In the Second Reform Act in 1867 it extended the vote to some working class males so women were still not given the vote or even a hint of the vote. Women had hoped to get the vote in this act but were disappointed because they did not get the vote. This could be argued as the main reason why the campaign for women’s suffrage developed.
In 1866 Lydia Beckor set up the MNSS (Manchester National Suffrage Society) which was one of the first women’s suffrage groups. They sent round letters and petitions to try and get the vote for women. Also by 1870 women were allowed to vote on local councils, health and school boards.
The second most important reason was Social reasons. Women weren’t equal. They had no education, unless their parents decided to educate them. Women were known as ‘Angels of the house’ so they were just tokens to their fathers and when they married they were tokens of their husbands. So women were deemed to be stupid because they were not educated and it was thought that they would take on the political view of their husband so what was the point in voting? A better education would lead to better jobs which in turn lead to better status in society.
In the late 18th century Mary Wollstonecraft spoke of the ‘Vicious Circle’ which showed how women were seen as stupid because of their lack of education
Two examples of women that changed the view of women’s jobs are: Florence Nightingale who changed the view on nursing forever. She pioneered nursing and was a reformer of sanitation methods in hospitals. She developed records and statistics to show hospitals around the world. Another example is Elizabeth Garrett-Anderson who in 1865 became the first English female doctor. She had to learn French and study medicine at a university in France because in England Women were not allowed to study for a degree because they might ‘Distract men from their studies’ not knowing if the women weren’t prostitutes or not.
The last reason was Economical reasons. Women still had to pay taxes even if their wages had to go to their husbands. So therefore they argued that because they had to pay taxes shouldn’t they have the right to be represented? And they should have the right to property as well.
“No taxation without representation” was the saying
Caroline Norton was a woman who divorced her husband and was prevented from seeing her children. She decided that she would take on the government because women had No rights to property, No legal status, No possessions and they belonged to their husbands. By 1870 there was the first of a series of Married Women’s Property Acts. This stated that divorced women could earn their own wages and had some rights to their children.
Women wanted suffrage to be equal to men and the same rights and freedoms as men since they did not own anything not even their possessions. The campaigners for women’s suffrage did a good job in realising the laws were wrong and helped change the world for the better.
