Account for the rise of organised feminism in the second half of the 19th century

University Degree Historical and Philosophical studies

Eleanor Fell Tony Howe

Account for the rise of organised feminism in the second half of the 19th century

The belief in feminism, that women should be entitled to equal rights and opportunities with men, has existed for many generations. Feminism first materialised following the French Revolution in 1789 and industrialisation in Britain from the 1780s. It was not until the 19th century however that feminism began developing, and not until the second half of the century that it became organised. This was due to many factors such as a widening electorate and increased publicity of inequalities that contributed to a rising discontent amongst women, especially in the middle classes. This organised feminism continued to gain strength throughout the second half of the 19th century.

The French Revolution saw campaigns for civil rights, and they were only given to men. This aggrieved some women who believed that the rights should have been granted to everybody. Similarly, following industrialisation in Britain from 1780 and the opportunities that it created, tension arose as those opportunities were denied to women. This feeling of discontent was only felt by a small minority of elite however, who began campaigning against male dominance, whilst most women at the time were content fulfilling their traditional roles as wives and mothers. This meant therefore that women who sought movements towards organised feminism had to contend with males who opposed them gaining equal rights, and females who were content not to witness any change.

During the 19th century, women and men were thought to occupy different ‘spheres’. Women were considered inferior to men in their roles, fulfilling domestic tasks within the home, whereas men were supposed to go out to work and provide for the family. This was a new structure within the family caused by industrialisation, as whole families were used to working, therefore emphasising the oppression women now suffered. They lacked political and legal rights; for example, a married woman’s property became that of her husbands, as did that of her income and her children. In the workplace, women often received wages that were up to half of that of a male doing the same job, and were only given jobs outside the professions that were reasonably unskilled with little responsibility, such as domestic servants or factory workers. Secondary and higher education available to women was considerably less than for men, again reducing opportunities for women wanting to enter professional jobs. Furthermore, throughout the 19th century, greater numbers of men were emancipated, giving them the right to vote. Women however didn’t gain the vote until 1918.

It was a combination of these factors that led to the emergence and then growth in organised feminism – women meeting to discuss the inequalities that existed between the sexes and how unfair they were. Initially, the cause was taken up ‘not in the factories, nor down the mines, but in middle-class Victorian drawing-rooms’. Small groups of middle class ladies began circulating the issue amongst their friends and family, gradually increasing interest in feminism. This led to developments of groups such as The Langham Place, which began holding local meetings. It was the middle class who began campaigning for feminism rather than the workers as they felt most aggrieved and the working class women lacked the institutional means and actually believed in the traditional roles on the whole. For example, following the 1832 Reform Act, middle class men with a property qualification were granted the vote, yet women with the same property qualification were denied it. Previously, only the elite males had the vote, therefore the distinction between male and female was not as prominent. As a result, some women joined the Chartist movement that campaigned for the vote, reflecting an initial contribution to some kind of organised feminism. Furthermore, following industrialisation in Britain and the new emphasis it placed on individualism, middle class women felt economically useless, as they had to remain at home.

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Once there was a network of local feminist groups, ideas became far wider spread, and the groups gradually began joining together to form larger, and therefore more influential organisations. This marked the beginning of real ‘organised feminism’. Most wanted to see four main issues addressed: access to education and the professions for women as well as men, reforms affecting marriage, for example equal divorce rights, the double standard of sexual morality and the right to citizenship. At this time, although women were interested in gaining the vote, they were also concerned with moral issues, such as gaining equal property rights. They wanted the vote because they believed it would give them the power to influence change in areas they were concerned with. Some women were more conservative in their beliefs, accepting that women were made to perform a different role in society – that of a mother and wife, as they are more ‘chaste, compassionate, virtuous and dutiful than men’. However, they believed that this role was just as important as a man’s in providing for the family, and women should therefore be entitled to the vote. These differences in opinion also led to the growth of organised feminism, as it provided a greater number of issues that women could support. For example, Butler believed that higher education should be designed specifically for women, whereas Davis believed that women’s education should be the same as men’s. This meant women could join either movement, but ultimately joined organised feminism.

Another factor that contributed to the rise in organised feminism was that throughout the 19th century, there were an increasing number of women compared to men due to high male mortality rates and migration. In 1851, for example the proportion of women to men was 107%. This meant that it was no longer possible for all women to become married, and rely on the support of their husbands as traditionally had been the case. In 1851, 42% of women aged between twenty and forty were spinsters. This therefore forced many women to take action to try and gain some kind of independence, which they did by joining feminist movements to campaign for access for higher education and wider opportunities, led by women like Josephine Butler.

From 1867 onwards, there was a significant advance in the rise of organised feminism, as a result of all the factors previously mentioned, but sparked by the 1866 Women’s Suffrage Petition formulated by Emily Davies and Elizabeth Garrett and presented to the government by John Stuart Mill. The petition was rejected by Parliament, and was followed by the 1867 Reform Act that emancipated around one million working class men. This heightened tensions for females who believed they deserved equal rights, as had been shown by the many signatures on the petition. This number of signatures reflected the growth of feminism and increased the publicity of the plight of the feminists, and the formation of The Women’s Suffrage Society in 1867 showed how feminist organisation was increasing.

Increased publicity and coverage came in many different forms. John Stuart Mill published The Subjection of Women in 1869, which suggested that society was being deprived of what women had to offer by oppressing them. The Women’s Suffrage Society began publishing The English Woman’s Journal and The English Woman’s Review, which explained their campaigns, and tried to rally support for the feminist movement. These publications were translated into many languages, so they contributed not just to the rise of organised feminism in Britain, but also abroad. These campaigns included moral issues, such as repealing the Contagious Diseases Act, gaining education rights, allowing acceptance into the professions, and opposing laws that ‘oppressed married women and deprived them of their property’. This spread feminist ideas to a wider audience, and led to a rise in organised feminism. Mass rallies were also held which gained newspaper coverage, and again led to more women joining the movement. Furthermore, plays were performed, such as A Doll’s House by Isben, which highlighted female injustices. The 1888 International Council of Women reflected how much organised feminism had risen and spread throughout Europe, although it was further advanced in some countries than others.

As organised feminism grew, some of its campaigns found success. Women were granted the municipal vote in 1869, and in 1900, one million women voted in local elections. Furthermore, as a result of organised feminist campaigns, rate-paying women were allowed to sit on Local Education Boards from 1872, and by 1889, 100 women had been elected. This shows how organised feminism was allowing women to have a greater influence in local politics. In 1870 and 1882 the Married Woman’s Property Act was passed, finally granting married women rights to their property. Also, secondary and higher education for women in the bourgeoisie improved between 1850 and 1880, allowing females to take up work in the professions, such as teaching and medicine. In 1881, there were 25 female doctors, and by 1911 there were 477. As these successes were publicised, more females began acknowledging the power of organised feminism, and joined the movement.

These successes wouldn’t have been possible however without the support of other organisations that were campaigning for similar reforms. These were groups such as the Law Amendment Act Society or the Taunton Commission enquiring about secondary education, as the feminist organisations needed the support of MPs in Parliament who could air their beliefs and campaign politically on their behalf. Therefore it must be seen that an element of the growth of organised feminism came as a result of men’s support in helping to make feminist issues a success. However, as organised feminism became more successful, support for the Anti-Suffrage League increased significantly, as there were those, both male and female, who did not want to see women gaining the vote, and were fearful that the vote wasn’t far from being granted.

The rise in organised feminism occurred mainly from middle class support. However, during the 1870s some working class women, for example the Lancashire textile workers, formed trade unions specifically for women. When the women became organised by these groups, they also became linked with the feminist cause, as they realised that to campaign for improved conditions and pay, the vote would be needed. Therefore, late in the 19th century female workers also contributed to the rise of organised feminism.

It is the fact that workers contributed relatively little to the rise in organised feminism until the late 19th century and that some feminist successes were achieved in the 19th century in Britain that sets it apart from other countries like Germany. Germany was ruled autocratically throughout the 19th century and until 1908 women were banned from forming political organisations or ‘taking part in political meetings’. There was also a great emphasis placed on the role of females being involved with ‘Kinder, Kirche and Kuche’. These things therefore limited the rise in organised feminism practically and ideologically. Furthermore, the middle class feminist organisations that formed in Germany such as the German Workers Patriotic Association were not primarily concerned in gaining the vote; instead they campaigned for labour, welfare and maternity protection. Again, their campaigns had to be fairly moderate and their political voice was small given the political climate. As the autocratic system declined, it is possible to see a rise in organised feminism, with membership of groups like The Federation of German Workers formed in 1894 soaring to 70,000 in 1901 and reaching a quarter of a million by 1914.

The female workers actually formed a large part of organised feminism, as they formed an alliance with the German Socialist Party who were campaigning against capitalism, which they believed oppressed women. Therefore, when capitalism was overcome, it was believed that opportunities for women would develop outside of the home. By 1913, 141,000 females had joined the Social Democrats, showing the extent of a type of organised feminism. It was because the workers supported a political party, which presented their campaigns to Parliament that their influence in organised feminism was so much greater than in Britain.

Overall, it can be seen that many factors led to the rise of organised feminism in the second half of the 19th century. Feminist organisations were created initially as a result of women opposing their lives in the domestic sphere, a desire for improved conditions in the workplace, and wanting the vote in order to influence change. Feminist organisation then rose as a result of events emphasising inequality, such as the 1867 Reform Act, campaigns that were successful, such as the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act, and publicity spreading the feminist message. It must be acknowledged however that despite the rise in organised feminism, by the 20th century the ultimate aim of gaining the vote hadn’t been achieved. This led to the beginning of militant campaigns led by people such as the Pankhursts, which in turn reduced the support for organised feminism, as many people opposed their violent tactics.

Bibliography

Francois Bedarida, A Social History of England 1851 – 1990 (Routledge 1976)

Barbara Caine, English Feminism 1780 – 1980 (Oxford University Press 1997)

Richard Evans, The Feminists (Croom Helm Limited 1977)

Richard Evans, The Feminist Movement in Germany (Sage Publications 1976)

Martin Pugh, A Companion to Modern European History 1871 – 1945 (Blackwell Publishers 1997)

Constance Rover, Women’s Suffrage and Party Politics in Britain 1866 – 1914 (Routledge and Kegan Paul 1967)

Francois Bearida, A Social History of England 1851 – 1990 (Routledge 1991)

Francois Bedarida, Viola Klein: A Social History of England 1851 – 1990 (Routledge 1991)

Barbara Caine, English Feminism 1780 – 1980 (Oxford University Press 1997)

Martin Pugh, A Companion to Modern European History 1871 – 1945 (Blackwell Publishers 1997)

Barbara Caine, English Feminism 1780 – 1980 (Oxford University Press 1997)

Constance Rover, Women’s Suffrage and Party Politics in Britain 1866 – 1914 (Routledge 1967)

Barbara Caine, English Feminism 1780 – 1980 (Oxford University Press 1997)

Francois Bedarida, A Social History of England 1851 – 1990 (Routledge 1991)

Richard Evans, The Feminists (Croom Helm London 1977)

Martin Pugh, A Companion to Modern European History 1871 – 1945 (Blackwell Publishers Limited 1997)

Account for the rise of organised feminism in the second half of the 19th century

Account for the rise of organised feminism in the second half of the 19th century

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