Why women failed to gainthe vote between 1900 and 1914.

There are many reasons why women failed to get the vote at this time. One of them is the Victorian‘s view of women. They were thought not to be as strong as men. They were treated only if they were born to get married and raise children. They obviously weren’t thought as equal because they didn’t have the right to vote. Not long before that time women weren’t allowed to keep their own income of property. In the early 19th century a women education would only have covered reading, writing, embroidery and music. None of these would be good enough training for an outside job because at the time women were not supposed to work outside the home. Her education was for a woman to be a companion to her husband, a mother to the children and an organizer to the household. This also shows that is was in the government’s power to change the women of the next generation.

Many middleclass women who were not poor, but educated and had a decent income, these are the women that wanted the vote. The upper class had more “important” things to worry about like what they were going to wear to the ball. And the lower class wanted to sort out their money problems before they could do anything else.

The main question is why women wanted the vote. One of the reasons is they wanted to put their point of view forward, and be a part of major changes. Another main reason is the middle class women realized the unfairness, and they wanted equal rights everywhere, but mainly in the voting booth. It wasn’t just British women that wanted the vote also in Europe and the U.S.A. many women said they wanted to change their home lives (better housing and living conditions) as well as their working lives(be equal to men at work, same pay etc.). Other women thought ...

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The next question is how would women get the vote?

In 1897 a group of women called the suffragists were formed. They were a group of women campaigning peacefully for the vote i.e. petitions, shops with products, and letters to the government. The suffragists had a leader called Millicent Fawcett and they had 500 local branches over England.

In 1903 many women were getting tired with these methods, they did not seem to be working. Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst got together with her daughters and formed the WSPU. Their aim was to be heard. They did many things like disturbing political meetings. Press coverage soon covered them and these women were known as the suffragettes.

In 1905 suffragettes were sent to jail for disturbing political meetings. But in 1906 liberal government was in power, this raised hopes for the women because many liberal MP’s supported them. However not much was done because the ministers were divided on the issue. This caused the suffragettes to get angrier and in 1908 they chained themselves to railings in Downing Street. In 1909 women were sent to jail for these actions. But they still went on hunger strikes in jail hoping to get more publicity. They went to terrible pain and suffering when they were force fed with tubes up their noses. This hit the press and cause lots of public sympathy. The government then set up the “cat and mouse chase”. They would free the women, wait until they ate a lot in their freedom, and then imprison them again. This went in a cycle.

In 1910 the suffragettes called of their campaign because the prime minister promised he would change the voting laws. Failing to do so in 1912 the suffragettes were back in business but this time stronger than ever. They went on mass hunger strikes; they cut telephone wires, smashed shop windows, set fire to post boxes. They thought the government would give into this violence and then give them the vote. In 1913 Emily Davidson killed during a derby horse race because she ran in front of the king’s horse.

But there were other reasons why women didn’t get the vote, like political maneuvers. The whole of the House of Commons was men. A few supported the women but most didn’t. At the time in the U.K there were more women than men, if they gave equal voting rights to women they would be overpowered on what they want. The suffragettes were an excuse for some men proving the old rumors right i.e. they were emotional; they were ruthless people who broke the law.

They weren’t all that bad, they just had more on their plate. The Irish wanted home rule. They were protesting violently and caused lots of damage. And factory workers were on strike. This was major news because if factories stopped working it could affect the countries whole economy.

In 1914 war broke out. Many men went out to fight and jobs were needed. The groups of women stopped campaigning and got to work. This was also there chance to show they could also do any jobs that men could. Maybe the government might see the true potential in women, and re-consider about the votes and rights.

By Pritesh Sodha