“Was the Work Women did in the War the Most Important Reason Why they were given the Vote in 1918?”
There were many reasons why women got the vote in 1918. The work of the suffragists and suffragettes was very important. The NUWSS was founded by Millicent Fawcett and it relied upon patience, peaceful protests and logical arguments to win the vote. She argued that if Parliament made laws and if women had to obey those laws, then women should be part of the process of making those laws. Although the suffragists did manage to convert certain members of the Labour Representation Committee (soon to be the Labour Party), most men in Parliament still believed that women wouldn’t understand how Parliament worked and therefore shouldn’t take part in the electoral process. The Suffragists’ progress was very slow, and many women were tired of waiting. These women became known as the Suffragettes. Emmeline Pankhurst, a famous founder of the Suffragettes, wrote this in her autobiography:
“This was the beginning of a campaign the like of which was never kwon in England, or for that matter in any other country…we interrupted a great many meetings…and we were violently thrown out and insulted. Often we were painfully bruised and hurt.”
The Suffragettes used many methods to win their support. They had special badges and a colour scheme to indicate their loyalties. They had their own magazine published called “Votes for Women”. They attended meetings in such venues as the Royal Albert Hall and Trafalgar Square. They held processions through London and demonstrated on boats on the River Thames, shouting abuse through loud hailers as Parliament sat. They refused to pay taxes and boycotted the 1911 census. Their acts of violence included burning down churches (as the Church of England did not support them) and vandalising Oxford Street. They also destroyed golf courses and in 1913 they blew up part of David Lloyd George’s house. Attacking people such as politicians and doctors was also popular. In 1909 they started going on hunger strikes. The “Votes for Women” magazine included many harrowing stories about what these women were going through. This was a way of gaining possible martyrs. In June 1913 Emily Wilding Davison committed suicide by throwing herself in front of a horse at the Derby. Here was the Suffragettes’ first martyr. But her actions probably did more harm than good, for many men asked the simple question: “If this is what an educated woman does, what might a lesser educated woman do? How can they possibly be given the right to vote?” The Government did not want to be seen as giving in to violence and it did not see women as responsible voters as a result of the violence. Whenever the Suffragettes resorted to violence the Government considered their chances shattered. Despite these reasons, the Suffragettes kept front page news and many people gradually got used to the idea. The Government realised that it was not just going to go away. Some argue that Asquith was against the whole idea from the start, as this was his belief in 1906:
