I think this source shows us that at the time of this demonstration the suffragettes work was being recognised by the government but perhaps they were not being taken to seriously as they would of wanted. This source also shows us that the attitudes of the women was one of optimism as they are all smiling and seem happy.
- Sources D and E are both from 1910, yet they give very different views about the campaign to gain the women’s vote. Which is the most reliable source for investigating people’s attitudes in 1910 towards this campaign?
Source D is a article about a demonstration by the suffragettes in London written for a tabloid newspaper. It uses an emotive headline using words like ‘disgraceful’ and ‘shameful’ to get the reader to think what they want them to. The article itself talks about an apparently violent protest at the House of Commons. Although this source is a primary source as the person who wrote it was at the demonstration at the time it was happening there are many things that show this source is biased and untrue. It is written in the source that one woman was ‘sprawled in the mud’ and this was very unlikely to have happened as women didn’t show any parts of their bodies in public, suffragette or not. There was also another version of this story which is as the women tried to go forward they were pushed and beaten, thrown to the ground and trampled, had limbs broken and dislocated, some were dragged down side streets and indecent assaults were attempted. It is true that many of the women were treated for the injuries sustained in their clash with the police and so this story is more probable than the one in the tabloid paper.
Source E is a postcard issued by the suffragettes as an argument in favour of votes for women. Because it is a postcard it is very clear and mainly pictorial. This is because these postcards would have been posted through peoples doors and most people were not able to read. This meant that the suffragettes were aiming their campaign at everyone not only the middle classes who could mostly read. The postcard is, although biased as it was produced by the suffragettes, quite truthful to the time. It is showing that how can women have all the same jobs as men and not get the vote when any men, even lunatics, can still vote.
Both of these sources show the attitudes of different people at the time. The postcard shows the attitudes of the suffragettes. Tabloid papers usually write what they think the reader wants to hear and so the article is most likely the attitudes of the people at the time. However, sometimes newspapers publish what they want the reader to think so this article could have been the attitudes of the media of the time. In terms of which source shows the attitudes of people of the time I think the magazine article is probably right. This is because the postcard was written by the suffragettes and although shows the attitudes of the suffragettes it does not show the attitudes of the people. We also know that at the time the article was published the suffragettes were not taken to kindly.
- “Without the First World War British women would not have gained the right to vote in 1918.” Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation?
In 1897 the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) was formed by Millicent Fawcett. Known as the ‘suffragists’, they believed in a policy of persuasion – hoping through meetings, petitions, reasoned arguments, legal propaganda and the threat of tax avoidance, to persuade Parliament to grant their demands. However, some women thought that the progress being made by the suffragists was too and so the Women’s Social and Political Union was founded by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Cristabel was founded in 1903.
The suffragettes aimed to attract publicity for their cause and to annoy the government as much as possible. They were prepared to be violent to get what they wanted.
The Government and the courts took firm action. When the suffragettes were arrested they were fined by the courts. When they refused to pay they were sent to prison. When they went to prison many suffragettes went on hunger strike and had to be force-fed – which was painful and dangerous.
Suffragette’s tactics included:
- Mocking members of the government at public meetings.
- Chaining themselves to the railings of Buckingham Palace.
- Assaulting politicians who were known to oppose women’s votes.
- Making attacks on public property.
- Arson attacks.
When First World War in 1914, the suffragettes abandoned their campaign of violence and pledged full support to the war. During the war the women filled the jobs that the men had done before they had to go of for war.
During the war, the Government realised it had a problem. The voting system required voters to live in the same place for twelve months before an election. So, if an election was called, most soldiers would not be able to vote. The Government decided to change the law. Women’s groups saw their opportunity. They put pressure on the Government to include votes for women in the changes. In 1918 parliament passed new laws which gave all women over 30 the right to vote.
All of the sources show the steps that lead to women finally getting the vote:
Source A -1908 – Source A shows a suffragettes march. A lot of women took part in the march and so the suffragettes had a lot of support. There is a police man in the photo which shows the government has recognised the suffragettes work but even so people weren’t paying much attention to them and they were still a long way of from getting the vote.
Source B – 1911- Source B is an extract from a speech made by Cristabel Pankhurst. What she is saying is that the suffragettes didn’t have the means to have an orderly protest so they had to do disorderly ones which weren’t given any support from the government. They are still very far off from getting the vote because they were still just getting ignored.
Source C – 1908 – Source C is from another speech this time made by Emmeline Pankhurst. It is saying that lots of decisions are made about the home that women can’t get involved in because they don’t have the right to vote, but the women do basically everything in the home so they should have more rights in what happens.
Source D – 1910 – Source D is an article written for a tabloid newspaper, it is about a march that took place at the House of Commons. It is a very biased and antagonistic report and if this was true then the suffragettes would probably never get the vote.
Source E – 1910 – Source E is a postcard issued by the suffragettes to get support. It is not an aggressive source and would not have upset the government. However, it would have angered the men as it is basically saying that the men aren’t worth the vote. This postcard would not have hindered the suffragette’s chance of getting the vote however it wouldn’t have made it happen any sooner.
Source F – 1912 – Source F is from a speech made by the conservative leader and is an argument against votes for women. He is saying that women are not capable of having the vote because of their lack of education and their feeble minds. The conservative leader is basically saying that there is no chance that the women will not be getting the vote.
Source G – 1870-1914 – Source G is an extract from a textbook this means it is a reliable source and would have been well researched. This extract is saying that the majority of women were not looking for the vote; they were looking for more say, more status and more protection. They did not understand that the vote could get them all the things that they wanted. Many women joined the mothers union because they thought this would help them get all the things they wanted. A lot of women were also frightened of the suffragettes. This source shows that the suffragettes were along way of getting the vote because even the women involved didn’t understand what they were actually campaigning for.
Source H – 1917- Source H is a cover of a magazine showing men and women ‘united in a common cause’. Both the man and the woman are recognised as equals, both holding up an England flag and standing tall. It recognises that even if the women weren’t fighting they were keeping up the home front. This source shows that women were very close to getting the vote as they were now being seen as equals to men. However, if the war had not happened then this magazine cover would not have been produced and women would most probably still have been seen inferior to men.
Source I -1899–1948 – Source I is an extract from a textbook and is talking about the men who didn’t get called to war’s attitudes to women. It is saying that the men at home were hostile to the women because before the men were able to stay at home as they had jobs that were important but when the women could do their jobs just as well it meant they could now be called up to war at any time. Some men even sabotaged the women’s work. This source only shows the attitudes of the men at home not those that were away at war. I think that even though the men at home felt this way it would not really of hindered the women’s chance of getting the vote.
Source J – 1917 – Source J is a speech made by the former Prime Minister saying that women should get the vote. Three years ago he wouldn’t have agreed and was against women getting the vote but he is saying that he would find it hard not to give them the vote after all they’ve done during the war. Before the war he would not of even considered giving women the vote. This source shows that without the war it would have taken a lot longer for the women to get the vote as they would have had to find another way of proving themselves.
Overall after looking at the sources and all the other information I have available to me I believe that without the war the women would still have gotten the vote eventually. However, I think that World War One helped get the women the vote earlier than they would have done if World War One had not happened. I believe that it would have taken a lot longer for them to get the vote as there protests and demonstrations were not really getting them anywhere and most of the sources actually show that the suffragettes were actually hindering their chances of getting the vote by their violence and aggressive campaigns.
