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Women's Views & Aims in the 19th Century

Explore the differing views, aims, and aspirations of women throughout the 19th century. Lessons cover opposition to votes, suffrage tactics, and impact.

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Women's Views & Aims in the 19th Century

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  1. Enquiry 5To what extent did women have different views, aims and aspirations throughout the nineteenth century?

  2. Enquiry overview Lesson 1: Were all Victorian women the same? Lesson 2: What if you had to work? Lesson 3: Step by step Lesson 4: Did all women want the vote? Lesson 5: How did women get the vote? Outcome activity: Write an extended answer as to how divided Victorian women were and its impact on the campaign for women’s suffrage.

  3. Lesson 5How did women get the vote?

  4. Lesson 4 overview • Content covered in the lesson: • She got the vote in 1867: Lily Maxwell. • Tactics: petitions, other actions. • Born out of desperation: militant actions.

  5. To what extent did women have different views, aims and aspirations throughout the nineteenth century? Recap: Why did some women oppose votes for women? How effective was this opposition?

  6. She got the vote in 1867 • Shop owner and rate payer in Manchester. • Unmarried head of household. • Mistakenly included in the voter roll for the 1867 by-election in Manchester. • Returning officer allowed her to vote. • Voted for the Liberal, Jacob Bright, who was a supporter of female suffrage. • Over 5,000 other female ratepayers encouraged to register to vote. • Court case in 1868 says male suffrage only allowed! • Died in the workhouse in 1876. Lily Maxwell, c1867 Q: Why was Lily able to vote? Q: Was she the first female to vote, as is suggested by some writers?

  7. Activity 1: Tactics • Mary Wollstonecraft, 1792: ‘Vindication of the Rights of Women’. • Peterloo 1819: lots of female support for adult suffrage, some female casualties. • Support for 1832 Reform Bill, including an amendment demanding ‘adult’ suffrage. • Chartists 1830s and 1840s, many female supporters. • Petition 1866 – 1,521 signatures in three weeks. • National Society for Women’s Suffrage 1867 (became NUWSS in 1897). • WSPU 1903. • Mostly – to begin with – middle-class women with quite limited demands. • Florence Nightingale (for example) – good idea in principle; will take a long time; but there are other more important short-term targets.

  8. Activity 1: Petitions • 3 May 1832 – Mary Smith – ‘Orator Hunt’, presented it to Parliament. • 1866 – John Stuart Mill asked for 100 signatures to introduce an amendment to 1867 Reform Bill – in a few weeks 1,521 signatures. • 1871 – 186,000 signatures. • 1873 – 328,000 signatures. • 18 debates in Parliament between 1870 and 1904. Q: Why so ineffective at this time? Q: Can you think of modern-day examples where petitioning has proven effective?

  9. Activity 1: Other actions • public meetings • ask the candidate (many refuse to answer questions from women as they have no vote) • processions • newspapers including ‘Votes for Women’ • chalking • letters to newspapers • supporting candidates – whichever party – who are pro-female suffrage • songs • merchandise to raise funds • propaganda pamphlets • branches across the country • non-party Millicent Fawcett Tactics like these were very effective for the Anti-Slavery and Anti-Corn Laws campaigns. Q: Why were they so ineffective for female suffrage?

  10. Activity 2: Born out of desperation • chaining themselves to railings • interrupting Parliament • breaking windows • riots • stone-throwing • deliberately getting arrested • hunger striking in prison • letter box bombs • digging up parts of golf courses • setting fire to stands at racecourses • setting fire to houses of opponents of votes for women • slashing pictures in art galleries • stepping out in front of the King’s horse during a race Q: How effective were these tactics? Q: Did support for suffragettes increase as militancy increased?

  11. To what extent did women have different views, aims and aspirations throughout the nineteenth century? Outcome activity: Your challenge is to build a ‘Big Picture’ of the female population during this period. • Tasks: • Build up a ‘Big Picture’ of the female population during Victorian and Edwardian times: their ideas, aims and aspirations. • Reach two conclusions: • (a) Just how divided were women? • (b) Did these divisions – if there were any – help or hinder the fight for the vote?

  12. To what extent did women have different views, aims and aspirations throughout the nineteenth century? Plenary: • Tasks: • Search the database using the fields ‘main suffrage society’ and ‘more on suffrage activity’. • Which of these activities can you find evidence of? • Can you date the various activities from the ages of the people in the database? • Do the activities change over time? • Are all women fighting for the vote in the same way? • Which are the most effective tactics? Why?

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