The right to vote did not come easily though. Key individuals helped to raise the profile of this issue, such as John Stuart Mill, an MP and sympathiser. He requested that women should be given the vote in the 1867 reform act. Emmeline Pankhurst was founder of the suffragettes who encouraged people to go on hunger strikes for publicity. Lydia Becker was elected to the Manchester school board in 1870 and took a strong interest in the education of girls and what could be done to improve it.
I feel the women’s suffrage developed as a result of women wanting more power and to have equal status as men. Before suffrage, the law system was unjust and this is what many individuals wanted to change.
Describe the ways in which the methods of suffragists and suffragettes were different.
Although the suffragists and suffragettes were fighting for the same thing, their methods however were entirely different. NUWSS (national union of women’s suffrage societies), the suffragists, was originally founded by Millicent Fawcett in 1897. Later on in 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst who felt the union was moving too slowly formed the WSPU (women’s social and political union). They were known as the suffragettes.
The suffragists had a few major demands which included equal pay for equal work, to be on an equal standard with men, and the recognitions for mothers as equal guardians. Whereas the suffragettes only objective was to gain votes for women. The suffragist’s tried to gain support by gathering signatures and sending them to parliament. In 1901-1902 Eva Gore gained 67,000 signatures from workers in the north of England for a petition. By 1900 they had managed to gain the support of many MPs from the liberal, conservative and some of the labour party. They recruited sympathetic MPs and managed to persuade them to present their petitions and Bills to parliament. In the years leading up to 1900, the suffragists sent a bill to parliament 15 times and 15 times this failed. However, all of their ways to gain the vote were peaceful and legal.
In comparison, the suffragettes used frequent violent campaigns to gain publicity which often got them sent to jail. Their motto was ‘Deeds not words’. Supporters of the union were encouraged to wear clothes sashes and badges in the union’s colours of green, purple and white to bring attention to themselves, whilst more extreme ways to gain publicity included demonstrations which often involved the police and arrests of suffragettes. At huge Liberal meeting, on 13 October 1905, Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney kept shouting out “Will the Liberal Government give the vote to women?” but their question was ignored and they eventually got thrown out and were given a fine. Many imprisoned suffragettes often went on hunger prison strikes to protest against conditions in which they were held and they believed if they died for the campaign this would receive public sympathy. However the prisons introduced force feeding by place a tube down the nose or throat which could be painful and caused a lot of public up rise, In 1913 the government passed ‘the prisoner’s temporary discharge for ill-health’ act. This was referred to by the suffragettes as ‘the cat and mouse act’ as they released the prisoners by recaptured them after they were well enough.
Violence progressed and on 21 November 1911, the suffragettes caused thousands of pounds worth of damage when they smashed shop and government windows in London. Some even chained themselves outside of 10 downing street in protest. In 1913 Emily Wilding Davison rushed out onto the derby racecourse grabbing the reins of the King’s horse and later died due to head injuries. Nevertheless the amount of violence to be used within the group was debatable and they split into two forming another party “Women’s Freedom League”.
Although both groups were fighting for the same cause, tactics used were very different. As a much smaller group maybe the suffragettes felt that the only way to get noticed was to use shock tactics whereas the suffragists consisted of more mature and peaceful strategies.
Women over 30 gained the vote in 1918 mainly because of women’s contribution to the war effort. Do you agree?
Despite the endless drive and determination of the suffragists and suffragettes for the right for women to gain the vote, their campaigns were put on hold to join with the war effort. This was an altogether different chance to show allegiance to their country and prove their worthiness. However how vital was the war in women gaining the vote and to what extent did women really gain the vote?
Due to conscription for the first time in Britain, many men were sent to war which left thousands of their job spaces available. 1,465,987 jobs were given to keen women who worked as secretaries, drivers, mechanics and in munitions factories. Jobs had unequal pay to men and extremely hazardous. The effects from working in factories included a possibility of lung disease and powder turned women’s skin yellow still they persisted in this as this new found wealth gave the women freedom. Many broke away from the typical ‘stay at home’ housewife image and fashions revolutionised to become more revealing as well as trousers being acceptable on women.
Regardless of the efforts women had made during the war years, some critics argue that the actual reason for the Representation of Peoples act was to enfranchise men that had fought, consequently losing the right to vote as it was only open to property owners. Therefore the right for women to vote was merely a bonus. It was also alleged that if women were not ‘rewarded’ for their war efforts the suffragette’s ‘terrorist’ acts would resume and the war was just an easy way for the government to back down without looking weak. On the other hand if it had not been for the suffragette’s violent attacks, would the suffragist’s peaceful negotiations have got women the vote earlier? In 1914 Mary Richardson, a suffragette, walked into a national gallery museum with a meat cleaver and slashed at the Rokeby Venus painting several times which earned her the nickname ‘Slasher Mary’. It was such acts of violence that lost respect from the general public hence making it hard for the government to grant rights to such inappropriate behaviour.
Even after gaining the vote, most women who worked during the war were unable to vote as they did not fit into the criteria. Although out of 142 constituencies, 98 supported women’s rights to vote it was only given to property owners over the age of thirty, as these were thought to most likely fit into the category of being married and more likely to not make rash decisions. This only applied to 8.5 million women who made up 40% of the vote therefore men still had overall power.
In conclusion, I believe that it is clear the war played a crucial part in getting women the vote, however the government saw this was an easy time to give in without much criticism and found the excuse they had been looking for. If it was not for previous efforts of suffragists though, I feel that the issue would not have been raised till much more recently.
