3.Study sources D and E and use your own knowledge.
Why, despite the suffragette activity, had women not gained the vote by the outbreak of the first world war?
Despite the Suffragette activity, women had not gained the vote by the outbreak of the First World War, because the suffragettes had ruined their own cause. They used violence to get the vote, which didn’t attract many people. The hadn’t been campaigning for long and before there were only the suffragists who had more control over their actions. But they weren’t taken too seriously by the public.
Source D a part of a book written by Emmeline Pankhurst, a leading Suffragette, called ‘My Own Story’ in 1912 is biased because it gives just the Suffragette side of the story. Suffragettes were often asked about the violence they used to get the vote. Emmeline Pankhurst believed that this was the only way to get the publics attention. She said that her campaigning was what made women’s’ suffrage ‘a matter of news’. Emmeline thought that once the public opinion swings their way, then without any effort all women would be given the vote. She as a Suffragette believed that violence was the key. But actually it wasn’t!
Earlier the suffragists were nothing big. They didn’t make it to the headlines and now the suffragettes were prod of themselves for becoming the big news. The government also believed that if they gave in to the suffragettes, then other groups would use methods of violence for their campaigning, which they didn’t want. Because of means of violence, women had ruined their own reputation in the world. They were now known as irrational, violent and out of control beings. The men wanted women to traditionally stay at home and do the house chores, where as women wanted to get out and make use of themselves. Because there were lots of women, if the vote was to be given to them, the country would eventually be ruled by women. this was also the view of many MP’s. which can be proven in Source E part of a speech given by a member of parliament in 1913 against women’s vote, because if women were given the vote, the members of parliament believed that the control of the government would be in their hands. The man also talks about it a negative manner, which shows that he’s strongly against women’s right to vote. Members of parliament mainly feared the superiority of women. they wanted to keep them in their traditional role as house wives and stop them from gaining the vote.
One of the few reasons as to why women never got the vote even after the out break of world war one is that, after the war had ended, women never got the chance to prove how hardworking they could be.
Due to Suffragette riots and anti Suffrage movements, people didn’t think women deserved the vote. All women were thought to be the same. And were looked at in a stereo typed way. They were looked at as illiterate beings.
The liberal parties had bigger worries than female suffrage and so did the conservative parties. They didn’t have enough time to think about such ‘small issues’.
Most men, about 90%, in those days were against women’s suffrage-This wasn’t good because the government consisted of just males which meant that women had an even weaker chance to get the vote.
Emily Davison’s pathetic behavior to try and get the vote was also a negative point to women’s right to get the vote. She made all the females in those days look ridiculous by her protests and violence. She went on hunger strikes, threw stones at a car taking David Lloyd. Her and another woman also set fire to pillar-boxes.
4.Study sources F and G
How useful are these two sources as evidence for the contribution of women to the war effort in the years 1914-1918?
Source F a poster produced by the government in 1916 is useful because the government made it during the middle of the war. This is a very reliable source because of the time period it was produced in. This poster in my point of view was meant to boost women’s morals, because it shows how they are strong, independent and hardworking. You can see all these qualities by the character in the woman made at the front of the poster. She looks courageous and confident and knows what she’s doing. This can be proved by her posture
This was women’s opportunity because since men were at war, and there was no one else to take their place, women could take over all the jobs and prove them selves as useful as men. The poster encourages women to join in because it says “Enroll at once”.
This was government’s way of using propaganda to persuade women. previously the government persuaded women to stay at home and do the housework where as now they were encouraging them to start up jobs and help their country win the war.
Source G statistics from a school textbook, published in 1980’s is not as useful as source F, because the source was written in 1980, which was a long time after the war and it might not be as reliable.
But it is useful because it shows how as time passed, slowly women were getting interested in working and by 1918, the figures had increased greatly. Majority of the women worked in the metal industries- that makes it the most popular job field. This was because during the battle of Somme, there was lack of shells and soldiers were dying. This also portrays women as strong figures because the metal industries involved hard work and strength.
By 1918 most of the women were gives jobs and were starting to build a better image for themselves. The public would start to view them differently and not just as useless people.
Overall I think both sources are useful in their own ways. Source G gives us a good account of how women started getting jobs slowly. The figures help us understand how they had increased. Where as source F is more reliable than source G because it was produced in a time when the wart was going on which would mean that everything shown is not exactly true but most probably happening. Both sources back each other up. They are conveying the same point. We can also see the results of source G(the statistics) in source F.
5.Study sources F, I and J and use your own knowledge.
’It was the work that women did during the war that earned them the vote.’
Use the sources, and your own knowledge, to explain whether you agree with this interpretation.
Source H from a history book called ‘Women’s Suffrage in Britain-1867-1928” written in 1980 agrees with the statement ‘It was the work that women did during the war that earned them the vote’ but partially. The source states that there was little change from the wartime. It states how Men weren’t with the idea of women working outside the house. They believed that women were made just to sit at home and not have jobs.
Politicians agreed that women were loyal citizens and because of their care taking of their kids they deserved to be given the vote. But even though they had an age limit for women and not for men, they weren’t really against giving the women the vote.
Source I also from a history book called “Women at war, 1914-1918” written in 1980 in a way agrees with the fact that ‘It was the work that women did during the war that earned them the vote’. It generalizes it by saying that this question must not be put apart from the rest.
Source J part of a speech by Herbert Asquith (prime minister, 1908-1916) in the House of Commons in 1917.This source agrees and disagrees with the statement. Because it is a part from the prime ministers speech it isn’t to my surprise that he was against giving women the vote. First it is absolutely apposed to giving women the vote but later on in the speech, the prime minister talks about how the Suffragettes had started to behave “better” and since they have contributed to every service, they might as well get some credit of women’s suffrage.
Personally I agree with the statement. I think it was the workwomen did during the war that earned them the vote, because before the war women were, according to men, useless and un worthy. But after their works in the metal industries and other labour jobs, people started to think better of them. And slowly men started to think that women could do stuff and that could be useful to the nation and that they were able to do hard work just like men could.
I believe that to an extent women got the vote after the Suffragettes stopped with their violence. This is because right after the Suffragettes had decreased on their violence, men started to think better of women which meant that they didn’t think that they were irrational and their attitudes had changed and men no longer saw them as violent creatures. It wasn’t actually until the end of the war, that women started working hard and not just creating a racket by contradicting each other. The wartime efforts, jobs etc were evidence for why and how women got the vote, where as the campaigns for women’s vote didn’t actually have any evidence for it. Over all I believe that because of the change in women’s attitudes and behavior they got the vote.