What is a positive of the Suffragettes?

Answer 43

The suffragettes undoubtedly gained huge publicity for the cause of votes for women, meaning their issue could not be ignored

Question 44

What is a second positive of the Suffragettes?

Answer 44

The treatment of Suffragettes while in prison gained them a huge amount of sympathy.

Question 45

What is a third positive of the Suffragettes?

Answer 45

They had many supporters and members and eventually managed to convince the Prime Minister to listen to them in 1914.

Question 46

What is a negative of the Suffragettes?

Answer 46

Their main criticism is that the Suffragettes militant actions caused too much harm. Historian David Morgan said “While it kept the Suffrage pot boiling it served little real purpose, losing in Parliament more supporters than were gained, and hardening enemies as little else could have”.

Question 47

What is a second negative of the Suffragettes?

Answer 47

Even some suffragettes did not like militancy, with 70 suffragettes leaving in 1907 to form the Women’s Freedom League. Other dissatisfied suffragettes returned to the suffragists.

Question 48

What industries hired women during World War 1 (WW1)

Answer 48

Due to economic necessity, the government was forced to recruit women. They were first recruited into the munitions industry, and then many other parts of the economy. Women worked in medical services during the war. All working women gained a huge respect.

Question 49

How many women worked in munitions factories? (WW1)

Answer 49

700,000

Question 50

A lot of Britain’s war propaganda stressed the fact that Allies were fighting for democracy. Why? (WW1)

Answer 50

It implied universal suffrage. Consequently, it was seen as very hypocritical that Britain continued to deny women the right to vote when they claimed to be defenders of democracy in the face of the tyranny of Germany.

Question 51

What could women do as of June 1918? (WW1)

Answer 51

Women over 30, Female Householders or wives of householders, or graduates were entitled to the vote. Some were disappointed by the age bar but were prepared to wait. In 1918, women over 21 got the vote which placed them on equal footing to men.

Question 52

What is a positive of WW1?

Answer 52

Some argue that the government could not refuse to grant voting rights to women because they had contributed so much to the war effort. John Ray says “women proved by their work that they deserved the right to vote equally with men. Thus their war efforts succeeded where the war efforts failed”.

Question 53

What is a second positive of WW1?

Answer 53

Furthermore, the Coalition government also helped as it meant that more men favourable to women’s suffrage were in positions of power and influence.

Question 54

What is a negative of WW1?

Answer 54

Women who were enfranchised at the end of WW1 weren’t the ones who did the most dangerous work. It was working class women who worked in munitions, yet were denied the right to vote under the Representation of the People Act 1918. Therefore, it can be argued that women’s efforts weren’t appreciated as much.

Question 55

What is a second negative of WW1?

Answer 55

Some historians argue that women were gaining more rights anyway. Stevenson argues “Although the First World War has usually been taken as marking a turning point both in the acquisition of the right to vote and in wider opportunities for women, it is clear that the war was as much the occasion as the cause of growing female emancipation”.

Question 56

What is a third negative of WW1?

Answer 56

Suffragists had already convinced over half of the MP’s in the House of Commons to support them on the eve of WW1. You could argue the war had actually delayed them getting the vote.

Question 57

By 1917, Other countries had given women the vote. Which countries? (Other countries)

Answer 57

Some states in the USA, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Finland, and most of Canada had extended the vote to women.

Question 58

What is one positive of Other Countries?

Answer 58

It would have been embarrassing for Britain if they hadn’t given women the right to vote when other countries had

Question 59

What is a second positive of Other Countries?

Answer 59

Britain was supposedly fighting for democracy when it wasn’t even a democracy itself!

Question 60

What is a negative of Other Countries?

Answer 60

New Zealand had granted women the right to vote in 1893. The British government wasn’t embarrassed enough to follow suit.